{"id":6011,"date":"2022-03-07T08:27:42","date_gmt":"2022-03-07T13:27:42","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/langa.com\/?p=6011"},"modified":"2022-03-07T08:27:43","modified_gmt":"2022-03-07T13:27:43","slug":"do-external-hard-drives-make-sense-in-the-cloud-storage-era","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/langa.com\/index.php\/2022\/03\/07\/do-external-hard-drives-make-sense-in-the-cloud-storage-era\/","title":{"rendered":"Do external hard drives make sense in the cloud-storage era?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>With effectively infinite storage available online (such as the Google data center, pictured above), is there any point to storing files and backups locally, on external hard drives? A subscriber\u2019s question prompts today\u2019s first item.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The second item looks at a PC electrical glitch. A subscriber has a battery-backed uninterruptible power supply and an emergency generator. Trouble is, they won\u2019t work with each other! Here\u2019s what\u2019s probably going on, and how to correct it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Last, you\u2019ll see ways to connect to an unknown, potentially compromised, public USB charging port \u2014\u00a0<em>without<\/em>\u00a0risking your device\u2019s data!<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><em>Read the full story in the\u00a0<\/em><a href=\"https:\/\/www.askwoody.com\/newsletter\/look-whos-stalking-2-apple-responds-to-airtag-security-threats\/#langalist\"><strong>AskWoody\u00a0Plus\u00a0Newsletter 19.10.0<\/strong><\/a><em>\u00a0(2022-03-07).<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Also in this issue:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li>PUBLIC DEFENDER:\u2003Look who\u2019s stalking 2: Apple responds to <strong>AirTag security threats<\/strong><\/li><li>LINUX:\u2003<strong>Linux malware<\/strong> is on the rise. What should you do?<\/li><li>PATCH WATCH:\u2003Understanding the <strong>&#8220;zero days<\/strong>&#8220;<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>Click here for the&nbsp;<strong><a href=\"https:\/\/cdn.forms-content.sg-form.com\/fadcab1b-6abe-11ea-9648-2a7e788be8da\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Askwoody Free<\/a><\/strong>&nbsp;signup; 100% free!<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Click here for the&nbsp;<a rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" href=\"https:\/\/www.askwoody.com\/plus-membership\/\" target=\"_blank\"><strong>AskWoody Plus<\/strong><\/a>&nbsp;signup; no set price \u2014 pay what you think it\u2019s worth!<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\"><figure class=\"aligncenter size-large\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.askwoody.com\/newsletter\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"110\" height=\"110\" data-attachment-id=\"5013\" data-permalink=\"https:\/\/langa.com\/index.php\/2020\/05\/18\/a-leave-no-trace-way-to-start-pcs\/langa-2-100\/\" data-orig-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/langa.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/Langa-2-100.png?fit=110%2C110&amp;ssl=1\" data-orig-size=\"110,110\" data-comments-opened=\"1\" data-image-meta=\"{&quot;aperture&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;credit&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;camera&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;caption&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;created_timestamp&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;copyright&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;focal_length&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;iso&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;shutter_speed&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;orientation&quot;:&quot;0&quot;}\" data-image-title=\"Langa-2-100\" data-image-description=\"\" data-image-caption=\"\" data-large-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/langa.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/Langa-2-100.png?fit=110%2C110&amp;ssl=1\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/langa.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/Langa-2-100.png?resize=110%2C110\" alt=\"Fred Langa\" class=\"wp-image-5013\"\/><\/a><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-align-right has-small-font-size\"><strong><em>Permalink: <\/em><\/strong><em><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/langa.com\/?p=5521 \">https:\/\/langa.com\/?p=5766<\/a><\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\"><figure class=\"aligncenter\"><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"104\" height=\"6\" data-attachment-id=\"1999\" data-permalink=\"https:\/\/langa.com\/index.php\/2019\/02\/10\/around-boston-the-nearly-snowless-winter-continues\/seperator-short-grey\/\" data-orig-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/langa.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/SEPERATOR-short-grey.png?fit=104%2C6&amp;ssl=1\" data-orig-size=\"104,6\" data-comments-opened=\"1\" data-image-meta=\"{&quot;aperture&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;credit&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;camera&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;caption&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;created_timestamp&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;copyright&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;focal_length&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;iso&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;shutter_speed&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;orientation&quot;:&quot;0&quot;}\" data-image-title=\"SEPERATOR short grey\" data-image-description=\"\" data-image-caption=\"\" data-large-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/langa.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/SEPERATOR-short-grey.png?fit=104%2C6&amp;ssl=1\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/langa.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/SEPERATOR-short-grey.png?resize=104%2C6\" alt=\"[seperator]\" class=\"wp-image-1999\"\/><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p style=\"text-align:left\"><strong>COMMENT \/ QUESTION<\/strong>  on <strong>THIS ITEM?<\/strong> <em>See the<\/em> <strong>Comment box<\/strong> <em>at bottom of this page!<\/em><br><b><em><br><\/em>NEW QUESTION? <\/b><em>Ask<\/em><b> <u><font color=\"#000117\"><a rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" href=\"https:\/\/langa.com\/index.php\/contact\/\" target=\"_blank\">here<\/a><\/font><\/u><\/b>!<br><br>(<em>Want free notification of new content? Click<\/em><b><strong> <\/strong><a rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" href=\"https:\/\/langa.com\/index.php\/2018\/09\/09\/get-free-automatic-notification-of-new-content\/\" target=\"_blank\">here<\/a><\/b>!)<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>With effectively infinite storage available online (such as the Google data center, pictured above), is there any point to storing files and backups locally, on external hard drives? A subscriber\u2019s question prompts today\u2019s first item. The second item looks at a PC electrical glitch. A subscriber has a battery-backed uninterruptible power supply and an emergency&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":6012,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[29,4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-6011","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-askwoody-plus","category-langa-com-news"],"aioseo_notices":[],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/langa.