Digital Spring Cleaning
Spring clean your digital mess MSNBC - March 9, 2011
Every once in a while I look around and am shocked by how much junk I¹ve allowed to pile up. It¹s not just the physical junk, like my outdated digital cameras. It¹s also all of the digital stuff that I just haven¹t gotten around to organizing. So, I¹m off on a digital spring cleaning binge, starting with these tips below, to try and get my life back in order. Want to take on your digital mess? Here are some tips:
Scan your documents for storage.
Get rid of all those paper receipts and other documents by investing in a scanner. One of my favorites it the NeatDesk ($399.99 on NeatCo.com), which not only scans receipts and business cards, but also extracts the key information and saves it to a file on your computer for use later.
Delete old computer files.
Get rid of all of those old programs and associated files. If any file contains personal data, you¹ll want to digitally shred it. When you delete a file, the file name is removed from the list of available files and the computer knows it can use that space to save new data.The old file data is still there, though, until it is overwritten. And the data can be retrieved with a data recovery program. To remove data from your hard drive permanently, it needs to be wiped clean - preferably overwritten multiple times with a dedicated hard-drive wiping program.
Sell or recycle your old, unused electronics.
Your old electronics items may be worth more than you think, so check out trade-in sites like BuyMyTronics.com, Gazelle.com and CExchange.com. If it turns out that your item is worthless, consult EcoSquid to find your best recycling option.
Move loyalty cards to your smart phone.
The grocery store, drugstore, baby store, coffee shop, sporting goods store‹ it seems like anywhere you shop you can pick up a loyalty card that pays back in some way. Instead of lugging them all around in your wallet or on your keychain, digitize them. If you have a smart phone, try the CardStar app (Free, Android Market, BlackBerry App World, iTunes). Otherwise the Mobeam numi key ($19.95), a key fob device that stores up to 50 membership numbers, is a good option.
Organize your digital photos.
Whether you use Google¹s Picasa, Microsoft¹s Windows Live Photo Gallery or Apple¹s iPhoto (all free), tag your photos with keywords. These programs let you apply a keyword as you import your photos. So a batch could be tagged with 'Christmas 2010' or 'Zach¹s 5th Birthday Party.' The software can also apply 'people tags' by using facial recognition to find faces in photos and guess who the people are - an incredible time saver. No need to manually tag every person in all your photos, and searching your archive to find someone¹s photo is now a snap.
Transfer photos and videos off your camera.
If your find that your photos and videos get stuck on your camera, automate the process of getting them off. An Eye-Fi memory card (4GB Connect X2, $49.99 on eye.fi) will automatically connect to your home¹s Wi-Fi network and send your pictures to your computer and/or to the photo and video sharing sites of your choice, including Flickr, Facebook, MobileMe and YouTube.
Label your cords - at both ends.
Besides looking awful, a tangle of wires is impossible to sort through if you ever need to replace a component in a home theater system or grab the power cable for your laptop for a trip. Sorting through all those cords and labeling each one at the plug and near the device it's connected to is a simple and permanent solution. A label maker is ideal, but masking tape and a Sharpie will do.