backup
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Github tool extracts all your Google Reader data, including starred items, tags and more
Google Reader is shutting down and you, hopefully, have backed up your Reader data for future import into your reader app of choice. As pointed out by Mihai Parparita of persistent.info, Google's Takeout service creates a backup of the RSS subscriptions, but fails to include all the data like starred items, tags, comments and more. To grab all your data, Parparita has created a tool that uses Google's API to pull down everything but the kitchen sink from your Reader account. You can download the reader_archive tool from github and check out the article on persistent.info. The article details other tools like CloudPull and the readerisdead.com website that compiles tools, tips and tricks on extracting all your data from Google Reader. Happy Google Reader backup weekend, folks!
3DS system update adds on-board save data backup
The latest 3DS system firmware update (ver. 2.0.0-2U) adds the ability to backup saved game data onto the handheld's SD card, which is good news for people with cramped cards and/or hoarding sensibilities. This allows players to delete games or applications without removing their progress/work in said games/applications, provided the program supports backups to begin with. Backing up a game's data can either be accomplished by selecting the game's icon on the home screen and then tapping the little arrow on the bottom left, or by selecting the "Save-Data Backup" option in the System Settings menu. If neither of these options are present, it means you need to connect your 3DS to the Internet and download the update. Well, or it means that you've never actually played a game, or own a 3DS, and that everything you think you know about your life has been a lie. Your identity is a curse; your past – a mystery. Coming this fall.
Nintendo 3DS update adds save backups, new StreetPass game store
If the madness of E3 (and the promise of some big titles) has recently pulled you back to Nintendo's handheld, you might be greeted with a firmware update next time you open up that well-worn 3DS. Aside from improved stability and bug fixes, there's new save data backup feature which will hold on to save files for your downloaded 3DS titles as well as Virtual Console games. Appearing already in Europe, version 6.0.0-11 also bundles in a new shop for the Mii Plaza, with StreetPass Squad, StreetPass Garden, StreetPass Battle, StreetPass Mansion all priced at 5 euros, or 15 euros for the whole set. No word on yet on when the update will arrive on the other side of the Atlantic, but given past form, we'd expect it to arrive some time this month.
Verizon Cloud spreads to iOS devices, Droid DNA and Galaxy S 4
When Verizon Cloud launched last month, it would only back up a few Android devices -- not quite the cross-platform utopia that the carrier had in mind. Today's launch of the Verizon Cloud iOS app should get the company (and subscribers) closer to the original vision. Like its mobile counterpart, the iPhone-focused release syncs or streams documents and media from every platform that Verizon supports, including PCs. Just don't expect a wide safety net, though, as the iOS app won't back up call logs, contacts or messages. Still prefer Android? You're covered as well -- Verizon has expanded the compatibility list to include more Google-powered hardware, such as the Droid DNA and the Galaxy S 4. As long as you're inclined toward Verizon Cloud in the first place, the source links should get all your devices working in harmony.
Reality Absorption Field: Backups Capsule
Despite the great success and momentum of the iPad, the iPhone is still probably Apple's product that continues to receive the most attention by the broadest number of consumers as well as by investors. The smartphone slips easily into a pocket, accesses cloud from virtually anywhere, has a slick and engaging user interface, and supports hundreds of thousands of apps. It has been updated every year since its introduction and makes billions for the company. Microsoft covets its success. But Apple has another product that in many ways is the anti-iPhone. It usually never leaves the home, doesn't access any cloud services and has no apps or even local user interface. Its rare updates often consist of little more than a capacity increase. And if Microsoft, which keeps chasing the idea of a cohesive user experience, wouldn't gain much from the revenue it drives, it would still do well to offer its benefits. That product is Time Capsule, Apple's router/backup appliance that sits quietly on a home network, seamlessly and reliably sucking in incremental backups of every Mac it can find. In an era where the best-selling version of Apple's once straightforward iPod music player is an iPhone-like software chameleon, where hard drives are considered the dinosaurs of consumer storage, and the cloud is the place where shared files are stored, Time Capsule is a throwback. It is the hardworking Morlock to Apple's converged device iLoi. Like any tech product, Time Capsule has its share of compromises. Backups can get corrupted, causing Time Machine to falter at the beginning or end of a backup. Time Capsule's doesn't provide a ton of status information on what's going on. And if the unfortunate circumstances require that you use it to restore, it can take hours as is the case for any network backup product. And when it comes to features, Time Capsule's name is more than just a clever play on words. Unlike with cross-platform "shared storage" products from storage and networking companies including Netgear, Seagate and WD, there's no access to Time Capsule storage from outside the home network. It can't send video to most TVs or Blu-ray players due to a lack of native DLNA. You can't add capacity to Time Capsule or back up the backup. Other companies have created slick iOS apps for accessing photos and other data on home networks from across the Internet. In an ironic contrast, though, Apple hasn't created one for Time Capsule, which could serve as a personal cloud alternative to or extension to iCloud much as Pogoplug has married its home storage and cloud storage products. Instead, only Mac-owning iOS device users can take advantage of Apple's network backup device, and even then only indirectly by having their Mac-based backups backed up. Ah, but in conjunction with Time Machine, Time Capsule remains the best integrated home network backup experience on the market. It may never be the kind of thing that convinces someone to buy a Mac, but anyone who has ever been saved by it will consider it a reason to stay with the platform. In contrast, while Windows had an integrated backup app before Apple did, its network backup strategy has been divided between a feature found only in the Professional version of Windows and the sputtering path of Windows Home Server that came closest to Time Capsule's automation and integration, but couldn't approach its simplicity. Windows 8 has added a file history feature that's network-drive agnostic, but that's only part of the solution. If Microsoft would offer a simple backup appliance that works with software built into Windows, it would instantly strengthen the case for all Windows PCs, including tablets such as Surface for which a key marketing point is the robustness of the Windows ecosystem. Of course, it would also be great to see Time Capsule expand to back up Windows PCs, or even iPads and iPhones, or enable remote access, but one has to wonder how much more attention Apple -- fighting Google with its head in the cloud -- will give to its reliable relic. Ross Rubin is principal analyst at Reticle Research, a research and advisory firm focusing on consumer technology adoption. He shares commentary at Techspressive and on Twitter at @rossrubin.
