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Have you cloned your computer’s hard disk yet? It would be a wise thing to do and may prove to be a precious time saver in case of unexpected, unrecoverable major crash of the machine itself and/or of its hard disk.

There are two types of backups computer users would do.

The first concerns data. These are user files, images, sound, videos, e-mails, documents and all such digital information you may have created, received or saved yourself. By now, after all these years of personal computing, since circa the late 1980s, most of the population has learnt — sometime the hard way, at their own expense — that data must absolutely be backed up, one way or another, so as to be able to recover it from the so-backed up copy in case of accidents or mishaps such as hardware failures, or simply human errors in manipulating the data.

Most people take care of such backup. Some do it locally, on external devices like USB hard disks for example. Others rely on the fact that their data is saved in the cloud in the first place and therefore is automatically backed up by the service, be it Google Drive, Microsoft One Drive, Dropbox, Amazon AWS, or any of the countless other similar, excellent cloud subscriptions.

However, this first type of backup takes care of data only. The operating system (Windows, Mac OS or other) and the many software and applications you installed, and use are not considered as data and therefore are not backed up in the above scheme. In case of a major failure you have to re-install them all, which is neither a simple nor a quick task. Not to mention the various settings you have to remember and redo. In the typical case this takes a full day of work, when not longer.

In some instances you even do not have the original installation CDs, DVDs or software copy to start from. And even if you do, you may have lost or forgotten the activation codes or keys that validate the software.

This is where the second type of backup comes. It is the cloning of the hard disk and is about making a full, entire and exact copy of its contents, including all programmes, software, data, files, settings, etc. — absolutely everything. The operation involves connecting an additional, an external hard disk, at least as big in storage capacity as the one inside the computer, and then running a cloning programme.

In case of a major computer or hard disk failure, you just have to replace the computer’s hard disk with the cloned disk and you’re back to work in a snap, not just with your data but also with all software and applications.

Among the good cloning applications available to download, install and run, we find AOMEI, Acronis Disk Director, Clonezilla, EaseUS Todo, Macrium Reflect and Paragon Drive Copy, to name the most popular ones. Prices are reasonable, given the importance of the job. For personal, private use the average is a mere $40. For larger systems and servers, the price is higher, understandably.

The good news is not only the price of the personal edition but also the simplicity of use. It is intuitive and can easily be handled by most.

Whereas cloning your disk definitely is a good thing to do, it is interesting to note at the same time that software you use as online subscriptions, such as for example Microsoft 365 or Adobe Suite Online, contribute to make you less dependent on locally installed programmes. Still, and as the saying goes, prevention is always better than cure.

WASHINGTON — Health experts have determined that face coverings are a vital tool in reducing the spread of coronavirus — but little research has been done into how different kinds of masks compare.

A new study has ranked 14 types of commonly available mask, finding that medical masks offer significantly more protection against droplet spread than cotton alternatives — while bandanas and balaclavas don’t do much at all.

The findings have public policy implications, particularly in the United States where authorities have encouraged the public to use textile masks and leave the medical products to healthcare workers because they are in short supply.

“We need to scale up surgical mask production and distribution,” tweeted Tom Frieden, the former director of the Centres of Disease Control and Prevention under President Barack Obama, in response to the study that appeared in Science Advances.

Masks are important because some 30-40 per cent of people who are infected may not show symptoms but still unwittingly spread the virus when they cough, sneeze or just talk.

A team of scientists at Duke University created an inexpensive setup: people stood in a dark room and spoke the words “Stay healthy, people” five times into the direction of an expanded laser beam, which was recorded with a cell phone camera.

A computer algorithm was then used to calculate the number of droplets. The laser and lens involved can be bought for $200 and the experimental design is easy to replicate by non-experts.

“This sort of test could easily be conducted by businesses and others that are providing masks to their employees or patrons,” said co-author Martin Fischer, a chemist and physicist.

Professionally-fitted N95 masks — hospital-grade protection worn by frontline workers in hospitals — reduced droplet transmission to less than 0.1 per cent. 

