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Question of the Day: How frequently are you watching FIFA World Cup 2026 matches?
Online Backup options other than FLickr?
- Thread starter Angellus
- Start date
How about a storage only sort of thing? http://aws.amazon.com/s3/
koffiejunkie
Executive Member
I use JungleDisk. It allows you to use either Amazon S3's storage, or Rackspace Cloud Files. The latter works out cheaper since they don't charge for upload.
Getting everything up there is a bit of a hassle, but once you have your library backed up, it adds new stuff pretty effectively. I also just discovered that it understands when you move a file, so it doesn't need to re-upload. This was welcome since Aperture 3's library is completely changed inside.
I also tried BackBlaze but found two problems:
1. It doesn't let you choose what to backup (although it does allow you to exclude stuff, but you would need to keep adding exclusions anytime you add something new to your hard drive.
2. Upload speed from the UK was painfully slow.
Getting everything up there is a bit of a hassle, but once you have your library backed up, it adds new stuff pretty effectively. I also just discovered that it understands when you move a file, so it doesn't need to re-upload. This was welcome since Aperture 3's library is completely changed inside.
I also tried BackBlaze but found two problems:
1. It doesn't let you choose what to backup (although it does allow you to exclude stuff, but you would need to keep adding exclusions anytime you add something new to your hard drive.
2. Upload speed from the UK was painfully slow.
koffiejunkie
Executive Member
Something else you may consider. I have three external drives that I use to clone my MBP's drive. One is always at work, one is always at home, and one is in-between - i.e. I rotate them. So I always have an off-site copy of everything.
Constantly moving drives around is not without risk. Wouldnt it be simpler to have a time machine/backup drive at work and another at home and just sync when you're at each location?
koffiejunkie
Executive Member
Then you're constantly moving your laptop around - risk is still there (and bigger, IMHO). I use the 2.5" external drives, so it's really not a hassle. Even on days that I don't take my backpack, one of those can fit in my pocket.
So you leave your laptop on one location? Ok - fair enough.
I do all my stuff on one machine so it travels with me or I cant work . . . which is why I use a laptop in the first place. If I didnt need portability I'd probably have an iMac.
At the moment my off-site storage is a lan cable going from the house to the office/studio.
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koffiejunkie
Executive Member
No but I try not to carry it around unneccessarily. If I worked for myself it might have been different, but my employer provides me with a computer to do my work on, so I don't need my laptop every day.
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After doing a cleanup in my study, I've found a couple of very interesting things. I turfed out over 1000 floppy disks (5½") and probably around 300 stiffies, all with stuff that I felt was important when I saved it. I've also started turfing slides - I've found they are really awful compared to my digital stuff, so my question is: in the long run, how important is the whole multi-backup thing?
koffiejunkie
Executive Member
I asume then, that the pictures contained in your slides are not pictures you care about?
How important is your time to you? My hard disc backups are a clone of my laptop's hard disc. If something happens - drive fails, laptop breaks/get stolen - I can just slide the backup disc into my new laptop (on Mac, at least). I don't need to spend time installing stuff again, configuring softare, restoring stuff from backups, etc. So I save a lot of time. That's one thing.
The other thing is, how important is the contents of your hard drive? I used to be pretty cavalier about it, until my laptop got stolen along with my backup drive last year. Now I know exactly how important it is to me.
The point I was trying to make, it's "important" now. How important will it be in 20 years time?
A blurred photo of a stone or a photo of my kids first steps?
koffiejunkie
Executive Member
This was my point. Somethings I want to keep, no matter what. If for no other reason, because it has sentimental value or my family might appreciate it when I'm six feet under. My grand parents on the one side never took pictures of themselves, and the ones they had they didn't preserve. As a result, I have no idea what they looked like when they were young. On the other side we were left a shoebox full of photos. Many of them have obvious fire damage - I don't know when/where they might have been damaged, and neither do my parents, but they're still around. Too bad they didn't write names on the back, because aside from the obvious ones, we have no clue who all the people in the pictures are.
That's why I'm quite particular about tagging, geotagging and properly cataloging my images. I don't care if I lose those spreadsheets I made of my budget in Lotus 123, or even the scans of my tax returns of ten years ago. But some things are precious, and a single hard disk is too flimsy a medium to rely on.
Googles Picasa would be another option, gives you 1GB free & other various larger pay for plans - 80GB is $20/year.
http://picasa.google.com/support/bin/answer.py?hl=en&answer=39567
http://picasa.google.com/support/bin/answer.py?hl=en&answer=39567