Verizon Cloud backup service rolling out for Android, comes soon to iOS
Smartphone owners have no shortage of cloud-based safety nets, whether it's Google's services, iCloud or any number of file sync providers. Few of these come from the carrier, however, and Verizon is gambling that its now-deploying Verizon Cloud service will serve as a crutch for anyone replacing a phone on its network. The currently Android- and web-only release offers daily backups of the usual media libraries as well as call logs, contacts and messages. While that isn't special in itself, Verizon is also promising cross-platform safeguards: both an iOS app (available "soon") and future OS support should let customers fetch some of their data if they switch platforms. Just don't count on Verizon Cloud as an alternative to established rivals unless you're both loyal to Verizon and willing to spend. Users get a thin 500MB of space for free, and meaningful storage ranges from $3 per month for 25GB through to $10 for 125GB. Should there be little danger of leaving Big Red, though, Verizon's service and a matching Android app update are available today.
WD SmartWare Pro automates backups to both Dropbox and external drives
We're used to external hard drive makers offering some kind of backup software to add value, although it's usually forgettable for the experienced users among us -- what we erase while we're busy setting up Windows 8 File History, Time Machine or a cloud service. Western Digital thinks some cloud integration of its own will get us looking at its new, standalone WD SmartWare Pro app. While the client can automatically back up file changes to a local drive as they happen, it can also schedule backups to both the drive and a Dropbox account. The extra-cautious can backup that Dropbox account to the external disk, and the whole affair isn't limited to the company's MyBook drives, either; just about any old USB storage will do. It will cost a minimum of $30 ($20 on sale) for a three-computer SmartWare Pro license, but those who want both physical and cloud-based safety nets might consider the money well-spent.
Add a clone partition to your backup drive
In case you missed it, March 31st was World Backup Day, a big topic of discussion on the last few Talkcasts, which culminated in a visit by the team at Dolly Drive. Inspired by the conversation, I wanted to create a clone-sized partition to mirror my SSD. I had an extra external drive on my desk but, like most, it already had some important data on it. In this video I will show you how to add a partition to an existing drive so it can be repurposed to make a clone of your boot drive. I'll be using Dolly Drive Revo, a free Dolly Drive 10 GB Account and Disk Utility in Mountain Lion. The actual cloning can also be done with Carbon Copy Cloner or Super Duper! if you prefer. Warning: Before you attempt any disc-related modifications, please be sure to have a backup of the data contained on that drive.
Talkcast tonight, 7pm PT/10pm ET: Backups and Clouds and Dolly Drive!
Another Sunday means another talkcast! As you may have noticed, Kelly's put some prep work in for tonight. We have some special guests tonight coming in from Dolly Drive, and we'll be discussing backup services, and cloud services, and what happens when you get your backup all in your cloud, or your cloud all in your backup (I forget which way it goes). Tonight, aside from the usual Aftershow Shenanigans, we have giveaways! Aside from the LIFETIME accounts we're giving away on the site (see the "noticed" link above), we will also be giving away a couple of those same lifetime accounts live on the show! Yeah, I thought it was pretty nice of them too. Since it's really all about you, the community, do see if you can join us, won't you? To participate, you can use the browser-only Talkshoe client, the embedded Facebook app, or download the classic TalkShoe Pro Java client; however, for +5 Interactivity, you should call in. For the web UI, just click the Talkshoe Web button on our profile page at 4 HI/7 PDT/10 pm EDT Sunday. To call in on regular phone or VoIP lines (Viva free weekend minutes!): dial (724) 444-7444 and enter our talkcast ID, 45077 -- during the call, you can request to talk by keying in *8. If you've got a headset or microphone handy on your Mac, you can connect via the free X-Lite or other SIP clients (aside from Skype or Google Voice), basic instructions are here. Talk to you tonight!
Audiobooks are not backed up by iCloud, can only be downloaded once
Audiobooks, unlike your other iTunes purchases, cannot be re-downloaded from the store. On a Mac, you can dig into your iTunes folder and move the DRM-protected files to another authorized machine. iOS devices, however, lack a file system that the user can access, so if you never sync with a Mac, you could run into an issue like I did when I had to swap out my iPhone 5. A couple of weeks ago my iPhone 5's power button started acting strange. It appeared to be a mechanical issue, so I went to the Genius Bar at my local store and was told they've seen this happen before (it was likely shearing stress from removing a protective case). Of course, they don't repair iPhones in the store. Instead, they give customers a new piece of hardware then use a backup to bring it back to where you left off with your old one. Since I used iCloud, PhotoStream and my iTunes purchases are available in the cloud, I figured I'd be fine. The only problem was that I had purchased a $24 audiobook via iTunes on my iPhone -- and that doesn't get backed up in any way. Worse, since the rules state you can only download the audiobook once, I would have had to re-purchase the book to download it again. I had bought the book about three days earlier and only listened to a small portion. This was completely unacceptable, so I emailed Apple support. At first, they failed to understand what I was talking about. They thought my download had failed somehow, and suggested I download in iTunes and re-sync, and they would re-enable the download. That seemed fair enough, but the presumption that I had a personal computer to sync with struck me as a bit odd. Didn't Apple say we live in a post-PC world? Also, I don't sync my iPhone with anything. Like a fool, I thought iCloud backup and iTunes in the cloud had me covered. Clearly I was wrong. Once I explained that I didn't sync, the support staff told me they would make it available for download on my iPhone -- but the downloads screen never showed the audiobook. In the end, I wound up buying a nano to sync with, and then Apple refunded my money for the audiobook. An expensive lesson, but a lesson learned. Apple is still addicted to iTunes as a digital hub for all your media. While this was happening I tweeted some progress and a number of people relayed similar issues and frustrations. Apple support seems ready and willing to try to make the downloads available again, although I wish it was automatic, like everything else I encountered during my restoration process (well, not logins -- boy that's a fun way to spend your afternoon). Unfortunately, the rules about audiobooks aren't set by Apple. Still, if this happens to you, reach out to Apple support immediately. Or, better yet, buy your audiobooks somewhere else. This "post-PC" era has yet to begin.
