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Windows 7: an experiment

Published March 7, 2009 | By Shawn

This is a full-on techie/nerd blog post so if you’re neither a techie or nerd, please watch the funny video below. Techie/nerd readers, watch the funny video then read on.

I was chatting with my friend Matt the other day about backup services like Mozy versus file sync services like Syncplicity, Sugarsync and Zumodrive.

We were also talking about Windows 7 and I mentioned I’d use the beta as my full time OS but I knew it expired in August. He flippantly said, “keep all your stuff in the cloud via sync.”

I nodded and we moved on with our conversation.

Then, last night, I logged into Windows 7 (I’m currently dual booting Vista and Win7) and was again amazed at just how awesome Win7 is.

So I’m going to do what Matt suggested. Consider it an experiment.

I’m going to keep everything in the cloud.

I have to make sure all of my files are where they need to be to ensure they’re getting synced (I currently use Syncplicity) before I wipe my PC and install Windows 7 but I rarely access the My Documents folder on my PC (I don’t even have Office installed). I use Google Docs 99% of the time.

I keep all my email in Gmail and sync my favorites and passwords with Xmarks.

You might be asking, “why,” and I’ll tell you. The idea is, once I wipe my hard drive and install Windows 7, other than setting up some drivers, I’ll be ready to go in short order. Then, in August, when the Windows 7 beta expires, my “downtime” should be minimal.

Whether I reinstall Vista or install a new release of Windows 7, all of my stuff will be in the cloud and I’ll be back up and running in little to no time.

It’s an experiment. We’ll see how it goes.

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  • http://intensedebate.com/people/Pastor_T Pastor_T

    Yep, I should have stopped at the video =). I use xmarks though. Good stuff!

  • http://intensedebate.com/people/JustinHart Justin Hart

    I'm looking forward to seeing how the experiment goes, I'm moving more and more stuff to the "cloud" as I move more and more between different computers. Windows 7 is going to be a hit if the final release is anything like the betas.

  • http://www.crucialencounter.com Andy McMahon

    I wanna see how it goes. I'm kind of in this jumbled mess of cloud/hard drive. To top it off i have a thumb drive I use too. It's all jacked up. I've been thinking about keeping everything on the cloud, but the idea of remembering every single password is annoying. And to top it off, programs that remember passwords are JUST as annoying.. popping up and all that jazz..

    I like this post. I'd like to see more like it… like… HOW you use evernote! :)

    Keep us posted on how this goes. Later man.

  • Jon

    Backups = Robocopy + Hard drive, no cloud necessary, no fancy programs, no fancy logins, 100% customization, 100% speed.

    • http://intensedebate.com/people/shawnw Shawn Wallace

      See, that's kind of the thing. I'd like my important files to be available on both my laptop and desktop PC which is why the cloud works best for me. I have, however, installed a USB SeaGate 320GB drive for backups, just to have something local. I used that to back my stuff up before installing Win7 on my desktop (which I did a couple weekends ago).

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