Information Technology Reference
In-Depth Information
sharing service that
doesn't
require Time Machine (and, in fact, now
works with Time Machine only in 10.6 Snow Leopard). DollyDrive
still offers cloud storage, but you can also use its software to store
versioned backups—or even bootable duplicates—on a local hard
drive. You can get a free 14-day trial that lets you store up to 100 GB
of data. Monthly costs range from $10 for 250 GB of data to $55 for
2 TB of data, and you can save by paying for a year up front. There's
also a 20-percent-off
DollyDrive Coupon
in this topic.
•
QRecall:
Like CrashPlan (and unlike Time Machine),
QRecall
can save space by deduplicating files from more than one computer.
Also like CrashPlan, it offers compression and delta encoding,
so that large files need not be entirely duplicated every time they
change. QRecall works with external hard drives and network
volumes, and it has a long list of clever, useful features. However,
it does not currently support encryption, can't make bootable
duplicates, and has a peculiar interface that introduces several
unusual terms (such as “capture,” “recall,” “layer,” and “timeline”)
that force you to think about backups in unfamiliar ways. Each
license (for either a single user or a household) costs $40, but you
can save 40 percent with the
QRecall Coupon
in this topic.
•
Retrospect:
When I started writing Take Control books about
backups,
Retrospect
was my favorite backup software, and I
recommended it heartily. But as time wore on and impressive
competitors appeared—Time Machine, CrashPlan, and dozens
of others—Retrospect's status became more dubious, as it stuck
with an “old-school” approach to backups and an arcane, outdated
interface. The program also went through a series of owners, some
of whom didn't care for it very well. But now it's in the hands of
Retrospect Inc., a company run by some of the product's earliest
developers, and it is finally showing real signs of life again, with
two major upgrades in as many years.
Although it's more complex and expensive than most individual
users will prefer, that's not its target audience. Retrospect excels
at client-server network backups (which can include both Macs
and Windows PCs), for both small groups and large organizations.
