Re: [OT] Cloud backup
I use Skydrive to keep working files in sync between my various laptops and workstations (though seems a bit more fussy about firewalls than Mesh Beta was), but for backups you need a real backup solution. You accidentally delete a file on a sync service and you'll soon realize the difference (as Mike M will attest). I eval'd Mozzy, but eventually went with Crashplan. I'm paying for the unlimited, multi-machine option, which seems to work pretty well. After the wife's laptop died the kind of sudden violent death that only SSD's can really manage I'm a bit more sensitive to backing *all of them* up, and this is definitely a step up from occasionally burning DVDs and sticking them in my desk drawer. Crashplan also has a mode (usable in the free version) where you can backup to a friend / family's PC (if they've got lots of free space). Even better if they're in a different country, far from the impending disaster. One limitation with Crashplan is that (mostly due to the licencing model, but there are some technical reasons too) backups from UNC shares are not supported (possible, just not supported), so your NAS devices are exposed. (As an aside: one of these guys should team up with one of our major ISPs to offer an integrated, unmetered service. They'd clean up I reckon. Anyone from IINet listening?) On 1 June 2011 09:14, Corneliu I. Tusnea corne...@acorns.com.au wrote: Stephen, Windows Live Mesh works great. It's free for up to 5Gb and uses the Windows SkyDrive to store the data: http://explore.live.com/windows-live-mesh?os=other It's more of a sync service than backup (if you delete a file it gets deleted from the cloud storage and it does not store older versions of files) I just love it. I sync data with multiple computers and has basically zero CPU usage during sync. The other services is DropBox. Quite good. Corneliu On Wed, Jun 1, 2011 at 10:35 AM, William Luu will@gmail.com wrote: You could also sync/backup your stuff to Windows Live SkyDrive - http://explore.live.com/windows-live-skydrive On 1 June 2011 10:30, Greg Keogh g...@mira.net wrote: Stephen, Crashplan looked great until I noticed they have some kind of per-machine restriction on all but the top plan. This make no sense, as if I buy the space, then I expect to be able to use from absa-bloody-lutely anywhere, I mean, it's the space that counts, not where it comes from -- Greg -- piers more pedantry at http://piers7.blogspot.com/
Re: [OT] Cloud backup
Indeed I am a cautionary tale for treating Synchronization as Backup http://codermike/synchronization-backup Not that I've learned my lesson at all. This thread has me thinking I need to get an offsite backup going. On Thu, Jun 2, 2011 at 4:38 PM, Piers Williams piers.willi...@gmail.comwrote: I use Skydrive to keep working files in sync between my various laptops and workstations (though seems a bit more fussy about firewalls than Mesh Beta was), but for backups you need a real backup solution. You accidentally delete a file on a sync service and you'll soon realize the difference (as Mike M will attest). I eval'd Mozzy, but eventually went with Crashplan. I'm paying for the unlimited, multi-machine option, which seems to work pretty well. After the wife's laptop died the kind of sudden violent death that only SSD's can really manage I'm a bit more sensitive to backing *all of them* up, and this is definitely a step up from occasionally burning DVDs and sticking them in my desk drawer. Crashplan also has a mode (usable in the free version) where you can backup to a friend / family's PC (if they've got lots of free space). Even better if they're in a different country, far from the impending disaster. One limitation with Crashplan is that (mostly due to the licencing model, but there are some technical reasons too) backups from UNC shares are not supported (possible, just not supported), so your NAS devices are exposed. (As an aside: one of these guys should team up with one of our major ISPs to offer an integrated, unmetered service. They'd clean up I reckon. Anyone from IINet listening?) On 1 June 2011 09:14, Corneliu I. Tusnea corne...@acorns.com.au wrote: Stephen, Windows Live Mesh works great. It's free for up to 5Gb and uses the Windows SkyDrive to store the data: http://explore.live.com/windows-live-mesh?os=other It's more of a sync service than backup (if you delete a file it gets deleted from the cloud storage and it does not store older versions of files) I just love it. I sync data with multiple computers and has basically zero CPU usage during sync. The other services is DropBox. Quite good. Corneliu On Wed, Jun 1, 2011 at 10:35 AM, William Luu will@gmail.com wrote: You could also sync/backup your stuff to Windows Live SkyDrive - http://explore.live.com/windows-live-skydrive On 1 June 2011 10:30, Greg Keogh g...@mira.net wrote: Stephen, Crashplan looked great until I noticed they have some kind of per-machine restriction on all but the top plan. This make no sense, as if I buy the space, then I expect to be able to use from absa-bloody-lutely anywhere, I mean, it's the space that counts, not where it comes from -- Greg -- piers more pedantry at http://piers7.blogspot.com/
