Bob Smith

I’m lucky I manually ran a few jobs before I started using rsync in scripts. When I didn’t think things through, I saw the output in real-time. After that, I got very careful about testing any scripts and accounting for minor changes in setup.

For me, it was getting a handle on rsync for a better method of updating backup drives. I was tired of pushing incremental changes manually, but I decided to do a bit of extra reading before making the leap. Learning about the -n option for testing prior to a sync has saved me more headaches than I’d care to enumerate. There’s a big difference between changing a handful of files and copying several TB of files into the wrong subfolder!

I’ve never tried anything beyond DOS or the SNES/Genesis era, honestly.

I carry a 2 TB Silicon Power drive on a keychain sometimes.

In addition to an encrypted partition for secure data transport, I keep a fat32 partition that can supplement phone media when I travel.

A few file formatting choices (mp3 or mp4 suffixes) mean that media playback usually works with tvs that I trust, too.

If I need more space, I can temporarily delete a few albums. No big deal.

You clearly haven’t met all of my friends.