> Literally just plug in the hard drive and not think about it.
First you have to know that utility exists. Will most biology students know about Windows Backup? I doubt it. Even if they do, they're using a college administered PC. Backups are not their concern. They probably won't have permission to set it up even if they want to. In the article the staff member doesn't have permission to install the applications they need on their desktop PC.
Yes I did. Of course there was a screw-up. Maybe people can bring back backups, maybe not. This is nothing new and the devil is in the details. It could just as likely've been a flood, fire, short-circuit and everything else.
Nevertheless, data inevitably gets erased. It's part of the data management lifecycle. If data is non-trivial to backup or obvious to find, it must not be very valuable to those who own the data. Think about it.
Not deleting data, you might even become criminally liable, according to privacy laws like GDPR.
So while this stuff isn't as clear-cut, stable and easy as it should be (we agree there), people must keep their data with them, if the data is valuable to them.
I don't see any way forward laying blame on others for the rest of one's life. That's no way to live.
This is why one implements data and IT governance.
I agree. If you're spending years getting a PhD, and losing the data would put that degree in jeopardy, then it's definitely on you to ensure that the data you collect can't be lost. It's a necessary skill of being a scientist, just like keeping accurate lab notebooks, doing statistics, and everything else. If nobody taught you how to do this, you'll just have to learn it yourself.
First you have to know that utility exists. Will most biology students know about Windows Backup? I doubt it. Even if they do, they're using a college administered PC. Backups are not their concern. They probably won't have permission to set it up even if they want to. In the article the staff member doesn't have permission to install the applications they need on their desktop PC.