I find it amazing, considering this is a Mac oriented group that no one mentioned LaCie drives. I have found them to be robust but a bit pricier. Just one person's experience is limited data, but I felt the omission to be glaring.
On Mon, Nov 28, 2011 at 4:35 AM, Bruce Ryan <[email protected]> wrote: > Hi Jane > > 2. I also have been looking at online backup sites, in addition to a > physical back up. Carbonite looks good to me, but I am not familiar with > the pros and cons of online. I would value your opinion. > > pro > - if your mac and backup become unavailable (as might happen if your house > burns down or is burgled), you can get your data back! > - backups should be available 24/7, so if you're away from your mac and > find you need some data, you can download it to a computer where you are > right now > - backups will be encrypted and held in secure premises > - providing the hardware is the online provider's problem > - if you have several macs/PCs to back up, even if they are on several > sites, you may be able to buy a family deal. > > con > - slow initial upload speed (It took about 30 days to upload 150 GB of > data from my mac.) > - need to have internet access to retrieve stuff > - costs are ongoing (but hard disks don't last forever) > - backups are encrypted - you need to remember your login details if you > want to retrieve data and are away from the mac that's connected to your > account > > Both local HDs and online should offer incremental backup, so that you can > retrieve previous versions of files. > > To get around these limitations, I suggest doing both. > - Time Machine hourly incremental backups (or CarbonCopyCloner daily > incremental backups) to a local HD will provide immediate access to stuff > at home, without any need to go online, remember passwords, etc. > - Online backup is there as a last resort or for when you're away from > home and find you don't have the files you need. > > I've had good experience with CrashPlan (good customer service, a family > deal to cover up to 10 computers for $6 per month). They also offer a > service where you can use their software to back up to another device on a > another site (such as a friend's mac or PC) for free. Of course, this > depends on having a friend who has drive space and will leave their mac > switched on and online for you to backup to it. IIRC data would be > encrypted so your friend couldn't access your data unless you give away > your password.) > > I can't comment on how CrashPlan compares to other online backup > providers. Of course, CrashPlan **claims** to be better - see > http://www.crashplan.com/business/compare.html#stackup. You might want to > try them and other providers' trial periods to see which suits you. > > I hope this helps and isn't patronising. > > Bruce > > -- > You received this message because you are a member of G-Group, a group for > those using G3, G4, and G5 desktop Macs - with a particular focus on Power > Macs. > The list FAQ is at http://lowendmac.com/lists/g-list.shtml and our > netiquette guide is at http://www.lowendmac.com/lists/netiquette.shtml > To post to this group, send email to [email protected] > For more options, visit this group at > http://groups.google.com/group/g3-5-list > -- You received this message because you are a member of G-Group, a group for those using G3, G4, and G5 desktop Macs - with a particular focus on Power Macs. The list FAQ is at http://lowendmac.com/lists/g-list.shtml and our netiquette guide is at http://www.lowendmac.com/lists/netiquette.shtml To post to this group, send email to [email protected] For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/g3-5-list