Surgical or polypropylene masks were not far behind, bringing droplet transmission down by 90 per  cent or more compared to no face-coverings.

Hand-made cotton face coverings provided good coverage, eliminating 70 to 90 per cent of the spray from normal speech, depending on the number of layers and the pleating.

But bandanas only reduced the droplets by about 50 per cent and neck fleeces actually increased the amount of spray, probably by dispersing the largest droplets into many smaller droplets.

Finally, N-95 masks with valves — designed for industrial settings where the user’s exhalation was less important than what they inhaled — performed roughly on par with cotton masks in terms of the amount of spray transmitted.

Health authorities have discouraged the use of valved N-95s.

Co-author Eric Westman said he had already put the information to use, avoiding the bulk purchase of a type of mask he and a local non-profit had planned to distribute for free to the public of Durham, North Carolina where the university is based.

“The notion that ‘anything is better than nothing’ didn’t hold true,” he said.

One of the more popular pick-ups in the compact pick-up segment, which accounts for some 90 per cent of Middle East truck sales, the Mitsubishi L200 has until now been one of the more discretely styled, yet, better-selling among its peers. But, with a new design language being adopted across most of the Japanese manufacturer’s ever-more crossover SUV-focused line-up, the understated but tough, dependable and affordable L200 workhorse now receives a radically re-imagined aesthetic refresh that brings it into line with other Mitsubishi models.

Aggressive aesthetic

First introduced in 2019 and winner of the 2020 Middle East Car of the Year awards’ best Midsize Truck category in which it competed against the Ford Ranger and Toyota Hilux, the L200 is available in a choice of turbo-diesel and petrol engines and in different cabin and drive-line choices. The sort of mixed use work and private use truck that is increasingly popular in many parts of the region, the L200 range available in the Middle East omits some of the more powerful turbo-diesel versions available globally, and instead focuses on a more affordable and slightly more work-oriented line-up. 

In essence a major design face-lift of the fifth generation L200 that first entered service in 2015, the new L200 is certainly a bolder, chunkier and more rugged looking design with its brutishly aggressive new “Dynamic Shield” corporate face. Superseding its predecessor’s rakishly angled fascia and lower set bonnet edges that made road visibility so great, the new L200 instead opts for a hyper-assertive new look sure to draw attention even among the most rugged looking of competitors, and also includes new more angular wheel-arches in place of the outgoing model’s rounded arches.

Smooth operator

Comprised of a vast upright assembly of deep-set side lights and a huge air intake flanked by chrome strips, the new L200’s fascia is somewhat akin to a huge bumper with slim, swept back, moody and slitty headlights and grille atop. Dominated by its distinctively different fascia, the new L200 also features more discretely smartened up and refreshed rear lights and other elements, while underneath its now high-rise bonnet, it is powered by a choice of three inline four-cylinder engines, including two differently tuned 2.5-litre turbo-diesels and a single naturally-aspirated 2.4-litre petrol offering, as driven. 

A low-revving SOHC unit designed for good low-end torque and easy hauling, towing and off-road driving rather than high speed hijinks, the petrol-powered L200 is a smoother and quieter performer with more progressive delivery and torque and power accumulation than most diesel-powered pick-ups, even if lacking the vast torque output, more potent power and high efficiency of a modern turbo-diesel. That said, its naturally-aspirated petrol design is in long run ownership easier and less costly to maintain, and in this application develops 130BHP at 5,250rpm and 149lb/ft at 4,000rpm, which allows for a 161km/h top speed.

Broad range ability

Accumulative in delivery, the L200 2.4 MPI is responsive from idling, flexible in mid-range, more willing at top-end with a broader rev range than many diesel rivals, if not quite with the same muscular pulling power. Driving the rear wheels under normal driving conditions through a 5-speed manual gearbox with an intuitive clutch biting point and slick and accurate shifts, it is both user-friendly and engaging in its gear lever action. For more demanding off-roading and towing over low traction surfaces, one can engage the L200’s four-wheel-drive mode or low ratio four-wheel-drive for extreme high power crawling conditions.