Re: [OT] Cloud backup
http://codermike.com/synchronization-backup is the correct link for that post. Sorry :( On Thu, Jun 2, 2011 at 4:56 PM, Michael Minutillo michael.minuti...@gmail.com wrote: Indeed I am a cautionary tale for treating Synchronization as Backup http://codermike/synchronization-backup Not that I've learned my lesson at all. This thread has me thinking I need to get an offsite backup going. On Thu, Jun 2, 2011 at 4:38 PM, Piers Williams piers.willi...@gmail.comwrote: I use Skydrive to keep working files in sync between my various laptops and workstations (though seems a bit more fussy about firewalls than Mesh Beta was), but for backups you need a real backup solution. You accidentally delete a file on a sync service and you'll soon realize the difference (as Mike M will attest). I eval'd Mozzy, but eventually went with Crashplan. I'm paying for the unlimited, multi-machine option, which seems to work pretty well. After the wife's laptop died the kind of sudden violent death that only SSD's can really manage I'm a bit more sensitive to backing *all of them* up, and this is definitely a step up from occasionally burning DVDs and sticking them in my desk drawer. Crashplan also has a mode (usable in the free version) where you can backup to a friend / family's PC (if they've got lots of free space). Even better if they're in a different country, far from the impending disaster. One limitation with Crashplan is that (mostly due to the licencing model, but there are some technical reasons too) backups from UNC shares are not supported (possible, just not supported), so your NAS devices are exposed. (As an aside: one of these guys should team up with one of our major ISPs to offer an integrated, unmetered service. They'd clean up I reckon. Anyone from IINet listening?) On 1 June 2011 09:14, Corneliu I. Tusnea corne...@acorns.com.au wrote: Stephen, Windows Live Mesh works great. It's free for up to 5Gb and uses the Windows SkyDrive to store the data: http://explore.live.com/windows-live-mesh?os=other It's more of a sync service than backup (if you delete a file it gets deleted from the cloud storage and it does not store older versions of files) I just love it. I sync data with multiple computers and has basically zero CPU usage during sync. The other services is DropBox. Quite good. Corneliu On Wed, Jun 1, 2011 at 10:35 AM, William Luu will@gmail.com wrote: You could also sync/backup your stuff to Windows Live SkyDrive - http://explore.live.com/windows-live-skydrive On 1 June 2011 10:30, Greg Keogh g...@mira.net wrote: Stephen, Crashplan looked great until I noticed they have some kind of per-machine restriction on all but the top plan. This make no sense, as if I buy the space, then I expect to be able to use from absa-bloody-lutely anywhere, I mean, it's the space that counts, not where it comes from -- Greg -- piers more pedantry at http://piers7.blogspot.com/
Re: [OT] Cloud backup
On 2 June 2011 18:38, Piers Williams piers.willi...@gmail.com wrote: snip (As an aside: one of these guys should team up with one of our major ISPs to offer an integrated, unmetered service. They'd clean up I reckon. Anyone from IINet listening?) They do - http://www.iinet.net.au/online-vault/ Not sure how it compares though; not a cloud-hater, but I personally hate the idea of having to separate my stuff between 'important backed up to the cloud' and 'not so important, backed up elsewhere' due to bandwidth limits. On 1 June 2011 09:14, Corneliu I. Tusnea corne...@acorns.com.au wrote: Stephen, Windows Live Mesh works great. It's free for up to 5Gb and uses the Windows SkyDrive to store the data: http://explore.live.com/windows-live-mesh?os=other It's more of a sync service than backup (if you delete a file it gets deleted from the cloud storage and it does not store older versions of files) I just love it. I sync data with multiple computers and has basically zero CPU usage during sync. The other services is DropBox. Quite good. Corneliu On Wed, Jun 1, 2011 at 10:35 AM, William Luu will@gmail.com wrote: You could also sync/backup your stuff to Windows Live SkyDrive - http://explore.live.com/windows-live-skydrive On 1 June 2011 10:30, Greg Keogh g...@mira.net wrote: Stephen, Crashplan looked great until I noticed they have some kind of per-machine restriction on all but the top plan. This make no sense, as if I buy the space, then I expect to be able to use from absa-bloody-lutely anywhere, I mean, it's the space that counts, not where it comes from -- Greg -- piers more pedantry at http://piers7.blogspot.com/
RE: [OT] Cloud backup
Indeed I am a cautionary tale for treating Synchronization as Backup Indeed! I don't know why all of the providers I've tried so far are obsessed with mirror/sync backups. I just wanted a drive in the cloud, not some kind of ROBOCOPY /MIR command into the cloud. As Mike's page says a mirror is not a backup; what happens if my local copy goes haywire, or is scrubbed, or moved or renamed, or whatever? Then you have this management hassle which would probably overwhelm average suburban carbon blobs, let alone me. Mozy says it hides (not deletes) files for 30 days, so you have a cool-off period, but whoop-de-doo for more complexity. I'm probably going to drop Mozy because it's another one of these mirroring facilities, which is too smart for its own good. I just want a drive in the cloud that I manage. Sheesh! Is this too much to ask? I must re-ask previous respondents which of their providers is just a storage area, not a mirror? Cheers, Greg
