this came in from Michael Parekh, who is a friend and was the Internet analyst and a partner at Goldman Sachs. it is an excerpt from his blog on real time data back up software, which one is wise to have given the instability of electonics devices, MS operating systems, and lfie in general

mark
to buy now

http://www.ntius.com/default.asp

BACKUP ALREADY

Doing file backups is a chore almost as tedious as flossing…you know you better do it for the long-term, but it’s such a hassle every time. Both the Washington Post and PC Magazine give thumbs up to a software program called NTI Shadow 2, that sounds like it may ease the hassle part.

The Post review explains:

“Shadow 2 ($30) from NewTech Infosystems Inc., or NTI ( http://www.ntius.com/) can also copy selected directories of your PC as soon as they are created, functionally mirroring them onto an external device such as a hard drive, USB key or even an MP3 player like the iPod. Conventional backup software copies data only once a day or once a week, so the backup is rarely up to date with newer, and often the most essential, files.

Shadow 2 also makes it easier to restore your data. Other backup programs store layers of incremental backups in a proprietary format that only they can unlock and recreate. Shadow 2 preserves data in the original format, simplifying and speeding the process of copying your data back.”

PC Magazine has a similar take:

“Shadow is a “continuous” backup tool: Unlike its traditional counterparts, it backs up your data on the fly, so you needn’t hassle with scheduling hourly or daily backups. Each time you save a file to your hard drive, Shadow creates a second copy. It’s that simple. Continuous backup is a bigger drain on system performance than traditional tools, which is one knock against the method, but judging from our experience at PC Magazine Labs, Shadow’s performance hit is negligible. The app is unobtrusive and extremely fast.
For me, working with multiple PCs in several locations as I do, the ability of the backup software to be “network smart” is a very appealing feature. It\’s something that needs to be incorporated into almost every kind of consumer application.

\n\nApparently, the company is running a promotion whereby, according to PC Magazine,

“It may be the perfect backup tool. And from now until the end of the\nyear, you can download it for 99 cents. NTI Shadow 2.0 is a wonderfully\neffective and easy-to-use backup program for both home and business\nusers. It\’s well worth the $29.99 you\’ll usually pay, but if you get to\nthe company\’s site by December 31, you\’ll save 29 bucks.”

On the surface, this piece of “pedestrian” software may be as “cool” in it\’s network functionality as Foldershare, which was recently bought by Microsoft, and a long-time favorite of mine.

\n\nI\’ve just downloaded Shadow 2, and will try it over the next few days…more to follow.
\n\r\n\r\n

Once the utility is up and running, you can create any number of backup jobs. With each, you specify the system folders you’d like to include and where you’d like to store the copies. If your machine is on a network, you can easily store copies on a networked drive. If not, you can simply attach an external device (such as a hard drive or USB flash drive) and specify that as the destination.”
For me, working with multiple PCs in several locations as I do, the ability of the backup software to be “network smart” is a very appealing feature. It’s something that needs to be incorporated into almost every kind of consumer application.

Apparently, the company is running a promotion whereby, according to PC Magazine,

“It may be the perfect backup tool. And from now until the end of the year, you can download it for 99 cents. NTI Shadow 2.0 is a wonderfully effective and easy-to-use backup program for both home and business users. It’s well worth the $29.99 you’ll usually pay, but if you get to the company’s site by December 31, you’ll save 29 bucks.”

On the surface, this piece of “pedestrian” software may be as “cool” in it’s network functionality as Foldershare, which was recently bought by Microsoft, and a long-time favorite of mine.

IVR Cheat Sheet to Find a Human

Here are the secret numbers and tips to bypass IVR phone menus to get to a human. Do you know a new cheat? Suggest it here. See also more information.