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/NL-2022-03-07-Langa_Fig1-e1646659422287.jpg?fit=400%2C267&ssl=1","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/paaiox-1yX","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":5160,"url":"https:\/\/langa.com\/index.php\/2020\/06\/08\/is-windows-readyboost-worthwhile-in-win10\/","url_meta":{"origin":6011,"position":0},"title":"Is Windows&#8217; &#8216;ReadyBoost&#8217; worthwhile in Win10?","author":"Fred Langa","date":"2020-06-08","format":false,"excerpt":"ReadyBoost\u00a0is a storage technology available in Windows 10 that lets you enhance PC performance by using ordinary USB flash drives as fast disk caches. Debuting in Vista, ReadyBoost was once cutting-edge technology. But does it still make sense with today's PCs? That's the main topic of my column in this\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;AskWoody Plus&quot;","block_context":{"text":"AskWoody Plus","link":"https:\/\/langa.com\/index.php\/category\/askwoody-plus\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/langa.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/06\/readyboost.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":3566,"url":"https:\/\/langa.com\/index.php\/2019\/10\/07\/october-7-newsletter-now-available\/","url_meta":{"origin":6011,"position":1},"title":"October 7 Newsletter now available","author":"Fred Langa","date":"2019-10-07","format":false,"excerpt":"The newest AskWoody Plus newsletter has been emailed to members, and is now posted on the AskWoody site, where members can read it anytime. In this issue: WOODY\u2019S WINDOWS WATCH:\u00a0Shedding light on September\u2019s out-of-band Windows patchesPATCH WATCH:\u00a0Finally! We have a true out-of-band IE updateBEST OF THE LOUNGE:\u00a0Things that should stay\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;AskWoody Plus&quot;","block_context":{"text":"AskWoody Plus","link":"https:\/\/langa.com\/index.php\/category\/askwoody-plus\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":5521,"url":"https:\/\/langa.com\/index.php\/2020\/12\/28\/tons-of-pc-storage-but-pc-still-struggles\/","url_meta":{"origin":6011,"position":2},"title":"Tons of storage, but PC still struggles","author":"Fred Langa","date":"2020-12-28","format":false,"excerpt":"The final LangaList for 2020 takes a look at a subscriber\u2019s PC with a strikingly unusual configuration. It\u2019s a high-capacity machine, but the owner reports slow boots and RAM use that\u00a0never\u00a0drops below about 17 percent \u2014 even at idle! Click! Also in this issue: CHANGES:\u00a0Signing off from AskWoodyBEST OF THE\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;AskWoody Plus&quot;","block_context":{"text":"AskWoody Plus","link":"https:\/\/langa.com\/index.php\/category\/askwoody-plus\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/langa.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/11\/pc-frustration.jpg?fit=799%2C599&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/langa.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/11\/pc-frustration.jpg?fit=799%2C599&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/langa.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/11\/pc-frustration.jpg?fit=799%2C599&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/langa.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/11\/pc-frustration.jpg?fit=799%2C599&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":4865,"url":"https:\/\/langa.com\/index.php\/2020\/04\/27\/overprovisioning-your-ssd\/","url_meta":{"origin":6011,"position":3},"title":"&#8216;Overprovisioning&#8217; your SSD","author":"Fred Langa","date":"2020-04-27","format":false,"excerpt":"You may be able to extend the life and increase the speed of your SSD through overprovisioning --- reassigning some of the drive\u2019s file-storage capacity for internal use by the drive\u2019s firmware. One significant gotcha: You may have to move or resize some hard drive partitions (but there are excellent\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;AskWoody Plus&quot;","block_context":{"text":"AskWoody Plus","link":"https:\/\/langa.com\/index.php\/category\/askwoody-plus\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/langa.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/ssd-rf-e1587750895169.jpg?fit=250%2C250&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":4053,"url":"https:\/\/langa.com\/index.php\/2020\/01\/13\/jan-13-newsletter-available\/","url_meta":{"origin":6011,"position":4},"title":"Jan 13 Newsletter available","author":"Fred Langa","date":"2020-01-13","format":false,"excerpt":"New Newsletter issue available!","rel":"","context":"In &quot;AskWoody Plus&quot;","block_context":{"text":"AskWoody Plus","link":"https:\/\/langa.com\/index.php\/category\/askwoody-plus\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":5661,"url":"https:\/\/langa.com\/index.php\/2021\/04\/19\/onedrive-several-problems\/","url_meta":{"origin":6011,"position":5},"title":"OneDrive, several problems","author":"Fred Langa","date":"2021-04-19","format":false,"excerpt":"OneDrive\u2019s poor documentation and weak user interface can cause endless frustration. Some important OneDrive procedures are left unexplained; others literally cannot be accomplished from the desktop and can be done only via the Web interface \u2014 but again, with nary a word of guidance. If you previously tried OneDrive but\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;AskWoody Plus&quot;","block_context":{"text":"AskWoody Plus","link":"https:\/\/langa.com\/index.php\/category\/askwoody-plus\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Fred Langa","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/langa.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/Langa-2-100.png?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]}],"jetpack_likes_enabled":false,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/langa.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6011","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/langa.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/langa.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/langa.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/langa.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=6011"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/langa.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6011\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":6015,"href":"https:\/\/langa.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6011\/revisions\/6015"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/langa.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/6012"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/langa.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=6011"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/langa.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=6011"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/langa.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=6011"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}