You want software that's actually comparing the images, not just their name or metadata. Try “Awesome Duplicate Photo Finder.” It’s free and you can get it at http://www.duplicate-finder.com/photo.html. It doesn't automatically delete anything -- I would NEVER allow that. It shows both photos side by side with data regarding file size and resolution, so that you can make the decision. The settings allow you to search for 100% identical photos, or for similar photos, and it's analyzing the image itself, not just name or metadata. I’ve used this terrific piece of software for years and love it.

These were both Samsung SSDs, in two different laptops.

In my experience, the reason for an SSD is speed, not reliability. I've had a higher failure rate on SSDs than on traditional HDDs. Of the 4 SSDs I've had, 2 have failed and been replaced. One the other hand, I've had only 2 HDDs fail out of the dozens I've owned. I would recommend an SSD for your boot drive and put only programs on it. I'd put all document and picture files on a traditional HDD, either internal or external.

Only if they are well labeled. A picture of people will be of little interest to anyone unless their identity is known. An essential part of post-processing all of those scans is to add some white canvas to the bottom and type in a detailed description of who, what, where and when.

Why is everyone focusing on the girl? She said it was a picture of her favorite post.

Nope. The only way to "turn the microphone off" is to unplug the device. I'm concerned, but more concerned by Google and Amazon reading all my emails.

Don't forget the Forrest Gump lighthouse, aka, the Marshall Point Light Station in Port Clyde, Maine. Our favorite restaurant in Rockland is Claws, a roadside lobster shack with covered picnic table seating. Get a lobster dinner to eat there, and a large seafood chowder to take home for later.

The whole point of Dropbox is so that you don't need to send a zip file.

I've had problems with Western Digital HD's, but never with Seagate, and I've had dozens of Seagate hard drives over the years. It's entirely the luck of the draw whether you will get a lemon, but fortunately they're not all that expensive and lemons are rare. You want a minimum of two backups anyway, so if one drive goes bad you just replace it with no loss of photos. My favorite is the Seagate 2TB Backup Plus Slim drive for around $69. I'd avoid the SSD's. They are much more expensive and, in my experience, no more reliable. I've had two Samsung 500GB SSD's fail.

Agree entirely. I found Paris to be no more dangerous than any US city of comparable size.

The homage to Ray Harryhausen.

As long as the item is sold and shipped by Amazon, I've never had a problem and have bought a ton of stuff from them. If you get the Amazon store credit card and use it for your purchases, you get a 5% rebate on your purchases every month.

Unless they all three crashed on the same day, that shouldn't present a problem (other than the cost of a replacement drive, of course). Perhaps you should try a different brand for your next hard drive. I've had excellent luck with Seagate. I've got 8 or 9 that I've been using for years and haven't lost one yet. These are the 2 TB Seagate Backup Plus Slim model at around $69 on sale. I've also had good luck with a Toshiba drive that gets most of my day to day files. The only drives I've ever had fail were Western Digital. PS, I grew up in Salt Lake City, and enjoy seeing your pictures of my old home town. Please keep posting!

Yes, always. It's the cellphone in my pocket.

I've never used one on a camera. I used one once on a cellphone and will never use one again. It's a needless addition that can degrade the display image over time. Unless you are extremely careless with your devices, it serves no purpose.