Timely in its on-road performance and well capable of keeping up with traffic, if not especially quick, the L200 is also a capable off-roader with generous 200mm ground clearance. Meanwhile, 30° approach 24° break-over and 45° side slope off-road angles remain unchanged over its predecessor. But with a slightly longer body length, the new L200’s 22° departure angle is marginally reduced over the pre-facelift model. Best looking with big, wide off-road oriented tyres to fill its big wheel-arches, the driven L200’s more moderate yet durable 205R16C tyres provided good comfort, grip, steering feel and peace of mind.

Agile and comfortable

With rugged ladder frame construction with independent front double wishbone and tough live axle and leaf spring rear suspension, the L200 takes lumps and bumps in its stride, but is slightly bouncy at the rear when unloaded. Slightly narrower and shorter in wheelbase than some competitors, the L200 is agile and manoeuvrable through winding road with its light steering providing good in-class accuracy, feel and eager and alert turn-in. Balanced through corners but with mild lean, the L200 is meanwhile confident and settled on highway, and with good stability, cabin refinement, and responsive braking.

Offering good views and easy to place on road and manoeuvre, despite a higher bonnet line than its predecessor’s lower bonnet and little restricted front visibility, the L200 is meanwhile spacious and comfortable inside, with big side mirrors, easy cabin access, good headroom and a supportive driving position. Controls and layouts are user-friendly and cargo room is generous. Unfussed, but pleasant inside, the L200 features tough hard wearing plastics, trim and fabric upholstery, while there are plenty of creature comforts and safety and convenience features in the better equipped GLX spec version, as tested.

TECHNICAL SPECIFICATIONS

Engine: 2.4-litre, in-line 4-cylinders

Valve-train: SOHC, multi-point injection

Gearbox: 5-speed manual, four-wheel-drive

Driveline: low gear transfer

Power, BHP (PS) [kW]: 130 (132) [97] @5,250rpm

Specific power: 54BHP/litre (approximately)

Power-to-weight: 75.8BHP/tonne

Torque, lb/ft (Nm): 149 (202) @4,000rpm

Specific torque: 62Nm/litre (approximately)

Torque-to-weight: 86.9Nm/tonne

Top speed apprx. 161km/h

Fuel capacity: 75-litres

Length: 5,305mm

Width: 1,815mm

Height: 1,775mm

Wheelbase: 3,000mm

Tread, F/R: 1,520/1,515mm

Overhang, F/R: 880/1,420mm

Minimum ground clearance: 200mm

Loading floor height: 845mm

Cargo bed length/width/height: 1,520/1,470/475mm

Approach angle: 30°

Break-over angle: 24°

Departure angle: 22°

Side slope angle: 45°

Kerb weight: 1,715kg

Gross vehicle weight: 2,700kg

Suspension, F/R: Double wishbones/live axle, leaf springs

Steering: Power-assisted rack & pinion

Turning circle: 11.8-metres

Brakes, F/R: Ventilated discs/drums

Tyres: 205R16C

Where the Crawdads Sing

Delia Owens

UK: Corsair, 2019

Pp. 368

Having published three books about her life as a wildlife scientist, American zoologist Delia Owens turns to fiction with an evocative novel, set in the coastal marshlands of North Carolina. If you think that marsh is synonymous with swamp, think again: “Marsh is not swamp. Marsh is a space of light, where grass grows in water, and water flows into the sky… Swamp water is still and dark, having swallowed the light in its muddy throat.” (p. 3)

Nature is a main theme in this novel, but there are many others: a murder mystery, romance, domestic abuse, loneliness, “the outsider”, trust, small-town prejudice and a whole new way of looking at the world. What holds all the themes together is a singular protagonist, Kya, dubbed the Marsh Girl by the village people. Due to her peculiar life experience and extraordinary intelligence, she is the main advocate for a new view of the world, which involves humans nearly merging with nature.