It's World Backup Day: no time like the present to protect the past
There are two kinds of computer owners: those that backup their data, and those who will backup after they lose something irreplaceable. It's that last group for whom World Backup Day exists, and the special occasion has returned for a third year to make sure we all wind up in that first, very responsible camp. Thankfully, it's easier than ever to have at least some kind of safety net. Along with ridiculously high-capacity external hard drives, both Mac and Windows users have simple built-in software to make backup a set-it-and-forget-it affair. No money or room for an extra drive on the desk? No problem: cloud storage is ubiquitous, and even includes unlimited options. Mobile users have it a little easier with a myriad of Apple, Google and Microsoft cloud services, although there's third-party options in that space, too. In short, you've got few excuses to skimp out when it comes to safeguards, and enough choices to seriously consider using two or more -- which might be wise in this dangerous era of meteorite showers and brick-tossing robots.
World Backup Day 2013: Don't be an April Fool!
Today is World Backup Day 2013, the day we (and other technology sites) try to implore our readers to make sure that they back up their data early and often. Believe it or not, as much as we hammer on the topic of backing up data, there are still a lot of people who just don't pay attention to backups... until it's too late. Here are some hints and tips to get you thinking about backing up your Apple devices. iOS devices Many iOS users don't realize it, but one big reason iCloud exists is to keep the files on your iPad, iPhone or iPod touch safe. When you set up an iCloud account, you immediately have the choice of backing up much of the data on your device. Note that there are a few items -- extremely large camera roll movies, for instance -- that won't back up to iCloud. Also, your movies and music that you didn't purchase from the iTunes Store won't be backed up; you should handle that in your computer backups instead. To kick off iCloud backups, you just need to make one simple settings change. Launch the Settings app, then tap iCloud and scroll down until you see "Storage and Backup." Tap on that and you can see how much iCloud space is currently being filled with your data. There's also a switch at the bottom for iCloud Backup. Make sure it's switched to On. When that switch is turned on, your device's camera roll/saved photos, accounts, documents and settings will be backed up whenever your device is plugged in, locked, and connected to Wi-Fi. That means that just about any time your iPhone or iPad is being charged, it's also getting backed up. (Those of you on limited-quota broadband plans should keep this in mind, if you're wondering why your iPad is chewing up so much WiFi data overnight.) There's also a button marked "Back Up Now" for those situations where you want to kick off a quick backup manually. Earlier this year, I reviewed another device that makes it easy to back up photos and other documents on an iOS device to a flash drive and then move them to a Mac or PC. That device is the PhotoFast i-FlashDrive HD, and it uses a free app to move images, PDFs, and more from your iOS device to its built-in flash drive. Of course, the default setting in iTunes is to back up your connected iOS devices every time you sync, if you haven't enabled iCloud backup. You can synchronize via a cable (30-pin or Lightning), or over your local WiFi connection (just check the "synchronize over WiFi" checkbox in the iTunes detail page for your device). Even if you do have iCloud backups running, you can force a manual backup in iTunes -- a good idea before iOS upgrades -- by right-clicking your device icon in iTunes and clicking "Back Up," or by clicking the Back Up Now button in the device detail screen. Over time and iOS upgrades those iTunes-based device backups may start to chew up an appreciable amount of disk space. In iTunes' Preferences, you can click the Devices tab and remove any legacy backups you no longer need. Finally, if you just want a way to back up your camera images to a cloud service of some sort, consider saving your crucial images to one of the other available services like Dropbox, SugarSync, or Google Drive. The Dropbox app for iOS can automatically upload your camera images to a folder in your Dropbox, and selectively do so only on WiFi or when your location changes. (This only applies to your camera roll; images synced to your device from other sources like iPhoto or Aperture will not be backed up automatically.) Macs There are many ways to back up a Mac, which begs the question "Why do people wait until it's too late to back up their Mac?" Here's a quick overview of some of your options. Copy files to a flash drive or SD card The cheapest way to back up files -- if you have very low storage requirements, and only a few crucial files -- is to purchase a simple USB flash drive and then copy files to it on a regular basis. 8 GB flash drives are available for as little as $7 from Amazon, and they're frequently free giveaway items at computer expos like Macworld/iWorld. Need something bigger? 128 GB flash drives are a bargain, starting at price points around $60. (You can even use a flash drive for Apple's built-in Time Machine backup tool, if you reformat it as HFS+ in Disk Utility.) Many Macs include a built-in SD drive slot. SD cards range in capacity and speed, with 32 GB cards running as low as $20 and 128 GB SD cards starting at about $100. Whether you use a flash drive or SD card to back up your most important files, you still need to perform the backup manually on a regular basis, and it's easy to get out of the habit. That's why Time Machine is probably the best backup method for most Mac users. Time Machine Apple makes it simple to back up your Mac by just plugging an external disk drive (as long as it is formatted in the crucial HFS+ Journaled format). When you do so, OS X asks if you want to use that drive for Time Machine backups. Answer in the affirmative, and Time Machine does a full backup of your computer. Once it's done doing that, it starts looking for changed or new items on your Mac on an hourly basis. Time Machine is ridiculously easy to use; you can see a quick five-item FAQ here that covers most of its important options. Restoring files that you inadvertently discarded is a fast and fun process. What makes this option so attractive is that it's cheap to implement, too! A quick look at Amazon showed 1 TB external hard drives available for as little as $79.99, and a smart shopper could probably find one for even less. Need more capacity? I found a 4 TB Seagate USB 3.0 drive for only $160. As fellow blogger and writer Erica Sadun puts it, "I can't tell you how many times Time Machine has saved me. Whether it's book revisions or development, Time Machine is version control for our lives." Amen! There are two things to remember if you decide to use Time Machine for backups. First, get the highest capacity hard drive that you can afford, because Time Machine tends to eat up a lot of space on backup hard drives. If you run out of