How to Choose an Online Backup Service

This week I have been testing the various online backup services, both paid and free, and here’s a summary of how these service compare against each other.

 

Why use an online backup service?

While it is easy to create a local backup of userr computer, the physical media where user are storing the backups, like the DVDs or external disk, may not be very reliable in the long term. The other disadvantage is that local backups don’t always happen in real-time.

It is therefore recommended that user switch to an online backup service – these are inexpensive and will automatically copy userr computer’s data over the Internet to a more secure off-site location (aka the data center) in near real-time without userr involvement.
 

Online Backup Services with Free Storage

If user only have a limited amount of data (< 2 GB) on userr computer that user want to store in the cloud, any of the following backup services should solve userr problem without user having to shell out a penny.

All the above online backup services (except for SkyDrive) work in a similar way – user get a small client to userr desktop, mark the local folders that user want to backup online and the tool will automatically monitor and upload files from these folders to the cloud. Once userr files are backed up, user can also access them online except in Mozy.

Of all these services, my favorites are SugarSync and ZumoDrive. They offer almost an identical set of features and are extremely easy to configure. SugarSync is available for Mac and Windows while ZumoDrive also offers a Linux client.

While Dropbox is also an awesome service for file synchronization and online backup, it has one major limitation – it will only backup files and folders that are placed inside the Dropbox folder. Hopefully this will change in future versions.

Subscription Based Online Backup Services

When 2 GB is insufficient to store the massive number of photographs, emails, documents and other important files that are piled up on userr hard drive, user can go for a subscription based service. Here are some good options along with their pros and cons.

1. Backblaze (tour) – The true ‘set it and forget it’ backup service

• Extremely easy to setup. The service will automatically backup userr entire computer excluding folders that contain the OS and userr applications.
• If user create a new folder on userr computer, user don’t have to remember to add it to the backup queue.
• The option to restore files from the backup could have been a bit simpler.

2. Carbonite (tour) – Makes data recovery really simple

• Colored dots on userr files and folders indicate the status of userr backup at a glance. No dot means the file is not selected for backup.
• You can remote access userr backups from anywhere using the browser and there are apps for iPhone and BlackBerry.
• The restore function in Carbonite is done pretty nicely and user can recover files using Windows Explorer itself.
• Carbonite’s web interface is clean but their desktop client looks old and a bit untidy.

3. Mozy (tour) -  The original cloud backup service

• Mozy will automatically group userr files and folders into “sets” like documents, emails, photos, music, etc. so it becomes easy for user to select stuff that user want to backup online.
• In addition to online backup, the more recent version of Mozy can also back up userr data to an external disk.
• Mozy offers quite a few easy ways to restore files from the backup.

4. iDrive (tour) – For quick and easy backups

• When user start iDrive, it offers a folder tree of userr computer – just select the folders that user want to backup online and user’re done.
• You can also add files and folders to the backup queue with a simple right click inside Windows Explorer.
• You can restore data through the iDrive desktop client. Individual files and folders can also be recovered from iDrive’s website.
• Their Family plan can help user backup multiple computers to a single IDrive account.

5. CrashPlan (tour) – One backup service for all platforms

• With CrashPlan, user can easily backup userr files to multiple locations including the cloud, to another folder on the same hard-disk, to other computer on userr home network or to any other Internet connected computer (social backup).
• The desktop client is intuitive and won’t confuse user with a plethora of options.
• CrashPlan is among the very few online backup services that’s available on all platforms including Windows, Mac and Linux.

6. Jungle Disk (tour) – Metered online storage

• Jungle Disk uses Amazon S3 for data storage.
• You can use a single license to backup multiple computers.
• Jungle Disk supports Windows, Mac and Linux.

7. SugarSync (tour) – Access userr backups from any mobile device

• SugarSync works in near real-time and will immediately back up any file changes that are made in one of the monitored folders.
• You can easily access userr backups over the web or from any of userr mobile devices through apps.
• SugarSync is not integrated with Windows Explorer and therefore it is a bit cumbersome to add new folders for backup.

8. ZumoDrive (tour) – Simple and elegant

• ZumoDrive is extremely easy to configure – just right click any folder on userr computer and add it to the ZumoDrive cloud.
• Restoring files from ZumoDrive may involve some effort. It offers ZIP archives of userr folders that user’ll have to manually extract to the right locations.

Online Backup Services Compared

The following chart compares the cost, available storage and other essential features of all the previously mentioned online backup services.

Which Online Backup Service Should You Use?

If user are looking for an extremely simple way to backup userr entire Mac or Windows PC without having to select individual files and folders, go with BackBlaze. It offers unlimited storage and requires no configuration but restoring data from BackBlaze is not very convenient.

SugarSync is another brilliant option for creating online backups as it works across multiple computers (and platforms) and user can access userr data on a variety of devices. However, if user have loads of data to backup, SugarSync can get a bit pricey.

The backup service that has impressed me the most is CrashPlan – it’s available for Mac, Windows and Linux. What’s unique about CrashPlan is that it also can create local backups on other computers that are either owned by user or userr friends. Thus data restoration will become extremely fast in the event of a hard disk failure because user won’t have to get backups from the Internet.

The downside with CrashPlan is that it doesn’t offer web access to userr backups. If user see this as a limitation, go with Carbonite. It integrates very nicely with Windows Explorer, user can backup any file or folder with a simple right-click and all userr files can accessed over the web anytime, anywhere. Data restoration is also easy with Carbonite.

