to cloud or not to cloud

I'm trying to figure out what to do about data storage and preservation in the age of the cloud.

Until now I have pretty much eschewed cloud storage. It's not that I have any well-thought objections. It's just that I never got around to setting it up. Fearing that my computer can die and I would lose all my data, I have been making a half-hearted attempt at backing up on thumb drives. But I have made back-ups irregularly at best.

I started looking at the possibility of cloud storage. I have the accounts and the storage space available. But I haven't gotten around to figuring out what to do and how to do it. Fortunately for me, Sharon is pretty good with this and has friends who are better.

But after discussing this with her, I am still torn.

I have been storing all my data in one folder on my hard drive. I set things up that way on purpose, so that when I want to back things up it's relatively easy. I don't really care about backing up programs, since I can reinstall. But data? They can't be replaced as easily.

Until last night, I was under the impression that using cloud storage involved some kind of process of regularly syncing my computer to the cloud -- that I'd tell the software what folder(s) to back up and how frequently. Then, at some determined intervals a sync would happen. That's based on a paradigm that I witnessed for years. But after talking with Sharon, I learned that that's not the way this works anymore. The paradigm has shifted. Now, the cloud storage will show up in Windows Explorer as just another folder, and I'll be working with files that are stored somewhere else instead of in my computer.

This all makes me vaguely uncomfortable. Maybe I'm just a dinosaur, but the idea of my files not being on my computer makes me uncomfortable. Sharon pointed out some definite advantages to this scheme. Notably, with access to my ID and password, I can log into my cloud account on another computer elsewhere. There can be very useful. And storing things on the cloud can certainly make things safer than if I just keep backups on a thumb drive in my desk drawer. And yet...and yet...it still doesn't feel right.

I suspect that what I'll do is go to the cloud storage scheme as Sharon recommends, but periodically back up the cloud stuff on my hard-drive.

If anyone who sees this is tech-savvy and has thoughts on the matter, I'd be curious about what you think.

i shoulda backed up

Let's be clear. Losing your data sucks.

My hard drive died this week. No, I hadn't been backing things up.

I literally cannot recall everything that I had that's now lost and has to be recreated as best as possible. But here's a partial list (not in any particular order):

• Medical records from the last several years
• Brokerage account records
• A list of accounts with various vendors, services and institutions, complete with passwords (encoded so that only I can interpret them)
• A list of movies that Ethan and I have seen in our weekly film class
• A draft of a newsletter for LIDS
• The membership list for the Jamaica Estates Association
• All the music I spent endless hours ripping from my CD collection.

A lot of the info (not the music files, mind you) are on paper. But, damn, who wants to go through all that paper?

I won't bore with the blow by blow of "well, I was working and then the blue screen came up, so..." Suffice to say it wasn't fun. Yeah... backups from now on.

to stream my music -- please help me

Actually, this post is a plea for help from my more technical-minded friends.

Short version:
How do I upload my music collection to the cloud so that I can stream it on my phone (or a computer, I suppose) when I am not at home.

Long version:
I love listening to music, but I'm generally not into listening to music on the radio. I much prefer listening to my music. From my collection. It seems like a contradiction, but I've been this way since high school, which is when I first got into music. At the time I started making mix tapes. And I made more mix tapes. Then more. And as the technology has changed, I've changed with it. Well, I've changed behind it, but you get the picture. At this point, I've been ripping my CD collection onto a computer, so that when I'm at home I can listen to it on shuffle play. It becomes my ultimate mix tape. With tens of thousands of songs.

And on days when I work from home, I pretty much spend the whole time having music playing in the background. I turn it off for meetings, of course, but other than that, it's on.

I had tried to get the music from my computer onto my phone. But space limitations on my phone forced me to start trying to decide what to put on it, and it became a big hassle. So I kind of dropped the idea -- until someone suggested I use Google Play Music (or whatever its name is) to upload my music to the cloud. Then, he said, I'd be able to log into my account on any web-enabled device, and stream music from my collection. But for some reason I couldn't get it done. I found it cumbersome, in Google Play Music to find the page to upload my music, and when I did my computer wouldn't allow it. Maybe that was ESet, which is my anti-malware protection?

Now, I know there are lots of ways of listening to music online that don't involve it being my collection. There are radio stations that stream, and there are services that will customize the music around my taste. I kind of enjoyed Pandora for a while. But none of these solutions feel as satisfying to me as listening to my music. streaming randomly.

