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longevity

Future-proof your data archive

It's easier than ever to make sure copies of your most important records, documents, photos, videos, and other personal data will be readable/viewable/playable long after the hardware and software used to create the files have bitten the dust.

The four keys to safe data archiving are to choose file formats that won't become obsolete, use storage media that won't deteriorate or become inaccessible, make multiple copies stored apart, and check your archived data regularly to ensure it's still readable.

Don't get stuck with outdated data formats Most of the files you want to … Read more

Timex concept is a literal death watch

Years ago we came across a page called Deathforecast.com, which predicts how long you'll live depending on the answers to a couple dozen questions. That was morbid enough, but now there's something that does it one better by providing a constant physical reminder of one's mortality.

The "Life Index Watch" is a concept developed for a Timex competition that keeps track of your remaining days based on personal biometrics. And just to make sure you don't miss one nerve-wracking second, it's meant to be "worn like a patch on the skin,&… Read more

Toughest gadgets on the planet

In ads for its watches years ago, Timex coined a slogan that we dearly wish would apply to each and all of our gadgets: "Takes a licking, and keeps on ticking." Sadly, that's not the case, and too often we're buying a new electronic gizmo to replace a not-so-old gizmo that gave up the ghost way too soon. Except sometimes.

Every once in a while, a favorite gadget lives on and on, well past the expiration date on the longest imaginable extended warranty. That's the subject of an item on the U.K. version of … Read more