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| BBCWorld - 24 Jan (BBCWorld)The rain and high winds experienced during stormy weather can damage homes and business properties. Read...Newslink ©2025 to BBCWorld |  |
|  | | ITBrief - 23 Jan (ITBrief) Small businesses are facing rising security threats and administrative challenges, making effective security systems a crucial investment for their survival. Read...Newslink ©2025 to ITBrief |  |
|  | | Stuff.co.nz - 23 Jan (Stuff.co.nz) OPINION: The cuts the government is making mean less money in the pockets of households, less spending within the community, and fewer business looking to hire. Read...Newslink ©2025 to Stuff.co.nz |  |
|  | | Stuff.co.nz - 23 Jan (Stuff.co.nz) Labour is almost ready to start announcing policies, but it still has some listening to do. Read...Newslink ©2025 to Stuff.co.nz |  |
|  | | RadioNZ - 23 Jan (RadioNZ) Companies Act reforms are meant to make New Zealand an easier, safer place to do business, but key gaps in the reforms mean they could fall short of achieving that. Read...Newslink ©2025 to RadioNZ |  |
|  | | Stuff.co.nz - 23 Jan (Stuff.co.nz) While the pace of construction has eased this year, some business owners have blamed the council’s programme for a loss of turnover or even forcing them to close. Read...Newslink ©2025 to Stuff.co.nz |  |
|  | | PC World - 23 Jan (PC World)If you’re reading this, you’re likely one of the billions of people who work on computers all day long. Whether that’s from home or in a corporate office, the result is the same: too many hours spent each day sitting at a desk and staring at a computer screen.
This can have adverse effects on your physical and mental wellbeing. Fortunately, there are some simple, healthy habits you can adopt to stay relatively healthy — and you really should adopt them sooner than later, before you’re in agony and trying to rewind time.
Invest in the right setup from the start
The first thing to get right is your setup, otherwise you’ll be fighting a losing battle from the start. Your setup includes everything you use while working on a PC: desk, chair, monitor, keyboard, and mouse.
If you’re working in a corporate office, your options are likely limited as you’ll be stuck with the equipment provided by your company. But even then, you can always make some adjustments that improve your setup and make it better-suited to your individual needs.
Tim van der Kuip / Unsplash
You should make sure that your monitor is positioned correctly with the top of the screen level with your eyes. You should also invest in an ergonomic mouse that minimizes wrist stress, and you should make sure your desk, chair, keyboard, and mouse are positioned to maintain good posture throughout the day. In a nutshell, your feet should be flat on the ground, your head directly over your hips, your knees and elbows bent at 90 degrees, with your elbows touching the sides of your rib cage.
If you work from home and need to kit out your own office, be sure to invest in the best equipment you can afford. Don’t cheap out on your office chair. (It’s true, those pro-tier office chairs are worth it.) It’s essential that every part of your chair is adjustable to fit your body frame and posture, especially the lumbar support for your spine.
The importance of ergonomics in preventing pain and physical disorders can’t be overstated. For in-depth guidelines, check out New Hampshire’s Workplace Ergonomics Reference Guide (PDF).
Maintain a proper posture
Even with the right workstation setup, you still have to consciously maintain good posture at all times. The more you slack, the more you train your body into accepting bad habits. As someone who has worked from home for almost 20 years, believe me when I say this is crucial.
There are plenty of times throughout the day when you probably feel like slouching your shoulders, reclining back in your chair, or even putting your feet up on your desk. But you must resist the urge! All of that will build up and lead to bad posture, even injury.
Sitting like this will wreak havoc on your back, shoulders, and neck over time.Studio Republic / Unsplash
The best way to maintain good posture at all times is to establish an ergonomic setup (see the previous tip) that organically encourages you to sit properly. Sitting in your chair should automatically put you in a good posture with your spine supported, your arms bent at the elbows, and the top of your monitor positioned at eye level.
If your back hurts and you find yourself always slouching and leaning and sitting in bad posture no matter what you do, consider switching to a standing desk. It’s an investment, but it’s one of the best things you can do to curb back pain as a desk worker.
Keep your workspace uncluttered
The old adage “tidy home, tidy mind” suggests that living in a clean and well-organized environment is beneficial to mental health — and the same applies to keeping your workspace clean and tidy.