Re: [OT] Cloud backup
JungleDisk backs up to either Amazon S3 or Rackspace so they are both just storage providers. On another note you can assign a local drive letter to your cloud storage backup vault in JungleDisk and access your files that way On Thu, Jun 2, 2011 at 9:16 PM, Greg Keogh g...@mira.net wrote: Ian, strangely enough, if you run a search for cloud storage instead of cloud backup, you get quite different and more helpful results. Rackspace looks interesting, has anyone tried them? -- Greg
Re: [OT] Cloud backup
Greg, I am using Amazon S3 with Cloudberry Labs Backup software and it work good, the software allows you to either copy the files up, so you can get to a single file from anywhere over the web or it can create a compressed backup. I have about 25GB up there now and it is costing me $6 or $7 a month. Bill Chesnut BizTalk Server MVP Melbourne, Australia _ From: Greg Keogh [mailto:g...@mira.net] To: 'ozDotNet' [mailto:ozdotnet@ozdotnet.com] Sent: Tue, 31 May 2011 23:57:51 +1000 Subject: [OT] Cloud backup Folks, yeah it’s me again, futzing overtime. I’ve been reading the results of web searches on expressions like “cloud backup” and I’m getting interesting results, but some of them (like Backblaze) want to treat you like a dummy and have some locally installed utility run backups for you. Some are really expensive (mostly AU), and some are suspiciously cheap. As usual, it’s like trying to pick fruit at the market, too much choice and too many options. Has anyone here chosen a cloud backup provider that just gives you a vanilla service for pros like us who know what and when we want to back things up? No fancy UIs or patronising apps, or at least ones that have a small footprint. I personally wouldn’t want more than about 200MB of space for my vital files. I have backups on memory sticks, and on a removable drive, and I have monthly DVDs with alternate ones placed in the tool shed for offsite backup. But, I’d still like the convenience of zipping files when I feel like it and sending to cloud backup. Lord knows about the security issues! That’s something I’d like to be reassured about. Greg
RE: [OT] Cloud backup (and security)
Hey hang on, I'm trying the free 2GB Mozy because they didn't seem to have a stupid per-machine limit in their plan. And yes, the UI is quite dumb, and you have to click a few buttons to drill down and see any useful information. The following probably applies to a lot of these cloud backup providers, but I'm talking specifically about Mozy for now... . I did not trust them to encrypt my files on the client side before sending. They have the key. . In any case, why do they use Blowfish 448 bit, which is really old? AES has been the new standard for years. . They use the expression military grade encryption. This means either they don't know what they're talking about or someone in marketing is off their leash. For these reasons I have decided that my folder being watched by the Mozy service for backup only contains zip files using the pkzipc 6.0 -CryptAlgorithm=AES,256 option and a long password. I'll run with this free provider for a while and see how it goes. My demands are modest, I just want offsite backup in the cloud. Greg
Re: [OT] Cloud backup (and security)
Hi Greg, how do you use pkzipc with Mozy? TJ On Wed, Jun 1, 2011 at 4:32 PM, Greg Keogh g...@mira.net wrote: Hey hang on, I'm trying the free 2GB Mozy because they didn't seem to have a stupid per-machine limit in their plan. And yes, the UI is quite dumb, and you have to click a few buttons to drill down and see any useful information. The following probably applies to a lot of these cloud backup providers, but I'm talking specifically about Mozy for now... · I did not trust them to encrypt my files on the client side before sending. They have the key. · In any case, why do they use Blowfish 448 bit, which is really old? AES has been the new standard for years. · They use the expression “military grade encryption”. This means either they don’t know what they’re talking about or someone in marketing is off their leash. For these reasons I have decided that my folder being watched by the Mozy service for backup only contains zip files using the pkzipc 6.0 -CryptAlgorithm=AES,256 option and a long password. I’ll run with this free provider for a while and see how it goes. My demands are modest, I just want offsite backup in the cloud. Greg
RE: [OT] Cloud backup (and security)
Hi Greg, how do you use pkzipc with Mozy? Trevor, there is no fancy integration, it's dead boring. I have Mozy watching a specific folder, and I have a few batch commands around that use FOR /D loops to zip the contents of important folders and place them in the watched folder. What's important for me is that I put -cryptalg=AES,256 -pass=S0meth1ngStr0ngIH0pe switches on the zip. Greg
