Assume you have a regular, small 80Gb HD with 60Gb (61440 Mb) of data.....you want a backup and the Monthly Bill Estimator tells me about $191.49?....
With an online backup you only really want to back up your actual data. If your computer were to die, most of what is on it (Windows, Office, etc) would need to be reinstalled from the CDs anyway. So there is really no point in backing that up online. When you install the backup software it will automatically select just your Desktop, Favorites, My Documents, and Outlook Email. If you need to you can select other folders as well. Our typical customers have about 1-5GB of data. Since we only charge for what you use, the monthly cost for this will range from $10-$22 per month. Also, there is no additional cost for backing up multiple PC except for the additional storage they use. All of our customers receive a free 30 day trial. We also lowered our pricing recently. Please take your time to test drive our service. If it's not right for you, cancel during the trial and there is no charge. Details are here: http://www.datadepositbox.com/pricing.asp The promocode is used more for tracking purposes. Thanks Peter
>>Our typical customers have about 1-5GB of data>> Probably then they are just homewifes...that need to hold the family photo album online. If I have to spend nearly $200 monthly for serious backup -- since this is the profile of the service you are advertising -- in one year I would spend more than $ 2K. For than amount anyone can purchase a very realiable professional backup system also to be managed remotely.
Hmm .... Linux and the associated backup tools included in major distributions are free ... no need to spend anything assuming you already have a realiable broadband connection ......
This topic is great and I learned a lot about backup. Just wonder anyone has good experience on cloning HDD with freeware or bundled software from HDD supplier for 18 months or more?
I used Maxblast and WD Datalifeguard for about 3 years on my old Win2K rig (both programs made by Kroll Ontrack). However, when I bought new computers, those programs no longer worked. I tried to run the trouble down with the Kroll support techs, but they came up puzzled, claiming they've "run into this on occasion but have never hit upon the solution." The culprit seems to be a file "odidev.dll" which surveys the machine's hardware before copying. If there is a problem, the copy procedure will *appear* to complete but the copy will not function correctly and an error message will appear when the cloned HD is run. So, the bottom line..... (a) NONE of the freeware besides that supplied by HD maker is passably good, and (b) suggest you try WD's Datalifeguard (it's MUCH better than the Maxtor or Seagate versions). If it works OK for your system, you're good to go. (It's fairly fast and easy to use.) However, if you have any trouble with the "odidev.dll" business, forget about Datalifeguard and check out Acronis True Image and Casper XP. They are not free, but both are very good.
i have looked at online backup providers a not so long ago - my primary concern would be security and reliability - there are a few providers out there, i have found one (can't remember the name, but easy to find in online reviews) that lists blue chips such as IBM and (i think) GE etc. as clients... - their pricing / features range are competitive with the others - i'd be more inclined to go with them, assuming that at least the bigger clients did their due diligence, although i'd want to additionally verify on my own that the company is sound.