Robert Bye / Unsplash
According to Harvard Business Review, research suggests that maintaining a clean, tidy, and well-organized workspace can help you both physically (fewer germs and dust means you’re less likely to get sick from your work environment) and mentally (organized workspaces have been shown to reduce stress and increase productivity).
Stay hydrated at all times
Staying hydrated is important no matter what you’re doing, but it’s especially key when you’re trying to focus.
When working at a desk all day, it’s easy to forget the need to replenish fluids. Staying hydrated generally means drinking water, but can also include tea and coffee as long as you don’t overdo the caffeine intake.
Sarah Dorweiler / Unsplash
Again, while proper hydration is non-negotiable no matter what you’re doing, it’s especially crucial for concentration. As numerous studies have shown, even mild dehydration can make you groggy, irritable, unfocused, unproductive, and lead to physical ailments.
Take regular breaks throughout the day
Taking regular breaks feels counterintuitive, but your body needs them. While you might be inclined to power through the day to get done as much as you can, you’d likely get more done with a few strategic breaks sprinkled in throughout the day.
There’s conflicting advice when it comes to how many breaks you should take and how often you should take them, but don’t take that to mean nobody knows what they’re talking about. All the experts agree on this: a sedentary lifestyle shortens life and decreases quality of life. Computer workers are quite literally sitting themselves to death.
Vitaly Gariev / Unsplash
I do two specific things to protect myself while working on my PC:
First, I schedule two extended breaks that split my day up into three blocks. Both breaks are spent away from my desk, and if possible, I try to take them outside to ensure I get some fresh air into my lungs.
Second, as soon as I feel any kind of strain on my body, I stand up and move around for a minute or so. This doesn’t have to be anything too strenuous. Just the act of standing up and walking around can limber up your muscles/joints and get your blood circulating.
Stretch and exercise regularly
During your regular breaks, you shouldn’t be zoning out and doing nothing. Sure, grab a glass of water and hit the bathroom if you need to, but most breaks should involve stretching and exercise of some kind.
Do exercises that work your abs, upper back, glutes, and hamstrings to encourage good posture and prevent muscular imbalances. Take a short walk and get those legs moving. Stretch out your hips, legs, shoulders, chest, and neck before they get too stiff. Exercises and stretches go a long way to helping you maintain fitness and flexibility.
Studio Romantic / Shutterstock
There’s a host of good advice online about specific stretches to do while working at your desk and how to avoid work-related injuries. But you should also supplement them with real exercise, either before or after work. That could mean going to the gym, or you could focus on bodyweight exercises from the comfort of your home. You might even try an exercise bike desk that also charges your devices.
Follow the 20-20-20 rule for your eyes
Here’s one aspect of health that many white collar workers often overlook, especially when you’re younger (e.g., in your 20s). You need to protect your eyes and minimize computer vision syndrome (also known as digital eye strain).
G-Stock Studio / Shutterstock
The 20-20-20 rule works by forcing you to relax your eyes. Your computer screen is only two or three feet from you, and it can strain your eyes to focus at that distance for extended periods. By focusing on something 20 feet away, your eye muscles can relax — and doing this regularly can help prevent tiredness, blurry vision, and headaches/migraines. It’s worth doing whether you have perfect vision or wear vision correction.
Be aware of lighting and brightness levels
Good lighting is a necessary element of any good workspace. This applies to both environmental lighting and the light being emitted by that screen you’re staring at for hours and hours every day.
For environmental lighting, try to maximize natural light (i.e., sunlight) and supplement it with lamps if needed. Avoid going too bright or too dark, as both extremes will force your eyes to work harder. Try to position your light sources off to the side, not behind your monitor (so you aren’t staring into more light) and not behind you (so it doesn’t cast a glare on your screen that could strain your eyes).
Zhyar Ibrahim / Unsplash
As for your monitor brightness, there are two factors to consider: first, try to match its brightness to ambient brightness (i.e., not too dim and not too bright), and second, make sure it’s comfortable to your eyes.
The best brightness for you will depend on your circumstances, and it might even change depending on the time of day. If your operating system has adaptive brightness or if your monitor has auto-brightness, consider using those features — but it’s possible they may not work well for you. If your eyes are still suffering and uncomfortable, switch to manual control and adjust your lighting as needed.