Re: [OT] Cloud backup
Same I bought and have been using JungleDisk Desktop Edition for quite a few years (back when you could buy the client outright) and have around 40G worth of photos, documents, projects, previous PC backups, etc. all sitting on Amazon S3 (over multiple vaults). At around 15c per GB for the actual storage (they have transfer in and out costs around the same price) it cost me about $6 USD a month. The best bit I like is that you can set it up to archive the previous copies of any changed or deleted files and have x many off them and to removed them after x days or just keep them forever. Been very happy user and it can be used on an unlimited amount of PCs as well On Wed, Jun 1, 2011 at 3:47 PM, Glenn Crouch gl...@esbconsult.com wrote: I have been using Jungle Disk with Amazon for a few years and am very happy - and only costs a few dollars every month - and we have about 10 G now backed up there... Glenn Crouch, mailto:gl...@esbconsult.com ESB Consultancy, http://www.esbconsult.com Follow us on Twitter: http://twitter.com/esbglenn Home of ESBPCS and ESB Calculators Kalgoorlie-Boulder, Western Australia
RE: [OT] Cloud backup
Try wuala From: ozdotnet-boun...@ozdotnet.com [mailto:ozdotnet-boun...@ozdotnet.com] On Behalf Of Greg Keogh Sent: Tuesday, 31 May 2011 11:58 PM To: 'ozDotNet' Subject: [OT] Cloud backup Folks, yeah it's me again, futzing overtime. I've been reading the results of web searches on expressions like cloud backup and I'm getting interesting results, but some of them (like Backblaze) want to treat you like a dummy and have some locally installed utility run backups for you. Some are really expensive (mostly AU), and some are suspiciously cheap. As usual, it's like trying to pick fruit at the market, too much choice and too many options. Has anyone here chosen a cloud backup provider that just gives you a vanilla service for pros like us who know what and when we want to back things up? No fancy UIs or patronising apps, or at least ones that have a small footprint. I personally wouldn't want more than about 200MB of space for my vital files. I have backups on memory sticks, and on a removable drive, and I have monthly DVDs with alternate ones placed in the tool shed for offsite backup. But, I'd still like the convenience of zipping files when I feel like it and sending to cloud backup. Lord knows about the security issues! That's something I'd like to be reassured about. Greg
Re: [OT] Cloud backup
Hey Greg I was using Mozy until they stopped offering unlimited backups. I decided to look around and am now using Crashplan. I was impressed by the software and got their 4 year deal with the leaving Mozy discount they had running some months back. I think it was about $200 or so (forget exact amount), but around the same as Mozy for 4 times as long (and unlimited), for up to 10 machines in the one household. (Instead of 3 machines). Only complaint was that it seems to be slowing down my machine during backups. I changed the schedule from always backup to only backup during the evenings when i'm not using my machine. It has a cool feature that lets you backup machines locally (or your friends as well.). I'm backing up my brothers laptop from wherever he is. Obviously bandwidth needs to be considered but you have granular control over what you backup, and you can throttle both lan and wan backups. Like I said, I was so impressed after a few hours of playing with the software, I paid for 4 years worth. I did need some support (it was not indexing/backing up all of my selected disks for some reason) and the support was quick. They got me to enter some commands into the client which told it to reindex the backup plan and away it went, not had a problem since. Restores (the important part!) can be done locally through the client, or via their webpage where it zips up your file selection and then lets you download the files via normal browser. I know what you mean about the ones that make you feel like it was targetting a non computer user. I felt the same when I looked around. Crashplan won for me. I also use Dropbox for file syncing between machines. 2Gb (plus extra if you refer someone or get referred by someone). Its handy for getting files from whereever you are. Might be what you are after if its just 200Mb of files. Was going to say it wont help if you corrupt your file but just remembered it has some versioning built in. Never used that option though, but it is there. Just had a look and context menu in explorer opens up a web page with versioning history for the file you selected. cheers, Stephen On Tue, May 31, 2011 at 9:57 PM, Greg Keogh g...@mira.net wrote: Folks, yeah it’s me again, futzing overtime. I’ve been reading the results of web searches on expressions like “cloud backup” and I’m getting interesting results, but some of them (like Backblaze) want to treat you like a dummy and have some locally installed utility run backups for you. Some are really expensive (mostly AU), and some are suspiciously cheap. As usual, it’s like trying to pick fruit at the market, too much choice and too many options. Has anyone here chosen a cloud backup provider that just gives you a vanilla service for pros like us who know what and when we want to back things up? No fancy UIs or patronising apps, or at least ones that have a small footprint. I personally wouldn’t want more than about 200MB of space for my vital files. I have backups on memory sticks, and on a removable drive, and I have monthly DVDs with alternate ones placed in the tool shed for offsite backup. But, I’d still like the convenience of zipping files when I feel like it and sending to cloud backup. Lord knows about the security issues! That’s something I’d like to be reassured about. Greg
