TidBITS#757/06-Dec-04
=====================
We're back from the Thanksgiving break with second helpings of
Mac-related content! In this issue, Joe Kissell helps you choose
backup software (excerpted from his new "Take Control of Mac OS X
Backups" ebook). Matt Neuburg spotlights the Mac OS X-native
version of the RAM-based database program Panorama V. Also,
Adam takes Steve Ballmer to task for his complaints about spam,
and Glenn Fleishman praises Apple's new .Mac affiliate program.
We also note the releases of Security Update 2004-12-02, a new
line of Squeezebox audio streaming devices, EyeHome 1.5.1, Mac
compatibility from the U.S. Postal Service, and the long-awaited
arrival of a Canadian iTunes Music Store.
Topics:
MailBITS/06-Dec-04
DealBITS Drawing: Rogue Amoeba's Audio Hijack Pro
iTunes Music Store Opens in Canada
Apple Starts .Mac Affiliate Program
Panorama V for Victory
Bill Gates, Steve Ballmer, and Spam
Choosing Backup Software
Hot Topics in TidBITS Talk/06-Dec-04
<http://www.tidbits.com/tb-issues/TidBITS-757.html>
<ftp://ftp.tidbits.com/issues/2004/TidBITS#757_06-Dec-04.etx>
Copyright 2004 TidBITS: Reuse governed by Creative Commons license
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---------------------------------------------------------------
MailBITS/06-Dec-04
------------------
**Security Update 2004-12-02 Released** -- Apple continues to
release security updates, with Security Update 2004-12-02 rolling
in fixes for numerous potential exploits. The improvements update
the Apache Web server, the Cyrus IMAP server, Kerberos, the
Postfix mail server, QuickTime Streaming Server, Safari, and
Terminal, along with several low-level frameworks. Although none
of the vulnerabilities seem particularly serious, it's always
worth staying up-to-date on security patches to help prevent
problems. Security Update 2004-12-02 is available via Software
Update (sizes range between 12 MB and 24 MB depending on operating
system version), and it's available as separate downloads as well
for the client and server versions of Mac OS 10.2.8 and Mac OS X
10.3.6.
<http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=61798>
<http://www.apple.com/support/downloads/>
It's worth noting in passing that Apple also recently released
a minor update to iCal to plug a security hole surrounding alarms
that open programs or send email. iCal 1.5.4 is also available via
Software Update and as a standalone download; it's 8.2 MB. [ACE]
<http://www.apple.com/support/downloads/ical.html>
**Squeezebox Adds New Display, Features, Colors** -- Slim Devices
has spiced up the Squeezebox (see "Good Vibrations from the
Squeezebox" in TidBITS-726_). In August they upgraded the display
to a "graphical" unit that displays 280 x 16 pixels and uses
proportional fonts. More recently, the SlimServer software
was upgraded to version 5.4. This update adds an Internet
Radio directory, with listings from Live365, Radioio, ShoutCAST,
AudioFeast, and their own aggregation, Slim Devices Picks. An RSS
news reader is included, along with support for Ogg Vorbis radio
streams, and (when running on Windows) support for WMA radio
streams. Also bundled is SoftSqueeze, a software player that
emulates the Squeezebox's interface. Slim Server 5.4 is a
free update and a 6.3 MB download.
<http://www.slimdevices.com/>
<http://db.tidbits.com/getbits.acgi?tbart=07637>
The Squeezebox player is also now available in four metallic
colors: Rhapsody in Blue, Tangerine Dream, Purple Haze, and
Triple Platinum. Slim Devices has also launched a CD ripping
service, wherein you ship your music CDs to them and they return
them along with digital versions in the format of your choice.
A color Squeezebox is a $10 premium over the matte black version;
CD ripping costs $130 for 100 CDs, with quantity pricing available
for up to 1,000 CDs. [Andrew Laurence]
<http://www.slimdevices.com/pi_ripping.html>
**EyeHome 1.5.1 Improves Interface, Media Support** -- Elgato
Systems' EyeHome media server has received a major update in the
recently released 1.5.1 version (see "EyeHome: So Close, Yet So
Far" in TidBITS-741_). This update includes both the server
software on the Mac as well as the device's firmware. Changes
include a new user interface, better support for DivX and 3ivx
video, new support for the Ogg Vorbis audio format, a pop-up
window that displays information about a video file's format,
and the capability to display iPhoto pictures on the television
while music plays from iTunes's Library. I'm pleased to report
that the new interface is much more agreeable, and corrects most
of the navigation issues I highlighted in my review. The update
is free for all EyeHome customers, available via download.
