Upgrading to Windows 7 (Part 2)

Backing Up

If you're a regular reader of the blog, you know that I'm obnoxiously meticulous about backing up my photos. That actually carries through to how I back up most of my file system. In addition to my entire photo library being backed up in multiple places on my network, and on external drives, other files like my media (iTunes Library), Fonts, Documents, etc. are all backed up as well.

This is probably the most important step of installing a new OS, even if you're just upgrading. (as opposed to doing a clean new install, like what I'm planning) There's no worse feeling than logging into the new OS only to find that the installer corrupted something irreplaceable.

If you're a little bit computer nerd, feel free to continue reading, if not, I won't have my feelings hurt if you stop reading and just check back for the next post.

I use SyncBackPro by the folks at 2BrightSparks, to schedule nightly backups of all my important files. I've also got my hard drives partitioned in such a way that only installed software is present on my C: drive. This makes reinstalling the OS extremely convenient, because at the first cut, I can be pretty certain that formatting the C: drive will not wipe out any of my personal data.After a quick check of the logs and a manual inspection of my backed up files, I'm feeling pretty good about moving forward.

Upgrading to Windows 7 (Part 1)

Preparation and Planning

With the busy season coming to a close, I've decided to take some time to clean shop, get organized and kick off 2010 with TJP running as a well-oiled machine. I've been meaning to wipe the computer clean, and now that I've have "free time" I've decided to move forward.

We've discussed in the past that I'm a PC-guy. My engineering background has married me to the PC, and despite the great arguments from great artists everywhere... I'm not switching to Mac. With that in mind, not only am I going to reformat my PC, but I'm also going to upgrade to Windows 7 64-bit Professional Edition, to take advantage of the new operating system's "stability" and all of the memory that I have installed in my workstation.

Experience tells me to make this an extremely well-planned and organized process, for fear of finding out after the fact that I forgot to back something up, or some critical piece of software in my workflow isn't supported by the new OS. In addition, I've decided to map out my progress on the blog. So here we go...

First, I've put together a detailed list of the "must-have" software tools I want to port to the new build of the computer. I'm doing this so that I can verify that each piece of software is "Windows 7 Ready" before I commit.

Rob's Must-Have Software List:

1. Adobe Photoshop Lightroom - Confirmed
2. Adobe Photoshop CS4 - Confirmed
3. Adobe Acrobat Professional - Confirmed
4. onOne Plug-In Suite 5 - Confirmed
5. HDR Soft Photomatix Pro - Confirmed
6. Microsoft Office 2007 - Confirmed
7. 2BrightSparks SyncBack Pro - Confirmed
8. Symantec Anti-Virus - Confirmed
9. iTunes - Confirmed

Those are the deal-breakers, without them - I wouldn't be considering the switch to Windows 7. Anything that's not on that list, well, let's just say, I'm willing to risk not being able to use it.

It appears I'm OK to move forward with the next step, Backup, but while I'm getting that organized I'm still going to stew over my list of must-have software, just to make sure I haven't left anything out.

Snow Days in Gainesville

We spent the weekend playing under a two-foot blanket of rare December snow here outside of the nation's capital. Here's a shot taken on the crystal clear Sunday morning (things had already begun to melt) following Saturday's white-out conditions.

I'm sure the northern states are just laughing at us, but this little storm shut down the area for three days, and schools are already closed through Wednesday in the major counties.

Two Awesome Partners, Two Awesome Contests

One of the best parts of 2009 has been the growing working relationships between Towner Jones Photography and some really great corporate partners. I wanted to show my appreciation for our sponsor B&H Photo and our good friends at onOne Software by ending the year with contests featuring prizes from each of them. I'll be giving them each a plug in future posts related to the contests, and I encourage you to support them as a thank you for supporting TJP.

So, as I mentioned earlier in the week, this weekend's special blog post kicks off two awesome contests, with prizes from our two awesome partners!

Contest #1:

 

The folks at onOne Software have graciously given me a FULL COPY of the new onOne Plug-In Suite 5 to give away to a lucky individual. 

 

 

A prize of this caliber warrants a big contest, so here we go:

Between now and January 15th, 2010 (midnight Eastern as usual) email your three (3) best photos of 2009 to contest@townerjones.com. The three photos will be judged based on general photo "goodness" - that being said, I'd love to see both pro and amateur entries... so I won't be nit-picking stuff like technique when I'm judging. "Goodness" is a trait that you know when you see it. Cool?

For detailed submission guidelines and contest rules, click here.

Oh, by the way, if you participated in "On Assignment with Towner Jones Photography" over the summer, those images are disqualified... sorry you'll have to send new stuff. 

Contest #2:

 

I'm planning on doing some cool stuff with Twitter in the new year and my first goal is to reach 500 followers.

I'm not above paying people to be my friend... well on Twitter anyway. So here's what I'm going to do... 

We're holding a contest to get to 500 followers, if we do it - there could be a prize for YOU!

Here's what to do:

1. If you're not already a follower of Towner Jones Photography on Twitter (you should be!) go sign up and follow us.
2. Help us get the word out about the contest, tweet the message below.
3. Sit back and wait for us to reach our goal of 500 followers!

Tweet:

Follow @townerjones for a chance to win a GC to B&H once they reach 500 followers. Details: http://bit.ly/6R4XS9 #tjpcontest - Please RT

When we hit 500 (or more) followers, here's what happens.

I'll pick 4 winners at random from my followers. They will be awarded prizes as follows:

1st Place: $100 gift card to B&H

2nd Place: $50 gift card to B&H

3rd Place: $25 gift card to B&H

4th Place: $25 gift card to B&H

Plain and simple!

Hope you like it, and thanks in advance for your help. 

Check out our "Contests" page by clicking the link at the top of the blog for general contest rules.

Life Around The Jones House (A TJP Update)

This pretty much sums things up. 

Things to look forward to from TJP:

This Weekend - TWO major contest announcements

Next Week - LOTS of Photos from the past few months, onOne Plug-In Suite 5