Re: [OT] Cloud backup
I'm also using Dropbox, and it works well for storing things in the cloud and being able to access from anywhere that has a browser. I use it mainly to share files between my home PC and my iPhone (mostly PDF files). Will On 1 June 2011 03:10, Stephen Price step...@littlevoices.com wrote: Hey Greg I was using Mozy until they stopped offering unlimited backups. I decided to look around and am now using Crashplan. I was impressed by the software and got their 4 year deal with the leaving Mozy discount they had running some months back. I think it was about $200 or so (forget exact amount), but around the same as Mozy for 4 times as long (and unlimited), for up to 10 machines in the one household. (Instead of 3 machines). Only complaint was that it seems to be slowing down my machine during backups. I changed the schedule from always backup to only backup during the evenings when i'm not using my machine. It has a cool feature that lets you backup machines locally (or your friends as well.). I'm backing up my brothers laptop from wherever he is. Obviously bandwidth needs to be considered but you have granular control over what you backup, and you can throttle both lan and wan backups. Like I said, I was so impressed after a few hours of playing with the software, I paid for 4 years worth. I did need some support (it was not indexing/backing up all of my selected disks for some reason) and the support was quick. They got me to enter some commands into the client which told it to reindex the backup plan and away it went, not had a problem since. Restores (the important part!) can be done locally through the client, or via their webpage where it zips up your file selection and then lets you download the files via normal browser. I know what you mean about the ones that make you feel like it was targetting a non computer user. I felt the same when I looked around. Crashplan won for me. I also use Dropbox for file syncing between machines. 2Gb (plus extra if you refer someone or get referred by someone). Its handy for getting files from whereever you are. Might be what you are after if its just 200Mb of files. Was going to say it wont help if you corrupt your file but just remembered it has some versioning built in. Never used that option though, but it is there. Just had a look and context menu in explorer opens up a web page with versioning history for the file you selected. cheers, Stephen On Tue, May 31, 2011 at 9:57 PM, Greg Keogh g...@mira.net wrote: Folks, yeah it’s me again, futzing overtime. I’ve been reading the results of web searches on expressions like “cloud backup” and I’m getting interesting results, but some of them (like Backblaze) want to treat you like a dummy and have some locally installed utility run backups for you. Some are really expensive (mostly AU), and some are suspiciously cheap. As usual, it’s like trying to pick fruit at the market, too much choice and too many options. Has anyone here chosen a cloud backup provider that just gives you a vanilla service for pros like us who know what and when we want to back things up? No fancy UIs or patronising apps, or at least ones that have a small footprint. I personally wouldn’t want more than about 200MB of space for my vital files. I have backups on memory sticks, and on a removable drive, and I have monthly DVDs with alternate ones placed in the tool shed for offsite backup. But, I’d still like the convenience of zipping files when I feel like it and sending to cloud backup. Lord knows about the security issues! That’s something I’d like to be reassured about. Greg
RE: [OT] Cloud backup
Stephen, Crashplan looked great until I noticed they have some kind of per-machine restriction on all but the top plan. This make no sense, as if I buy the space, then I expect to be able to use from absa-bloody-lutely anywhere, I mean, it's the space that counts, not where it comes from -- Greg
Re: [OT] Cloud backup
You could also sync/backup your stuff to Windows Live SkyDrive - http://explore.live.com/windows-live-skydrive On 1 June 2011 10:30, Greg Keogh g...@mira.net wrote: Stephen, Crashplan looked great until I noticed they have some kind of per-machine restriction on all but the top plan. This make no sense, as if I buy the space, then I expect to be able to use from absa-bloody-lutely anywhere, I mean, it's the space that counts, not where it comes from -- Greg
Re: [OT] Cloud backup