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C Program to Find the Multiplication Table Of a Given number

    C++ code to find Multiplication Table of  a number using for loop

1. #include<iostream>
2. 
   
3. using namespace std;
4. 
   
5. int main()
6. 
   
7. {
8. 
   
9.     int num;
10. 
    
11. cout<<"Enter Number To Find Multiplication table ";
12. 
    
13. cin>>num;
14. 
    
15.     for(int a=1;a<=10;a++)
16. 
    
17.     {
18. 
    
19.         cout<<num<<" * "<<a<<" = "<<num*a<<endl;
20. 
    
21.     }
22. 
    
23.   return 0;
24. 
    
25. }

 Sample Output :

Image View of Code:

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Crappy Chrome Continues to Confirm my Crushed Confidence – It is gone …

No, I don’t want to F---ING RELAUNCH NOW!

I am now officially using Firefox 17 … I hope they don’t suck the way Chrome has been lately.

That was quick … crappier Firefox hung my Explorer completely for almost 30 seconds … that just will not do, so now I am relegated to IE.

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Samsung Chromebook So Cute You Just Want To Scratch It Behind The Ears!

I mentioned a few days back that my daughter was having me auction off her Samsung Chromebook on eBay.  As much as she liked it, the Google Docs word processor was not quite compatible enough with Microsoft Word to be useful for her job, so she bought a more traditional laptop.

I have it at my house at the moment, waiting for the winning bidder to actually send the money, so I took it out of the box and spent some time playing with it.  If you need something for checking your email, surfing the web, and doing some word processing on the road, this is a very cute and compact alternative to a laptop, with the full keyboard that many tablets do not have.  The temptation to buy it from her if the winning bidder does not respond is very strong.

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F770EXR Review – Part 12 – A blast from the past as I compare it to the F70EXR

The F70EXR was the long zoom that started this family. The F200EXR was, of course, the first EXR camera, but it’s sensor died on the vine, something that continues to be lamented by many.

The F70’s passing is also lamented since the 1/2” sensor it debuted at 10Mp was changed in the very next camera (F80EXR) to 12Mp and then two cameras later (F550EXR) to 16Mp. The F70 is lamented because it clearly had better image quality at high ISO than the F80 and the F300, the F80’s successor and the F550’s predecessor.

But with the F550EXR came RAW shooting. And the F770 has that too. So let’s compare the first and the latest and see how far this 1/2” sensor has come.

I am going to give the F70EXR the benefit here by downsizing the F770 to match. The difference in resolution is too much in my opinion for the F70 to stand a chance at higher resolutions. And let’s face it, the 5Mp at M size makes a decent 8x10 without any effort, so most people would be more than satisfied with that resolution.

So … the first image. F770EXR in JPEG with custom white balance under that aeful blue LED desk lamp I’ve been using lately.

f770EXR JPEG  400iso  f/4  1/40  -1ev

Frankly, I think that’s kind of excellent, especially when you consider the awful light. The F770 has really nailed the colors, although there is a tendency in Fuji land to spike reds up to dark orange as has been noted by others.

A note on exposures. Each camera was allowed to choose its own exposure. The F770 chose 400 ISO while the F70 chose 800 ISO. This probably reflects quite accurately their relative stabilization abilities.

Now the F70EXR JPEG.

f70exr JPEG  800iso  f/4.5  1/70  -1ev

Note also that the aperture is slower. The F770EXR has the same range as the F550, which is f/3.5 going up to f/6 and then dropping to f/5.3 at the longest focal length. The F70 is similar, but because it ends at a much shorter 280mm (from the 500mm of the F770) it moves up earlier relatively speaking.

The firs thing you notice about the image is that Fuji had much less saturation on Provia at that time. This is actually a more realistic rendering of the colors on the subject, but it is not as punchy, and we know that consumers demand punchy images.

The F80EXR had much punchier images. The F300 tamed that a bit, and the F550 and F770 have struck a great balance in my opinion.

And finally … the RAF image.

This is even less saturated than the F70 image, by intent. I like to tame the colors and tones and I love to open shadows. This represents a pretty accurate rendering of the scene, which sits about a foot from my face as I type this. (Seriously.)

But wait … there’s more. The crops from all three …

click an image to see full size

The RAF version does show more fine, low-contrast details. I also prefer its red center of the wool thingy. But the punchiness of the JPEG is seductive. For general use I think it looks just great. And the F70 holds its own as well. Very nice for 800 ISO.

---

conclusion

So have we come far at all? These three images are slightly different takes on the same scene and there is nothing really wrong with any of them. And it is an axiom that any camera can shoot a web image decently. (That’s not actually true, as some brands still suck badly at high ISO. But most can handle ISO 400 and even ISO 800 these days.)

I would say that, for simplistic web shooting the F70 is more than enough camera for anyone. But I like the RAW abilities in the F550 and the F770’s reach is magnificent. It’s long telephoto macro is superb for flower shooting. So I would go F770 for an enthusiast who doesn’t mind exploring RAW processing. Lightroom is cheap and support is coming (and is here if you try the trick – http://kimletkeman.blogspot.ca/2012/04/automated-raf-exif-hack-for-those-who.html -- hint: also check the comments.)

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