[Andrew Laurence]
<http://db.tidbits.com/getbits.acgi?tbart=07766>
<http://www.elgato.com/index.php?file=support_updates_eyehome>
**USPS Click-N-Ship Now Mac-Compatible** -- Thanks to Rob Faludi
for passing on the information that the U.S. Postal Service
Click-N-Ship program now works on the Mac. Click-N-Ship is useful
because it lets you avoid trips to your local post office to mail
packages, at least if you're using Priority Mail or Express Mail
(including Global Express Guaranteed and Global Express Mail).
In brief, you weigh your package, enter the weight, destination,
and insurance amount (if any) in a Web form, and then pay for
the postage via a standard Web shopping cart. A Java-based Web
application helps you print the necessary shipping label on a
normal sheet of paper (you can also buy special label stock).
Your postal carrier then picks up the package the next day just
as though it were an outgoing letter. We've only had the chance
to use Click-N-Ship a few times so far, but it worked fine in
Safari and OmniWeb, and should help us eliminate all those extra
errands to the post office. The USPS doesn't claim Macintosh
compatibility yet, but it's entirely possible that improvements
in the Java VM for Mac OS X brought the necessary changes to make
it all work. We still need to buy a good digital scale to take
over from our analog kitchen scale, but once that's done, mailing
packages will become less annoying than it has been. [ACE]
<https://sss-web.usps.com/ds/jsps/ds_landing.jsp>
**Digital Photography: Correction & Follow-up** -- I would like
to point out a mistake in my article "Sense & Sensors in Digital
Photography" in TidBITS-751_. I stated that smaller sensors are
more sensitive to camera movement than larger sensors, but when
the field of view is comparable, they are not. This vitiates
one paragraph but has no effect on any conclusions or advice.
Also, an editing gaffe at the end of the same article sowed some
confusion over the role of green in Bayer sensors. The second link
below points to a clarification of this and also to an extensive
set of FAQs that have come out of the series. [Charles Maurer]
<http://db.tidbits.com/getbits.acgi?tbart=07860>
<http://psych.mcmaster.ca/maurerlab/Publications/TidbitsErrata.html>
DealBITS Drawing: Rogue Amoeba's Audio Hijack Pro
--------------------------------------------------
by Adam C. Engst <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
For many people outside of large cities, the Internet has
revitalized radio, vastly increasing the amount of content -
both spoken word and music - that's available. But most of it
is streamed, making it just as disrespectful of our time as
television for those without a VCR or DVR. With Rogue Amoeba's
Audio Hijack Pro, however, you can have your Internet radio and
eat it after dinner (or whenever and wherever you like) too.
It's a slick application that lets you record audio from almost
any source to a digital format, making it useful not just for
recording Internet radio programs for later listening on your
iPod, but also for ripping your old vinyl albums to MP3.
<http://www.rogueamoeba.com/audiohijackpro/>
In this week's DealBITS drawing, you can enter to win one of three
copies of Audio Hijack Pro 2.1.1, each worth $32. Entrants who
aren't among our lucky winners will receive a discount on Audio
Hijack Pro, so if you've been considering converting your LPs to
MP3 or scheduling a regular recording of Car Talk, be sure to
enter at the DealBITS page linked below. All information gathered
is covered by our comprehensive privacy policy. Be careful with
your spam filters, since you must be able to receive email from
my address to learn if you've won.
<http://www.tidbits.com/dealbits/rogue-amoeba/>
<http://www.tidbits.com/about/privacy.html>
iTunes Music Store Opens in Canada
----------------------------------
by Adam C. Engst <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
At long last, Apple has opened the iTunes Music Store to iTunes
users in Canada [1]. Not being an actual Canadian [2], I'm sure
there are aspects to the Canadian iTunes Music Store that will
escape me, but I did notice that the standard price per song will
be CDN$0.99, or US$0.84 [3]. Apple also claims the iTunes Music
Store in Canada features over 700,000 songs, which is comparable
to the number of songs offered by the EU iTunes Music Store,
though still well behind the 1,000,000 songs offered in the US
iTunes Music Store as of August, 2004 [4]. Apple also said that
the Canadian iTunes Music Store will feature many top Canadian
artist exclusives [5].