Stephen, Windows Live Mesh works great. It's free for up to 5Gb and uses the Windows SkyDrive to store the data: http://explore.live.com/windows-live-mesh?os=other It's more of a sync service than backup (if you delete a file it gets deleted from the cloud storage and it does not store older versions of files) I just love it. I sync data with multiple computers and has basically zero CPU usage during sync. The other services is DropBox. Quite good. Corneliu On Wed, Jun 1, 2011 at 10:35 AM, William Luu will@gmail.com wrote: You could also sync/backup your stuff to Windows Live SkyDrive - http://explore.live.com/windows-live-skydrive On 1 June 2011 10:30, Greg Keogh g...@mira.net wrote: Stephen, Crashplan looked great until I noticed they have some kind of per-machine restriction on all but the top plan. This make no sense, as if I buy the space, then I expect to be able to use from absa-bloody-lutely anywhere, I mean, it's the space that counts, not where it comes from -- Greg
Re: [OT] Cloud backup
For you, its the space. I guess for them, its being able to target different clients. Pay for what you need or pay for what you can afford. I went for the top plan because of the more machines. Then again I tend to buy lots of software tools. Some people go out and spend thousands on their hardware and then refuse to spend a single cent on software (usually because they want something for nothing, which in the software world can sometimes be found). I don't get that. I look at how long it would have taken me to write the software (assuming I even have the skills for what the software does) and then see the measly $200 or whatever as being a bargin. Time is more valuable to me than money. I have less time than money and I seem to spend all my time converting it into money. :) On Wed, Jun 1, 2011 at 8:30 AM, Greg Keogh g...@mira.net wrote: Stephen, Crashplan looked great until I noticed they have some kind of per-machine restriction on all but the top plan. This make no sense, as if I buy the space, then I expect to be able to use from absa-bloody-lutely anywhere, I mean, it's the space that counts, not where it comes from -- Greg
Re: [OT] Cloud backup
how much time do spend on average evaluating software? I know in general it's usually cheaper to buy than build but sometimes the time taken to evaluate X variations is usually daunting... On 1 June 2011 13:33, Stephen Price step...@littlevoices.com wrote: For you, its the space. I guess for them, its being able to target different clients. Pay for what you need or pay for what you can afford. I went for the top plan because of the more machines. Then again I tend to buy lots of software tools. Some people go out and spend thousands on their hardware and then refuse to spend a single cent on software (usually because they want something for nothing, which in the software world can sometimes be found). I don't get that. I look at how long it would have taken me to write the software (assuming I even have the skills for what the software does) and then see the measly $200 or whatever as being a bargin. Time is more valuable to me than money. I have less time than money and I seem to spend all my time converting it into money. :) On Wed, Jun 1, 2011 at 8:30 AM, Greg Keogh g...@mira.net wrote: Stephen, Crashplan looked great until I noticed they have some kind of per-machine restriction on all but the top plan. This make no sense, as if I buy the space, then I expect to be able to use from absa-bloody-lutely anywhere, I mean, it's the space that counts, not where it comes from -- Greg -- regards, Preet, Overlooking the Ocean, Auckland
Re: [OT] Cloud backup
For backup I use McAfee Online Backup - although it's probably neither the cheapest nor the best. It works for me though and it runs invisibly. I also use synchronization services; which offer some backup features (your data is never in any one place). I used to use Live Mesh beta, but had some problems where it would get confused with large numbers of files, and I would sometimes lose the latest versions. So it wasn't much good for code files unless I zipped them into a single file - and then it coped better. The advantage was with it that you can turn any of your windows folders into a synchronized folder, unlike Dropbox where there is just one synchronized folder tree. Form my understanding Live Mesh beta has been replaced with Windows Live Mesh - but since it dropped Windows XP support (my work machine is still XP), so I gave it the flick. These days I'm using Dropbox - where there's more copying involved (due to having only one synchronized folder tree), but I've written scripts to copy my work into the Dropbox folder at the end of the day. Sometimes I forget to run it though :-/ Dropbox is free for up to 2GB of data - and has some rudimentary versioning. It is my understanding it's simply a SVN server, and all Dropbox is, is a SVN client. It's been reliable at least. Dropbox is also in the news a lot as it became apparent that their employees have access to your data (even though they initially denied it). Option number 3, is it is fairly trivial to host your own SVN server over the internet, so long as you have a provider that can host it. On Wed, Jun 1, 2011 at 9:33 AM, Stephen Price step...