Archive
Moving to Crashplan online backup
I recently detailed my problems with Backzup and LiveDrive, and have since found Carbonite’s throttling of backup speeds has made the service unusable. I had to contact Carbonite after upgrading my server from a 10.6 Atom to 10.7 i3 setup, as the backup set was frozen and a new one started. I had around 200Gb of data in the backup, and since Carbonite throttle backup speeds to make the service unusable at around 300Gb I could only get half way through the second backup. Contacting Carbonite about the problem resulted in having to delete all the backups and start again, but the speed stayed low and after six weeks I had backed up 60Gb.
I have had no reply from Backzup in the ten weeks since my account was suspended, and LiveDrive said it wasn’t their problem. Also, Firefox warns that https://backzup.com is untrusted as it uses a self-signed certificate, making me wonder how much thought the clowns behind Backzup gave their service. Time to switch to a new online backup company. Read more…
What’s up with Backzup?
On 14th December 2011 I signed up for a free 512Gb online backup account at Backzup. I was initially doubtful that the service could provide that amount of free backup, but it worked well. Backzup is (was?) a Livedrive re-seller, so the software you download is from Livedrive, and you use the Livedrive web site to manage or access your backup.
My reason for trying Backzup was a problem with my Carbonite account. I have used Carbonite for my online backup needs for over two years, and while the service has previously worked well I have now hit the point where Carbonite are throttling my backup so much it’s impossible to use. When I recently upgraded my server hackintosh I moved all the files from the old server to the new one using the Mac Migration Assistant. When I re-installed the Carbonite software on the new server and transfered the backup account the old backup set was retained, and a new one started. The backup set contains 189Gb, so the old 189Gb remained on the Carbonite servers and a new 189Gb backup was started. Carbonite slow down your backup once it gets too big, so mine is wallowing at around 300Gb with over 70Gb remaining. The upload speed is now limited to around 100kbit/second, so I am now waiting for 30 days since the old backup was last seen. At that time the old backup should be deleted, and I can finish the new backup in a reasonable time.
Backzup sounded like an ideal solution, offering 512Gb for free with no upload speed limits. I completed the initial backup of 204Gb in five days, which included suspending the backup a few times to do other things. The service then worked without issue until the 1st January 2012, when the Livedrive software reported it could not log into the account. My attempts to access the Livedrive web site returned a message that the account was suspended, but there is no way to contact Livedrive as I need to log into the account to access their support system. This happened at the point when I was considering upgrading to one of Backzup’s paid accounts, not for the extra space but to pay something for a good service. Read more…
December 2010 Macintosh Software Bundles
Software bundles have always been a great way of building up a collection of useful applications, and the massively discounted price means you only need a couple of top class apps to make the price a bargain. There are several software bundles available for Macintosh users right now, offering a range of applications for prices between $9.99 and $63. Unfortunately there’s nothing currently available from Macheist or MacUpdate. The bundles are listed here in increasing price, with the second price in brackets a pound/dollar conversion at the current exchange rate (on 6th December 2010).
Macbasket.com – 7 apps for $9.99 (£6.36), ending 9th December 2010:
- NuKit – Finder productivity enhancer
- Money³ – Financial Management
- rooSwitch – profiles for your applications
- Radium – Internet radio player
- Healthnut – Diet/health tracker
- Chronicle 3 – Manage your bills
- Tracks -Play/browse music from the menubar
MacbundlePro – 7 apps for $19.95 (£12.69), ending 31st December 2010:
- AirRadar 2 – Wireless network scanner
- Inpaint – Remove objects from your images
- MacHider – Hide private data
- TranslateIt – Language translation
- ManPower – Man page GUI
- PacketStream – network monitoring tool
- DVDsnap 2 – capture screen shots from Apple DVD player
Mac Bundle Box – 12 apps for $29 (£18.45), ending 23rd December 2010:
- Compartments – Home inventory
- QuickScale – Batch image resizing
- Semonto – Web server monitoring for 6 months
- Radium – Internet radio player
- iCollage – Image scrapbook
- AllMyTube – Download/convert FLV video
- DVD Ripper – Convert DVD’s to other formats
- PDF Converter – PDF to Word, Excel, PowerPoint, EPUB, Text and HTML
- Photo Recovery – recover lost, deleted or formatted photos, videos and music files
- iMedia Converter – DVD ripping and video conversion
- TinyGrab – Screenshot utility
- Caboodle – Snippet machine
BundlesForMac – 12 apps for $49.99 (£31.80), ending 15th December 2010:
- skEdit – Text/html editor
- Yummy FTP – FTP client
- MyStuff – home inventory
- BlogAssist – blog/website editor
- AlienDestroyer – Secure erase sensitive data
- Involer – Invoicing app
- Deliver – File delivery to local and remote destinations
- ProfCast – Lecture recording app
- PDF to Word – Document converter
- iCash – Personal finance
- PDF to Epub – Document converter
- GadgetTrak – Laptop theft recovery
MacPromo.com – 10 apps for £39.99 ($63), ending 31st December 2010:
- TypeIt4Me – Text expander
- PathFinder 5 – Finder replacement
- DragThing – document, folder, and application and URL dock
- Name Mangler 2 – Batch file renamer
- Personal Antispam 10.6 – Antispam component of Intego Internet Security Barrier
- MacFreelance 2 – Invoice management
- Keyboard Maestro 4 – Keyboard macro app
- Personal Backup – backup component of Intego Internet Security Barrier
- Folx Pro – Download manager
- CuteClips 3 – Clipboard history
- The First 5000 buyers get Star Wars: Empire at War