<http://www.apple.com/pr/library/2004/dec/02canada.html>
[1] Note that I avoided a sarcastic joke here about how there
aren't that many people in Canada as an explanation for why it
took Apple so long to allow Canadians to purchase from the iTunes
Music Store. Honestly, I have no idea why it took so long - it
seemed like an obvious early move to me.
[2] Though I have been mistaken for one, while travelling in
Australia in 1998. But I suspect the person was just being polite.
[3] It was tempting to throw in a ludicrously low number to poke
fun at the exchange rate, but the Canadian dollar is actually
doing quite a lot better from the recent low of US$0.72 to
CDN$0.99 back in May, 2004. Still, I wonder if there will be
people with US and Canadian credit cards and addresses (such that
they can order from both stores) who will happily buy music at
whichever store has the lower price.
[4] Has anyone figured out how to make a list of which songs are
available in one iTunes Music Store but not another? That would
be cool.
[5] Too much fun could be had with this statement. For instance,
the number 5 top single (as voted by "over 300 Canadian musicians,
critics, and music biz types") was "Echo Beach" by a group called
Martha and the Muffins. But does Martha and the Muffins show up
in Canadian Musician Magazine's list of Canadian artists? No [6].
<http://www.chartattack.com/top50/top50intro.html>
<http://www.canadianmusician.com/cmbands.htm>
[6] But the list does include what I suspect is the group's later
incarnation, Bertha Does Moosejaw.
Apple Starts .Mac Affiliate Program
-----------------------------------
by Glenn Fleishman <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
Apple has just launched the .Mac affiliate program: if someone
signs up for .Mac by following a link on your site, you receive
$15. It's that simple.
<http://www.mac.com/1/affiliates/>
Affiliate programs have been powerful tools for drawing in new
customers for subscription and e-commerce retail stores because
the goal in those cases is lifetime customer value. It makes sense
to pay relatively large commissions to referrers who produce
single-year subscribers, who, in turn, are more likely to become
multi-year subscribers. In other words, paying $15 to gain $200,
$300, or $400 in eventual revenue doesn't seem silly.
Apple has certainly done the testing and run the numbers on this
program. A $15 bounty for a new .Mac subscriber means there's a
large universe of potential .Mac customers that Apple can't reach
through its other advertising techniques; they must also be seeing
a fairly high non-cancellation rate among referred .Mac
subscribers.
Affiliate programs also have the benefit of stamping the
imprimatur of the site that refers (the affiliate) to the site
that pays (the advertiser). If a Mac Web site started showing
a .Mac affiliate banner, it says to me that the site thinks
referring people to .Mac and having them sign up makes sense
for its readers.
Panorama V for Victory
----------------------
by Matt Neuburg <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
Throughout the nearly 20 years of its history, ProVUE's flagship
database application, Panorama, has been ahead of its time; now
the times have caught up, and Panorama has risen to the challenge.
Panorama, as you may recall from my original review (see "Seeing
the Light with Panorama" in TidBITS-606_), is lightning-fast
because it keeps the entire database in RAM, and this of course
makes today's speedy RAM-packed computers and Mac OS X's advanced
memory management a perfect platform. Thus, a Mac OS X-native
version is a natural for Panorama. Such a version has been
available in developmental form for over a year; now, with
Panorama V, it's official. (The Roman-numeral version designation
is doubtless a nod to Apple's "X".)
<http://www.provue.com/panorama5.html>
<http://db.tidbits.com/getbits.acgi?tbart=06641>
The whole look and feel of the program has leapt into the 21st
century. Colors, 3D gradients, and form widget appearances
harmonize with Aqua; dialogs are cleaner and non-modal; support
has been added for scroll wheels, text-to-speech, vCards, the
color picker, and phone dialing; and the thoroughly revised
documentation looks great in Preview. There are numerous new or
improved wizards (many of these work seamlessly with the Internet,
using the command-line based curl utility in Mac OS X) and lots of
new features. Particularly slick is the Live Search feature, with
an interface like the search-as-you-type field in the Panther
Finder or Apple Mail.
Panorama developers will find the native scripting language
greatly expanded in some profound and thoughtful ways. There are
hundreds of convenient new functions and procedure commands, along
with the capability to create custom global routines. A function
can now assign a value to a field or variable as a side effect.
Running and debugging procedures are now much more convenient, and
procedure menus can be created dynamically. The handling of custom
dialogs and menus is much better. Support for calling AppleScript
has been improved, and of course it's now also possible to call
the Unix shell. Many wizards assist with common programming tasks.
