Online backup services

#1 Macworld

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Posted 07 September 2009 - 03:00 AM

Post your comments for Online backup services here

#2 repete_7

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Posted 07 September 2009 - 04:39 AM

What about Dropbox?

#3 LarryMcJ

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Posted 07 September 2009 - 04:43 AM

repete_7, on 07 September 2009 - 04:39 AM, said:

What about Dropbox?

Agree...Dropbox or Memopal. I use both and they're MILES ahead of the products listed here (yes, I've tried the top three listed here).

#4 kirkmc

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Posted 07 September 2009 - 04:56 AM

There's also MobileMe, if you already have an account...

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#5 Tony1

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Posted 07 September 2009 - 05:15 AM

For $3 a month, I use Amazon's S3 with S3rsync to back-up encrypted disk files with only my important data. Not at all user friendly, but it works for me (and I'm assured that no one can ever see the data). For smaller files, I just back up to S3 with Cyberduck

#6 MacTechAspen

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Posted 07 September 2009 - 06:03 AM

The advantage to JungleDisk is Amazon's S3.

It wasn't long ago that MacWorld reported on an online backup service or two that went belly up, taking their client's files into the ether.

By far and away the number one criteria I have for an offline service is that they continue to exist and that my files remain accessible.

Low cost or free services have a hard time finding a revenue source that will guarantee their survivability, and so are no bargain to me.

I would rather pay the hefty fee (my wife has well over 100GB of photos uploaded) to ensure a greater chance that my backup will be there when I need it.

Life, like wine, is all about balance.

#7 ampressman

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Posted 07 September 2009 - 06:04 AM

I'm a big fan of Mozy - been using for 2 years plus - and I think one important factor Glenn left out is the chance of your backup service going under. Mozy is owned by EMC, so it has some serious backing. I don't know about most of the others (Jungledisk backing up to Amazon seems like a pretty solid option).

#8 Jon Seff

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Posted 07 September 2009 - 06:23 AM

repete_7, on 07 September 2009 - 04:39 AM, said:

What about Dropbox?

We didn't include Dropbox because it's not really an online backup service. It's more of a service to sync specific files with different computers for collaboration purposes.

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#9 Glenn_Fleishman

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Posted 07 September 2009 - 06:25 AM

repete_7, on 07 September 2009 - 04:39 AM, said:

What about Dropbox?

Dropbox doesn't meet the criteria of this article: it doesn't perform automated backups of files to a destination based on a selected set. Dropbox is a synchronization program that also happens to make cloud-based backups. I use Dropbox all the time, but it's not quite the same animal. We debated including it, but it simply has a different purpose. Because you can't a) backup arbitrary files (say, all your applications and preference files), and

must sync everything to every location that you use Dropbox at, it's not a backup service as such.

kirkmc, on 07 September 2009 - 04:56 AM, said:

There's also MobileMe, if you already have an account...

MobileMe isn't a backup service, although it can be used as a backup destination by desktop software. Apple's Backup software is extraordinarily weak.

#10 Glenn_Fleishman

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Posted 07 September 2009 - 06:29 AM

ampressman, on 07 September 2009 - 06:04 AM, said:

This is a quite subjective factor. There is no way without performing detailed financial analysis and due diligence to suggest that EMC is financially more stable and reliable over the long term than a startup firm that has good cash flow and growth and supportive investors.

Given the economic meltdown, even large well-capitalized publicly held firms aren't miraculously the better long-term choice (although they may have a short-term advantage if they are in fact well run and have stores of cash).

#11 kirkmc

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Posted 07 September 2009 - 06:29 AM

Yes, Apple's Backup isn't great, but if you have a specific folder to back up, it's ok. I keep all my work files in a single folder (with plenty of sub-folders), so I back that up to my iDisk once a week. You can exclude files, but you have to do it manually, and you can use some kind of smart backup thingy (I don't recall the term) to look for specific files. But it's far from what you covered in the article.

#12 brammoerland

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Posted 07 September 2009 - 06:32 AM

I am perfectly happy with Dropbox. I write books, and work on three different computers, on three different locations. They are almost instantly
synchronized with Dropbox. What else could one need?
Quite amazing that Dropbox was not included in this review.

#13 Jon Seff

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Posted 07 September 2009 - 06:50 AM

brammoerland, on 07 September 2009 - 06:32 AM, said:

Again, what you're talking about isn't online backup, it's cloud syncing. It's great that you find Dropbox useful, and I'm sure that many other people do too, but this roundup is looking at services for automated online backup. They are two different beasts.

Jon Seff
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#14 dicklacara

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Posted 07 September 2009 - 07:42 AM

Backup external drives?

I have tried a couple of these, but they would only backup a computer's internal drive.

I have my media library (iTunes and iPhoto) on a 2TB drive (backedup by another 2 TB drive) on a Mini (no KMD). With 3 grandkids playing soccer, there are tons of HD home movies.

I would like something like a remote TimeMachine where I could select which drives (external included) and folders to backup.

Can any of these services do that?

TIA

Dick