It\u2019s time for another installment in the adventures of the Small Office Home Office, or SOHO, lifestyle. <\/p>\n
The first item can be called Never Do Anything Until You\u2019ve Had Your Morning Coffee. It could also be called How To Accidentally Destroy Your Own Data. Hey, take your pick. They\u2019re the same thing.<\/p>\n
I was binge-writing on a project early last Saturday. Five hours into the draft I decided to finally crank up the kettle to I could get my overdue fix of coffee. While the water heated, and while I messed with the coffee and the mug, I figured I\u2019d multi-task my way into formatting a new USB flash drive so I could back up the file I had been working on. The file resided on a USB flash drive utterly identical to the new one I intended to format and use.<\/p>\n
I think you can see this coming. <\/p>\n
So, yes. Yes, I did. I managed to format the drive with the data instead of the blank drive. Now they were both blank. <\/p>\n
I have some strange aversion to re-typing lost work. I\u2019d sooner spend 10 hours recovering a manuscript than five hours re-doing it. That 10 hours doesn\u2019t count time invested in brooding, pouting, and stomping up and down while going Full Cranky. Yeah, I know, you should never go Full Cranky, but there are some exemptions if you read the fine print in life. This is one of them.<\/p>\n
Anyway, I downloaded the free version of an application called \u201cRecuva\u201d from Piriform.com. I\u2019ve long been aware of the Recuva application, since I\u2019ve used some of Piriform\u2019s other products\u2014CCleaner and Defraggler\u2014and liked them. <\/p>\n
After installing Recuva I read the instructions. I probably didn\u2019t understand them; after all, it was just one of those days to begin with. Anyway, nothing good came from that attempt. Bah!<\/p>\n
The second time around I did not read the instructions. This, of course, was an approach better suited to my habits. The program slowly ground through its process, and, to my astonishment, it found and recovered the file. <\/p>\n
Hooray, Recuva! <\/p>\n
As a technological postscript to that event, I\u2019ll note that when I accidentally formatted the wrong drive I did a \u201cquick format,\u201d which was a fairly non-destructive treatment of the data. <\/p>\n
Another note on the SOHO front is The Price Of Laser Printer Cartridges Is Too Darned High. <\/p>\n
I finally decided to try a non-factory brand. The first one went well, so after I ran through that one I tried a second one. It was flawless as well. After the second came the third. I don\u2019t have many miles on the third one yet, but it\u2019s doing a fine job, and by this point I\u2019ve seen enough to buy into the concept. <\/p>\n
The brand I bought all three times is \u201cLinkyo.\u201d The money I saved so far would buy an entire laser printer. <\/p>\n
One thing about the \u201cpaperless\u201d computer-based workspace is that it sure goes through a lot of printers, toner cartridges, and, oh yeah, paper, too. <\/p>\n
Meanwhile, I continue to merrily chug along with a user-friendly word-processor called \u201cAbiWord,\u201d which is simply too good not to mention from time to time. Given the tight budgets on Saipan, I don\u2019t know why this isn\u2019t more popular. It\u2019s free. <\/p>\n
Better yet, it\u2019s simple and not obnoxious. I use it with Windows. I know it runs on Linux. I\u2019m not really clear on its status with Macs. <\/p>\n
I harbor no hopes that anyone remembers WordStar for DOS, but AbiWord filled the hole in my heart that WordStar\u2019s demise made, and that was a mighty big hole. <\/p>\n
AbiWord\u2019s website is AbiSource.com. You don\u2019t even have to install it on your computer, it can be run in \u201cportable\u201d format from a USB flash drive, unless, that is, you, uh, wipe out the drive by reformatting it, but let\u2019s not go there again. The portable version is available at PortableApps.com, a site that has all sorts of free stuff that can be run from a USB flash drive. <\/p>\n
Portable applications are great. If a typhoon is menacing you, you don\u2019t have to carry your entire computer to the top of Mt. Tapochau to keep your digital life out of the water. You can just put the USB flash drive in your pocket and you\u2019re ready to calmly ride things out, beer in hand. <\/p>\n
Furthermore, in contrast to commercial bloatware, many portable applications seem to work very well with older computers, so this is a great way to keep the old machines productive. <\/p>\n
Well, I\u2019m feeling like something of an old machine myself these days, and probably none too productive, but such are my notes on the SOHO front. Tomorrow is another day, and we\u2019ll see what adventures await. But first, coffee. <\/p>\n
I\u2019m not skipping that step again. Some adventures aren\u2019t worth repeating. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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