space, it begins trimming back your oldest backups. Second, note that Time Machine is useless if your computer and backup hard drive are both destroyed by a catastrophe. That means that it's good to have a second backup that is off site. SuperDuper! / Carbon Copy Cloner As much as I love Time Machine's ease of use, I never liked how my Mac seemed to slow down once an hour as it looked for changed filed and did the backups. Most of my work is done online anyway, so a daily backup works just fine for me. My solution was to attach a 3 TB USB 3.0 hard drive to it and then perform an initial full backup of my iMac with SuperDuper! (free, $27.95 for full feature set). Once a day, usually after I'm fast asleep in my bed, the app silently repairs permissions on my drive, checks for all of the changes made that day, and does a "Smart Update". The cool thing about my SuperDuper! backup? It's fully bootable. If my built-in Fusion Drive takes a dirt nap, I can still boot from the backup and be right back where I was before the failure. Carbon Copy Cloner ($39.95) is another favorite app for making bootable backups, and works in a very similar manner. Online Backups There's probably nothing easier than using one of the online backup services. In most cases, your personal information is encrypted on your computer, and then uploaded to servers where it is continuously updated until such time that your computer fails or you lose a file -- and then you can get it back. Despite the convenience and safety of pushing your files offsite, there are some inherent issues with online backups. First, the initial backup can take months (literally) to complete, depending on the amount of stuff you have and the speed of your ISP upload bandwidth. You may have a wicked fast download connection, but it's that smaller, asymmetrical upload bandwidth that controls how quickly your files reach Backblaze, CrashPlan or Mozy. Users on satellite or DSL broadband may be completely out of luck when it comes to upload performance. For that very reason, many of the services now provide a way for you to back up your data onto a hard disk drive and then ship it to a location where it is immediately copied onto the backup servers. This "seeding" may incur an additional charge, but if you're in a situation that calls for it, it's probably worth it. You can also try to be a bit selective about which folders and files are backed up, noting that some large chunks of data (an iTunes Match-protected Music folder, a Dropbox or Google Drive folder already linked to the cloud) are self-protecting with their own corresponding cloud services. The second issue with "pure" cloud backup is that if your hard drive fails, you'll either have to wait a long time for all of your data to be restored to your computer -- or pay extra to have a hard drive sent overnight to you for restoration. That's why many of the services allow you to set up a secondary local backup using the same interface and administrative tools you use for the cloud backup. CrashPlan (one of the WBD sponsors, along with Backblaze) adds a cool wrinkle to the cloud scenario; in addition to backup to a local drive, you can "buddy up" with a friend or family member and back up to a remote drive connected to their computer, for free. You could do the same with your work computer and home computer, IT powers-that-be permitting; the backups are encrypted, so your helper can't snoop. Naturally this requires healthy bandwidth on both ends, and it's only polite to reciprocate the favor for your backup buddy, but in a serious data-loss situation it could be a huge help. There's one very big reason to use online backups -- in case your house or computer is destroyed by some catastrophe, you have a backup that is physically removed from your location. I personally use three levels of backup -- first, my most important files are in a Dropbox folder so that they're not only backed up to the "cloud", but also copied to my other computers and even accessible from my iOS devices. My second level of backup consists of that nightly backup to a local external disk drive. And my third level of backup is to back up all of my documents, photos, music, and more to CrashPlan. What more could I do? One good idea is to make a full backup of your device on a hard drive and then put it in a safe deposit box at a bank, updating that backup at frequent intervals. There are plenty of other approaches, of varying complexity; please do share your approach in the comments. As mentioned above, you have plenty of choices among reputable online backup firms, including BackBlaze, CrashPlan, Carbonite and Mozy. Rates start at just $4/month depending on your needs. You can also consider services such as Dropbox, SugarSync, and GoogleDrive as online backup locations for your most critical data. iCloud is a perfect place to back up any documents that you have created in Apple's iWork suite. Any of these services are good for small quantities of very critical files, and make your files available from just about any computing device. For an extra charge, Dropbox's Packrat option for Pro accounts guarantees that every version of every file you sync to the service will be archived in perpetuity -- even the ones you delete on purpose. Conclusion If you haven't yet lost data on your Mac or iOS device, you will. At some point, whether due to an accidental deletion, a physical glitch in your hardware, a disaster striking your home or office or the terrifying power of bored teenagers, you'll find that some precious family photos or important documents are gone forever. You can't go back in time to retrieve that information, so make sure it is backed up now. This was a long, cursory look at backup technologies and methods. If you have a favorite way to back up your data, let your fellow readers know in the comments. For a bit of history about World Backup Day, be sure to check out the press release below. Show full PR text College Student's Big-Hearted Idea has Flourished into 3rd Annual "World Backup Day" -- CrashPlan & Backblaze Announces Sponsorship of March 31st "Holiday" -- San Francisco, CA -- (March 26, 2013) – A simple idea sparked by comments on reddit about backing up data has blossomed into a global "holiday" called World Backup Day, and is celebrating its third anniversary on March 31. The event has gained momentum and advocates every year, and now World Backup Day has a presenting sponsor, Code 42 Software, the top-rated backup company behind CrashPlan, to help increase awareness even further. Backblaze, another highly regarded company specializing in backup services, is also on-board as a sponsor. The notion for World Backup Day originated with Youngstown State University student Ismail Jadun, who was inspired by comments on reddit, the popular social news website. Ismail and his fellow "redditors" were discussing the inherent need for backing up data, and he decided to declare the day before April Fool's Day as the perfect time to back up files. Ismail quickly created an official website, www.WorldBackupDay.com, and starting spreading the word among the collaborative reddit community and other social media channels. "I'm thrilled with the response