Of all the things that can happen during Chinese New Year this week, I accidentally made the data on my network attached storage (NAS) device unreadable – and could easily have wiped out all the years of reports, financial statements and holiday pictures I’ve stored on those two 1TB drives.

After days of pulling hair out, I eventually salvaged everything. But the entire episode prompted me to ask if I was really as prepared as I thought if I had accidentally deleted my data or, in this case, plugged my drives into a new NAS without backing things up.

The answer lies in a series of software tools you can use at home, before really going to the pros in data recovery for help. Here are a few that I tried out while panicking through my attempt at rescuing my data.
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If 2011 was remembered for shiny new tablets that made people part with their hard-earned cash, then 2012 may just be the one where the craze for these thin and light yet powerful and affordable ultrabooks takes off big time.

At the annual CES show just concluded earlier in the week, a good number of laptop makers joined the fray with their takes on what people would be carrying to meetings and classrooms in the coming months.

Perhaps having seen Asus, Acer and Lenovo whip up demand for such ultra-light PCs in the closing months of 2011, the likes of Sony, Dell and HP showed of their versions of the ultrabook at CES this year. Lenovo too came up with a quite surprising “yoga-like” ultrabook cum tablet.

Here’s a sneak peek.

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As technology users welcome 2012 everywhere, it’s clear the year that had just passed was filled with no little controversy and memorable incidents.

From Steve Jobs’ death to the delay of the much-awaited iPhone 5, from the rise of Android devices to Nokia’s return with its Windows Phone devices, and finally, with the potent mix of mobile devices and social media that  helped ignite protests in the Arab Spring and Occupy Wall Street, but also encouraged the thuggery of the London riots, 2011 was a big year in technology.

The next 12 months look to be just as interesting, as existing technologies mature and grow, while other new trends emerge. Here are five things to look out for in 2012: …

It’s that time of the year again.

Christmas is a time of giving and receiving, and every year at Techgoondu we want world peace and justice. This year I want to add to the list a fairer society, better public transport, and affordable public housing.

And in case those big dreams fall a little short of our lofty naive ideals, well, there’s always geek toys and gizmos that we can console ourselves with. And still keep dreaming big dreams — they are worth fighting for, aren’t they?

In the meantime, here’s what the goondus would like this Christmas:

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If you’re a fan of Dell’s Alienware range of “bling-in-on” gaming desktops, you’d be happy to hear that the PCs now come with Intel’s top-end Core i7-3960X or Core i7 3930K six-core CPUs in Singapore.

On the new Alienware Aurora R4 desktop, the LGA2011-based CPUs are water-cooled, and factory-overclocked to between 3.9GHz and 4.1GHz as well, which seem alright, unless you’re the type who regularly pour liquid nitrogen into your PC for extreme speed.  …

Treat your friends and loved ones to some great quality audio with these speaker systems this holiday season. These boom boxes will bring out the best in your favourite tunes and Christmas jingles, and are a leg-up over puny laptop speakers that often lack punch and musical detail.

Bowers & Wilkins Zepplin Air

This gorgeous audio dock from audiophile specialist B&W sports a signature design and promises punchy tunes packed with oomph. You can be assured of room-filling sound and strong vocals that will rise above accompanying music, whether you’re listening to jazz crooner Norah Jones or pop rock band Maroon 5. The speaker also supports Apple’s AirPlay technology that lets you play tunes from an iPhone or iPod over a wireless network. A front dock connector is also on hand for folks who wish to hook up their Apple devices directly to the speaker.

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If you need to use a Windows program occasionally on a Mac but don’t want to cough up US$80 for Parallels Desktop 7, a new Mac app by NES Software might be worth considering.

Dubbed WinOnX, the US$4.99 app is based on the Wine open source project that lets users of Linux and Unix-based operating systems run Windows applications through a software compatibility layer. As a former Linux user, I depended on Wine to run Internet Explorer, Microsoft Office and some utility applications. …

Singapore Expo is a long way away for most people, other than folks living in the east, so before you head down to Sitex, Singapore’s last quarterly IT bazaar for 2011, check out some of the standout deals that people have been putting up on brochure sites.

Yes, in the past, you had to squeeze your way through the halls for some small bargain, collecting loads of brochures on the way. Today, you can check out what’s on offer online before heading down for a more targeted trip.

Here are some great deals so far at this weekend’s show. We’ll update this page as we get more info.

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Folks looking out for an ultrabook this holiday season has yet another choice on top of the increasingly crowded segment – the Lenovo U300s. Eschewing the wedge-shaped design championed by Apple and ASUS, Lenovo’s take on the ultrabook is a sensible book-shaped machine that has a nice heft and overall feel. We go hands-on! …

Asus and Acer may have been slightly earlier to the game, but the battle for the slimmest, lightest and most powerful laptop is just getting hotter with new arrivals like Toshiba’s new Portege Z830.

Shown to the media in Singapore last week, the latest in the Japanese laptop maker’s thin-and-light Portege line is just 15.9mm thin and weighs a feather-light 1.12kg. On that frame are a 13.3-inch screen and 128GB solid state drive, along with either an Intel Core i5 or Core i7 chip. …