Further reading: Tech gadgets that’ll supercharge your home office Read...Newslink ©2025 to PC World |  |
|  | | PC World - 23 Jan (PC World)At a glanceExpert`s Rating
Pros
Imaging of drives and partitions
One-way file sync
Remote backup of other computers running ShadowMaker
Disaster recovery media
Free version available
Cons
Some odd operational omissions
HiDPI scaling fills most of the screen
Our Verdict
ShadowMaker is a supreme bargain, while the Pro version adds a lot of features that power users need. Good stuff, though we ran into some issues with sync function.
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My last look at MiniTool ShadowMaker was several years ago at version 3.6. It was more than competent at the time, and it remains so during my latest tire-kicking efforts. The interface has been updated to appear a bit more fetching, though there are still some foibles. That said, how many imaging programs offer a generously featured free version?
What are MiniTool ShadowMaker Pro 4.6’s features?
First and foremost, ShadowMaker is an imaging program. That is, it creates sector-by-sector copies of entire hard drives, or individual partitions stored in a single large file. That generally only includes sectors with data on them, but you can also copy the “blank” sectors if needs be.
If you’re going to indulge in any recovery operations on drive in question or the image of it, that would indicate a “needs be” situation. Data may remain in sectors that are marked unused.
Further reading: See our roundup of the best Windows backup software to learn about competing hardware.
ShadowMaker Pro 4.6 offers full, incremental, and differential imaging. Either data sectors only, or all sectors.
Beyond imaging, there’s a sync function that may be used to back up individual files and folders. I say back up because the “sync” function is one-way, i.e. it copies files to the destination but not from the destination back to the original folder. There is no option for two-way or mirroring (i.e., delete files from the destination that have been deleted from the source) that I could find.
ShadowMaker will also clone disks, create an OS startup menu, as well as mount and unmount its images as virtual drives.
A PXE network service is also provided that you can instruct other PCs to boot from so they’re on the same network as your host computer. That, dear user, is a very professional feature.
ShadowMaker is able to interface with other computers running ShadowMaker on the same network. Select the Remote Control option from the Tools page, then type in the remote computer’s URL (e.g., 192.168.1.119). The program will reboot, and you’ll see all the storage devices, jobs, and logs from the remote machine.
I most decidedly liked the way ShadowMaker automatically displays the drive with the most space as the first choice for the destination.
It’s a little confusing at first, as there are no other real indications or notifications that this is what you’re doing. But once you see what’s going on, it’s cool, and extremely handy if you’re managing backups on several computers in the house. Simply restart the program to return to managing the host computer.
You can see many of ShadowMaker Pr 4.6’s imaging options here.
ShadowMaker delivers all the usual backup options such as compression, password encryption (128-bit), email notification, filters, shut down on completion, verification, and scheduling as granular as hourly. It will also fire off a backup at log-on or log-off if you so desire, and supports bare metal (divergent hardware) restore.
ShadowMaker Pro 4.6’s Tools page, including the remote control and boot menu options.
I like the look of ShadowMaker 4.6; however, I do have a couple of nits with the interface. There didn’t see to be a way to create a new folder at the destination. ShadowMaker creates its own folder to store your backup, which is something that will save new users from putting a bunch of junk where they might not want it, but I’d rather create my own.
Also, I could find no way to refresh the file and folder list, so when I did create my own new folders using Windows Explorer, I had to reboot ShadowMaker before they would appear.
An exceedingly mild complaint is ShadowMaker’s High DPI scaling. Without it, the program was rendered too tiny, but with it on, the interface took up most of my 2160p display as you see in the lead photo. A middle ground might be nice.
Enough nit-picking. Generally speaking, the interface is easy and intuitive. I most decidedly liked the way ShadowMaker automatically displays the drive with the most space as the first choice for the destination.
ShadowMaker also offers a Windows PE-based recovery disc that includes all the features of the main program, as shown below.
The boot screen and the backup page from the ShadowMaker recovery disc.
How much does MiniTool ShadowMaker 4.6 cost?
Good news here. A free version of ShadowMaker is available that handles most of the chores (imaging, sync, restore, etc.) that the average user really needs.
Beyond that, a perpetual license for the Professional version reviewed here is $80 and you can rent it for $36 yearly, or $10 a month. If you should opt for the yearly (the monthly is rather a bad deal), you’ll still be able to restore with the recovery disc at the very least.
Also available is a $129 business version that supports server usage. 10 seats for this version will set you back $399.
The differences between the versions can be viewed in their totality here. The features you might miss most with the free version are: system disk cloning (non-system disks are supported), full/differential backups (incremental is supported), backup using the recovery media, backup on events, and of course — remote control. At least those are the ones I’d miss.
