Without A Mobile Phone, No One Can Hear You Scream
Mobile phones are such precious things. We use them constantly, they're more companions than our wives, and any well-worn phone will contain dozens, if not hundreds, of contact phone numbers collected over a period of months or years.
So, picture the scene, if you will: I'm taking a nice walk along the seaside cliffs of Dublin on a fine, sunny day, exploring the old lookout forts designed to warn us when we're about to endure another one of those "God Save The King, Or He'll Chop Your Balls Off" moments. Suddenly, my dear young companion decides to empty her orange juice onto my mobile phone, killing it stone dead and wiping all the data it contains.
Something like this has happened to all of us at some stage in our digitally fragile lives. We've had a vital piece of information sitting idle on a wafer of silicon for months and then, usually just as we need it, it gets wiped out by one unfortunate accident of fate or another. Be it important spreadsheets, doctored photographs, save game files, lovingly crafted articles (do I sound bitter?) or slavishly entered contact information in our mobile phones, we've all lost something in one of those "AHHH £%&*!!!!!" moments.
Upon reading this, some of the Zen masters among us sit there quietly and sigh inwards. Others let out a muted sigh. Some go in search of others to console themselves with conciliatory tales of similar woes. Me? I prefer to jump out of my chair screaming and kicking everything within reach. Many the technology developer has had the legality of his parents' marriage called into question whenever a piece of technology calmly informs him that his entire contacts list does not actually exist, thank you very much for asking, you puny human.
(Out of interest, and in case you happen to have powers of arrest in the jurisdiction I presently reside, said young companion and her orange juice were forgiven; she was not kicked, thrown off of anything, drowned or otherwise sworn at. Anyone who has ever had to take care of a young lady will tell you just how quickly and powerfully they can wrap you around their little fingers, so that you see the funny side of life. It was a nice phone and all...)
Backing up mobile phone data has always involved two major problems. First, it is difficult to do from a technical point of view. Second, if you want to do it for little or no money, then the people hosting your data would usually take a peek at it for commercial purposes. As much as I appreciate a free service, it's not to appealing to think about having my friend Rob get woken up in the middle of the night with an automated message saying "Your friend Aaron passed us your contact info for this advertisement..." If I want sex chat operators keeping him awake all night then I'll hire them myself, thankyouverymuch.
Fortunately, a Danish company called ZYB wants to change this, and they've got a pretty compelling idea of how to do it.
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