Kya lives in a shack between the marsh and the sea, the family’s poverty seemingly inescapable as her father, a frustrated, partially disabled veteran, haunted by memories of World War II, drinks up most of his compensation check. Worse still, his drunkenness unleashes extreme violence on his family. Kya’s mother leaves home when she is only six, followed by her older brother. She lives for a time with her father, until he too disappears. “She knew Pa was the reason they all left; what she wondered was why no one took her with them.” (p. 13)

This is the original source of her loneliness and distrust of others, but it is soon exacerbated by the scorn and harassment she faces from the villagers. Amazingly, she learns to survive alone. Her father left his motor boat behind, and it becomes her means of transport and livelihood, as she fishes and digs for mussels, bartering her catch for fuel and small change with which she buys a few groceries, but mostly she subsists on what she finds in the marsh and her small garden. At one point, a truant officer finds her and takes her to school; she wants to learn, but after one day of ridicule, she never goes back and becomes adept at hiding away in the marsh, her only friends the seagulls. “Kya laid her hand upon the breathing, wet earth, and the marsh became her mother.” (p. 34)

It is significant that the only people who help Kya are Jump and his wife, Mabel, who are also outsiders in the eyes of the white villagers, though they are highly respected in their own Black community, this being the segregated America of the 1950s. By the time the novel reaches a climax in 1969, things haven’t changed much. 

Eventually, Kya befriends Tate, the son of a fisherman, who is as interested in the natural environment as she is. He teaches her to read, enabling her to label all the specimens she has been collecting — feathers, insects, shells and flowers. They fall in love exploring the marsh, uncovering: “Wonders and real-life knowledge she would’ve never learned in school. Truths everyone should know, yet somehow, even though they lay exposed all around, seemed to lie in secret…” (p. 113)

But when Tate goes off to university to study biology, she feels abandoned once more; her loneliness and distrust of the outside world spike. By this time, she is a young woman with emotional and sexual urges, and she gets involved with Chase, a rich, handsome — and manipulative athlete from the village. To him she is an exotic toy, and he promises to marry her with no intention of doing so. When she learns he has married a girl from the village, her dignity is deeply damaged. “With Chase, she felt exposed, as if someone was filleting her like a fish. Shame welled up inside… Giving away another piece of herself just to have someone else.” (p. 168, 177)

Owens does something tricky with time. The novel opens with a prologue dated 1969, telling of the villagers’ discovery of Chase’s dead body. Then the story switches back to the 1950s to follow Kya’s growing up, interspersed with chapters about the investigation of the murder until 1969, when Kya is arrested as a suspect, town gossip having conspired to pin the blame on her. Tension builds as the two timeframes draw together: Can the authorities find her? Can she get a fair trial? Will she be able to rebuild her life once again? Will the marsh survive? Can people like Kya exist outside the place “Where the Crawdads Sing” — the farthest reaches of the marsh, scarcely penetrable, where nature reigns supreme? It is very hard not to skip ahead to find out.

Owens tells Kya’s story intertwined with breathtakingly beautiful descriptions of nature, astute observations about its laws, and striking parallels between human and animal behaviour. Contrasting attitudes towards the marsh, whether to use it, like Chase, or study and respect it, like Tate and Kya, she delivers a thoughtful environmentalist message about the interdependence of nature, and humankind’s reliance on it. With a definite feminist slant, Owens also offers searing social commentary, especially about the exclusion of those who are different.

“Where the Crawdads Sing” is available at Legenda bookstore.

They water the wrong plants. The water that emerges from the tips of their watering cans spills and caresses the weeds and not the trees. Now the weeds are thriving and the trees are dying unable to grow and produce fruit for them.

May 23, 1992

My son and I open a restaurant on the ground floor of our apartment building.

My restaurant’s name is Baytuna (Our Home).