to World Backup Day, and I hope it's made a difference in people's lives," said World Backup Day founder Ismail Jadun. "We all know someone who has lost critical data, whether it was their videos, photos, music, reports, or personal stuff. Hopefully this day will make everyone think about their situation, learn about the various storage options and get their files backed up. I also hope that World Backup Day sparks conversations about the enormous task of saving our increasingly digital data and heritage for future generations." "Everyone understands the hopelessness and frustration of losing important data, and I'm proud that the idea for World Backup Day was sparked by a discussion on reddit," said Erik Martin, GM of reddit. "The reddit community has remained closely involved in helping make March 31 the day people think about the impact of data in our lives, and to do something positive about it." Many people think their documents are safe because they're saved on the computer's hard drive. However, as noted on WorldBackupDay.com, mechanical hard drives can fail at an annual rate of 3%, and this rate gets higher as the drive gets older. With a three-year-old drive, the annual failure rate is ~6%. While some data can possibly be recovered, the best way to avoid potentially catastrophic loss of data would simply be to back it up. "Digital media is core to the lives and livelihoods of millions," said Matthew Dornquast, CEO of CrashPlan developer Code 42 Software. "The partnership with World Backup Day aligns perfectly with our mission to deliver easy and secure backup solutions for consumers and businesses alike." Key points about backing up data from WorldBackupDay.com: ▪ Items to backup: Your computer, laptop, phone, iPod, tablet, other wireless devices, photos and videos on social networks. ▪ Common ways to lose data: Theft, hardware failure, natural disaster, alien invasion, obsolete file formats, you forgot where you put it (really, it has happened). ▪ Backup options: Backing up is easy. Once set up, your data should be backing up automatically. There are two main types of backup solutions: • Local backup: An external hard drive that can be easily retrieved at home. • Cloud/offsite backup: An online backup service or hard drive securely placed in a different location • Having both local and offsite backups gives you piece of mind knowing your files are safe and secure. For more information on World Backup Day, exclusive deals, and giveaways, visit www.WorldBackupDay.com. To become part of the conversation, check out @WorldBackupDay on Twitter, Facebook.com/WorldBackupDay on Facebook, worldbackupday.tumblr.com on Tumblr, and www.reddit.com. ###
Roundup review of iOS apps to backup your contacts
There are scads of apps on the App Store which will offer to backup your contacts. I tried four: a free app, a $1 app, a $2 app, and a $3 app (all prices listed are USD). One was great, two were pretty good, and one was downright atrocious. (Note: all of the apps I reviewed are "universal" – that is, designed for both iPad or iPhone/iPod touch. All are optimized for the iPhone 5, with one exception which I have noted below.) Easy Backup ($0) The trouble with finding a free app to backup your contacts is finding a free app which is really free, as opposed to several which are limited versions of non-free apps. Eventually I found Easy Backup which is actually free and does not seem to have any limitations. When it first launches, it asks to connect to your Facebook account "to get better profile information." (Uh huh. You can see where this is going, right?) Sure enough, when I connected to my Facebook account, there was a "Who can see posts from this app on Facebook?" selector. Hrm, apparently in order to access my Facebook contacts, they häve to post to my Facebook account. I set the selector to "Only Me." Then Facebook told me "Easy Backup is requesting optional permissions" to post on my behalf. Under the "Why is Easy Backup asking for these permissions?" it says "Backup all contacts from Facebook." Well that's just a bald-faced lie, is what that is. I selected "Allow None." (Aside: I have to admit that I'm confused by this 'business model' – you make a free app that you then want to let me post to my Facebook account. Why? So more people can find out about your free app? Also featured prominently throughout the app in the top-left corner is something I presume to be a "Like this app on Facebook" icon of a thumbs up. I tapped it once to see what it would do, and it appeared to try to automatically post a message to my Facebook account, but timed out, presumably because I had not granted it that permission earlier. To be fair, maybe it would have given me the option to edit the message before posting it. To be honest, I doubt it.) Despite the name, I found using this app to be a little confusing. At first I found various 'sharing' options in the app, but they all seemed to be related to sharing the app not (for example) letting me email myself a copy of them. Eventually I realized that my going to the 'Contacts' tab and choosing 'All Contacts' and then tapping the "Check Mark" icon on the next screen then choosing the "Forward Arrow" it give me five options: Copy, Move, Share, New Group, Cancel. Selecting "Share" brought up a new email message with a vCard attached. (Side note to new developers: if you have five options, don't label four of them with verbs and one of them with a noun. For example, in the above list of options, "Create Group" would have been a better choice than "New Group." Also, if pressing the button will result in something being emailed, label it "Email" not "Share." It will make things easier on your users.) The vCard which was created by Easy Backup lacked the '.vcf' extension, so it was not recognized as a vCard file until I added it. Yet another little detail. Summary: In the end, Easy Backup does work, and it's free. It even has a few extra features thrown in. But I didn't like it. Backup Contacts - Easy Backup ($1) Backup Contacts - Easy Backup was the first app I tried. (Yes, that's the real name of the app. The whole category is flooded with keyword loaded keyword search optimization keywords. Keyword.) For only $US1, it does all that you'd expect, and perhaps even a little more. Not only will it backup your local address book, but also your iCloud or Facebook address book, or "all of the above." Once you select the address book(s) it will show you which contacts are found, and offer to let you de-select some contacts (by default, all matching contacts are selected). Tap 'Backup' and it will ask you if you want to save the backup on the device, or export it via email. If you select email, a 'Contacts.vcf' file will be created and added to a new email message, ready for you to fill in the To: and Subject: lines of the email message. The only thing missing is the ability to backup directly to Dropbox, although that can be done by using SendToDropbox, a free service which allows you to email files and have them added to your Dropbox account. I also wish that it added the current date and time to the "Contacts.vcf" file. If I save that file from my email to my computer, I will have no reliable way