3. Mechanics of Writing

It’s been argued that spell-checkers make authors lazy, and that writers at any level with access to a spell-checker make more mistakes than those without. I suspect that this is a case where average behaviour is meaningless—for some people it is an essential tool, while for others it is little more than a distraction. However, spell-checkers are at best a partial solution, and do not allow an author to avoid the task of a thorough proofread.

Yes, data is an ‘it’—not a ‘them’—in this context, because I am not referring to a numerable quantity, or a set made up in a meaningful way of individual datums [sic], but to a form of information. Pedantry may be with ‘them’, but usage isn’t.

Here I use ‘cute’ in the sense that is closer to nauseating than to sweet. Please take the hint.

However, it is not a good idea to open up the files while they are on the USB drive—instead, first copy them to your hard disk. Currently (2014), the USB drives can burn out if they are being accessed continuously. If used as backup only, though, even the cheap ones will last for years.