Quote: Aaron @ May 13 2008, 4:42 PM BSTMore to the point, have you actually PAID for FCP?
Not yet but have a FCP kitty and I'll get it on a discount seeing as I teach.
I ALWAYS buy my own software so if/when it cuffs up I will be smug in the knowledge that I can bark with confidence. 
I daren't even ask how old the kitty is!
Quote: oldcowgrazing @ May 13 2008, 4:37 PM BSTAnyway I've learned my lesson well so I'm going to invest in a LaCie Big Disk Extreme with Triple Interface. Need it before I get Final Cut installed.
1TB of uninterrupted editing fun. Yay me!
House burns down, hard disk melts.
Dan
Quote: billwill @ May 13 2008, 4:13 PM BSTApple Macs are no less likely to fail miserably than Windows PCs. If 'your' recovery strategy is "I always use a Mac, so don't need to backup" you are in for an aweful shock one day.
That's pretty close to my strategy and my G4 is still kicking strong after 8 years. I was a graphic designer for most of that time, filling up my hard drive with big ass files after big ass files and still to date...no crash, no virus. The worst problem that happened to me was during a power outage I couldn't turn on my computer anymore. I called Apple and they told me to open my mac and press a small button then turn it on. It worked...it was a built in surge protector.
You buy good, and the product will treat you good.
I can't wait to buy a Mac Tower Pro!!! It will be my first purchase when I start teaching next year. 
Nothing I bash harddrives and laptops all the time, and sometimes they break but hey thats life.
Quote: Curt @ May 13 2008, 6:42 PM BSTThat's pretty close to my strategy and my G4 is still kicking strong after 8 years. I was a graphic designer for most of that time, filling up my hard drive with big ass files after big ass files and still to date...no crash, no virus. The worst problem that happened to me was during a power outage I couldn't turn on my computer anymore. I called Apple and they told me to open my mac and press a small button then turn it on. It worked...it was a built in surge protector.
You buy good, and the product will treat you good.
I can't wait to buy a Mac Tower Pro!!! It will be my first purchase when I start teaching next year.
It seems that you do not think your stuff is of any significant value.
I backup my stuff on an external hard-disk, quite cheap and you can get a programme to sync it up daily. Great when I had to change laptops.
Oooh what's that ContainsNuts?
The program is called SyncBack although if you have Vista it has its own program as well as its own shitload of issues. 
Try SyncToy. Free from Microsoft.
Windows BRIEFCASE has these sync facilities & has been in Windows since around Windows 3.0 (I think).
But Not A lot Of People Know About It.
Was Briefcase not removed, as of XP? Or moved into only the Pro version or something? Very, very long time since I used it anyway.
Either way, SyncToy is bloody easy to use, and designed specifically for backing up, rather than as a productivity tool which could also be utilised for backup purposes.
I have made a decision.
I'm going to purr - chase a new lap top and keep the old one (With the new/second hand) hard drive that I'm getting fitted by that nice man Maliq as a back up.
That way i can back everything up onto it, problem solved. Isn't it? 
Erm. Well it's better than nothing.
Quote: Aaron @ May 14 2008, 1:12 AM BSTWas Briefcase not removed, as of XP? Or moved into only the Pro version or something? Very, very long time since I used it anyway.
Either way, SyncToy is bloody easy to use, and designed specifically for backing up, rather than as a productivity tool which could also be utilised for backup purposes.
Nah, briefcase is there in XP Home.