New online storage backup services now offer tools to create and edit documents and spreadsheets.
I don't know what it is about me and backup applications, but it's sort of like me and cheerleaders. There is just a certain type of woman with whom you know you're not going to get along no matter how much time you spend with her. And so it is with me and backup software.
It may be that I got burned years ago when I installed a tape drive, dutifully copying the contents of my hard drive onto these nifty little tapes. They sat around my office for months, and I regularly updated them with the latest changes.
Then, one day, my hard drive failed.
No problem, I thought. I have a backup. Wrong. When I went to restore the tape, the drive couldn't read it. I tell you: Once burned, twice shy. Once your confidence is shattered in someone or something, it's hard to regain the trust that you formerly enjoyed and that was responsible for giving you a comfortable sense of security.
Tapes are out. What's next? How about CD ROMs? Those worked pretty well except that I didn't trust the rewritable ones (or I was too cheap to buy them) and the write-once-read-many disks were a bit inflexible. Plus, I'm a bit of a hoarder, and no matter how old those disks got, I just couldn't throw them out. Forget doing incremental backups on them because you can't change the data. And mailing those disks to my sister who lived out of state so that I would have an offsite backup got to be a real drag.
Next I moved to a second hard drive. It's sort of like an external hard drive, only it's not external. OK, it's my old hard drive, dedicated to backups! The problem was, I lived in the San Bernardino Mountains outside of Los Angeles, and every night I went to bed I didn't know if I might be awakened in the middle of the night by the sheriff ordering an immediate evacuation because of a forest fire.
Then there is the problem of the backup software. How old is it? Are you going to have access to the backup software you used to create the backup when it comes time to restore your data? What if your backup application disks get destroyed in the inevitable fire and you can't replace them because the company doesn't support that version anymore or they have gone out of business?
And who really knows what the heck you're supposed to back up? If I backed up all my data, it would take forever. So I make one complete backup then selectively pick and choose the other stuff as it's created. But then I get busy and forget to back up and lose track of what is backed up and what isn't.
Basically, the whole thing is a mess. I mean if you're a system administrator and you're getting paid to back up your company's data, you do it. You're a professional, and you put the company on a schedule, and you decide you're going to be the jerk nobody likes, but it doesn't matter, because you're taking the system down to do THE BACKUP. And everyone stops what he or she is doing because, hey, the IT guy is doing a BACKUP.
Alternatively, you could come in on Saturday instead of going to your kid's ball game and make a backup then. You realize after a few of these sessions, however, that it's going to cost you more in attorney's fees for the divorce lawyer than you're making in overtime by dutifully coming in on the weekend. (This is how things used to be, of course, and now backups are automated with products like ROBOT from Help/Systems for the System i.)
But we digress; we're talking about me here and my problems, OK? So, I'm still confused, and I decide my problem is that I don't have the right...what? You guessed it: Software!
"Honey, I need to go downtown to the store and buy a backup package for the computer."
"But you just bought a backup thingie."
"I know, but it's confusing, and it's a hassle, and I don't like it."
"So you're taking it back?"
"I can't take it back. I already opened it. And loaded it."
"Great. OK, but get some advice next time, will ya? Please?"
"Yes. I promise."
Well, folks, I'm here to say that I think I may have solved my backup problems once and for all, and it's not because I bought another backup program.
The truth is, I need more than a backup program. I need a repository where I can safely store my documents and access them from my laptop, my office computer, my colleague's computer when I'm visiting friends, the hotel computer, or wherever I happen to be at the time. I've been carrying a flash drive around in my pocket from home to the office, office to home. But I'm always worried about losing it somewhere in between.
So I decided to try online storage. It's becoming increasingly common and very affordable. Many of the services even have a free offering if your needs are modest. Being a bit of a tightwad, I confined my search to free online storage services. I looked at box.net, DropBoks, eSnips, MediaMax, openomy, OmniDrive, and DigitalBucket.net. Each offers at least 1GB of free storage (MediaMax offers 25GB), and most offer more if you're willing to pay for it. Several, including box.net, MediaMax, OmniDrive, and DigitalBucket.net, offer subfolders and drag-and-drop file transfer. The feature that really got my attention, however, was the incorporation of Zoho tools, including Zoho Writer, into OmniDrive and DigitalBucket.net. While the former was a bit buggy, DigitalBucket.net performed quite well. Apart from placing a little HTML code in my document at the top to define formatting, my document was saved and returned to me in good shape. Since the application is still in the public beta stage, there is a little mechanism to report bugs by just clicking on the "Report" icon and sending off a note.
It was DigitalBucket.net that got me off my flash drive and into using an online storage service. It has a number of handy features, not the least of which is being able to create and edit Word and Excel files with Zoho tools. (Unfortunately, this version of Zoho Writer does not come with Writer's usual spell checker.) You can even view PowerPoint presentations and play certain types of music files without having to download them into another application. And I'm switching from flickr for posting my photos for friends because this is easier to manage than having to jump through multiple hoops with Yahoo!.
To share your photo album with non-DigitalBucket.net users, right-click a folder and click on "publish this folder." Two URL addresses will appear: a direct DigitalBucket.net address and an RSS address. To provide access to these, you can just send an email to anyone you would like to share these files with and include the URL. The RSS URL that is offered is good for folders that are updated frequently. The application has its own email client that works without any setup whatsoever. Another advanced feature that few of the free services have is the ability to search for files and folders. Being able to upload entire folders, versus individual files, is possible only with the optional paid upgrade that covers additional storage and other features. Part of Amazon Web Services, DigitalBucket.net says it is trying to appeal to developers, businesses, and consumers.
Here is a list of the online application's main features:
•· No software is required to install. Upload multiple files without having to install an ActiveX or Java Applet.
•· Download a single file or multiple files by using zip functionality.
•· Use the full drag-and-drop capability between files and folders.
•· Copy, cut, move, delete, and rename files and folders. There's a recycle bin in case you delete a file or folder accidentally.
•· The public file publishing uses a direct link or RSS feeds.
•· Share with other DigitalBucket.net users. It is possible to assign privileges on how other users can see your folders: full control or view only.
•· Search for the documents on your account as well as the folders that others have shared with you.
•· Photo albums offer thumbnails, slideshows, and comments. Publish the albums the same way you see in your account.
•· Select multiple files by drawing a rectangle around the files.
•· Edit photos.
•· Use Zoho for Word, Excel, online editing, and PowerPoint presentation viewing.
•· Online music and video players are included. No download required.
•· You can tag files and folders.
•· Choose from the thumbnail, details, or icons view of the files list.
•· You have the capability to email files.
•· Address bar, back, forward, up buttons allow easy folder navigations.
•· Sub-accounts is an easy way to collaborate online with clients or other business associates. Create separate user sub-accounts with customized privileges to all or parts of your DigitalBucket.net account.
•· Take advantage of the full logging of the user and sub-accounts activity.
•· Tree and list states are preserved when you navigate away from the file manager.
•· Enjoy 1GB storage with 3GB bandwidth for free during the public beta.
I'm going to continue to experiment with DigitalBucket.net, but I'm beginning to feel that my days of frustration over backups are a thing of the past.
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