The installation and registration procedure, always a bit dicey
for me in the past, is now clean, simple, and reliable. The Web
site has also been improved to provide information more clearly.
Basically, if you've been holding off on trying Panorama because
it wasn't Mac OS X-native, now's the time to dive in. (At the
same time, Panorama V is a Carbon application and runs fine on
Mac OS 9 too.)
Panorama V is free to download, and you can use it free forever if
your database has a fairly small number of records, or if you are
willing to play a simple but inconvenient game (find and click the
bold letters in a dialog) every time you save. Otherwise it's $300
($140 for Panorama 4 owners), with a $30 option for a license that
lets your copy run on unlimited personal machines. There are
generous terms for distributing your database along with a special
non-developer version of Panorama, in case you want to share your
database with friends or you use it to develop a killer app. For
Mac OS X, Panorama V requires Jaguar or later; the download ranges
from about 65 MB with developer tools and documentation down to
5 MB for just the application itself. Next on ProVUE's plate:
updating the Windows version.
<http://www.provue.com/Downloads/DownloadHome.html>
Bill Gates, Steve Ballmer, and Spam
-----------------------------------
by Adam C. Engst <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
In a recent AP story, Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer was quoted as
saying that Bill Gates "literally receives 4 million pieces of
email per day, most of it spam." Fascinating! It implies that
Gates is still using the classic [EMAIL PROTECTED] address,
which makes no sense. It's not as if he wants to be accessible
to everyone on the Internet who might like to send him email,
so I can't see why he wouldn't just use an unpublished address
for everything.
<http://www.cnn.com/2004/TECH/internet/11/18/gates.spam.ap/>
The quote also implies a huge level of malevolence on the part of
spammers. I've been using [EMAIL PROTECTED] on the Internet since
the early 1990s, and my address shows up weekly in email on tens
of thousands of computers (some of which are undoubtedly PCs
infected with email address-gathering worms), on the Web, and
even in Usenet news. For all that, searching Google today for my
address turns up 9,670 hits, compared to only 5,390 for Gates's.
It's not surprising - you don't see Bill Gates popping up in
public mailing lists or putting his address on public Web pages.
So why should my spam load (pre-Postini) have been only about
1,000 messages per day, whereas Gates gets 4 million per day?
All I can think is that he's being targeted directly by spam and
worms, which makes me wonder even more why the address would be
active when it's obviously being used as the target of an ongoing
denial-of-service attack.
<http://www.google.com/[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
<http://www.google.com/[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
Ballmer also said that Microsoft has special technology just
for filtering the spam out of Gates's incoming email, and it's
bolstered by several Microsoft employees dedicated to the task
of ensuring that Gates doesn't see any spam at all. I'm sure
it's effective in the end, but come on: why not install some real
spam-filtering technology that doesn't require, as Ballmer puts
it, "a whole department almost" to clean up after it. Or just
forget about it and turn off the darn account!
Of course, as Todd Bishop of the Seattle Post-Intelligencer
clarified by contacting a Microsoft spokesperson, a more likely
explanation for the entire situation is that Ballmer's speaking
style often leaves room for interpretation, apparently a highly
useful trait in a CEO.
<http://blog.seattlepi.nwsource.com/microsoft/archives/003868.html>
What about Ballmer himself? He claims that he is "probably also
among the most spammed people in the world" because he gives out
his email address whenever he makes a speech. That could imply
that Ballmer's speeches are heavily attended by spammers, since
publicizing his address in a speech to honest, law-abiding
citizens wouldn't result in him receiving spam. I'm not sure I'd
be proud of addressing spammers so frequently. More realistically,
I suspect he doesn't understand how spammers operate. On the
Internet, where spammers are known to trawl for email addresses
because it's easier than attending keynote presentations and
taking notes, Ballmer's address, [EMAIL PROTECTED], elicits
only 868 hits in Google right now, and that's about triple where
it was before Google started indexing all the news stories on
this topic.
<http://www.google.com/[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
Sorry, Steve, it's not the talks. The only sensible conclusion
is that spammers are targeting you too, just like Bill. The real
question is if other big company CEO-types are being similarly
attacked, or if Microsoft could somehow, and I certainly couldn't
imagine how, tweaked off a bunch of people over the years?
