On Thu, 11 Dec 2003 13:06:26 -0600, you wrote:

>One thing that I can't emphasize enough is to back up your files.  I'm =
not
>as religious about it as I should be and it cost me.  I had nearly =
completed
>the pcb layout, had done the schematic and calculations, etc., when my =
hard
>drive crashed.  It costs less to recover the data, then to redo =
everything,
>but you can't bill the client for either one.
>
>I have some friends that have developed a backup system for doctor's and
>lawyer's offices to help meet new federal standards on client data
>confidentiality.  I've told them that developers and consultants are as =
good
>a market because we don't need to be spoon fed - show us it works, ask a
>fair price, and we'll buy one.  It has two ultra secure Ethernet ports, =
one
>for Intranet and one for Internet, is smaller than a notebook, has no
>display, redundant encrypted backup and can be set up for automatic
>mirroring.  His demonstration is to pull the power dongle from the wall =
in
>the middle of a save, then plug it back in - nothing lost - starts where=
 it
>left off.  When my delinquent customer pays up, I'll buy one, but hope
>they'll give me a discount.  Anyway - backup, backup, Backup!

I'd agree, but would add that it's more common to need to pull the odd =
file off a backup because you
accidentally overwrote it, or broke something by mistake & need to look =
at an earlier version, than
from hard disk failure.=20

Create frequent 'earlier versions'. In Windoze this is as easy as doing =
Ctrl-C, Ctrl-V to make Copy
(xxx) of....
Make sure you keep source files for EVERY version released to a customer.

I got an AIT-1 drive and some tapes off Ebay - this does up to  70gig on =
one tape. Ease of use and
getting everything on one tape is mure important than speed, because you =
can just start it off &
leave it to run. Multiple media (CDs etc.) are a pain, and anything that =
is a pain will not get
done.=20
Incremental backups are more hassle than they are worth. Keep tapes =
off-site. I had one customer who
had their PC and all their backup tapes stolen.

I also keep a floppy/CD of PCB, source files etc. in the project folder =
(physical paper folder, that
is!).

>And organize your records as if you'll do a hundred projects, because
>eventually you will and it's hell to go back to try to find something 4
>years and/or 5 computers ago.

Totally agree - I now have a PCBs dir and a Software dir, some segregated=
 by customer, some by
project - too much of a mess to clean up now. I would suggest a customer =
folder, containing poduct
folders, each having subfolders for PCB, Firmware, Test software etc.

Of course even this gets messy where your Test software covers several =
products......

Another thing I would add - keeping track of versions/variants can be =
hard, especially as things
like product names may not be known at the start of development.=20
If your customer has an in-house drawing control system, get them to =
issue drawing numbers for
firmware variants right at the start. If they don't have a system, start =
your own and insist the
customer refers to parts by these numbers, so you both know exactly what =
you are taling about when
they ask you 4 years later  to send a copy of the code or PCB files for a=
 "Mark 2 wibble-o-tron,
left-hand version, with the special kludge for the guy in Japan".....


=20

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