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Backup Solutions For The Mac

admin — Wed, 02 Sep 2009 18:52:35 +0000

Hey

Backup’s are very important. You should always have more than one backup if you are serious about making sure your data stays in one piece. Its ok backing them up to disk but what happens if you lost that disk or it doesn’t work. This post will hopefully explain some of the different ways in which you can back up your data. I recommend you pick two different options to make sure you don’t lose everything.

1) Time Machine

The first option you should have in place (I think by default) is Time Machine, you are given the option of data backup service installed by default so I recommend you use it. In essence Time Machine will backup files all of your file on your disk. Then as you change files and add files Time Machine will add them to the backup. This way you can go back in time and view how a file has changed as you have worked on it, you can pick a file from a specific period and restore it as necessary.

I think Time Machine is a great consumer backup system. Its simple to use, works and allows me to pick and choose files I want to restore. I have only used it a couple of times when I have wanted to restore a file, but it was a life saver when it was there. You do need a second hard disk for it to work effectively which is an added cost, however hard drives are getting cheaper all of the time. If you want to read more about using Time Machine read the Noob2Pro post I did a while ago.

Time Machine isn’t a proper backup tool, in that it doesn’t backup system files. If you ever do a full system restore it combines it with a fresh install from your installation disk. As a result you can’t make full backups to take a machine to a certain point and use this disk on a second computer. This is where option number two comes in.

2) Disk Cloners

There are a variety of disk cloners out there on the market. In essence they copy the entire contents of you disk and place it on a second drive. This enables you to quickly restore a backup by plugging the hard drive into your Mac or copying the DVD’s contents onto a your Mac. The advantage of this is that you can create a bootable backup, so you can boot directly from the back up. You can’t do this with Time Machine or other similar software.

There are two decent pieces of software out there which you can use for this sort of thing. SuperDuper and Carbon Copy Cloner. They are very similar in the feature set. If you want to look into this type of back up software take a look at the feature set and try the pieces of software out. I prefer the Time Machine backup as it is a lot simpler. I don’t need to have a lot of full backups. I just need to keep my personal files intact.

3) Online Backup

I mentioned in the opening paragraph that you ideally need two types of backup. The second option I prefer is an online backup. The reason for this is that it acts as an off site backup. The best backup systems are ones where the first backup is next to your computer for easy access, then a second off site to protect against fire, theft etc. This is where online backups come into play.

There are a variety of different online backup systems. Most do the same basic thing. You upload the files to there server, you let them sit around, then when you need them you re-download them. There are lots of different options which such as using Amazon file cloud or a dedicated service which works on the same level. One service I have been trying out over the last couple of days is Backblaze. Its cheap, offers a lot of space and works well. If you want a second method which is cheap and reliable the online method would probably work well, there are plenty around so have a quick google and see what you can find.

Conclusion

Hopefully I have opened your eyes to different ways you can backup your files. The automated methods which I have listed are the best, this is because you don’t need to think about backing up every day, it does it automatically. You can of course burn files to disk using a DVD burner and select the files you want. This however needs a lot of disks and it takes a lot of time (plus burnable DVD’s break down and become useless after a while). Using hard drives, I think, is more valuable for money.

If you have any more methods which you use to backup please leave a comment below.

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Increase Hard Disk Storage Space On Your Mac

admin — Tue, 11 Nov 2008 20:57:35 +0000

Hey

Disk space is a funny thing. You buy a disk, think it will last you ages and then half a year later you are pushed for space. This has happened to my MacBook Pro. The 120Gb hard drive inside is nearly full, and the 150Gb external drive powering both a Time Machine backup and some general storage is pushing 100% capacity. As a result I need more space. I am going to discuss with you today, how you can increase the disk space on your Mac by plugging in new hard drives giving you that all important space.

There are 3 main methods of increasing hard disk space. Internal hard drive, external hard drive and a network attached unit. They vary in price range and capabilities. As a side note, any prices I give in this post are rough approximations. You will have to do your own research. I will also try and find drives which are around 1Tb in size. Since this is a price point which is affordable and has *plenty* to last. I highly doubt 1Tb will last long, the way I am going through it.

The Macs that I will be focusing on today are the iMac, Mac Pro and MacBook/Pro. The mini is not included but it is very similar to the setup I am going to discuss with the MacBooks. If you have older Macs they will probably still follow these lines. If you want to raise any questions or have a better idea, please leave them in the comments.

Internal Drive

A internal hard drive is probably the route you want to try first if you are expanding your disk capacity. The basic idea behind this is to add a second drive into the computer. The other two method that I will discuss are more external. An internal drive has the benefits of being more secure, as well as less prone to accidents and generally being in the way.

