In 1998, Ask Ars was an early feature of the newly launched Ars Technica. Now, as then, it's all about your questions and our community's answers. Each week, we'll dig into our question bag, provide our own take, then tap into the wisdom of our readers. To submit your own question, see our helpful tips page.

Question: What is the smartest on-site backup strategy for my house? Time Machine? NAS? External SATA? DVD-R?

There's almost no end to backup solutions and configurations these days, and virtually no excuse for not backing up your computer. Even if you have only a few important files, it's worth it to shell out for an 8GB USB flash drive to store copies on; if you don't, you'll cry out that $20 you saved in anguished tears.

Read more