Get settled in for the long haul

One of the key downsides of online backup is the time it takes to actually get your initial backup into the cloud. Some companies such as CrashPlan and DollyDrive allow you to ship a physical hard drive to “seed” your backup, greatly reducing the amount of data that needs to be transferred online initially.

If you aren’t with these companies or want an alternative, you can create a tiered backup strategy. If you do it all at once, it can take months and you’ll find you’re missing key files when you need them. Here’s what I typically recommend in terms of a staged approach for the average user:

1. Work first. Realize that while most people say pictures are the most important items to back up, those typically take the longest to upload. I prefer to start with the Documents folder. These typically are probably the hardest to recreate, as well as being time sensitive. This is the folder you’re also working in most often, so you may be more likely to accidentally overwrite things. If you use Outlook or Entourage, exclude the Microsoft User Data as the database for those email programs tends to be huge.

Keep an eye on the backup program, and make sure it not only successfully backed up that initial folder, but is also correctly backing up changes daily. Typically this takes just a few days. Once you have that folder backing up, the next folder I suggest is the Desktop folder. For convenience (and a bit of poor training), many users keep documents on the desktop rather than the Documents folder.

2. App and system settings. Next is the Application Support and Preferences folder in your user library folder. These contain the settings for your various programs as well as some supporting data files.

After you’ve got those critical files happily updating it’s time for the bigger folders such as email and the rest of your library folder. Email, of course is very important and annoying if lost, but often it’s already stored elsewhere, like on your email provider’s servers.

3. Photos and home video. Once you’ve got the documents and various support files and folders, it’s time to tackle the photos. More and more users keep copies (albeit at a lower quality) on services such as Facebook and Flickr, as well as sync photos to their iPhone, so it probably isn’t so urgent for most. What I do recommend is to spend some time and back up your photos manually by periodically burning them to disc from iPhoto. Be sure to keep these disks offsite in case of disaster, maybe with friends or family.

4. Music last — or not at all. Finally, after these elements are successfully updating each day, it’s time to back up the rest of your hard drive and can go with the software’s suggested recommendations. You might think about excluding your iTunes folder, however. With iCloud and iTunes Match, you might consider waiting on these folders or not backing it up at all. A large media library can choke a backup system for months without a large return on investment. While Carbonite or Mozy is trying to back up a movie you ripped off of DVD to entertain the kids on your last road trip, it’s missing the actual pictures from the trip. Which are more important?

General tips

A general recommendation I have for the initial load is to upgrade your broadband speed, at least for a month or so. Most companies will give you a free trial period of around 30 days at a higher speed in hopes you keep the service. Take advantage of that and upload like crazy, although be careful if you use a metered service not to exceed your monthly bandwidth limit.

Make sure your Mac doesn’t go to sleep during the initial backup period. I’ve seen clients subscribe to an online service and never get an initial backup because the computer is shut down when not in use. Unfortunately, they often learn this when they try to restore after a disaster. Ouch.

Each hard drive is unique, so your data may not conform to these guidelines, but consider a game plan for your initial backup and make sure that you stagger that backup so at least something new is being backed up every month. Nothing hurts more than to have a data disaster and find you’ve been paying for a service and it hasn’t been backing up the stuff you want.

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Deals shares a lot of the functionality of the more full featured eBay mobile app, but it specifically targets eBay’s daily deals, and any zero bid items that have less than four hours remaining in their auction times, with no reserve price and free or fixed rate shipping, and a total price that includes shipping costs. In other words, with the deals the app presents, you pay exactly the price listed.

The app opens with a few featured daily deals already displayed in rotation on the main screen. You can then click on category buttons at the bottom, choosing between apparel, sports, computers, instruments, jewelry, electronics, collectibles, and photography to view auctions from those categories that fit the criteria I mentioned above.

The built-in searches are great for idle browsing (and possibly ruinous for those with strong impulse buying urges), but if you want to target items more specifically, you can either search on the fly, or create and save your own custom search. Creating a custom search allows you to specify keywords, a category, and a price range, and also assign an icon that will be displayed alongside the other default categories at the bottom of the app screen.