A brief description of my restaurant: It sits at the corner of the road, on the ground floor of our apartment building. Above the building soar intricately entwined wire cables that stretch out with an occasional bird perched on top of them. The wires overlap each other in a chaotic, yet, sophisticated way over the banner with its red lettering that reads Baytuna restaurant in graceful Arabic letters.

On weekends my restaurant is packed; busy tables, women and men giggling and chuckling, children fighting over who should take the last bite, and wisps of smoke hanging above the black and white tiled floors, wooden table tops, coloured scarves, bald heads, and curly, straight, wavy, black, brown, and blonde hair of the people sitting on the chairs below eating their food. On these days the restaurant is loud and the pirouetting aroma of food draws you into the restaurant, forces you to one of the tables, beckons you to sit down and wave your hand to order a menu as the bitter fragrance of coffee, acrid whiffs of burned tobacco, hints of body odour and perfume loiter in the air around you. I love it. It is a community, my community. A community I created. 

November 07, 1999

A chain restaurant opens right in front of my restaurant. Its logo blinding, as it towers over the restaurant’s rooftop. The logo’s arching yellow downward curves and the red block of colour surrounding the letters that form the chain’s name are also glued to the restaurant’s facade as they taunt me and nudge at my patience and sanity.

How I feel about the new restaurant that opened

Worried. Although my baba taught me to always be happy for the accomplishments of others, I have to admit thoughts of uneasiness are dancing in my head. The music my thoughts are dancing to has a tempo that is increasing by the second. It is as if the musical sheet has an endless number of accelerandos scribbled onto its page. 

My restaurant after the chain restaurant’s opening

My restaurant sits at the corner of the road and the cables still run above its banner but on weekdays and weekends, its ambience is no longer what it used to be. No longer is it as crowded as it used to be. No longer is the food’s perfume strong enough to command them to enter my restaurant and be engulfed by its vivid atmosphere that hangs over the tabletops. Now the faint scents of food linger over lifeless chairs and empty tabletops. For no longer is the wafting aroma of food powerful enough to make your mouth water. No longer do I hear squeals, chuckles, laughter and gossip as often as I used to. No longer do I hold the same community within these four walls as I did before that restaurant opened across the street from mine.

Questions I wish 

I had answers to

Why did people stop coming to my restaurant? What did I do wrong? Why do people choose international chains over local ones? Where is Robin Hood to steal money from the rich and give it to the poor? Where is he to give me money to pay for my electricity bills?

A letter I will never send

Dear Whoever This May Concern,

Ever since you’ve opened, my customers have flocked to your restaurant. Is it nicotine that you put in your food to make people addicted and coming back through your doors asking for more? You don’t love your customers as I did mine, you never greet your customers at the door when they come in as I used to. You just want to wrap your greasy fingers around their metal coins and paper bills. You want them in and out quickly. People come to your restaurant to fill their bellies with your plastic meat, fatty cheese slices, and greasedripping, oil-oozing, limp fries that they wash down with sugary, fizzy sodas. My food feeds their souls, your food kills them. ~ Abu Samir

November 07, 2001

It has been two years since the yellow arches were rooted in the piece of land in front of my restaurant. Still, my restaurant perches on the corner of the road, usually empty, and though it still serves food, it has a mission too. It has the mission of fostering a community. My restaurant is beyond its menu.

Reprinted with permission from Family Flavours magazine

SAN FRANCISCO — Samsung on Wednesday unveiled a second-generation folding smartphone along with other new gadgetry aiming to jump-start sales in a market hit hard by the global pandemic.

The consumer electronics colossus unveiled its latest line-up at a streamed “Galaxy Unpacked” event, aiming directly at remote work and education trends supercharged around the world by the coronavirus outbreak.

“Our mission is to give you new ways to communicate; new ways to get your job done,” said Samsung Electronics Mobile Communications President T.M. Roh.

“Maybe even to help you play hard when you should be working hard.”

Samsung also unveiled two versions of its oversized smartphone, the Galaxy Note20 and Galaxy Note20 Ultra, upgraded tablets called Tab S7 and S7+, a new Galaxy Watch3 smartwatch and its ergonomic wireless earbuds called Galaxy Buds Live.