How did ShadowMaker 4.6 perform?
ShadowMaker took 33 minutes to image 626GB, faster than our number-one ranked imaging program R-Drive Image 7.2 by a goodly margin, if not as fast as Easeus ToDo Backup. All imaging tasks to all locations and media went off without a hitch at approximately the same speed. Sync was fine for the most part, but quit during a copy of a folder on my desktop.
This log entry is informative about what happened, but not why.
Alas, the log didn’t provide sufficient information, saying which file caused the sync to quit, but not why. When I removed the offending folder (it continued to hang on other files in the folder), the sync could complete.
Removing the offending folder allowed the job to complete.
Note that I’d far prefer that the process skip the offending files rather than stop completely. I might be able to live without that folder and would like the rest of them to be backed up. As imaging is the program’s primary appeal and it was perfect at that, I didn’t knock off half a star for this little sync faux pas, but I certainly considered it.
Should you buy ShadowMaker Pro 4.6?
Given that it’s more expensive than the uber-reliable R-Drive Image, the pay/pro version of ShadowMaker is a bit hard to recommend for a single PC. However, the network support is unique in the category and makes the program a good choice for home networks. The free version? Have at it, folks. Read...Newslink ©2025 to PC World |  |
|  | | PC World - 23 Jan (PC World)If you’re reading this, you’re likely one of the billions of people who work on computers all day long. Whether that’s from home or in a corporate office, the result is the same: too many hours spent each day sitting at a desk and staring at a computer screen.
This can have adverse effects on your physical and mental wellbeing. Fortunately, there are some simple, healthy habits you can adopt to stay relatively healthy — and you really should adopt them sooner than later, before you’re in agony and trying to rewind time.
Invest in the right setup from the start
The first thing to get right is your setup, otherwise you’ll be fighting a losing battle from the start. Your setup includes everything you use while working on a PC: desk, chair, monitor, keyboard, and mouse.
If you’re working in a corporate office, your options are likely limited as you’ll be stuck with the equipment provided by your company. But even then, you can always make some adjustments that improve your setup and make it better-suited to your individual needs.
Tim van der Kuip / Unsplash
You should make sure that your monitor is positioned correctly with the top of the screen level with your eyes. You should also invest in an ergonomic mouse that minimizes wrist stress, and you should make sure your desk, chair, keyboard, and mouse are positioned to maintain good posture throughout the day. In a nutshell, your feet should be flat on the ground, your head directly over your hips, your knees and elbows bent at 90 degrees, with your elbows touching the sides of your rib cage.
If you work from home and need to kit out your own office, be sure to invest in the best equipment you can afford. Don’t cheap out on your office chair. (It’s true, those pro-tier office chairs are worth it.) It’s essential that every part of your chair is adjustable to fit your body frame and posture, especially the lumbar support for your spine.
The importance of ergonomics in preventing pain and physical disorders can’t be overstated. For in-depth guidelines, check out New Hampshire’s Workplace Ergonomics Reference Guide (PDF).
Maintain a proper posture
Even with the right workstation setup, you still have to consciously maintain good posture at all times. The more you slack, the more you train your body into accepting bad habits. As someone who has worked from home for almost 20 years, believe me when I say this is crucial.
There are plenty of times throughout the day when you probably feel like slouching your shoulders, reclining back in your chair, or even putting your feet up on your desk. But you must resist the urge! All of that will build up and lead to bad posture, even injury.
Sitting like this will wreak havoc on your back, shoulders, and neck over time.Studio Republic / Unsplash
The best way to maintain good posture at all times is to establish an ergonomic setup (see the previous tip) that organically encourages you to sit properly. Sitting in your chair should automatically put you in a good posture with your spine supported, your arms bent at the elbows, and the top of your monitor positioned at eye level.
If your back hurts and you find yourself always slouching and leaning and sitting in bad posture no matter what you do, consider switching to a standing desk. It’s an investment, but it’s one of the best things you can do to curb back pain as a desk worker.
Keep your workspace uncluttered
The old adage “tidy home, tidy mind” suggests that living in a clean and well-organized environment is beneficial to mental health — and the same applies to keeping your workspace clean and tidy.
Robert Bye / Unsplash
According to Harvard Business Review, research suggests that maintaining a clean, tidy, and well-organized workspace can help you both physically (fewer germs and dust means you’re less likely to get sick from your work environment) and mentally (organized workspaces have been shown to reduce stress and increase productivity).