If you’d rather not save your search, there’s a magnifying glass icon at the top of the app that you can use instead to launch a one-time search. Next to that is another button that lists all the deals found in your most recent search. In use, I found that there wasn’t enough search criteria to ensure truly focused results. I’d love the addition of an “at least x dollars” filter, so that when I search for “iPhone,” for example, I can filter out most accessories and replacement parts.

Finally, you can sign in with your eBay account so that you can pay on the fly for any deal you find via the app with PayPal. The idea behind the app, after all, is to make sure eBay customers have access to the site no matter where they are. Apparently eBay mobile wasn’t driving enough business, and the Deals app is designed to remedy that situation. The app is free in the U.S. store (iTunes link), but beware the hidden costs of shopaholism.

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If you look at the amount of advertising out there these days, you’d think the Mac vs. PC war is a mere slap fight compared to the war being raged for your data backups. They want your data, and they want it now!

In one corner you have Mozy, which shares corporate DNA with former Mac backup champion, Retrospect. In the other corner is Carbonite, which began supporting the Mac this year. Mozy had almost a 2-year head start on Carbonite, but the software race doesn’t always go to the first one out of the gate. I gave both products an intense 3-month test. Which one deserves your data? Read on.

Round One: Staying Power

I wouldn’t trust my data to a brand-new company that could go out of business when I need my data (X-Drive, anyone?). Carbonite and Mozy are both well established. Of the two, Carbonite has the better name recognition, referencing Han Solo’s preservation in the “Star Wars” series. But Carbonite also seems to attract bad press like the Millennium Falcon attracted mynocks.

A server failure in 2007 lead to quite a few lawsuits, but according to Carbonite, no data was lost. Additionally, Carbonite was caught using “the Force” to influence reviews on Amazon — and by the Force I mean its employees. Carbonite uses Rush Limbaugh as a spokesperson, and you can’t get more controversial than Rush. However, Mozy has the “Mozy gal,” who has almost as high a following as Deltalina. This is a tough choice, and we’ll call Round One a draw.

Round Two: Setup and Installation

Carbonite cleans Mozy’s clock in software design. For reference, both Mozy and Carbonite require Tiger, but Carbonite is Intel only.

Both programs have assistants that automatically pick your critical data, as well as let you manually decide what to back up and how much bandwidth to use. Because these programs upload large amounts of data, the average system could take weeks to back up. Neither program will back up external media. Mozy claims it does, but if you detach it, it forgets the configuration. Carbonite flat-out refuses to back up externals. If you keep critical files, such as iTunes or iPhoto libraries, on something besides your main boot drive, neither product will back it up reliably.

Mozy is a background program that can easily be quit, reconfigured or uninstalled without asking for an Administrator password. Like the Death Star, one well-placed shot, or mouse click, renders this program useless. On the other hand, Carbonite runs as a daemon, requiring Administrator approval to change or quit. Mozy allows you to back up other users, but doesn’t always run when switching users.

Dare I say that Mozy operates like a clumsy blaster and Carbonite is the elegant light saber? The clear winner in this round is Carbonite. If you have more than one user account on your system, it’s time to go home, because Carbonite has won.

Round Three: Restoration

Carbonite takes a blow to the chin in this category. Both services offer a web-based restore program, not requiring installation of their software. Unfortunately, Carbonite does not handle Mac OS packages well, so I could not restore OmniOutliner and Keynote data files via its web site, since its software saw them as folders rather then files.

However, Carbonite restored those files properly after installing the client software. Unfortunately, after installing the client software for either product on the restoring computer, the services got confused and stopped backing up my old computer.

The process for restoring Mozy is a bit more complex. Mozy has you choose the files to restore, and emails you when they’re “ready.” The prep for a 6GB file took about an hour. Mozy also allows you to order a DVD of your files at a rather hefty price of 50 cents a gigabyte, plus a processing fee of $29.95 and a next-day shipping charge of $40.

Neither company wins this round: restoration isn’t easy or efficient. Both programs, go back into your corners and make this process easier for subscribers.

Round Four: Support

Neither company includes phone support, but Carbonite allows you to purchase it for $19.95 a year and Mozy provides it with their “Pro” package. I tested support via free online chat sessions. Of the multiple times I contacted support for both real and made-up problems, both companies failed to provide quality tech support folks that could understand the most basic of questions.

