Homestrech

It has taken more time than I had hoped, but Grid Framework version 3.0 is finally almost done. All the code has been written and tested, the logistics have been figured out, and the documentation has been updated. This has been quite and exciting year and it is good to see the goal ahead.

So what is still missing? For one, I had a really nasty data loss recently, and while I had everything important backed up, it is the many small and seemingly unimportant files that slow down the recovery process. I have all the small stuff sorted out, but the toughest nut to crack has ironically been Unity3D itself.

There are four different types of files on my computer:

• Files I explicitly created myself

• Files that belong to the system

• Foreign files that are freely available

• Foreign files under lock and seal

The first kind is easy enough, I created them willingly, I decide if they are worth backing up. The second kind is irrelevant, they will be replaced by the new system anyway. The third kind can be a bit of work, but since they are freely available it is usually just a matter of a simple download. The fourth kind is where it's at though: you have to jump through hoops to get them, and even when you have them you need to jump through even more hoops to get them to actually work. I have written about it in my main blog.

What is the solution here? Back up the proprietary files? That can be problematic if the backup gets stolen and the files leaked. The files might contain a unique identifier tied to you, so good luck proving that you did not leak them yourself. There is also no guarantee that the backed up files will work from a backup and won't want to re-authenticate, which brings us right back to the original issue. Honestly, I have no idea how to deal with this kind of problem, other than to just hope for the best. Or don't use proprietary software in the first place I guess.