Choosing Backup Software
------------------------
by Joe Kissell <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
When is a backup program not a backup program? A lot of software
that calls itself "backup software" does not actually perform
backups in the two key senses I discuss in my new ebook, "Take
Control of Mac OS X Backups." That is to say, some backup programs
do not create additive incremental archives of your files, some do
not create bootable duplicates, and some do neither! The latter
category includes, interestingly enough, Apple's own Backup
application.
<http://www.tidbits.com/takecontrol/backup-macosx.html>
Unfortunately, because software developers use terms such as
"incremental," "archive," and "backup" differently, you may think
you're getting certain capabilities when you buy a product that
later turn out to be missing. Thus it is extremely important that
you read the fine print, and understand exactly what it is you're
looking for.
**Duplication Features** -- Many different applications can create
a bootable duplicate. This entails copying all the files
(including hidden files) on your hard disk to another volume
while preserving Unix ownership, permissions, and symbolic links.
In most cases, such applications can also update a duplicate
incrementally (rather than recopy every single file each time).
However, you should consider a few other things when looking at
a duplication program:
* Can it create a bootable duplicate directly onto a hard drive
(as opposed to an intermediate disk image or optical media)?
If you have an extra hard drive available, you'll want this
capability.
* Conversely, can it create a restorable duplicate onto optical
media or a disk image? Sometimes this capability is useful,
other times not.
* Can it automatically update the duplicates on a schedule?
* When updating a duplicate incrementally, can it also delete
files that were deleted on the source volume? If not, your
duplicate may include extraneous files that you don't want.
* Does it have any other features you might use, such as file and
folder synchronization?
That said, the duplication programs I've tried are more alike than
different, so if you're looking for an application to accomplish
only this one task, just about any of the duplication programs
I list in the ebook should do the trick.
**Archiving Features** -- Among applications that provide
archiving features, there's a huge range of variation in how
they work - and how easy they make it to restore your work later.
The fact that an application stores multiple revisions of each
backed-up file does not, by itself, make it good for creating
archives.
**Archive Varieties** -- First, there's an important distinction
to make: true archives versus rotating backups. In a true
archive - that is, an additive incremental archive - every version
of every file you designate is saved, but identical files are
never duplicated. In a rotating backup, the program creates a
complete, separate copy of all your files every day - basically
a non-incremental archive. Then, after a certain number of days
(specified by the user), the program erases the oldest backup
and adds a new one. Rotating backups, because they copy every
single file each day, take longer to perform and require much more
storage space. If you have room and time to spare, there's nothing
wrong with that approach, and it removes the need for a snapshot
list, since all the files themselves are there (see "Snapshots and
File Lists," just ahead). However, because you're erasing files
older than a certain date, you're restricting your restoration
capability. If you keep, say, five days worth of rotating backups
and find you need a file you deleted a week ago, you're out
of luck.
A few applications offer the best of both worlds: rotating
archives. Like a conventional archive, new files are added to
the backup incrementally (without overwriting older versions).
However, in order to conserve space, you can opt to erase the
oldest versions of selected files at the same time - for example,
all versions older than 30 days, or versions copied more than
30 sessions ago.
**File Format, Compression, and Encryption** -- To oversimplify
somewhat, most software employs one of two basic methods to copy
files when performing a backup. One way is to copy each file in
a stand-alone Finder-readable format, so that the backed-up files
look exactly like the originals. Another way is to copy all the
files into a single, larger file (sometimes called an archive file
or a backup set). Each approach has advantages and disadvantages.
Finder-format copies can be restored without the use of a backup
program - just drag and drop. Some people also feel more secure
knowing they can get at their files easily even if their backup
software goes south. Of course, the backed-up files will always
take up exactly as much space as the originals.
Archive files can be compressed efficiently as they're stored,
potentially saving a large amount of hard disk space. They can
also be encrypted, so if your backup media is lost or stolen,
no one can read your files without knowing your passphrase.
And unlike Finder copies, which always take as their owner the
user name of the person currently logged in, archive files can
preserve original Unix ownership and permissions. Of course,
you will need the backup software to restore files, and in some
cases you have a slightly higher risk of data loss due to file
corruption (since all the data is stored in a single file) -
but most backup software has verification mechanisms to compensate
for this.
(Note**:** Not all programs that offer compression or encryption
copy data into a single archive file. A few can compress or
encrypt individual files, such that they can be moved or copied
(but not opened) in the Finder. You must still use the backup
software to restore them to their original state.)