@littlevoices.comwrote: For you, its the space. I guess for them, its being able to target different clients. Pay for what you need or pay for what you can afford. I went for the top plan because of the more machines. Then again I tend to buy lots of software tools. Some people go out and spend thousands on their hardware and then refuse to spend a single cent on software (usually because they want something for nothing, which in the software world can sometimes be found). I don't get that. I look at how long it would have taken me to write the software (assuming I even have the skills for what the software does) and then see the measly $200 or whatever as being a bargin. Time is more valuable to me than money. I have less time than money and I seem to spend all my time converting it into money. :) On Wed, Jun 1, 2011 at 8:30 AM, Greg Keogh g...@mira.net wrote: Stephen, Crashplan looked great until I noticed they have some kind of per-machine restriction on all but the top plan. This make no sense, as if I buy the space, then I expect to be able to use from absa-bloody-lutely anywhere, I mean, it's the space that counts, not where it comes from -- Greg
Re: [OT] Cloud backup
I guess you could consider it as a hobby. :) I remember back in my Amiga days thats all I used to do. Download beta software and tinker with it. My machine was usually pretty unstable due to it being so loaded up with beta software. lol Usually there's a problem to solve so you don't need them all, but I know what you mean... so many software programs out there so little time. :) On Wed, Jun 1, 2011 at 9:38 AM, Preet Sangha preetsan...@gmail.com wrote: how much time do spend on average evaluating software? I know in general it's usually cheaper to buy than build but sometimes the time taken to evaluate X variations is usually daunting... On 1 June 2011 13:33, Stephen Price step...@littlevoices.com wrote: For you, its the space. I guess for them, its being able to target different clients. Pay for what you need or pay for what you can afford. I went for the top plan because of the more machines. Then again I tend to buy lots of software tools. Some people go out and spend thousands on their hardware and then refuse to spend a single cent on software (usually because they want something for nothing, which in the software world can sometimes be found). I don't get that. I look at how long it would have taken me to write the software (assuming I even have the skills for what the software does) and then see the measly $200 or whatever as being a bargin. Time is more valuable to me than money. I have less time than money and I seem to spend all my time converting it into money. :) On Wed, Jun 1, 2011 at 8:30 AM, Greg Keogh g...@mira.net wrote: Stephen, Crashplan looked great until I noticed they have some kind of per-machine restriction on all but the top plan. This make no sense, as if I buy the space, then I expect to be able to use from absa-bloody-lutely anywhere, I mean, it's the space that counts, not where it comes from -- Greg -- regards, Preet, Overlooking the Ocean, Auckland
RE: [OT] Cloud backup
James, I'm trying Mozy as I like the way your screen shot shows you can select folders and most importantly ... use filters. I like the idea of making backup sets that watch certain folders. It seems to be working well, but the client side home screen UI is not very informative. I ran a test backup and I can see the backed up files folders on their server, but I accidentally backed up a lot of garbage files, I've adjusted my filters to ignore them, but they seem to be stuck on their server. There is no delete option on the server. Am I missing it somewhere? Greg
RE: [OT] Cloud backup
James, it's okay, I eventually found this: About Deleting, Moving, and Renaming Files When you delete a file from your computer, the file is marked for deletion on the backup servers. The file is permanently deleted from the servers 30 days after it was deselected. When you use the MozyHome Prefererences window to deselect a file to exclude from future backups using the File Folders Tab, the file is marked for deletion on the backup servers when you perform your next backup. The file is permanently deleted from the servers 30 days after it was deselected. When a file is marked for deletion on the backup servers, MozyHome immediately releases the storage space used by that particular file. The most recent version of the file is kept for 30 days, after which the file is deleted permanently from the backup servers and is no longer retrievable. MozyHome recognizes when you delete, move, or rename files on your system, and updates the backup servers. MozyHome keeps an exact copy of your selections on the Mozy servers, meaning that all changes (deletions, moves, and renaming) of files on your system are mirrored. When you rename a file on your system, MozyHome treats it as a deletion of the old file and the creation of a new file with the same content. If you need to restore the file, and the restore date is prior to the renaming, the file uses the old name. After the date of renaming, the file uses the new name. When you move a file from one location to another on your file system, MozyHome treats this in the same manner as a renaming.
