I'm an avid fan of version control system such as subversion and cvs; the ability to have every change you make to your files automatically backed up is... addictive.
Most developers keep their source code and resources in a repository of some sort, but I hypothosized that this mechanism would work equally well with any other type of data. I figured that if it keeps my code safe, why can't it keep all my other documents safe too? Instead of making weekly/monthly backups, I just automatically backup everytime something is changed. In addition this repository would allow me to easily access the most recent version of each of my documents from anywhere.
I decided to try it out for a couple months to see how it worked. I merged my documents from all 3 of the computers that I regularly work on into one repository. This was simple enough. Before I started working each day, I would just pull an update from the repo, and each time I updated a file or added a new resource I made a commit and kept on working. Some added benefits from this repo is that there is now never any fear of deleting files or making large changes.
The only downside to this system is its lack of integration. Perhaps with some customization of tortoiseSVN and some extra scripts I could further simplify the process. Whatever the necessary steps are though, I have decided this is a worthwhile investment. As far as I know there is no commercial product that provides this functionality. It would be appealling to see a product that allows you to manage your documents on an individual basis all across your system; integrated seemlessly into the desktop.
I urge anyone thats experienced with VCSs to try this and see how it works for them.