However, you should also be aware of a third option: disk images.
Some backup software, at least when backing up to a hard disk,
stores files in a disk image. Like an archive file, a disk image
is a single file that contains all your other files - and can
optionally be compressed, encrypted, or both. The difference is
that you can double-click a disk image, and after supplying the
passphrase (if necessary) it will mount on the Desktop as a
regular volume - after which you can read and copy files using
the Finder. Sounds great, doesn't it? It can be, but keep in
mind that in most cases, each incremental archive backup is
stored on a separate disk image, so without a snapshot or file
list provided by the backup software (see "Snapshots and File
Lists," just ahead), restoration can be quite involved.
When making a bootable duplicate onto another hard disk, Finder
copies are obviously mandatory. For archives, though, I strongly
prefer a format that offers both compression and encryption - and
in this respect, archive files are generally more elegant and
convenient than disk images.
**Snapshots and File Lists** -- When it comes time to restore
files from an archive, you must be able to locate the versions
you want quickly and easily. Some backup programs facilitate such
restorations by offering snapshots - lists of all the files on
your computer as they existed at the time of each backup, even if
they were already present in the archive and therefore not copied
during that particular session. Suppose you want to restore all
the files on your machine as they existed last Tuesday. Having
a list of all the files as they appeared on Tuesday - and an
automated way to restore them - can be extremely valuable.
On the other hand, imagine that you want to look back at every
version of just one particular file as it existed over the past
month. In this case, you don't want to wade through snapshots -
you simply want a list (sorted by file name or date - or better
yet, searchable) of each version of the file in the archive,
from which you can choose just the ones you want. Without either
a snapshot or a file list, you'll need to locate each version
of the file manually in dated folders. This makes for a long
and tedious restoration process.
**Sources and Destinations** -- The volume from which you are
backing up files is known as the source; the volume to which
you are backing them up is known as the destination (or target).
Be sure the software you select can accommodate the sources and
destinations you wish to use.
All backup programs can copy data from your startup disk. Most can
also copy data from other attached hard disks, network volumes
(including AppleShare volumes, FTP servers, and iDisks mounted
in the Finder). And usually you can select arbitrary folders or
files anywhere on those volumes to be backed up. However, there
are exceptions. Qdea's Backup Simplicity, for example, supports
only your startup volume.
<http://www.qdea.com/pages/pages-bs/bs1.html>
In most cases, your range of destination options also includes any
Finder-mountable volume. (So, theoretically, you could even back
up one network volume to a different network volume if you wanted
to.) But not always: Babel Company's Impression, for example,
cannot copy files directly to a hard disk - though it can create
a disk image that resides on a hard disk. On the other hand, at
least Impression creates the disk images for you. Most programs
require that you manually create the disk image yourself using
Disk Utility and mount it in the Finder before you can use it
as a backup destination.
<http://babelcompany.com/impression/>
A similar issue comes into play with optical media. A backup
program can support recordable CDs and DVDs as a destination
in either of two senses:
* You pop a blank disc into your drive, give it a name, and allow
it to mount in the Finder. The backup software sees the disc as
a possible destination like any other volume. After running the
backup program, you then return to the Finder to manually burn
and eject the disc.
* The backup program itself asks for blank media when needed,
writing to it directly without the intervention of the Finder.
The first way of supporting optical media is trivially easy for
software developers to implement, so that is how many backup
programs work. But this approach does have some problems. First,
it requires much more human intervention - performing manual steps
despite the fact that the backup itself runs automatically on a
schedule. Second, it eliminates the possibility of multisession
recording (the ability to record additional chunks of information
on a partially used disc after the initial write session), since
the Finder does not include this feature. This is a problem
because without multisession capability, you will use a much
larger number of discs - increasing not only media cost, but
inconvenience. (Note, however, that some applications, including
Retrospect, use a packet-writing technique to add data to
partially used optical discs. This is even more efficient than
multisession support, but it means that only the application used
to record the discs can read them later.) Therefore, if you need
to record backups onto optical media, I strongly recommend using
an application with multisession (or packet-writing) support.
<http://www.dantz.com/>
A related issue is what I'm going to call media spanning. Suppose
you have more data than will fit on a single CD or DVD - or even
that you have a single file that's too large to fit on a single
disc. Some backup programs intelligently manage backups that span
multiple discs, prompting you for new media when required during
a backup (splitting files if necessary), and asking for the proper
discs when restoring files (rejoining split files). Although the
need for media spanning could affect those backing up onto hard
drives as well, it's most crucial for those using optical media.