Emailing questions was equally frustrating. I consistently received conflicting and contradictory information. This is very scary when we’re talking about backups. Carbonite annoyed me more because their reps would reference instructions they were going to email me, trying to quickly close the chat. Neither company wins this round and both deserve an upper cut for lousy tech support.

Round Five: Security

Mozy, how could you let your guard down? Its software, when used properly, has all your critical and very personal data stored on its servers. When resetting your password, no security questions are asked. All you need is access to someone’s email and you can quickly and easily reset the Mozy password on an account. Email accounts can be hacked and if all you need is someone’s email password to get into any file on their computer, well, that’s a foul stench even Princess Leia can smell from across the galaxy.

Carbonite forces you to answer a series of personal questions before it’ll let you reset, and not the standard biographical info you can find on the web about anyone. The clear winner in this security round is Carbonite.

Round Six: Cost

Both Carbonite and Mozy have limited trial versions, but these tests were done with the full versions. Mozy offers a multitiered plan of 2GB of backup for home users for free. Unlimited backups for home users are $4.95 per month (though 20 percent off codes are easy to find). Business users of the Pro version pay $3.95 a month plus 50 cents per GB. Carbonite is simpler at $54.95 a year for everyone ($4.58 a month, for those without calculators). Carbonite is less expensive, but Mozy does offer the free version. We’ll score this round a draw.

The Winner

Overall, there’s no clear winner in this fight. If you have multiple users on your computer, Carbonite wins by default because it easily backups all accounts and prevents others from tampering. Additionally, if security is of high concern, then Carbonite is also the winner due to Mozy’s terrible security practices. However, if you have exclusive control of your email and don’t have multiple people using your Mac, then Mozy might be the better choice since it has the friendlier pricing plans. Who wins? I’ll leave that up to you to let me know in the comments, and/or with your wallet.

But wait, a new contender approaches the ring! New to the scene is Internet darling BackBlaze. The winner of the Mozy vs. Carbonite bout will go on to fight BackBlaze in a further review, coming soon. Make your predictions now.

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I’ve spent most of my career working in IT Operations, a good part of which I’ve spent thinking, “Really, what’s the worst that could happen?” A year or so ago, I asked myself, “What’s the worst that could happen if my MacBook died?” It was a pretty sobering question.

I work full time. I also freelance, go to school, and write fiction part time. The best case would be the failure was during a rare moment of idleness, and I could suffer the loss of a computer without breaking a sweat. But what’s the fun in that? Data disasters don’t strike in moments like this; instead, like a formulaic movie plot, they happen when you’re not only on deadline, but one you’re really late on. Planning for a system failure I pray never happens has led to what’s admittedly an overly cautious backup strategy. Most people think they’re being very cautious if they’ve got a secondary backup method; I’ve got a tertiary backup.

My primary backup is Time Machine, and it has served me well through the usual accidental data deletions. While the interface drives me a little batty, Time Machine is an excellent backup method. Hourly, I’ll hear my drives spin up and can smile knowing the drivel I’m writing is safely backed up. Every now and then I’ll get the dreaded Time Machine backup error, but either forcing the backup or just waiting for the next cycle works fine.

Time Machine, though, only works when I’m attached to my USB devices at home. I use my laptop at work and at school, so if I need to do a restore when I’m not at home, Time Machine is useless. Not only that, if my house burns down, I’m out of luck. As a secondary backup, I use Mozy. Now, the first backup is extremely long; depending on how many gigs you’re backing up, you could be looking at a week’s worth of time uploading data. Once that’s done, subsequent backups are very speedy. It only backs up changed files, so you’re not uploading hundreds of gigs of files every day. It’s easy to configure your backup sets — you can either tell it to grab your Documents, Pictures, Music folders, etc., or you can go deeper and tell it to backup (or exclude) specific folders. Mozy also runs in the background when your Mac is in an idle period.

My secondary computer is a PC. Each of these backup schemes work as long as my Mac is intact or I have another Mac to restore to. Time Machine obviously is Mac-only, but while Mozy works on Macs and PCs, the file that’s restored is a .dmg file. While I could find a way to break into the .dmg file, part of my worst-case plan is, “OK, my Mac is dead and the only way I can make this deadline is to keep working on my PC, STAT!” There are three folders (School, Freelance, Writing) that I have deemed Crucial National Assets. Without immediate access to those folders during a State of Emergency, I am completely and totally hosed.