of knowing when it was created. But those are both minor complaints to an otherwise excellent app. Summary: If you are looking for a straight-forward way to backup your contacts, Backup Contacts - Easy Backup is certainly worth a look. Contacts Backup Over Dropbox ($3, not iPhone 5 optimized) Contacts Backup Over Dropbox was the next app that I tried. Its $3 price tag ranks it as "expensive" in the realm of the App Store, but you'd be mistaken if you think that means that you are going to get a high quality app with a rich set of features. The app does backup to Dropbox, but probably not as you would expect. It creates a file at "/Dropbox/sunvy/abbackup/backup.ab" instead of the more standard "/Dropbox/Apps/{Name Of App}/" path that you might expect. But it gets much worse than that. The "backup.ab" file appears to be some sort of proprietary and/or encrypted format. You can use that file to restore your contacts from Dropbox to your iPhone by using this app, but if you were expecting that this app would export a copy of your contacts in the industry standard vCard format to Dropbox, you would be sorely disappointed. At least, I was. You might also note that there is an option to "Edit backup file" from the app, via a large and prominent button in the app. I was curious what that would do, so I tapped it, and was greeted by this: Um. What? Because this is a "family-friendly" website, I cannot accurately describe my disdain for this. In-App Purchases should never, ever, ever masquerade as basic features. But wait, it gets worse. The "Service Code Generator" does not actually allow you to edit your contacts, at least, not on the iPhone. Instead, that code allows you to log in to their website...which appears to be written in Japanese. Investigating further, I came across another app by this same company: Contacts Editor. Buried at the bottom of the app description are notes which tell you that you have 5 minutes to login to their website after uploading your data, or your data will be deleted from their servers. It also says: "When editing with support site (http://www.abeditor.com), if within 2 hours without any operation, all data will be deleted." I'm not sure if that means "two hours idle" or "two hours and you're still not done" and I'm certainly not about to spend $2 to check. Oh, and after your data is deleted from their servers, that "service code" will no longer work. So if you didn't realize that the 'Edit backup file' meant that you were going to spend $2 to generate a code to let you log in to a website written in Japanese within 5 minutes and finish editing within 2 hours, well, sorry! Summary: I would avoid Contacts Backup Over Dropbox as if it were a bowl of pus which had been sitting out in the summer sun. My Contacts Backup Pro ($2) I have saved the best for last: My Contacts Backup Pro. The app is feature-rich and very simple to use, with the exception of the Dropbox uploading, which works very well but is a little confusing at first. Launch the app (which is abbreviated "MCBackup" on your iOS device) and it will present you will with a screen showing you how many contacts it found, and a prominent 'Backup' button. Tap the button, it will show you its progress, and then offer to email the resulting file. Boom, done. If it stopped right here, this would have been my favorite app because it works quickly and easily. But there is actually a lot more hiding just underneath the surface. On the launch screen are also two smaller buttons for settings and help. vCard (VCF) or CSV Tap the familiar 'Gear' icon to open settings and you will find an option to set the 'Type' of export: either vCard or 'CSV (Excel)' format. CSV is a nice option for those who need it, or who want to use their import their contacts into another app that does not support VCF. Multiple VCF: create separate vCards for each contact. In the settings, under 'Configure' you can choose 'Multiple VCF' which will create a separate vCard for each of your contacts and then create a .zip file of all of them. However I recommend that you do not use that option unless you have a specific need for it. Multiple VCF files are not stored on the device, nor can they be uploaded to Dropbox through the app. When saving to Multiple VCF, your only option will be to email the resulting zip file. That said, I can think of times when it would be useful to have your contacts in separate vCards, so I'm glad to have this option. Direct upload to Dropbox. My favorite feature is direct support for saving to Dropbox. The process is a bit confusing, probably because this feature was recently added to the app, instead of being part of the original design. The key is understanding how the app works: when you create a backup, it will prompt you to email it, but it also saves a copy of the backup within the app itself. You can find this by going to the settings and pressing the "In App vCard Restore" option. There you will find all of your previous backups. You can delete them using the 'Edit' button, or tap on them and bring up a prompt to choose from 4 options: Email, Dropbox, Restore, Cancel. (Again I'll note that "Dropbox" isn't a verb. "Upload to Dropbox" would have been a more accurate label, although it might not have fit in the available space.) If you choose "Dropbox" it will be stored to "/Dropbox/Apps/MCBackup/" with unique filenames such as "MyContacts–2013–02–17–172220–1961.vcf" which makes it easy to tell when a backup was created: the '172220' refers to the hour/minute/second when the file was created, using the 24-hour clock. So if you want to upload to Dropbox but not via email, simply press the Backup button when you enter the app, then tap the Settings gear icon. In settings, choose "In App vCard Restore" and select the backup you want to upload. Tap it, choose "Dropbox" and voilà. Ok, I'll admit that it's a little more convoluted than necessary, but it works. If you want a simple "save to Dropbox" feature, I suggest signing up for SendToDropbox. Local Reminders: One feature that I really liked with MCBackup is that it can use local reminders to remind you to backup your contacts. Reminders can be set for every week or every month. Wi-Fi Access: Another unexpected bonus feature is the ability to download your vCard file over Wi-Fi. Because some email providers limit the size of outgoing email messages, a large contact database might not be able to be sent via email. In that case you can enable a web server from within MCBackup which will allow you to download your vCard backup (nice!), or upload a vCard backup to your iOS device (cool!), or edit contacts on your iPhone (what?). Yup, you read that right, you can actually edit your iOS contacts through your web browser on your Mac or PC. In fact, you can even create a new contact. Summary: If this had been the first app I had tested, I would have stopped looking. It's a steal for $2 and does everything I wanted, and then some. It generates unique file names, uploads to Dropbox in the preferred location, and allows me to email the backup if I prefer. Conclusion If you write an app which works well, it is easier to overlook minor problems. Now, if you'll excuse me, I have 3 apps to delete off my iPhone.