Only a few backup programs offer media spanning, and even fewer
include both media spanning and multisession or packet-writing
support.
**Selectors and Exclusions** -- Selective archive backups (as
opposed to full archive backups) do not include every file on
your hard disk. But archiving even your entire home folder may
be overkill, since it includes things like cache files, which
serve no useful purpose in the context of a backup, and digital
media files (such as MP3s ripped from your CD collection), which,
because they change infrequently, are adequately backed up already
if you maintain bootable duplicates of your entire hard disk. So
instead of simply selecting one or more folders to archive, you
may wish to explicitly include or exclude certain types of files.
Some backup programs include user-definable criteria specifying
which files should be included (selectors) or excluded
(exclusions) from a particular folder or volume - and a few
programs offer both. Depending on the program, these criteria
may include file names, sizes, Finder labels, extensions,
modification dates, and any number of other factors.
In general, I find exclusions more useful than selectors,
though I would not generally consider either an absolute must
in a backup program. Your mileage, of course, may vary.
**Ease of Restoration** -- No matter how easy it is to back up
your hard disk, if your software makes it difficult to restore
files, you're going to be unhappy with it. After all, a backup
that you can't restore is worthless. Backup programs typically
offer one of three main approaches to restoration:
* Finder restoration: The backup program has no Restore command;
to restore files, you drag them manually from the backup volume
onto your hard disk. This is fine if you're restoring an entire
folder, but if you've done an additive incremental archive, you
may have to sort through dozens or hundreds of folders to locate
the right versions of each of your files.
* Reverse backup: In this scheme, the backup program once again
does not offer a Restore command, instead expecting that you'll
simply swap the source and destination locations and perform your
backup again - in reverse. While this may reduce manual effort
somewhat, it's still going to be a hassle when restoring versioned
files from an archive. And even in the best cases, a reverse
backup can be confusing and stressful, because it's easy to
get the source and destination mixed up when their contents
are so similar.
* A Restore command: The backup program (usually) keeps track of
all the files you backed up during each session, allowing you to
copy them back to their proper locations - or another destination
of your choice - with a few clicks. In most cases, before starting
the restoration, you can choose a subset of the files, or even
pick out one version of a single file if that's all you need.
Restore commands and snapshots tend to appear together.
It probably goes without saying that I prefer applications with
a Restore command - they make the restoration quicker and easier.
Of course, the presence of a Restore feature does not, by itself,
mean the process will be easy, but it's a hopeful sign.
**Restoring a Full Archive as a Bootable Volume** -- If you choose
to perform a full (rather than selective) archive, bear in mind
that not all backup software can restore your archive from an
arbitrary point to a blank disk in such a way that the resulting
volume will be bootable. In order for a restored full archive
to be bootable, several things must be true:
* All files needed for your computer to start up - including a
great many hidden files - must be included in the backup and
restored afterward.
* The backup software must preserve Unix ownership, permissions,
and symbolic links during both the backup process and the
restoration process; doing so requires that you enter an
administrator's password.
* When restoring the files, the destination disk must not contain
any extraneous files that could interfere with booting; normally,
this implies erasing the disk before restoring the archive.
Most backup software that provides both duplication and archiving
features also enables you to restore a full archive as a bootable
volume, assuming that you set it up properly. Some programs,
however (notably Synchronize Pro X) can restore a bootable volume
only from a duplicate, not from an archive. A few applications
permit full archives to be restored as bootable volumes, but lack
a snapshot feature - meaning you must manually locate and copy
a large number of documents to return your disk to the state
you wish to recreate.
<http://www.qdea.com/pages/pages-sprox/sprox1.html>
Unfortunately, most backup software does not explicitly state
whether or not it can restore a full archive as a bootable volume,
and of the programs that do, some are more reliable in this regard
than others. This may be a good reason to consider performing
selective backups instead; on the other hand, if full archives
are important to you, I recommend using Retrospect.
**Ease of Use** -- In addition to ease of restoration, an
application's overall ease of use is also important. The interface
should be self-explanatory - ideally, clear enough that you can
figure out how to perform a basic backup and restoration without
ever looking at a manual.
If your backup software is difficult to learn or set up, you're
less likely to use it. So you want an application you can
configure in an hour or so - not something that takes you an
entire day to figure out. You also want your backup software
to perform its duties on a schedule with as little interruption
to your routine as possible. The best backup software would be
completely invisible, working silently behind the scenes until
you needed it.
