Do you ever feel overwhelmed by the ever-changing world of technology? Tech It Out can help make some sense of it all. Breaking down geek speak into street speak. Technology columnist, author, and TV personality Mark Saltzman covers consumer technology each week for every listener. Mark tackles the latest news, reviews, and how-tos to help you understand what's hot, what's not, and why.
Hey everyone, welcome to Tech It Out. This is episode 245. Hope you're all doing great on this mid-May show. Thank you for tuning in and be sure to leave a star review or a comment if you like, should you be listening to the podcast version of Tech It Out. It's really easy to just click a star rating or leave a couple of words there on your favorite platform. Those reviews and ratings go a long way. Hey, we do have a great show planned for you this hour. We're going to start off with what to do if your laptop doesn't turn on or your external hard drive isn't working and you think about all those important files you've got on there, including irreplaceable photos and home movies. Well, we'll talk with one of those data recovery services in a moment. After that, we'll catch up with one of the co-founders of Airbnb about what's new with that mega popular service. And finally, we get the skinny on Microsoft Viva. It's a new employee experience and engagement platform. All of this and more on an all-new Tech It Out powered by ASUS for those in search of incredible. I'll tell you more about ASUS shortly, but let's officially kick off the show with our first interview. It's the worst feeling. You're working away on your computer and something goes wrong. I don't know, hard drive malfunction, nasty virus, a power surge after a storm, or maybe a laptop is lost or stolen, and then you realize that all the files that you have on there that you haven't backed up in a while are gone. And that could be irreplaceable photos and home movies as well or important work documents. And so on this show, I preach about regular backups. But say you want to retrieve info from a dead laptop or an external hard drive that will no longer turn on. Well, we're now going to learn about data recovery services with a company called, yep, datarecovery.com. We're joined by Justin Mlelen, general manager of datarecovery.com. Welcome to the show, Justin. Good to chat with you.
Hey, thanks Mark for having me on. I really appreciate it.
Sure. Hey, why don't we just start off at a high level. Talk to us about the company, datarecovery.com. You've been around for a while, right? And you're based in Toronto.
Yeah, that's right. I'm talking to you from our Toronto location. We do have four labs in North America, one in Toronto, one in Arizona, one in California, and one in Illinois.
And the company has been around for a long time. We've been around since '97. We started out recovering floppy disks and zip drives back in the day.
Well, happy 25th anniversary to you, by the way.
So, what would you say separates your services at datarecovery.com from other data recovery companies? And let's also clarify what exactly it is that you do when you talk about recovering data off of a drive, even legacy ones that you've mentioned.
Yeah, for sure. So one of the main differences I think with our company and some of our competitors or other data recovery companies is that we do have those four real physical labs in North America. Like I mentioned, a lot of our competitors, they have what we call a Regis office or a drop ship point where you might go in and they claim to have a location in every major city, but all you're doing is going there, bringing your device and someone's just shipping it out immediately, right? So you can trust when you come to one of our locations. And our slogan is real people, real labs, real engineers. And that's what we have at each location is we've built out these locations to have clean room labs, to have engineers on site, and to have all the equipment we need to get the recovery done locally, right? Which is a major benefit for the time it takes to get the recoveries done.
Got it. So people come to you, they either bring the broken external hard drive or the laptop physically to one of your locations or they ship it in. And we'll get to more of that in a moment. So they don't have to be living in Toronto or in Illinois or California or Arizona for example. But what you do essentially is that you connect that inoperable drive to I'm assuming another computer and then you use like special software in order to try to retrieve the data off of that drive that no longer works. Is that fair?
Yeah, that's right. So, I mean, anyone can come into any of our locations. We're open from 9 to 4, Monday to Friday in person. We'll create a ticket for you. We'll set everything up. We'll do a free evaluation on your device and then we can offer a quote for recovery. Now, if you're not local, if you're in the States, you'll be receiving a free UPS express air label into our nearest lab. And yeah, once we get the devices in, our main goal is to complete the free evaluation and then offer a quote for recovery and determine if the data is going to be recoverable or not. There are some drives that do arrive that are not recoverable. It's very rare, but for the most part, we're able to get back almost anything off any type of device that stores data, right?
Awesome. And that so that could be an external hard drive. It could be a solid state drive, which is increasingly popular. What about something like a memory card or a USB flash drive? Even those?
Yep. Anything that holds data that you can think of from a cell phone, camcorder, SD card, micro SD card, USB flash drive, SSD, hard drive, server. We even do cryptocurrency recovery. We do password recovery. And we even work on ransomware cases as well.
All right. So that's when someone locks down your computer because you, you know, accidentally clicked on a file like an attachment or a link and then they say, 'Haha, we got you.' Unless you give us, you know, Bitcoin or something, we're not going to let you have access to your files. So that's when you would unplug the computer and bring it to someone like you and then you may be able to get rid of that ransomware so that you can access those important files.