Google Takeout now liberating Blogger and Google+ Pages
Google Takeout's export functions have slowly extended their reach from profiles and personal contacts to heftier material, such as all our videos. However much we've been using that data portability, Google is eliminating what few gaps are left in its coverage: the company's Data Liberation Front has expanded Takeout to preserve both Blogger content as well as Google+ Pages. Web denizens can cherry-pick just the blogs or Pages they want if a whole-enchilada backup is too much. Regardless of how large a safety net we need, the new options are ready and waiting at the source links.
Lessons from Sandy: CrashPlan and the importance of off-site backup
When disaster happens, you want to make sure your data is safe. The reality of Hurricane Sandy demonstrated how important it is to store copies of your most precious records, pictures and correspondences off-site. If you are a CrashPlan backup customer, the company is making it easier for you to get back up to speed on your replacement computer. CrashPlan is offering a half-off special to any customer affected by Hurricane Sandy. Their "Restore to your Door" service delivers an encrypted physical hard drive from your cloud-based backups. Restoring a 200 or 300 GB backup might normally take a week or two. With a hard drive, you can get up and running again in just hours. "Restore to your Door" normally retails for $125, but is being offered right now for $62.50. As the CrashPlan site explains, "The most important thing after a disaster is to return to normal life as quickly as possible." Today, I had the opportunity to sit down with Mike Evangelist, Chief Marketing Officer of Code 42 Software to talk about the service, the software and off-site backup in general. "A lot of people use Time Machine," he told me, "and it's a great thing. But for disaster situations like a hurricane or flood, I'd be willing to bet that 90 percent of the time, the Time Machine drives are sitting right next to the computers they're backing up. That's what cloud backup is all about." CrashPlan offers an off-site solution that provides hourly or daily backups -- you choose how often to back up and what data to back up. For $50/year for one computer (or $120 for up to 10 computers for a single family), you get infinite capacity stored in a secure location. Evangelist said, "Backup is a hassle, it's painful like doing your taxes or going to the dentist. We want to make it painless but we also want to make it dependable. And dependability has many aspects." He points out that most data centers tend to be well-protected with backup power. "That's the beauty of the cloud," he said, adding with some humor, "If our data center were on the Jersey Shore, we might have been in a bind." CrashPlan is engineered for redundancy. "I think the most important thing is the idea that you always want to have more than one backup," Evangelist said. "CrashPlan tries to make that simple. One of the big features of CrashPlan is that you can select which data you want to back up, and then specify where that data is backed up to." Its application lets you manage additional destinations like thumb drives and external USB drives as well as a feature that lets you save your backups to a friend's computer -- encrypted of course. It's an easy way to add another level of security by backing up to another trusted destination that's outside your home. "We're huge advocates of backing up to multiple destinations," Evangelist explained. "Not everyone has gigabyte Ethernet. Restoring from CrashPlan is going to take a long time if you've got a huge backup but if you made a local backup, you can restore much more quickly from that." CrashPlan offers a wide range of end-user customization, so you can schedule your backups with fine granularity. If you want the app to only back up when your computer is not being used, it can handle that for you. In the end, backups aren't just about obvious storage issues but what Evangelist calls the "emotional and correct" answers. "People make stuff on their computer all the time -- spreadsheets, documents and accounting. They collect bookmarks. All this stuff is not too valuable, but it's a big drag if you lost it. You need to protect that big collection of stuff. "These days, when I talk to customers, what I find is that people value the most is their photos. Sure, people have video and music collections, in fact all sorts of things that they collect, and it all has value but universally and broadly, the most valuable data people own is photos. "In the old days, of photos and negatives, if there were a disaster, there would be a shoebox to grab. Digital photos seem safer, because you can create copies from the computer, and they seem not as vulnerable, but they also tend to be collected in one giant digital pile in one place." That's a vulnerability many people don't consider. CrashPlan offers a system of "self-healing" archives on their servers. There's a regular process that tests data checksums to ensure information integrity. When the system encounters any problem, the server contacts the client's computer to re-requests those blocks. "We try to be a good neighbor to your computer," Evangelist said. "Our backup system is incremental in a very clever way. It looks for which bytes of a file have changed and only sends those changes. And because they send the changed bytes, the amount of data to be stored is very, very small, allowing us to save many old versions. Of course, if you want to be a bandwidth hog, crank it up! You can save as many old versions of the file as you want. Time Machine does incremental backups as well, but Time Machine makes entire copies of the file." Code 42, the people behind CrashPlan, will be donating 10 percent of all sales through the end of November to the American Red Cross. Now is not just a good time to be re-evaluating your offsite data strategy, but Code 42 is offering an opportunity for you to give a little back to the community as well. You can also help Sandy relief by donating blood.
