Home Premium's Automatic Backup will back up all files under Documents.
That's not what the Home Premium help file for the Backup and Restore Center
wizards says -- in the FAQ, expand "What files are not included in my backup"
to see a list of files types that are not included (well, actually, instead
of a list of file types, you see potentially-confusing dumbed-down
euphemisms, such as "Program files" which probably means 'exe').
If it's true that 'all files in Document' (or some other root) can be backed
up, listing that as an option would be a clear way of communicating that.
Thanks for the tip that the Document folder is what is being backed up
(should that info be in the Help file?).
You should create a folder
under Documents for Downloads so that you don't need to download them again
in case of disaster.
I'm not sure that would work -- see above -- many downloaded files are 'exe'.
Why in the world would you want to do backup to your local hard drive. If
I would like to do daily incremental backups to local disk, and less
frequent (eg., weekly) separate backups to external disk. The daily local
incremental protects me somewhat from accidental/unwise edits and deletions,
whereas the weekly incremental protects me from hardware failure. I don't
want to do the daily to external because I don't want the external to be
connected, powered, and ready at all times. [is there a better way to do all
that?]
Wizards are great for beginners and infrequent users, but IN ADDITION, I
think it's good to provide full access to tools, so that the tools can be
used in ways UNIMAGINED by the tool designers, and so that beginners can
grow. Just because some people are beginners is not a good reason to limit
everyone to that level.
Windows Mail is also dumbed down from XP's Outlook Express. If Microsoft
designers made these decisions, they should read this:
http://gsa.confex.com/gsa/2005AM/finalprogram/abstract_96410.htm (it's not
about software, but the lessons are transferrable). However, since it
involves removing functionality, maybe the Backup packaging and feature
decisions were driven by money managers and shareholders.
Can anyone at Microsoft tell us what thoughts led to providing *only* a
wizard for backup?
[I'm running Vista Home Premium, fully updated by automatic update (I can't
find more specific concise information from the system to quote about what
version I've got).]
On a positive note, I also just upgraded Abobe Photoshop and the new version
is fantastic, with stunning improvements in functionality. That's the sort
of upgrade experience I expect from companies with many resources.
What does 'Premium' in 'Home Premium' mean? If it's just another 'basic',
why call it 'Premium'? Is there a version of Vista that has full backup,
full mail, etc?
Come on, Microsoft -- earn revenue by making and selling great products. No
company wins a fight with its customers (apparently a German saying,
paraphrased).
