Hasta La Ideas

World Backup Day was yesterday, and the day’s motto is: “Don’t be an April Fool. Be prepared. Back up your files on March 31.”

This is good advice, but, of course, you should back up your files all year round, not just on March 31. Hard drives fail. Computers (and smartphones and tablets) get stolen. Phones get dropped into water and become unusable.

If I lost everything on my computer, I’d be awfully unhappy about that. My computer has precious photos, lots of contact information, my calendar, a monstrous collection of website bookmarks, lots of documents I’ve scanned and shredded, etc. But I’m not worried about losing these valuable items, because I’m protected.

The following is what I do for backup, just to give you some ideas about how you might want to backup your digital life.

Incidental backups

My contacts and calendar are synched to my smartphone and tablet, so I have a backup of sorts there. I have some photos on Flickr, but these are just a select few I’ve chosen to share publicly. I also have some files in Dropbox, so I can access them from everywhere. While these are all fine duplications, I also wanted some true backup solutions.

Backups to hard drives

I have a MacBook, and I use SuperDuper to create a bootable hard drive with all my files. This is a Mac-only solution, and for Mac users I think it’s terrific. I’ve restored my entire computer from a SuperDuper backup, when Apple needed to replace a bad hard drive, and everything went just fine. There are plenty of other backup programs for both the Mac and the PC, but I don’t know if they provide quite the same functionality. If you’re a PC user, please leave a comment about your favorite SuperDuper equivalent.

I use LaCie rugged hard discs (with a Firewire connection) for my backups, and I’ve been happy with them, but there are certainly many other choices. I like the LaCie products because I often carry a hard drive in my purse, and so I appreciate the external protection built into these hard drives. It’s also one of the drives tested for compatibility with SuperDuper. I rotate through three different drives, so if one of these fails, I’m still protected.

Why carry one in my purse? It’s a form of off-site backup, and it’s easier to put one in my purse than to take one over to my safe deposit box. If my house were robbed, or if there were a fire, I wouldn’t want to lose both my computer and my back-up. (Yes, I know this may be a bit over the top.)

Backup to the cloud

I also wanted automated, all-the-time backups — and I believe in what organizer Margaret Lukens calls the “belt and suspenders” approach of having multiple types of backups, so you know you’re covered.

My choice for cloud backups is CrashPlan, but, again, there are many such services to choose from. I picked CrashPlan because people I knew used it and successfully restored files when they needed to, and they were very happy with the service.

CrashPlan and other cloud backups are great in that they run continually, and they provide off-site storage. But, if I needed to restore a computer drive quickly, my cloud backup wouldn’t be nearly as useful as my SuperDuper backup.

What about you? If you’re not doing backups, I highly recommend you start — you don’t want to be an April Fool and lose your valuable data. If you are backing up your data, I’d be interested in hearing your backup strategy in the comments.

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They say happiness doubles when shared. I have often seen friends or lovers listening to music tracks by sharing one earphone bud each. Such a sharing considerably reduces the quality of the music experience. Well, not with the ‘Easy Share’ earphones on. The earphone’s jack doubles up as an extender, providing more audio outlets. Be it a park or a commute, this set of earphones lets you share your favorite tunes or videos with your dear ones with out a hassle. Let the world around blur away while music connects the souls.

Designers: Daishao Yun, Zhang Shuo, Liang Yakun & Liupei Pei

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Yanko Design
Timeless Designs – Explore wonderful concepts from around the world!
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(Share Your Vibes was originally posted on Yanko Design)

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3. Come Share My Music

Le concours National Geographic Traveler 2014 a officiellement débuté. Les catégories sont : « Travel Portraits”, “Outdoor Scenes”, “Sense of Place” et “Spontaneous Moments”. Pour cette 26ème édition, les soumissions s’arrêteront le 30 Juin. En attendant les résultats, voici un échantillon de photos en compétition.

By Sergey Pavlov.

By Sergey Pavlov.

By Anan Gunduz.

By Sebastien Guerrieri.

By Enric Adrian Gener.

By Cesareo Pastor Quesada.

By Graham McGeorge.

By Henrique Fanti.

By Hideyuki Katagiri.

By James Kobacker.

By Kathryn Schipper.

By Marcelo Castro.

By Marcelo Castro.

By Marcelo Castro.

By Nicholas Roemmelt.

By Sam Morris.

By Sausse David.

By Sebastian Warneke.

These are the smiley face screws created by Studio Yumakano and the Komuro Manufacturing Company in..(Read…)

London studio Haptic references eroded granite rock formations commonly found around the Norwegian coastline with the curving form of this layered timber staircase, created for an office interior in Oslo.

Strategy and corporate finance firm Arkwright asked Haptic to design the interior of its new offices, which are located in a converted harbour warehouse in Oslo’s Aker Brygge area.

Upon entering the offices on the upper floor, staff and visitors are confronted with a monolithic reception desk made from stained black timber slats.

Behind the desk, the wooden strips become more spaced out, creating curving walls that surround a back office and transition into the wall behind the staircase.

“The design is inspired by svabergs – large granite stone formations that are typical for the area – rounded and polished by icebergs thousands of years ago,” the architects described.

The staircase descends to a lounge area and incorporates widened treads that offer spaces for casual seating.

Furniture scattered around this space includes tables with organically shaped surfaces and sofas with layered backrests that echo the form of the stairs.

Skylights and an original arched window overlooking the harbour fill the white-walled lounge with natural light.

Haptic created a variety of different environments for working and relaxing throughout the offices, including a James Bond-themed executive lounge.

Located in a windowless space in the middle of the lower level, the room features wood-panelled walls and leather furniture intended to create an intimate and sophisticated feel.

A bookcase built into one of the walls is also a secret door that pivots to connect the room with the corridor outside.

Televisions built into two of the walls can be viewed from the sofa in the lounge space or from a long conference table, while one of the other walls contains a bar and fridge.

Photography is by Inger Marie Grini.

The following details were provided by Haptic:

Arkwright offices, Oslo

Arkwright is a European consultancy that specialise in strategic advice. A new office space has been created for 40-50 employees, including workspaces, reception and back office, kitchen canteen, meeting rooms, breakout space and a “James Bond” room. The office is located in the prime harbour front location of Aker Brygge in Oslo, Norway, in an old converted warehouse building with a large arched window as its centrepiece.

The office is entered on the top floor. A new reception “sculpture” incorporates back offices, reception desk and a large stair/amphitheatre that straddles a double height space. The design is inspired by “svabergs”, large granite stone formations that are typical for the area, rounded and polished by icebergs thousands of years ago.

Special effort has been made to create a variety of spaces within the offices, incorporating green walls, double height spaces, and a special “James Bond” room.

The “James Bond” room is a windowless bunker-like space, sitting deep in the building – a difficult space to work with. This seemingly unpromising space has been transformed into an executive lounge for quiet contemplation, creating a private, intimate and calming atmosphere.

Project: Arkwright – Aker Brygge, Oslo
Typology: Office Fit out
Client: Arkwright/NPRO
Year of Construction: 2013-2014
Architect: Haptic Architects
Team: Nikki Butenschøn, Anthony Williams

The post Arkwright office by Haptic features slatted
staircase emulating rock formations appeared first on Dezeen.