“Never before have we relied on technology like we are today,” said Roh.

“It’s how we are staying connected as we navigate the extraordinary challenges faced around the world,” said Roh.

Samsung maintained that folding phones and compatibility with super-fast 5G networks are the “pillars” of its mobile device future.

Samsung in the second quarter saw smartphone sales slip 29 per cent compared with a year ago, according to research firm IDC, as the firm lost the top position to China’s Huawei in a slumping global market.

Total smartphone sales were down 16 per cent in the quarter, as consumers pulled back in the face of a pandemic-induced economic crisis.

Sweeping the fold

The coming Galaxy Z Fold2 serves as a premium smartphone while closed, then opens to provide a more tablet-like sized screen for immersive viewing, the presentation showed.

Samsung executives said they upgraded the hinge, including adding a “sweeper” to remove pocket debris, to avoid problems experience with the first Fold phone.

Fold2 was “completely re-engineered for greater durability”, according to Samsung.

“I am incredibly excited about these improvements as they came so quickly,” said Moor Insights and Strategy analyst Patrick Moorhead.

“The Fold2 improved on nearly everything I thought it needed, including making it thinner.”

Pricing and availability for the new-generation folding phone were not disclosed, with more details promised for early in September.

The upgraded folding device features a cover screen of 6.2 inches and a main screen of 7.6 inches.

The Galaxy Note20 will be available later this month in the US starting at $999.99.

“Samsung gambled that consumers who did need a new phone would pay ever-more-expensive prices,” said Techsponential analyst Avi Greengart.

“There is nothing wrong with super-premium products, but relying exclusively on them was a bad bet.”

Connecting to Xbox

Samsung and Microsoft teamed up to synch the Xbox cloud gaming service to the South Korean company’s mobile devices.

“Our vision for gaming is to empower every player in the world to play the games you want, with the people you want, across all your devices,” said Xbox team head Phil Spencer.

“Our partnership with Samsung is an important step forward for gaming.”

The Samsung launch follows the release of budget-priced smartphones from Apple and Google starting under $400 offering an alternative to the high-end devices.

Apple’s flagship iPhone 12 is expected to launch later this year.

Samsung also took aim at Apple’s popular smartwatch and wireless ear buds with updated offerings of its own.

Health features such as electrocardiograms are being added in a new Galaxy Watch3 to be available starting Thursday with a starting price of $400.

“Apple owns the premium category, but this is the first time I think Samsung is giving [Apple] Watch a run for its money,” said analyst Moorhead.

LOS ANGELES — The Emmy nominations yielded a step forward for diversity, a new record for Netflix and nods aplenty for ESPN's popular Michael Jordan documentary.

Here are some top takeaways form the announcement by the Television Academy, ahead of the Emmy Awards on September 20:

Diversity

Of the more than 100 acting nominations in the series, limited series and television movie categories, more than a third of them went to black actors — a new record.

Among them are Billy Porter ("Pose"), Sterling K. Brown ("This Is Us" and "The Marvelous Mrs Maisel"), Issa Rae ("Insecure") and Regina King ("Watchmen").

The increased number of nominations for black performers confirmed efforts by the Television Academy to boost racial diversity on the small screen.

"Black Lives Matter. Black Stories Matter," the Academy tweeted.

The Emmy nominations announcement comes amid a national reckoning over race, with protests against racism and police brutality taking place across the country.

"This type of representation is a long time coming. There's no shortage of talent within the black community," Yahya Abdul-Mateen II, a nominee for HBO's "Watchmen," told Entertainment Tonight.

"Sometimes it takes certain circumstances in the world for people to open their eyes and people to open up, to widen their periphery."

But while black and Asian actors made gains this year, the lack of any Latino actors in the mix was glaring.

Newcomers fare well

The amount of television content eligible for Emmys increases just about every year, and this year, while Netflix earned a record 160 nominations, a few new streaming platforms earned their first nods.

