Did you know that March 31 was World Backup Day? Yeah I didn’t either. But for shits and giggles, I decided to finish writing this post which I had started late last year. Hope you enjoy…

Anyone who works with any type of data files should have a comprehensive backup plan. Which pretty much means everyone who uses a computer. As a designer who’s been working professionally for over 20 years, having a good solution that works is incredibly important. Over the years I cobbled together something that works for me, but I wanted to codify it and share it, in case it might work for you.

The Crash

Yesterday Apple announced its third-generation iPad, simply named “iPad.” Buried in MG Siegler’s excellent take on the press event is this statement:

What’s more likely — 5 years from now, your primary home computing device is a PC? Or 5 years from now, your primary home computing device is a tablet? Just two years ago, this question would have been an absolute joke. Now it’s a joke to think it will take a full five years.

In the post-PC world, tablets are becoming the new normal more and more. In just the two years since the iPad was first introduced, we’ve seen it pervasive on airplanes to entertain children, many executives in Silicon Valley walking around with them instead of lugging laptops, and even the President of the United States receiving his Presidential Daily Briefing via iPad instead of a sheet of paper.