To solve that worse-case scenario, I use Dropbox. Dropbox simply uploads what I want to a web page, where I can grab files from any other computer, Mac or PC. The one drawback is it likes its files to reside in a Dropbox folder on my Mac, but I got around that by creating symbolic links to those three folders I really care about. Dropbox grabs their contents and uploads them.

An important part of any backup routine is testing data validity. Periodically, I’ll do test restores from Time Machine and Mozy, and verify from my PC that I can access the data on Dropbox. While you’re likely to only need them in case of emergency, it’s important to know if you have to break the glass and use the tools they’ve been doing their jobs all along.

What is your backup strategy?

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I thought that might get your attention. Well, boatload might be an exaggeration, although how about 8GB of free storage space? More importantly, how about they support either the Mac or the iPhone?

As part of any backup solution, having offsite storage is pretty key these days to protect your data. Recently, I was looking at free alternatives to MobileMe and/or other paid storage services on the Web. I wanted to see which of these services integrated with Apple’s product line (Mac and iPhone). When I say integrate, I mean drag-and-drop, simple interfaces that do not require me to sign-into a web service to use.

Of the many out there, here is what I found. Please note, two of the four services mentioned here are beta, so please use them at your own risk. Also note that two of these four services are provided by technology startups and you can’t be sure during these economic times just how long these businesses might last. Thankfully, all four services are great in their own way so I highly recommend each.

Box.net

Box.net’s offering is a little different than the others. With their Lite account, you get 1GB of storage, 256bit SSL security, the ability to share folders (for collaboration) and directly connect to your data from other Web services such as Piknik, Scribd and Zoho. One of the negatives to this service is that there is no Mac client. All file uploads must be done via the site.

However, what makes Box.net unique is that it supports the iPhone with a free application via the App Store. Thus, you can manually upload documents to the site and then view them on your iPhone. Very handy, when compared to some of the other paid iPhone applications that allow you to copy files from your Mac to the iPhone. In addition to viewing your files, you can also upload photos from your iPhone to Box.net.

Although the Lite account is great, as mentioned you only get 1GB of storage. Further, there are some other restrictions to this plan, including: 25MB file size limit, advertisements, no version history and a 10GB/month bandwidth limitation.

Box.net offers other plans for semi-reasonable prices. Their Individual plan is $8/month which includes 5GB of storage, unlimited bandwidth, removes the ads and provides version history. Unfortunately, this service is much more expensive than the alternatives below so I can’t say I recommend paying for the additional storage unless you really need it.

Dropbox

Dropbox (currently in beta), offers a very simple online storage service. Using Dropbox, you get 2GB of free storage. To start, you sign-up for an account on their site and then download the Dropbox software.

Dropbox installs a menu item and via a simple wizard asks you to specify where you want to store your files. Once you specify the folder, Dropbox is ready to go. You can then drag-and-drop files that you want to backup/sync to their service. It is that simple.

Similar to Box.net, you can specify files/folders to share with others. This can be done via the Dropbox web interface. I wish it could be done with their Mac client, although maybe that is something they will offer on their roadmap.

Dropbox has a unique feature in that if you store your photos on their service, they provide a URL for others to view these photos. This is similar to Flickr and other photo sharing sites. Here is an example:

In my case, I created the Dropbox folder on my desktop on both my home and work Macs. I then began to drag-and-drop files I wanted to backup. When the files were finished uploading on one computer, the other computer immediately began to download the files. Dropbox’s simple synchronization works extremely well. And, if you have Growl installed, you can see when changes/updates have occurred.

With the free account, you get 2GB of storage, photo sharing, 256bit AES security and no advertisements. If you want more space, there is a 50GB option for $10/month (or discounted to $99/yr). I highly recommend Dropbox as it is a great tool for online storage (and photo sharing). To round out the service, I hope that Dropbox adds backup software to their offering.

Mozy

Of the online storage sites mentioned here, Mozy is the most comprehensive. With their MozyHome free account, you get 2GB of disk space. Further, it isn’t a service just about providing disk space in the cloud, it is also a free backup tool. In fact, that is Mozy’s primary purpose — offsite backup. Once you create your account, you then download the software which installs a menu item.