Stay hydrated at all times
Staying hydrated is important no matter what you’re doing, but it’s especially key when you’re trying to focus.
When working at a desk all day, it’s easy to forget the need to replenish fluids. Staying hydrated generally means drinking water, but can also include tea and coffee as long as you don’t overdo the caffeine intake.
Sarah Dorweiler / Unsplash
Again, while proper hydration is non-negotiable no matter what you’re doing, it’s especially crucial for concentration. As numerous studies have shown, even mild dehydration can make you groggy, irritable, unfocused, unproductive, and lead to physical ailments.
Take regular breaks throughout the day
Taking regular breaks feels counterintuitive, but your body needs them. While you might be inclined to power through the day to get done as much as you can, you’d likely get more done with a few strategic breaks sprinkled in throughout the day.
There’s conflicting advice when it comes to how many breaks you should take and how often you should take them, but don’t take that to mean nobody knows what they’re talking about. All the experts agree on this: a sedentary lifestyle shortens life and decreases quality of life. Computer workers are quite literally sitting themselves to death.
Vitaly Gariev / Unsplash
I do two specific things to protect myself while working on my PC:
First, I schedule two extended breaks that split my day up into three blocks. Both breaks are spent away from my desk, and if possible, I try to take them outside to ensure I get some fresh air into my lungs.
Second, as soon as I feel any kind of strain on my body, I stand up and move around for a minute or so. This doesn’t have to be anything too strenuous. Just the act of standing up and walking around can limber up your muscles/joints and get your blood circulating.
Stretch and exercise regularly
During your regular breaks, you shouldn’t be zoning out and doing nothing. Sure, grab a glass of water and hit the bathroom if you need to, but most breaks should involve stretching and exercise of some kind.
Do exercises that work your abs, upper back, glutes, and hamstrings to encourage good posture and prevent muscular imbalances. Take a short walk and get those legs moving. Stretch out your hips, legs, shoulders, chest, and neck before they get too stiff. Exercises and stretches go a long way to helping you maintain fitness and flexibility.
Studio Romantic / Shutterstock
There’s a host of good advice online about specific stretches to do while working at your desk and how to avoid work-related injuries. But you should also supplement them with real exercise, either before or after work. That could mean going to the gym, or you could focus on bodyweight exercises from the comfort of your home. You might even try an exercise bike desk that also charges your devices.
Follow the 20-20-20 rule for your eyes
Here’s one aspect of health that many white collar workers often overlook, especially when you’re younger (e.g., in your 20s). You need to protect your eyes and minimize computer vision syndrome (also known as digital eye strain).
G-Stock Studio / Shutterstock
The 20-20-20 rule works by forcing you to relax your eyes. Your computer screen is only two or three feet from you, and it can strain your eyes to focus at that distance for extended periods. By focusing on something 20 feet away, your eye muscles can relax — and doing this regularly can help prevent tiredness, blurry vision, and headaches/migraines. It’s worth doing whether you have perfect vision or wear vision correction.
Be aware of lighting and brightness levels
Good lighting is a necessary element of any good workspace. This applies to both environmental lighting and the light being emitted by that screen you’re staring at for hours and hours every day.
For environmental lighting, try to maximize natural light (i.e., sunlight) and supplement it with lamps if needed. Avoid going too bright or too dark, as both extremes will force your eyes to work harder. Try to position your light sources off to the side, not behind your monitor (so you aren’t staring into more light) and not behind you (so it doesn’t cast a glare on your screen that could strain your eyes).
Zhyar Ibrahim / Unsplash
As for your monitor brightness, there are two factors to consider: first, try to match its brightness to ambient brightness (i.e., not too dim and not too bright), and second, make sure it’s comfortable to your eyes.
The best brightness for you will depend on your circumstances, and it might even change depending on the time of day. If your operating system has adaptive brightness or if your monitor has auto-brightness, consider using those features — but it’s possible they may not work well for you. If your eyes are still suffering and uncomfortable, switch to manual control and adjust your lighting as needed.
Further reading: Tech gadgets that’ll supercharge your home office Read...Newslink ©2025 to PC World |  |
|  | | ITBrief - 22 Jan (ITBrief) WTW has appointed Mark Mamone as Head of Technology Delivery and Strategy for its ICT business, aiming to enhance its SaaS capabilities in the insurance sector. Read...Newslink ©2025 to ITBrief |  |
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