There are innumerable reasons for which I am grateful to have a MacBook Pro. And truthfully, I almost opted for a PC when I purchased my laptop, but I cannot begin to articulate how fortunate I feel to have gone with the Mac. Like most people say, I believe the MacBook Pro is user friendly and simple to use. I find that its applications are more practical than those of a PC, and that I generally get more satisfaction from my time on the computer. I would like to focus on one application in particular, however, that has really helped me out. Every Apple computer, whether it is a MacBook or an iMac, comes standard with an application called Time Machine. I was fortunate to have discovered this application and it ended up sparing me a great deal of trouble.
After purchasing my MacBook Pro, I spent a couple of hours exploring the various applications and features that are unique to Apple Computers. Time Machine caught my eye and I decided to make use of it. What it does is automatically backs up the computer’s hard drive without requiring any effort on behalf of the user. This sounded like a good idea to me so I made the small investment of purchasing an external hard drive on which Time Machine could back up my files. Before I tell you how this decision spared me a world of problems, let me explain in detail how Time Machine works…
Time Machine does not require any effort from users. Once you perform the initial set up, Time Machine takes over and does all of the work for you. Every time your Mac Book is connected to your external hard drive, Time Machine is working to back up your system.- Time Machine does more than back up your files. Unlike simply backing up your system files manually, Time Machine backs up everything from photos to music to preferences. Once stored to your external drive, you are able to access your system as it was on any given day – hence the title, Time Machine.
- Time Machine is always working. Time Machine works even when you are not connected to your external hard drive. So even if you are out and about with your MacBook Pro, Time Machine is saving your activity so it can be recorded to your external drive on the next time you connect.
- Time Machine backs up every change you make. Time Machine records the changes you make on an hourly basis so it is sure to keep an accurate record that you can access at any future time.
Now that you see how Time Machine works, let me tell you how it saved me. I awoke early one morning and poured myself a cup of coffee to enjoy while I checked my email. This was a mistake because I spilled the entire cup on my MacBook. More than anything, I was in horror about the thought of losing my valuable data. Within seconds, however, I remembered that I had been using Time Machine and my panic dissipated. Immediately after replacing my MacBook, I connected my external drive to the new computer and it was as if the coffee incident never happened. Thank you, Time Machine.