Next, Mozy initiates a wizard to help you define which items you want to backup. As you can see in this screenshot, one of the neat things Mozy provides is pre-configured backup sets. You can also define the files and folders you want to backup as well. Mozy’s UI is very flexible.

Once you have selected the options you want to backup, you click Save Configuration and Mozy begins to backup your files. You can define a backup schedule as well. Mozy supports Growl status updates, which is pretty handy for seeing when a backup has completed. And, if something goes wrong (hard disk failure, etc.), you can restore your files with ease using Mozy’s simple interface.

As you can see, I specified quite a few items to backup, as 2GB goes a long way when storing files and office-like documents. I did not specify any media files because my Aperture library is over 10GB by itself!

Of course, with all of this positive stuff, there is always a trade-off. You do not get to manually drag-and-drop files into a folder and have them automatically backup. Instead, you must always use this interface. And, your files are not available on other computers. You might be able to install the software on another computer, sign-in with your credentials and then initiate a restore process. However, I haven’t tried it so your mileage may vary.

Included with the 2GB of storage is 448bit blowfish security (or 128bit SSL security) and the great backup software. If you choose to upgrade to the MozyHome Unlimited plan, the cost is approximately $5/month with unlimited storage and no bandwidth constraints. If you need online storage with automated backup, then MozyHome is your service.

Live Mesh

A newcomer in the space, Microsoft Live Mesh (Beta) just announced support for their Mac client. Live Mesh is Microsoft’s all-in-one synchronization service.

When you sign-up for Live Mesh, you get 5GB of free storage. Live Mesh works very similar to Dropbox in that you install a client, select the folder for storage/synchronization and then begin copying files to the folder. Again, like Dropbox, I installed the software on both my home and work Macs to synchronize/share files.

With the Live Mesh account, you get 5GB of free storage, no advertisements and 128bit SSL security. There are currently no upgrade plans available.

Of course, Live Mesh isn’t just about syncing files, it’s about syncing files and data across multiple devices (PCs, Macs, Phones and more). We’ll have to wait and see how this evolves and if Microsoft plans to support the iPhone in their grand synchronization plans.

8GB for Free

With these offerings and utilizing their free accounts, you get a total of 8GB of free storage! For any Mac user looking for some offsite storage that leverages the Apple platform, I recommend using all of these services as you really can’t lose.

If I have missed any other free offerings that have Mac/iPhone clients, please comment below.

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The Set Up

The first thing you want to do is go to [referral link: I'll explain why you should use a referral link later] mozy.com and get signed up. I know there are a lot of other products out there, but this is one that I have used for both backup and a restore of my files, and it does work. 

When you get to the home page, you will click on MozyHome. MozyPro is an unlimited account for businesses. Sadly, Mozy does not offer the free 2GB on the home page, so you will need to click through to find it. 

Once you do click on MozyHome, you will find the free sign-up about half-way down the page, on the left-hand side. It looks like the picture above, but without the red arrow. Click “Sign Up Now, and I will walk you through the process.

You will come to a screen that looks like the one above. Fill out all the information, and click continue.

This little survey is a bit of an annoyance, but you need to fill it out anyway. Mozy won’t let you continue if you don’t. My personal feelings about this, though, is that if you are getting something for free, it is fine to pay with a little background info so the company knows who is utilizing their service. And, luckily, Mozy has a sense of humor about their request for you to fill out this “soul-sucking” survey.

As I stated above, use a referral link. For each person that you refer that uses the free service, you get an extra 256 MB. The good thing is whoever uses a referral code, regardless of whose code it is, also gets an extra 256 MB. Let’s spread the love, leave your referral codes in the comments so those who sign up can get some extra space.

You need to start using the service for the extra storage space to appear in either account.

Once you click the link in the email address you provided Mozy, you will come to a screen like the one above. Click “Download for Mac” and you will be able to download the desktop client that allows you do the actual backups. You will download a DMG file (disk image file) that you will need to open. 

If you get a warning like the one above, disregard it, and open the file, anyway.

