This week, New York Times writer, J.D. Biersdorfer tackled a reader's question about how to get contact and calendar information out of a "dead" Palm device.

You have two options: try to get the Palm organizer fixed or try to harvest the data that it synchronized to your computer transferred to Microsoft Outlook. The latter option, however, may not do you much good if you never (or rarely) synchronized the organizer to the computer's Palm Desktop program.

This is a reminder for all of us... make sure you sync and backup your data. In fact, set yourself an appointment to do so. Better yet, make that a recurring appointment.

Backup options, such as Resco Backup and Right Back Up by Stand Alone, Inc. are available starting at $9.95.

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