Why I Started Organizing My Data

Welcome to Organizing My Data!

Types Of Data

Some wisdom from long ago in my past was that if you want to solve a complex problem, you first have to thoroughly define and document the problem. This blog is my attempt to "think out loud" about organizing my data, which right now is scattered across many local and online applications, many documents, multiple hard disks and images, etc. I've made numerous attempts to "organize" all this stuff, but I've never developed a plan that addresses all my requirements.

One of the primary problems I'm trying to solve is to not be held hostage to a particular computing device - personal (phone, with its standalone contact list but good that it works even when offline), portable (laptop, with its standalone hard disk and environment, but good that it works even when offline), or especially a desktop computer with its standalone hard disk and environment. When used standalone, all three are subject to loss or failure, and subsequent loss of data.

The problem that I'm trying to solve has kind-of been solved by Microsoft with their Enterprise combination of Exchange Server, Outlook local application, Outlook online application, and Windows Mobile phones. Apple has also kind of solved it with their combination of local applications - Mail, iCalendar, Address Book, Safari (bookmarks) synchronizing with their .Mac service, and iPhone / iPods.