Everyone wants to feel safe – we install security systems, cameras and other gadgets to try and protect our families and property. All the gadgets in the world, however, need maintenance! So if you haven’t done it already, go around and change the batteries in your smoke and carbon monoxide detectors. It really could be a matter of life or death.

The reality is electronics are delicate things. Even if we just get some heavy rain (much like we just had this past week) it can wreak havoc on un-protected systems. So, even though I can’t force you to be prepared for the worst a storm can bring I can give you advice on what you can do to ride-out this hurricane season while keeping your equipment as safe as possible.

• Check your surge protection/UPS – when did you buy, or have installed, the strips connected to your TV & components? Your camera system? Your computer(s)/phone system? If the answer was anything short of ‘a couple months ago’ start looking for sales and upgrade! It only takes one hit to ruin a surge surpressor. Unless you’ve got some serious backup, it’s definitely time to change it out before you get nailed and it doesn’t protect your sensitive equipment! Heck, if it’s a really good deal – buy two. **Note: Those ‘guarantees’ that come with some surge protectors will require pictures of the equipment you have, possibly serial #’s and they are very strict about how things must be plugged-in. If you’ve had it for a couple years and you get burned, don’t expect that warranty money!

• Backup your computer’s information – This is something we should all do at least once-a-month for personal computers, and daily or weekly for business. If it’s not something you’ve done before, or are spotty about keeping up with it yourself, consider one of the many online services that will backup your data for you, automatically. We use LiveDrive, which is located in the UK. Isn’t the internet great?! There are other companies as well – another popular choice here in the states is Carbonite – no matter if you do it yourself using a CD writer or external drive, or use a service to backup your data: start doing it now! If you get a surge or strike that hits your internet source (cable or DSL) it can fry your system and leave you starting over.

• Check any outdoor equipment and be prepared to bring it in – The cameras we provide are weatherproof with tight housings. If you purchased cameras yourself in a kit, it might be a good idea to take a look after it rains and make sure the housing is still in good condition. If you are getting a ‘fuzzy’ picture on your TV or DVR, there could be condensation in the lens and your camera isn’t as weather/waterproof as you might have thought! Also don’t forget about outdoor rock/planter speakers. It’s one thing to keep working if it gets some pool water splashed on it. It’s quite another to expect it to survive sustained high-powered winds and driving rain. **If connections will be exposed, put a heavy duty plastic bag around them and secure with duck tape. For extra protection, wrap the ends with electrical tape beforehand.

If you have a generator, now is the time to get it serviced! If you don’t, taking these extra precautions will help you to get through even the smallest of inconveniences with your devices intact. We always hope if a storm does develop it will miss us! But Mother Nature is un-predictable and it’s better to be prepared than sorry.
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But, for the rest of us – aren’t you just a little bit sick of the game? After all, how many different versions of the same movie do you want to buy in your lifetime? Personally, I’ve still not replaced the original Star Wars movies with the DVD set. I owned three – yes, three different versions on VHS. I wasn’t about to go hopping to DVD and then find out they re-mastered, re-vamped and re-released it again. And that’s just for older films. What about the DVD you bought a couple weeks before Blu-Ray was available?! Do you now feel cheated? Have the urge to go out and spend several hundred dollars on a new DVD player so you can get what everyone else has? I hope not. If this economic crisis has taught us anything, it’s to appreciate what we have. From leftovers in the fridge becoming lunch to the backyard becoming a family weekend destination once again, we are all in a mindset of enjoying what is already around us.

Of course, you argue, eventually you’ll be forced to upgrade. The manufacturers will play some dirty card like making future players that don’t ‘downgrade’ well. If you want to watch it and not feel like it’s 1959, you’ll buy Blu-Ray discs – right?
Wrong.
The inevitability of the ‘next thing’ is upon us even now. If you are one of the millions with a Netflix or iTunes account, you enjoy it’s benefits and don’t even realize it.
Digital Media. Right now, it might be a confusing term but it shouldn’t be. Just imagine every movie and song you own being completely bought and stored on a computer hard drive. No physical CD/DVD. No cases piling up in the corner. No wondering how big of a movie collection you can get because your wife will kill you if you have all those out in the living room.
Many websites take advantage of this capability, as well. Why order a CD, when you can simply download the software directly? Need instructions? Download the PDF version, instead of waiting weeks for a manual. Computer hardware keeps getting smaller, but the memory storage and speed capability keep getting faster, spurred-on by such hobbies as graphics-heavy online gaming. Your DVR/TiVO is a simple computer – there are just so many examples.

So don’t run to the store for that Blu-Ray player just yet. With more hardware coming out designed specifically to make digital media more accessible, like the Roku streaming Netflix player, you will probably be phasing-out of buying DVD’s and CD’s sooner rather than later. The good news here is, unless they can find a way to beam it directly to your brain, the only thing you’ll have to upgrade in the future should be a hard drive.