Yep, that's correct. Yeah, definitely. I've seen just recently some Fortune 500 companies have been hit. Yeah, ransomware, it's very difficult to work with these threat actors. They've stepped up the encryption on this stuff. So, they are tough, but there's definitely a way to retrieve data and typically depending on what's been infected and who's been infected, the ransoms could reach into the hundreds of thousands of dollars actually.
Wow. All right. So, talk to us, Justin, about the first thing you should do once you realize your drive isn't working. So again, that could be an external drive like where it's usually you plug it into your computer and it's recognized and it's not for whatever reason or let's say your laptop or desktop won't turn on.
So the very first thing that I would suggest is if you plug in a hard drive or you try to turn on your laptop or your desktop and it's not booting up. If you hear any abnormal sounds such as clicking, ticking, beeping, or scratching, power it down or disconnect the drive immediately because that can be causing further damage. And depending on the time that you've spent with the drive powered on in that condition, it can actually destroy your platter surface, making the recovery impossible. So really, the first step is I would say to power it down and call datarecovery.com so we can take a look and do a free evaluation for you.
Got it. We're chatting with Justin Mlelen, GM of datarecovery.com. We're learning about their data recovery services for all kinds of external drives as well as computers themselves. They're based in Toronto, but they will accept drives, I'm sure, shipped from anywhere, and there are also three facilities in the US as well. So, with that in mind, walk us through the process. So, again, you talked about a free quote so long as you can access datarecovery.com on some device. You can reach out that way or you can call a phone number.
Yeah, that's correct, Mark. Yeah. So, if you have a way to get on to datarecovery.com from a different computer or your cell phone, there is a link at the top says get a free quote. You can submit your information that way and we'll give you a call back very quickly or you can dial the number. It's 1-800-237-4200. Again, that's 1-800-237-4200. We'll gladly take the call and go through the procedures with you to get the ball rolling on recovery. We do offer the free shipping into any of our labs throughout North America or of course if you're local you can drop it off in person.
Okay, awesome. And then how long does the process typically take and also for cost? Is there like a starting price that people should be aware of? I know that data recovery services can be a bit expensive.
Yeah, that's right, Mark. So, it really depends on the situation. The very first thing is to get the device into our lab for the free evaluation. Once we receive the device, typically an evaluation report will be sent out either same day or next business day. So, it's very quick turnaround time for the evaluation so you can have an idea about what's going on with your drive. There'll also be an estimate on a turnaround time for the actual recovery along with a full detailed report as well as the recoverability and the cost. Some cases are a couple hundred dollars. And you know, unfortunately, some of the heavily damaged ones could even go up to a couple of thousand dollars. But it really depends on the damage. You know, it's much like calling your mechanic and asking him how much it's going to cost to fix your car. It's not starting. Well, he needs to take a look at your car and we need to take a look at your drive.
And I know you also have a no data, no charge policy, right? You only charge for the recovery once the work is complete and the data has been successfully recovered. If the data is not recovered, there's no charge, which is really great. And if you make a partial recovery, then you only bill on the percentage of the data that was recovered. So all of that, that's great stuff.
Yeah, that's correct, Mark.
And then before we wrap up, Justin, any good practices you could suggest to minimizing things happening to your computers or your external drives?
Yeah, well like you said in the beginning, Mark, and as you preach, you know, data backup is very, very important. It's always the best practice to have your data stored in two separate locations or more at any time. That means that if your internal drive on your laptop has important data on it and you copied over to your external drive, you have to also leave it on your laptop drive. Because a lot of people make the mistake where they buy an external hard drive, they put all their critical data on the drive and then they erase it from their laptop and they call that a backup. But considering that that's your only source of data, it's no longer a backup, right? So yeah, and obviously nowadays we have the services available for cloud storage at a consumer level. You know, iCloud, Google Drive, Dropbox, OneDrive, any of these services you can upload data to as well. Some people do have concerns about privacy. So, if that's the case, then you're the kind of person that's going to want to maybe have two external hard drives with your data on it.
Yeah. And like you said, keep them in separate locations, too. And just in case of fire or flood, you've got access to a safety deposit box at a bank or something, then you can also throw a drive in there with all your precious family memories and important documents and all that and just leave it there.
Yeah. Or one at home and one at work in a secure location. That's always a best practice as well. You're right.
Okay, great. And then I'm assuming it's simply datarecovery.com to learn more.
Yep. datarecovery.com or give us a call 1-800-237-4200.
Thank you so much for your time, Justin. Justin Mlelen has been our guest, general manager of datarecovery.com. Thank you.
Thanks again, Mark, for having me on.
When we return on Tech It Out, we catch up with one of the co-founders of Airbnb to discuss some of the latest features that were unveiled this week. Stay with us. We'll be right back.