Re: [OT] Cloud backup
I was a happy Mozy user for three+ years. I left for a couple of reasons. They removed their ultimate plan (mine still had a year and a half left on my plan) but if I wanted to add another machine to my current plan then I had to cancel my plan and resign up to their non unlimited plan. I don't really care about unlimited but I did have 90Gb in the cloud on Mozy, so their smallest plan was too small. They actually broke their existing plans when they introduced the new limited plans. I was supposed to be able to add more machines onto existing plan. They appoligised but there was no way around it other than cancel plan and switch to limited plan early. The other reason was partly due to them dumbing down the client. I used to be able to see what was going on, what file, how much of the compression it had done of the file etc. The new client took all that away and it just showed a percentage. No file info, nothing. couldnt even see if it was actually working unless you came back later to see if the percent had changed. Dissapointing. I'm not saying don't go with Mozy, it works well. I just found something that suited me as the end/power user better with Crashplan. I've now got something like 300Gb backed up. :) On Wed, Jun 1, 2011 at 12:18 PM, Greg Keogh g...@mira.net wrote: James, I’m trying Mozy as I like the way your screen shot shows you can select folders and most importantly ... use filters. I like the idea of making “backup sets” that watch certain folders. It seems to be working well, but the client side home screen UI is not very informative. I ran a test backup and I can see the backed up files folders on their server, but I accidentally backed up a lot of garbage files, I’ve adjusted my filters to ignore them, but they seem to be “stuck” on their server. There is no delete option on the server. Am I missing it somewhere? Greg
RE: [OT] Cloud backup
Ok, so how would Mozy handle a situation where you connect a single machine, which is a Windows Home Server 2011 (which handles backups from a small network very well)? I mean in terms of the plans - volume/bandwidth, etc. Ian Thomas Victoria Park, Western Australia -Original Message- From: ozdotnet-boun...@ozdotnet.com [mailto:ozdotnet-boun...@ozdotnet.com] On Behalf Of Stephen Price Sent: Wednesday, June 01, 2011 1:34 PM To: ozDotNet Subject: Re: [OT] Cloud backup I was a happy Mozy user for three+ years. I left for a couple of reasons. They removed their ultimate plan (mine still had a year and a half left on my plan) but if I wanted to add another machine to my current plan then I had to cancel my plan and resign up to their non unlimited plan. I don't really care about unlimited but I did have 90Gb in the cloud on Mozy, so their smallest plan was too small. They actually broke their existing plans when they introduced the new limited plans. I was supposed to be able to add more machines onto existing plan. They appoligised but there was no way around it other than cancel plan and switch to limited plan early. The other reason was partly due to them dumbing down the client. I used to be able to see what was going on, what file, how much of the compression it had done of the file etc. The new client took all that away and it just showed a percentage. No file info, nothing. couldnt even see if it was actually working unless you came back later to see if the percent had changed. Dissapointing. I'm not saying don't go with Mozy, it works well. I just found something that suited me as the end/power user better with Crashplan. I've now got something like 300Gb backed up. :) On Wed, Jun 1, 2011 at 12:18 PM, Greg Keogh g...@mira.net wrote: James, I'm trying Mozy as I like the way your screen shot shows you can select folders and most importantly ... use filters. I like the idea of making backup sets that watch certain folders. It seems to be working well, but the client side home screen UI is not very informative. I ran a test backup and I can see the backed up files folders on their server, but I accidentally backed up a lot of garbage files, I've adjusted my filters to ignore them, but they seem to be stuck on their server. There is no delete option on the server. Am I missing it somewhere? Greg
RE: [OT] Cloud backup
I have been using Jungle Disk with Amazon for a few years and am very happy - and only costs a few dollars every month - and we have about 10 G now backed up there... Glenn Crouch, mailto:gl...@esbconsult.com ESB Consultancy, http://www.esbconsult.com Follow us on Twitter: http://twitter.com/esbglenn Home of ESBPCS and ESB Calculators Kalgoorlie-Boulder, Western Australia
