Time Machine Is Great, Until Disk Error 109
Posted by Admin | Filed under Backup Advice, GDrive Alternatives
For Mac users, the first point of call for backup is Time Machine. I like Time Machine because for the non-techy it is a nice simple way of backing up your machine and of course, it looks great.
For the more tech-minded, you can get hold of some other tools that make it more configurable.
So off it goes, working its magic in the background.
And then you get an error message and after spending some time investigating it, you find that you have suffered Error 109 which basically means that your Mac cannot mount the drive that is home to your Time Machine.
“No problem, Google must have the answer!” No, sorry, only a wealth of links to forum posts from people in the same boat. Resolutions range from “It just started working” to delicate operations using the command line that are still unlikely to work.
I have gone through two of these, both times the least stressful approach was to wipe the drive and start again. Not ideal, as I would not be able to restore my Mac back to its state as of three months ago, but I can always at least rebuild my Mac from scratch and get it back to how it was yesterday.
Bottom line – do not use Time Machine as your only backup method.
For your important files and folders, just use Dropbox and for complete security, back up your entire drive regularly with CC Cloner.
That’s your base. On top of that you can add external drives, Mobile Me, whatever other cloud storage you choose but go for these as a minimum and you will at least have your important files available and recoverable as well as get your Mac up and running again in the event of a crash.
Do not trust Time Machine as your belt and braces, it is less reliable than the machine you are backing up.
Tags: cccloner, dropbox, error 109, time machine
The Wait For Google Docs Bulk Upload Continues
Posted by Admin | Filed under GDrive Alternatives
The news that Google Docs now allows the storage of files of any type is a strong step towards a real GDrive.
One thing that is so clearly missing that it is impossible to think of it as an oversight, is the ability to bulk upload. It’s a feature that would stack it directly up against the likes of Dropbox.
There are some third party apps that will help you manage your Google Docs storage but these are limited to either Windows users running office 2007 or later, Google Apps Enterprise users or lovers of the command line.
What is needed is a simple web or desktop app to allow you to see what you have in your Google Docs account and sync your desktop files with it.
It must be in development, it has to be!
Tags: gdrive, google docs
LaCie Looks To Seamless Integration Between External And Online Storage
Posted by Admin | Filed under GDrive Alternatives
LaCie today announced a merger with Zürich-based Caleido AG, the creators of the online storage service, Wuala. It could see an interesting integration between LaCie’s lovely range of external hard drives and an online cloud storage system.
Such a system would not be hard to replicate even now, but an integrated system where files backed up to a LaCie drive would automatically be transferred to an online account would be an interesting proposition.
the Wuala service was developed in part at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Zürich
A Look At Microsoft’s Online Storage Offerings
Posted by Admin | Filed under GDrive Alternatives
I thought it was a good idea to provide a considered look at the online storage offerings from Microsoft.
Unfortunately I cannot fully test integration as I am not a PC user but I have certainly been able to test interfaces etc.
The most basic option from Microsoft is Windows Live Skydrive. I say “basic” because it is a browser-only service. There is no desktop application that allows you to mount your Skydrive as a virtual disk.
Having said, that, it does offer a massive 25GB of space for free so if you are looking for a simple of way of storing files online and don’t mind using a web browser every time you want to add / remove / update files, Skydrive gives a great storage deal.
More intricate in its design is Live Mesh. It works similarly to services like Syncplicity, Mozy and Dropbox in that an application installed on each machine you want to sync up will keep those files in sync across the machines, as well as storing the files online. Change a file anywhere and that change is reflected across your Mesh. At the moment, no Mac client is available but one is planned, as is a Windows Mobile client.
Interestingly, there is no plan to charge for the service, or even place a storage limit.
Microsoft also offers a simple sync client that synchronises files across machines but does not store them. In this case, you will want to check out Windows Live Sync.
To be fair, it is a decent toolset and one that you may not have looked at but the PC-centric offerings limits its feasibility as a true cross-platform solution of which there are many.
Tags: cloud storage, gdrive, live mesh, live sync, microsoft, online storage, skydrive
HP and Yahoo Shut Down Their Online Storage Offerings
Posted by Admin | Filed under GDrive Alternatives
The (ever-)imminent launch of GDrive has already claimed two more major competitors in HP and Yahoo.
Yahoo are closing their Briefcase service which really was a forerunner in this area, and was certainly the first online storage service I ever used although I must admit, I had totally forgotten about it years ago.
HP launched Upline last year and have already decided to cut it.
Some large players aside, online storage offerings are currently more of a core operation for the leading players, rather than just the result of a huge data centre purchase by existing business giants.
For me, Syncplicity is still out in front.
Tags: alternative, gdrive, hp, syncplicity, yahoo