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Welcome back to Tech It Out, powered by ASUS for those in search of incredible. ASUS creates technology for today and tomorrow's smart life. And that includes its line of award-winning laptops and desktops. Accessories like monitors, keyboards, and mice. Mobile tech like smartphones, tablets, and smartwatches, and much more. For those in search of incredible, visit asus.com/usradio for more info. That's asus.com/usradio. Question for you. What's only 14 years old yet has served up more than 400 million guests around the globe? The answer, of course, is Airbnb. And last week, the company made a few big announcements tied to some new features. Joining us on the line to chat is Nathan Blecharczyk. He's co-founder and chief strategy officer at Airbnb. Welcome to the show, Nathan. Good to chat with you.
Great to be on. Thank you.
Before we chat about what's new with Airbnb, let's please just bring everybody all up to speed. Remind our listeners if you can what the platform is all about.
Well, Airbnb was born back in 2007 when my two co-founders, Brian and Joe, welcomed three guests to their San Francisco home. They were really just trying to pay their rent. Ended up hosting three people in their apartment. And you know, from this fast forward basically 14 years, we now have four million hosts all around the world who have welcomed more than 1 billion guests across 220 countries on our platform. Yeah, it's been an incredible journey.
It's awesome. Congrats on your successes today. So how would you say Airbnb compares to other similar let's say services like I don't know, Vrbo or other places where you can book accommodations?
Well, there's many differences but at a high level maybe there's three worth pointing out. I mean, first, we have the largest selection of unique homes all around the globe. We have more than 6 million homes in 220 countries and regions. Second, we have the most innovative product and app. Today, I'll be sharing a little bit about our new search interface. But we make it really easy to discover these great homes all around the world regardless of your dates and whether it's short-term or long-term, this is all stuff that we do really well. And then thirdly is the support that we offer. We offer comprehensive customer support as well as we are now launching and calling AirCover for guests. This is comprehensive support for your booking included free of charge. And basically it means that you know if you show up and something's not as described, something's not working, we'll find you a comparable or better place free of charge or if you prefer give you your money back. Bottom line is that we're there to help when you need it. That's an unlikely event that you'll need it, but if you need it, we're there just a call away.
Yeah. I'm going to ask you more about AirCover for guests in a couple of moments, as well as something called split stays, but it's great about, you know, it seems like it offers more peace of mind for those who are booking accommodations. How has the pandemic changed your business at all, Nathan?
Well, I think it's had a huge impact on travel. Obviously, during the course of the pandemic, cross-border travel, you know, really plummeted, but people still wanted to travel. They were just traveling nearby. And so we saw a great increase in domestic travel on Airbnb to nearby destinations. And with people working remotely, we saw them having more flexibility about when they travel, how long they travel for. And so today, more than half the trips happening on Airbnb are for domestic stays. More than half the nights being booked are for trips of a week or longer. Actually, one in five nights being booked on Airbnb are for stays of 28 days or longer.
Oh, wow. And so, you know, I think this ability to work remotely has meant that living, working, and traveling have all blurred together, meaning people can work from anywhere, not just their own home, but any home. And people have really leaned into that opportunity to travel more and in this case, use Airbnb to get off into the countryside and explore some new destinations.
Yeah, I would think Airbnb would be more appealing than staying in a hotel for example, especially during the height of the pandemic where people may be afraid, you know, of catching the virus where Airbnb, it could be your own place, a villa, a home, a cottage, a cabin. It's a bit more remote and safe. You would think you'd see a boost in those kinds of bookings.
Well, I think there's three elements to it. One is, yeah, absolutely you can have your own space and that's been, you know, particularly appealing during the pandemic. But two, if you're going for a longer period of time, it's more affordable to stay in a home than a hotel. And you can also have your own kitchen so you can make your own meals. You know, these are things that are more important when you're staying for like a week or longer.
And more space to segregate your personal and professional life if you are going to be working too.
That was going to be the third thing. Yes, you're right.
All right. We're chatting with Nathan Blecharczyk. He is co-founder and chief strategy officer at Airbnb. Let's now chat about what's new with the platform. You've already alluded to the redesigned interface. Can you tell us a bit more about that?
Yeah, absolutely. Over the course of the last couple years, we've seen that people are more flexible in terms of when they travel or even where they're traveling to. They're not going to the same top 10 destinations all around the world. They've been going more nearby. And more than ever, people just want to have experiences, right? So, if you show them a great experience, they're going to be open-minded about when they do that and where they go to do that. And so now when you go open up our app, we're going to immediately start showing you amazing homes that are these incredible experiences. Even before you type in a destination, even before you type in dates, these homes, they are organized into categories. We have 50 different categories representing different styles of homes. So for example, you can search by farms, vineyards, historical homes. You can do it by location, right? So maybe you want to do kind of beachfront homes, tropical locations, or by activity, skiing for example, or golfing, right? For example, if you want to go to a national park, maybe you don't care which national park in particular you're going to, but we can show you all the homes all across the United States or all across Canada or anywhere in the world for that matter where we have homes in the national park or close by. So, it's a whole new way to find the hidden gems on Airbnb because we have 6 million homes and so many of them are outside of the top destinations. This functionality is really meant to surface some of these unique properties.