Even so, don't underestimate the importance of good documentation.
An extensive, well-written manual can be a godsend when trying
to comprehend the minutiae of rotating archives or client-server
configuration.
**Support and Reputation** -- Some backup software is published by
individuals who like to program in their spare time. At the other
end of the spectrum, some backup software is published by large
corporations with a small army of programmers and a full-time paid
technical support staff. Ironically, I've often received better
and quicker technical support from individual authors - even those
who give away their applications for free - than big companies. On
the other hand, if you're entrusting all the data on the computers
in your home or small office to a backup application, you may feel
more comfortable knowing that a professional staff stands behind
the product.
Of special note in this regard is Dantz (now owned by EMC),
developers of Retrospect. They charge $70 to speak to a technical
support representative on the phone - a seemingly outrageous fee.
However, I've used Dantz technical support more than once, and
I believe you get what you pay for. The technicians answer
promptly, are highly trained, and continue working with you -
even over multiple phone calls - until the problem is solved
(without charging you for each call). When I'm terrified that
I might have just lost all my data and my software doesn't seem
to be functioning correctly, I'm only too happy to pay $70 for
the reassuring voice and advice of an expert who can help me get
things working again.
**Price** -- The backup software I discuss in the ebook ranges in
price from free to $130. The price does not necessarily correlate
to capabilities, but I urge you not to skimp when it comes to
backup software just to save a few dollars. After all, time is
money. If you lose a day of income because your backup program
makes you jump through too many hoops when restoring files, that's
likely to be a bigger financial hit than the cost of better
software.
**Take Control of Mac OS X Backups** -- In "Take Control of
Mac OS X Backups," I take this information a step further and
provide detailed recommendations about which software is best
for particular uses, including network backups. I also include
an appendix with feature comparisons, pricing, and contact
information for about two dozen backup applications. In addition
to software recommendations, I discuss hardware options, backup
strategies, restoration techniques, and more - everything you
need to know to set up a reliable and easy-to-use Mac OS X backup
system. "Take Control of Mac OS X Backups," a 96-page ebook,
costs $10; as always, purchasers are entitled to receive all
minor updates free of charge.
<http://www.tidbits.com/takecontrol/backup-macosx.html>
[Joe Kissell is a San Francisco-based writer, consultant, and
Mac developer who kicked off the Take Control series with the
best-selling "Take Control of Upgrading to Panther," and has
also written two ebooks about Apple Mail. His secret identity
is Curator of Interesting Things for the Interesting Thing of
the Day Web site.]
<http://www.tidbits.com/takecontrol/panther/upgrading.html>
<http://www.tidbits.com/takecontrol/email-apple-mail.html>
<http://www.tidbits.com/takecontrol/spam-apple-mail.html>
<http://itotd.com/>
Hot Topics in TidBITS Talk/06-Dec-04
------------------------------------
by TidBITS Staff <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
The second URL below each thread description points to the
discussion on our Web Crossing server, which will be much faster.
**Problems with AirPort 4.1** -- After updating to AirPort 4.1,
some users are having trouble with Wireless Distribution System
(WDS). A factory reset seems to help. (3 messages)
<http://db.tidbits.com/getbits.acgi?tlkthrd=2392>
<http://emperor.tidbits.com/TidBITS/Talk/254>
**AirPort Express and WDS** -- Which non-Apple wireless access
points support WDS? (4 messages)
<http://db.tidbits.com/getbits.acgi?tlkthrd=2390>
<http://emperor.tidbits.com/TidBITS/Talk/252>
**Reflections on iCal: categories and calendars** -- Categories
between iCal and Palm OS handhelds don't reliably synchronize,
leading to suggestions for working around the problem (including
using other calendar applications). (7 messages)
<http://db.tidbits.com/getbits.acgi?tlkthrd=2389>
<http://emperor.tidbits.com/TidBITS/Talk/251>
**GarageBand.com and other digital music initiatives** -- Shortly
after Geoff Duncan's article about GarageBand.com highlighting
unsigned bands appeared, Universal Music announced that it would
be testing digital-only releases of a few of its artists.
(2 messages)
<http://db.tidbits.com/getbits.acgi?tlkthrd=2391>
<http://emperor.tidbits.com/TidBITS/Talk/253>
$$
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