finance	phone	steps to find a human
American Express	800-528-4800	0
ATT Universal	800-950-5114	###
Bank of America	800-900-9000	1 loan; 2 account; 3 investing; 4 info; or 00 to human
Bank One	877-226-5663	0,0
Capital One Visa	800-867-0904	ignore prompts and invalid entry warnings; press #0 four times
Charles Schwab	800-435-9050	3 then 0
Chase	800-CHASE24	5 pause 1 4
CitiBank	800-374-9700	1 online support; 2 billpay; 3 non-online; 4 credit card; or 0 to human
Discover	800-347-2683	****
E-Trade	800-387-2331	####
Fidelity	800-544-6666	ignore prompt for social security number, just enter ###
MasterCard	800-MC-ASSIST	000 on each menu
MBNA	800-421-2110	00# when menu starts
Paypal	650 864-8000	cf http://paypalsucks.com/PayPalPhoneNumbers.shtml
Sovereign Bank	800-SOV-BANK	1 english; 1 personal; 3 then social#; passcode, #; then 0 (1-3x)
Sun Trust Banks	404-588-7815	Yes
US Bank	800-US BANKS	0000
Visa	800-847-2911	000 (ignore prompts saying that it’s an invalid entry)
Wachovia	800-922-4684	accounts personal banking
Washington Mutual	800-756-8000	At any time after the announcement(s) press 0,0.
Wells Fargo	800-869-3557	0,0,0
Western Union	800-325-6000	* then ##
government
INS	800-375-5283	After selecting English, (with a 2 second delay between) 2 6 2 4
Social Security	800-772-1213	00 will confuse computer and send you to an agent
Veterans Affairs	800-827-1000	1,0
insurance
Aetna	800-537-9384	“2, then say “”operator”" (check this)”
Aetna	800-680-3566	* then 0 anytime
AFLAC	800-99-AFLAC	***
Ameritas	800-745-1112	0,0,0
CIGNA	800-516-2898	REGARDING A BILL
Cigna	800-849-9000	##
GEICO	800-841-3000	Wait for prompt then 6, 1, 5
Humana	800-4-HUMANA	After entering insurance number and details, 0.
Medicare	800-633-4227	“After the opening prompt say “”agent”".”
Principal Life	800-247-4695	1 for english, 2, then 0 several times until it redirects you to an operator.
pharmacy
CVS	local listing	dial local store, after promt. press 6 will connect to store manager
Eckerd	800-eckerds	0 for pharmacy, 8* for manager
Rite Aid	Local Store	Press 3 to speak to the pharmacy
Walgreens	local store	0 for a pharmacy employee
products
Bose	800-444-2673	Direct to human!
Sonos	800-680-2345	1 sales; 2 support
Sony	800-222-7669	“When prompted by the automated voice system to answer ANY questions, just say “”Agent”"”
retail
Advance Auto	800-314-4243	0 when the automated message begins
Amazon.com	800-201-7575	Direct to human!
Best Buy	800-365-0292	00*
Best Buy	local store	wait for extension prompt (sometimes must 4), then ext. 2021
Circuit City	local store	0 for customer service or 218 for store manager
eBay	800-322-9266	0,0
Home Depot	800 677-0232	“When asked for account number, keep hitting “”#”". After 5 or 6 times, a human appears!”
Home Shopping Net	800-284-3100	0
Ikea	800 434-IKEA	“0000000 (hit “”0″” many times fast, if you do it once, or too slow, it will merely repeat the menu)”
K-Mart	local store	0
Kohl’s	800 5645740	After providing account info, press 0 three times
Lowes	local store	0 for customer service or #450 for commercial sales
Old Navy	800-OLD-NAVY	0
Overstock.com	800-843-2446	At the main menu, 0 three to four times to bypass the menu
QVC	800-367-9444	0
Safeway	local store	As soon as voice prompt starts type 1200 to get human
Sears	800-4-MY-HOME	Silence don’t push numbers just sit there and you will be placed at front of queue.
Target	local store	0 during greeting.
“Toys “”R”" Us”	local store	0
Wal-Mart	800-925-6278	1 for directory
shipping
DHL	800-225-5345	press 1, press 5, press 0, enter your phone number.
FedEx	888-GO-FEDEX	“At message say “”Representative”"”
UPS	800-pick-ups	0,0
USPS	800-275-8777	7-3-2-0-0 or send them some junk mail
technology
AOL	800-827-6364	0
Apple	800-275-2273	“000; if virtual rep answers, say “”operator”"”
Compaq	800-652-6672	No easy escape
Dell	888-560-8324	2 order; 3 support; 4 purchase help; or 00 to human
Dell Service	800-624-9897	option 1, xt 7266966, option 1, option 4, option 4
Earthlink	888-earthlink	1 find a dialin number; 2 billing; 3 sales; 4 support
Epson	800-922-8911	yes
Gateway	800-846-2301	00#
HP	800-474-6836	“Say “”agent”".”
HP	888-560-8324	00
IBM	800-IBM-4YOU	You go into a hold queue immediately
Microsoft	800-936-5700	Always 0. This is true for just about any MS number.
QuickBooks	888-729-1996	1 purchase; 2 billing; 3 registration; 4 tech support or 0 to human
Symantec	800-441-7234	00
telco
AT&T	800-222-0300	#### then 1 if for current phone, else 2 to enter other, else 3
AT&T Wireless	800-888-7600	No easy escape
BellSouth	877-678-2355	*0
Cellular One	888-910-9191	“4, say “”agent”", then #”
Cingular	800-331-0500	For faster service, the option that you are looking to close your account, You get the same ppl but an immediate answer
Nextel	800-639-6111	0 five times
SBC	800-585-7928	Again, an (intelligent, this time) IVR wants YOUR phone number first.
Sprint PCS	888-788-5001	“If live person does not answer, 00, then say “”agent”"”
T-Mobile	800-TMOBILE	“Say “”representative”" at any time.”
Verizon DSL	800 567 6789	“Say “”I don’t know it”" then “”technician”"”
Verizon Wireless	800-922-0204	#00 or enter phone # then 0 then 4
travel
American Airlines	800-433-7300	“00, then say “”agent”"”
Amtrak	800-872-7245	“0 or say “”agent”"”
Delta	800-221-1212	“say “”agent”" four times – every time it asks for a response from you”
jetBlue	800 JET-BLUE	1 flight status; 2 reservations; 3 vacation packages
Kayak.com	203 899-3120	0
Northwest	800-225-2525	Star, 0,0 after initial greeting
Southwest	800-435-9792	Calls answered by operator; during busy times you might have to hold
United	800-864-8331	Do nothing, wait for human.
US Airways	800-428-4322	4, wait, 1
Walt Disney World	407-824-4521	Direct line to Magic Kingdom Guest Relations
tv/satellite
Comcast	800-266-2278	Customer service, but an IVR wants your number first.
Direct TV	800-347-3288	0 repeatedly
Dish Network	800-333-3474	0 during menu
Sirius	888 539-7474	0
TiVo	877-367-8486	“Say “”Live Agent”"”
Xm Radio	800-998-7900	Direct to human!