Once it is downloaded and opened, you will need to open the Mozy 1.0.0.0 Installer. Double click that, follow the prompts on-screen, enter your computer password when it prompts you, and Mozy will be installed. As it is installing, you will probably get a pop-up that says, “This package contains a program that determines if the software can be installed. Are you sure you want to continue?” Click “Continue.”

Once it is installed, It will open up the configuration screen. This is where you decide what you will backup. There are two things here that are important: Backup Sets and Files and Folders. Files and Folders will allow you to go through the Finder and select specific files and folders that you want to back up. This option works great if you are fairly organized.

The Backup Sets section will back up all the files of a certain type, or related to a certain program. If you have a million things saved to your desktop, with no rhyme or reason, you can choose to save all your presentations and spreadsheets, and Mozy will search through your folders all over your computer to find the types of files you request.

You can select items from each of these, and you can add different sets to the backup sets window. For example, you could create a set that included all your files for a certain project, and then you just have that box checked. Mozy integrates Spotlight nicely, so you can easily search for files that you have named a certain way. So you can put a BU at the end of each file you create and it will be automatically added to the backup set you created.

When you are ready, select “Save Configuration.” If you have not yet backed up, Mozy will ask you to backup. Depending on how much you have selected to back up, this could take a very long time. I suggest starting the backup just before you go to bed. Mozy says it may take many days to back everything up, but it only took a couple hours on a wireless connection for me to back up my 1.5 GB.

Preferences

One drawback of the Mozy backup system is that it by default backs up your computer whenever you aren’t using it. It is a drawback because it takes a lot of resources to run the backup program, which slows down the rest of what you are doing.
Luckily, you can easily change it.

I suggest you keep all these boxes checked. That way, Mozy can update as it needs to, and you will always know what Mozy is doing if its status is in the menu bar. The menu bar menu looks like the picture below. You can see the Mozy logo at the top. When Mozy is not backing up, it is grey and black. It turns black and orange when it is backing up.

Typically, I leave my computer on at night, and so I backup every morning at two a.m. I turned off the automatic backup because I am often away from my computer for a time, and then I need to get back to something else that is resource-heavy. It was very annoying to wait for five minutes for anything to happen. Besides, my computer doesn’t crash very often, so I don’t need backups multiple times a day.

Since I am the only user of my fiber-optic Internet connection at home, I don’t need to throttle my bandwidth usage. You may need to, so it is there. The more it is throttled, the slower the backup could be, so be aware that this could be the case if your backups are taking a long time.

Restoring Your Files

When you lose files, erase your hard drive, or your computer crashes, it is time to restore. To restore your files, you will log in to your Mozy account. There are three options when you choose “Restore Files” from the list on the left of your “My Account” screen. You can choose to restore your files through DVD, Mac Client Restore, or Web Restore. For a processing and shipping fee, Mozy will send your files on a DVD. You can also download straight through the browser for a web restore. We will choose the Mac Client Restore for this walkthrough. This is great for a small number of files.
From the Mozy menu bar icon, you will select “Restore Files…”

For me, this box stays up for a couple minutes before I get anything else.

You can select the backup date that you want to restore your files from. Choose the location and click “Restore” to start downloading those files.

The download process is pretty quick, and didn’t take as long as I thought it would. The files are saved by default to your desktop, but you can put them wherever you want to.

Alternatively, you can download everything using your browser or you can order a DVD.

All in all, this is a very easy program to use. If you need more than the standard 2 GB of backup space, they do have an unlimited option for $4.95 per month for home users. Their business service does not support Macs.

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Thinking back a few years, I remember every time I needed to upgrade my system or prepare for a format, I’d rely on using CD-Rs as a method for backing up my media and documents. Pain yes, efficient no, effective, yes. Of course this was back in the early XP days when I needed to format every 6 months to keep my sanity, and my computer booting. But as I grew older, so did my volumes of content. Eventually good fortune was bestowed on me, and a bad Trojan Virus led me to my first iBook. From there formatting wasn’t an issue, now it was only a matter of backing up. Three years and one hard drive later, I had learned my lesson the hard way.