Disney+ made its mark with 19 nominations — 15 of them for its flagship series, the "Star Wars" spinoff "The Mandalorian."

Apple TV+ nabbed 18 nominations, including for Jennifer Aniston, Steve Carell and Billy Crudup for its flagship launch program "The Morning Show." 

The fledgling short-form streaming platform Quibi also scored 10 nominations, including for cop spoof revival "Reno 911!" and dystopian thriller "Most Dangerous Game."

Father/daughter nominees

"This Is Us" actor Ron Cephas Jones and his daughter Jasmine Cephas Jones shared the limelight as they both received Emmy nods.

Jones was nominated for outstanding guest actor for the NBC tearjerker, for which he won an Emmy in 2018.

His daughter, who earned fame as a member of the original cast of the Broadway musical "Hamilton," joined the club of Emmy nominees for her role in the Quibi drama "#FreeRayshawn."

"I'm still in shock! Thank you to @TelevisionAcad for this Emmy nomination!" Jasmine Cephas Jones said in a tweet, in which she also congratulated her dad.

"Proud to be a part of important stories during this climate," she added.

Joe Exotic versus... Michael Jordan

The salacious Netflix series "Tiger King," which was all the rage at the onset of the COVID-19 lockdown, will face off against "The Last Dance," which revolves around basketball legend Michael Jordan's career with the Chicago Bulls, in the outstanding documentary or nonfiction series category.

The two shows will compete against Hulu's "Hillary," about failed presidential candidate Hillary Clinton, PBS's "American Masters," which examines the lives of outstanding artists, and HBO's "McMillion$," about the McDonald's Monopoly game scam.

"The Last Dance," which also aired during the lockdown while professional sports leagues were forced to suspend play, was the most-watched documentary ever on ESPN.

"I'm so proud of our entire team, who worked tirelessly for years to make 'The Last Dance' what it was," director Jason Hehir said. 

"I am beyond grateful for their expertise, their dedication and their perseverance amidst unprecedented circumstances as we finished the show in the early stages of this pandemic."

By Jocelyne Zablit

Experiencing a computer sudden crash or freezing is annoying and unpleasant. If it comes round once in a blue moon most of us can live with it, for all it takes to go past it is to do a machine forced shutdown and then a restart — a mere two to three minutes operation, depending on how powerful and fast the computer is.

Things get really frustrating when the freeze occurs repeatedly, and worst of all, when you are unable to tell why it is happening, what is causing the system to crash.

The complexity of operating systems, like Windows or Mac OS for example, the large number of software applications we install and run, uncertainties pertaining to networks connections, the various hardware components that make a computer, and the all too frequent updates that are forced upon us, they all make troubleshooting and diagnosing a crash difficult, even for seasoned pros.

As for which of Windows or Mac OS crashes more frequently there is no consensus about it among the technical community. Naturally Windows aficionados believe that “their” system is definitely more reliable than Apple’s, and… vice versa.

Back to troubleshooting the possible reason of the crash.

One can always try to make note about when exactly the accident took place, what software was in use, if it was a USB flash drive that was inserted at that precise moment, a specific website that the user was browsing, a new software programme that you just installed, etc.

This does help and may lead to tangible results, but only in the smallest number of cases. In the largest number, however, this would leave you without the faintest idea about the cause of the crash and would only add to your frustration.

Trial and error also rarely helps, given the overwhelming number of possible cures: to remove and to re-install software, to refrain from using specific applications or tools, etc. Too long and not really practical!

If you are reasonably tech-savvy, googling the issue sometime may help, provided you can put it in clear, concise terms for your search: “My computer crashes every time I open Photoshop,” or “My computer freezes if I leave it unattended for more than one hour,” for example.

Then you also have to filter the results you would get this way, avoid without hesitation any advice that starts with “click here to solve your problem”, and make sure you understand and are able to apply anything that looks like a reasonable solution, one you can trust.