So, can anyone recommend a service that will allow me to make an account, upload my music to the web, and then stream it through their website or an app on my phone? I don't care if there are ads, but I want the service to be free. And easy to use. Any thoughts?

apple will never be my platform of choice

Reason number 4,785,678 that apple will never be my primary platform.

Before I begin, let me acknowledge that there's a whole lot to like about the iPad. Garage Band is a great program for playing with music. Asher loves the games available --apparently they're much better than the games available on an Android tablet. And the big screen is great. Also, Apple is really good with product design. Their devices have a great intuitive feel. I used to have an iPod, and it was remarkably easy for me to get the hang of it.

But they are terrible at customer service.

My iPad had a broken screen. Blair took it to the Apple Store in the Queens Center Mall, since we have their warranty. ApplePlus, I think they call it. The screen is shattered. The first guy she spoke to said he didn't see any problem. After she recovered from that, she was told it would be a two-hour wait for service. She didn;t have two hours to spare.

A few days later we went to the Apple Store in Grand Central. This time they didn't deny the existence of a problem, and the wait was only a half hour. Better. So we waited and eventually spoke to someone who processed the order of a replacement. It was a bit frustrating that we'd have to come back, but I guess I can't really be annoyed about that.

A few days later we came to pick up the replacement. The first person told me to go over "there" (she did gesture to indicate where "there" was) and tell her boss I was there for a pickup. So I went "there." Eventually the boss asked if I was there for a pickup. I said yes. She acknowledged that, and told me she'd help me in a minute. She then disappeared and never returned. Eventually Blair spoke to a different greeter who gave her different instructions. "Go there, tell that man with the iPad you're here for a warranty replacement."

OK...Why the different instructions? He explained that the first greeter probably misunderstood us. OK. I'll buy that. But why did the boss say she'll help us in a minute and then disappear? And I note that that had happened without anyone taking our name. At an Apple Store, standing there without having had your name taken is a sure way to get ignored.

I went off to be one step closer to my iPad, while Blair stayed to complain about the treatment we had received.

"I'm sorry," the guy told her.

"And what's that worth?" she asked.

He was puzzled. Didn't know what she meant.

"You said you're sorry. Monetize it." Waive the fee for replacing the iPad."

"I can't do that."

"Then what's your sorrow worth?"

"I'm giving you my time."

She pointed out that giving her his time was his job, and went to find me, waiting where I was told so that eventually the Apple Gods would fulfill their promise.

Anyway, I eventually got my replacement iPad.

All's well that ends well? I guess, but the whole experience leaves me with a bad taste in my mouth. I've had to deal with Apple stores before, and it's always an unpleasant experience. The people don't seem to care, and they treat the customers like cattle. "Go here." "Wait there." And it seems like it's a lot of waiting to move from one place to another to wait some more. In many ways it's like the worst satire of the DMV.

Now, I get that there are things to like about Apple. As I said above, their products are well-designed. I used to have an iPod and found it to be very intuitively easy to use. But that doesn;t make up for the company treating me like shit. I'll stick to Android and Windows.

lpt: how to thwart the windows 10 upgrade

I admit that I don't really understand all the hoo-hah over Windows 10. What I mean is, I don't know what issues there are with it and why a lot of people don't like it.

What I do know is that Microsoft keeps trying to get (one might even say force) everyone to upgrade, Many people don't like that -- though it's unclear to me whether that's because Windows 10 actually sucks, because a lot of computers still being used aren't capable of running it efficiently, or because people just don't like being told what to do.

At any rate, all of our computers are running either Windows 7 or 8. I like 7, and have fortunately never been forced to try 8, which seems to be a more-radical change than a lot of the others have been. I probably won't switch until my work computers (i.e., the ones my employer provides, and which I actually use for my job) are replaced. No one in the house wants to upgrade, but the computers keep trying.

Fortunately, I have found a reasonably simple way to thwart the upgrades. I've done this twice. In both instances the computers began the upgrade process without human permission (though in one case I think the computer had feline permission -- another story). I don't shut off or unplug the computer. I don't throw bricks at it. I let it go through the process, and wait for the Terms of Service window to pop up. Then I simply decline. Another window, this one slightly more pleading, pops up. When I still decline, the computer reverts to the prior version of Windows.

Disclaimer: This worked for me. Don't blame me if it doesn't work for you. Also, if at some point Microsoft ends support for older versions and starts charging for the upgrade, don't get angry at me. Finally, if you get and upset stomach, it's not my fault.