Needless to say I began to look for much more efficient tools to remain organized and safe in case that one inevitable day should return, hard drive hiccups and all. I began using an external for basic back up. Thanks to OS X’s ability to simply copy files from my Library to save settings, I was able to back up my iCal, Address book and other application preferences. For software it was more of an issue, keeping .dmg’s can be tough. Documents were simple drag and drop, and media, in all its extenuating glory took quite a bit of time. Then came Mozy. And I was happy. It seemed that for 2 gigs of space I would be able to keep a constant back up of key files, documents, few pictures, and application preferences. Having it completely in the cloud and up to date without me touching it, seemed like the perfect blend of web and application.

I did come across SuperDuper! in my trials, and without paying, the free version only allows for a complete wipe of an external drive and an exact duplicate of your hard drive. I gave it a shot, and felt content only until I realized how quickly I add or update files. Without paying for it, free would be out of the option. I finally saw Leopard spots on the horizon and began preparing my backups for a completely clean install and restore for my now MacBook. I figured now would be the best time if any to put all my backing up methods to the test. So I re-plugged in my external and re-SuperDuper!’d my entire Tiger operating system to create a bootable external drive. Thinking about it made me feel the most secure, mostly because of the issues I kept hearing regarding Leopard installs. Next I made sure my Mozy was synced up ready to go with the nearly all 2 gigs filled with documents, app preferences and more. CD-R’s you ask? I think I’ve had enough for a few lifetimes, and for the record I never had a Re-Writeable drive in those days, so you can imagine how fun it was for me every 6 months to re-burn everything. Having a 2 gig thumb drive, however, I duplicated all the files going to my Mozy on it for reference, and well, just in case.

Despite the few Leopard install issues I was hearing about, I was prepared for my clean install, and ready to migrate everything if necessary from my external drive. It was my hope that Mozy would be the most efficient method for getting set back up on Leopard. So now came the faithful moment. I popped in the Leopard CD and after one necessary Disk Permission Repair, I had a completely formatted MacBook and Leopard ready to go. So I accessed Mozy’s site, logged in and saw three choices for retrieving my files. One, download the client and restore; two, request the files be sent to me via email; three, buy a DVD burned of my files mailed to me. One, I downloaded the client, set it up, but when I chose to restore files, no files appeared in my directory. It took me a minute, but I finally found them. Browsing through my files, a few were missing, namely my iCal. I attributed this to Leopards new and improved iCal which no longer resides in the Library. However I soon realized more was missing, including documents, and other application files. Odd, I remember backing them up, yup, they’re all on the thumb drive. Let’s see the other options. Two, sure, I’ll request it by email, but it takes a few hours to receive the e-mail, and 2 gigs will take a bit of time to download. And three, despite being cheap, I decided that CD/DVD’s would be a bit aged for my transition, after all this isn’t Windows anymore. So I figured having them e-mail me my files would consist of the same ones the client found, so I hit restore, choice number one (the one Mozy recommends). Seeing the amount of time it would take to download for files that are patchy at best, I gave up after the first twenty minutes. It wasn’t worth my time to reorganize files that weren’t going to be there. So I fired up my external drive, and migrated my life back over, applications and all.

I know, you’re all thinking well it’s great you now have Time Machine. It might be for some, but I haven’t set it up yet, and still remain a bit apprehensive about it. I’ve been hearing issues arising with it, moreover I feel a possible hard drive plus RAM hog. The alarm bells are ringing, and until I see it in physical action, I think I’ll stick to what I have. Unfortunately SuperDuper! isn’t Leopard ready, and for the record I did eventually opt to buy it and be able to sync only new files, or updated files to the external. For Tiger it was an immense life saver, and once it’s Leopard ready, I believe it will be my go to system. Maybe it’s hard to let old methods die, and maybe I’m taking the long way, but I’ve always been a, “better to be safer, than sorry” kind of guy.

For those who love the idea of uploading to cloud for immediate access wherever you are, I did finally find something worth trying. Box.net offers a 1 gig free account with a good number of features to boot. You can publicly share files, folders, or have a Facebook widget of your files. And so I’ve decided to backup my entire Documents folder to it in case I need to access it globally. But dragging and dropping files can be really tedious, especially if you have to do it one at a time. So thanks to Firefox, and the FileUploader application, I can access my Box.net account and simply drag and drop my entire Documents folder at once for an entire sync. It’s no “back up” system that will automatically retrieve files, and update files, but it is a simple tool provided you keep organized.

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