Seagate Backup Plus brings USB 3.0 speed, sociability to new Macbooks
When Seagate launched its PC/Mac Backup Plus offering that could safeguard not only your folders but your Facebook or Twitter content, too, it seemed like a nice idea. But conspicuously missing from the Mac side of that equation was a USB 3.0 port to hustle transfers along at a much less pedestrian 5 Gbps -- likely because until recently, no Macs directly supported it. Now, Seagate has launched a USB 3.0 version of the device for those shiny new Macbook Pro Retina and Air models that pack it, while offering the option to upgrade to Thunderbolt or FireWire 800 "as the need presents itself." Prices go from $110 for the 500GB model up to $180 for the 3TB version -- check the PR after the break to see the entire range.
Google takes us inside their data centers, shows you where the internet lives (video)
Ever fancied a look inside one of Google's cavernous server farms? Given the security issues, the company isn't likely to just let anyone mooch around -- but understands if you're curious. That's why it's adding a special collection to its Street View data that lets you wander inside without a big trek to Iowa, Belgium or Finland. If you'd like to sample some of the delights, you can check out our gallery or head down past the break to get a video tour of the facility in Lenoir, NC. [Image Credit: Connie Zhou / Google]
Missing your iDisk? OpenDrive is an easy-to-use substitute
When Apple killed MobileMe and iDisk I was pretty unhappy. It was great for quick small backups, and an easy way to share files with friends by giving them access to a public or password-protected folder. There are plenty of sync/backup solutions out there, like MediaFire, Dropbox, SugarSync and others, but I really liked the desktop mounted iDisk, that looked and acted like an external drive. Other similar options include Google Drive, SkyDrive and, of course, Apple's iCloud, but none functioned quite the way iDisk worked. This weekend, I took a look at OpenDrive, which does a fine job of doing what iDisk used to do. You get a desktop mounted virtual drive, complete with public and private folders. You can drag anything in, or set it up to sync with any files on your computer. The system encourages collaboration, and it is easy to give someone a URL so they can download a single file, several files or a folder. Files are encrypted (AES 256) and on the Mac you get a menu bar control that opens the virtual drive. You can also mange everything from a web browser that lets you set up folders, security and get direct links to files. OpenDrive has a free subscription option that gives you 5 GB of space. There are various plans starting at US $5.00 a month for 100 GB storage, and 25 GB/Day bandwidth. With increasing costs you get more storage, up to 1 TB, custom branding and more daily bandwidth. I tried the free solution and it worked well. In fact, it was very much like my old iDisk. I dragged in some files, and easily shared them with friends through a browser GUI that allows them to view a file if it's a video or photo, or download it. Documentation is a little thin and I'd like to see built-in help. For backup or syncing OpeDrive has plenty of competition, but for pretty much capturing the spirit of the iDisk, OpenDrive is fairly unique. Pricing is reasonable, and even the free 5 GB plan will probably be very useful for people doing casual file exchanges. There are some file size limits. The $5 home plan limits file sizes to 1 GB, the $15 Office plan ups that to 3 GB, and the $25 Pro plan allows 5 GB files. OpenDrive works as advertised. The company offers free iOS and Android apps for sharing between portable devices, and Macs and Windows computers are supported with feature-complete applications. You can also use the service with a browser. OpenDrive is just one way to handle backup, sync and file sharing, but it closely replicates what iDisk provided and adds even more features. If you miss the ease of use of iDisk, OpenDrive is worth a try, especially since you can see if it meets your needs at no cost. %Gallery-167825%
Pogoplug adds Amazon Glacier-based cloud storage, includes gratis devices with $29 and $99 Family plans
Amazon's Santa Monica press conference is still a few hours out, but some news has already begun to flow, starting with a fairly minor tidbit from Pogoplug. Beginning today, the company will be offering a new cloud storage solution, powered by Amazon's Glacier service. Two Family plans are available, including 100GB of storage for $29 or a full terabyte for $99, each billed annually. For a limited time, you'll also get a free Pogoplug device with either Family plan. Enterprise customers can opt for a Team plan -- prices start at $199 per year for five users and five terabytes of storage -- but it's unclear whether or not you'll score a $50 appliance there. Head over to the source link below to sign up. Update: We previously stated that the $29 plan included 100MB of storage, however the correct amount is 100GB. This misprint has been corrected.
Victorinox offers refunds for secure USB drives in light of discontinued software updates
Software support and security certificates are coming to an end for Victorinox's line of secure USB drives, but the firm announced on Facebook that it's offering customers full refunds until December 31 if they'd like to return their products in light of the developments. In order to avoid losing data, owners of the flash drives should perform a backup before the encryption application meets its untimely end on September 15th. However, files stored on non-encrypted areas of the device will remain accessible without further action. The Slim, Secure and Presentation Master storage sticks can still be used as run-of-the-mill thumb drives after the cut-off date, but the Swiss Army Knife maker's application will no longer be able to scramble or unscramble their contents.
