Yesterday my primary writing machine succumbed to the African dust and quickly degenerated from a crash to a failed boot to a dead screen. Kudos to Apple, who made the machine somewhat self-serviceable, but in my case it looks like I'm in the queue for some Apple Service Desk help, a bit of check-writing, and an unpleasant recovery. The only thing that makes this situation even vaguely bearable is that by serendipity, divine intervention, or plain dumb luck, my G5 crashed only 4 days after I had finished a complete back up - pictures, music, documents, everything. So hardware woes notwithstanding, I'm feeling pretty good: I'm not going to lose anything except time and money, both infinitely more expendable than my work, which is essentially irreplaceable.

I've been a backup nut for ages, twisting over the impermanence of digital medium, agonizing over the forced incompatibilities of proprietary document formats, and loathe to commit my more important stuff to heavy and burdensome hard copy. But writers take note - a backup strategy is essential, and when your machine gives up the ghost it will be the sole factor that determines whether you are put out or hung out to dry. In an increasingly digital age, being smart about our data and our media is essential. Let's look at the options.