BleepingComputer.com: Offline Storage Or Backing Up Files Advice Needed.

Hi, I am coming up 60 and although I can use a PC, internet etc I am limited in my knowledge. A few weeks back I decided to put down as much of my life as I could remember before I forget it all on a word file. I thought it may be a good idea that I could have a little book made up with my history and present a copy each, to my children and grand children sometime in the future.
I have about 12 pages now in an Open Office document and although I have made backups it is all on my PC. I have learned loads here on BC about PC security and my PC is very secure it is up to date and I am quite happy as regards stability etc. Nonetheless I thought if the unexpected happened and my PC / Harddrive got destroyed I would lose everything. I have back ups made of my music, important files etc on disc and know how to do this.

My question is therefore, how do I backup a file that is constantly being added too?. In my case I write for about an hour each day adding a page or so at a time. Does anyone have any suggestions as to what might be an appropriate way to store this file document so as not to lose it by accident. I am not really interested in buying extra harddrives etc as I will never fill the one I have which is 120Gb. I use Mozilla Firefox v3 and also have a Gmail account with Google which I am sure I read somewhere that either one or both of these offered some sort of offline storage features. I just can't remember where I saw this at. I would appreciate any advice / help offered and thanks in advance.

I believe Google Docs is what you heard of and would fit the bill nicely as an offsite storage and a place where you can edit as you go. Or simply upload any new version of documents. It will also archive all past versions.

Go to the following page to sign in--your gmail account is your Google account so the same password will work: https://www.google.com/accounts/ServiceLogi..._lfty&nui=1

BTW, I've been taking advantage of another Google service for storing and sharing photos online, Picasa Web Albums. Again, as with other of Googles services/Web 2 apps, just use your gmail/google account password to sign in. http://picasaweb.google.com

Since Flash drives are so cheap now, something else you might consider is using them for even more redundant backups and portability. I recently got a 1 GB drive for around $10 USD. I know that's a lot of space, but you could keep this on your person when you are away from your PC and if you are at all mobile you could let people read your doc from the flash drive on their computer when you visit them. At that price, when you get finished, they would make nice gifts. Instead of printing out the memoirs and giving it like a book, just put it on the flash drive and give it.

The drive I bought, Lexar Lightening, comes with some portable applications and the ability to download more via a manager known as Power2Go. Unfortunately it doesn't work well on my system. However, it is not needed to run portable apps--there are many out there. I just mention Power2Go because it includes the portable version of Evernote, which I've been using as a replacement for word processing programs like Word and Open Office that I like a lot. I'm running the free, non-portable version.

They at Evernote are about to make some major changes--the beta version is more of a Web 2 application, where you can share online. Their website is just a bit confusing as they often describe how the beta works instead of the current version 2.2. One thing I like about it is that it makes screen captures and inserting images extremely easy. So you may want to check it out.

http://www.evernote.com/

Thanks very much Papakid the Google Docs link sounds like it is just what I was looking for.

Google links is very useful for saving new versions, but at the same time, I would make a mental note to save your autobiography once a week to a disk. Your internet connexion might go down when you want to retrieve your document, or you might want to work on it when you have no access, and I myself always feel much safer knowing I have a physical backup to something I have put a great deal of time into writing.
Cheers,
John

Thanks for the reply jgweed. Is it possible to use the same disc or would I have to use a new one each week?.