Asking for professional help, from an experienced technical person, usually is the safest way to go — with a stress put here on “experienced”. Indeed, even a smart IT techie may not be able to crack the case unless he has some years of experience in the field.

There is another approach that many have found easy, practical and efficient. It comes in the shape of a small software utility tool aptly called Who Crashed. It is legally free and easily available on the web. Once downloaded and installed, you leave it there, waiting for the next crash to happen.

Once and if the crash takes place again, you just restart the computer and run Who Crashed before doing anything else. The smart app starts by analysing your computer, and in more than 90 per cent of the cases it will be able to tell you what exactly caused your machine to stop working, paving the way for a clear remedy and sure corrective action plan.

PARIS — It was one of the quintessential European travel experiences.

With passengers cradled to sleep by the clank of the wheels on the rails, the network of night trains that spanned the continent inspired travelogues, thrillers and films.

But the cost required to keep them running, coupled with the growth of high speed day trains and the popularity of budget airlines, meant that the era of the couchette and wagon lit was quietly fading into the night.

Key routes were cut and the intricate network of overnight routes across Europe was reduced to just a handful of services.

But increasing awareness among passengers and governments of the carbon footprint from air travel — coupled with shrinkage in the airline sector due to the coronavirus epidemic — means that night trains may be in line for an unexpected renaissance.

Austria, France and Sweden are among countries pressing for a return to night train travel that may, yet, see more of us tucking up for the night in a cosy wagon lit.

President Emmanuel Macron of France — which over the last years stripped down its overnight domestic services to just a pair of routes — announced in July the government would “redevelop” night trains as part of a campaign to reduce emissions.

Secretary of State for Transport Jean-Baptiste Djebbari said that overnight connections between Paris and the Mediterranean city of Nice, as well as with Tarbes in the Pyrenees, would be restored by 2022.

“I think there is a real demand,” said Christophe Fanichet, the chief executive of French rail operator SNCF’s passenger arm SNCF Voyageurs.

He said there was in particular a “young population that is paying attention to carbon emissions” and is prepared to take a little more time to travel.

Austrian ‘trailblazer’

Overnight trains were cut one after another in France over the last years, hardly surprising in a country where the high-speed TGV now whisks passengers from Paris to Marseille in just over three hours. 

Just two lines survive due to a lack of alternatives for passengers between Paris and Briancon in the Alps and Cerbere in the Pyrenees.

They cost the state 20 million euros ($24 million) to keep running annually, plus 30 million to renovate the trains.

Signs of a revival in overnight travel are even more apparent elsewhere in Europe, notably in Austria where state railway operator OBB has been blazing a trail for international services.

OBB bought up old night train operations of German operator Deutsche Bahn and is now planning to buy 20 new trains for 500 million euros.

It is now possible to hop on a train in Vienna and wake up in Brussels.

“Over the coming years we want to focus on building up the network of night trains,” Austrian Environment Minister Leonore Gewessler told the Kleine Zeitung newspaper. 

“We want to strengthen this role as a trailblazer,” she added, referring to the fact that Vienna is served by more night trains than any other city in Europe.

‘Reinvent 

the night train’

Another model for night trains is Sweden, the home of the concept of flygskam (flight shame) advocated by teen anti-global warming activist Greta Thunberg who won’t take planes and makes much of travelling to conferences aboard night trains. 

The government is planning to invest 400 million krona (39 million euros, $46 billion) to relaunch daily connections between Stockholm and Hamburg and Malmo and Brussels by summer 2022.

It is too early to declare a night train revolution in Europe, with some operators much more wary about bringing them back.

Industry participants acknowledge there has to be a better solution than the standard six-person European sleeping couchette, which contains two sets of three bunk beds separated by a small gap.

This is all the more important in the era of the coronavirus, where few passengers will want to spend the entire night in a confined space with potentially five complete strangers.

“We can’t just say that we want night trains. We need to reinvent the night train,” said Fanichet of SNCF.

“We can’t just have yesterday’s night train again,” he added.

By Jean Liou