Mac Pro

Probably the easiest way to add storage to a Mac Pro is to add a hard disk to one of the four internal bays. A Mac Pro can take 4Tb of disk storage. Simply open up the case, take out a drive bay and insert a new drive. Officially, the only Mac in the line up in which you can do this. For more information check out the user guide.

iMac

By default there is no way to add internal storage for your iMac. Which is a real shame, I am sure Apple could have made an ergonomic method of inserting another drive. The best method if you want an internal only solution is to replace the hard drive by taking the computer apart. You will first have to clone your current hard drive onto the new drive with a tool like Carbon Copy Cloner. Only if you know what you are doing would I suggest this method.

MacBook/Pro

My laptop is in this list and unfortunately there is no real room for you to insert another drive. You have two options at this point, upgrade your existing drive or add a second one replacing your optical disk drive. I hardly ever use my disk drive, as a result it is rich pickings for a hard drive. This very cool trick, take your optical drive out, replaces it with a special mould so everything inside doesn’t fall apart and puts a 500Gb drive in its place. As a result you get two drives, one is your original and the second is where you optical drive used to reside. You can get this very cool product from OptiBay. It is a little expensive, but one of the most unique products I have seen for a long time. I am not sure if it works with the new MacBook range, you will have to enquire. I was considering this option at one point, but I didn’t have the cash flow.

External Drive

One of the most common ways to expand your storage is through an external drive. This is basically a hard drive in a box, plugged into your Mac through either USB or Firefire. It is a simple way to easily expand as well as pretty cheap. It can be used across any Mac with a USB port. It is also very versatile, since you can pick what drive you want, and where you want to put it. You can also leave the drive at home so it can act as a backup drive.

There are a couple of methods for external drives. You can either buy a package, or do it yourself. The prices range from the bare bones to quite an expensive RAID setup. It all depends on how much storage you are willing to pay for. For example a MyBook is around the $90 mark. You get the nice packaging, all of the lights etc. It is a very good option. My favourite method is to buy your own caddy and drive separately. The one I recommend is this caddy, it comes packages by various brands but it works and 1Tb drive which you can get for only £70.

A diy external drive is cheaper and it gives you the room to expand later. It doesn’t take two seconds to pull out an old drive and stick in a newer larger version. On the other hand the all in ones from MyBook, for example, look a lot nicer and a probably better for people who are not to good with the details of technology.

Network Drive

The final way to upgrade the storage on your Mac is to use a Network Attached Storage device. These drives are very similar to an external drive which you plug into your USB slot. The one big difference is that it is plugged into your router instead. Usually NAS’ offer a lot more features such as the data being available to every one on a network. The only down side I find with a NAS is the speed. They are a lot slower since data has to travel over your network. Unless you have tuned your Ethernet to run as fast as possible (which I can never do) it will never seem as fast as USB.

I personally recommend a Buffalo NAS drive if you want to go down the NAS route. My father has one on his home network and it works really well. It acts like a normal disk. It does take a bit more setup for the system itself and on your Mac. But for anyone who wants a way of increasing storage on all of your computers in the house, a NAS is a feasible option.

Conclusion

If you want to upgrade HDD space you have three options, internal upgrade which is the most complicated, External drive which is the cheapest and finally a NAS. I prefer an external USB hard drive. I have a couple stacked up next to my Mac. They are simple to use and offer a lot of storage. The only problem I am facing now is the lack of USB ports. If you want to find cheap hard drives I would check out Amazon since they usually have the best deals.

If you have any more tips or tricks, or even a completely different method for upgrading disk storage on your Mac please leave a comment. If you have a really inventive way of adding space I would love to hear it. Using drives from other computers, isn’t really fair. Since you are just moving space around and not actually gaining anything.

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Apple At The Olympic Games

admin — Fri, 22 Aug 2008 19:59:15 +0000

Hey

I’m loving the Olympics at the moment. All the sport on all the time on TV it is great. Anyway I was intrigued by an article over at Macworld. It mentioned about the Mac production room that has been set up by Apple for photographers to edit there photos using Aperture. A great marketing move. I wanted to discuss this topic a bit more. As well as gauge your thoughts on such a topic. If I was a photographer I would love some free Mac Pros to work with. This post is sort of a discussion/roundup, which I wanted to share with you. They are probably tuned to the fastest possible. Macworld quotes:

In the digital photo editing area of the Kodak Photographer’s Center—a massive workroom located in the main press center at the Olympic park—hundreds of photographers at a time assemble to file their images using high-end workstations and tech-support supplied by Apple

Aperture, if you don’t know is Apples “Pro” photo editing tool. It is designed for professional photographers to easily edit their photos in an easy to use manner. As well as this it has excellent photo organizing ability. I am not a big fan of Aperture personally. I have tried the demo, and although it does has some excellent features. The cost and the amount of photos I take isn’t worth the price. But for a pro, or even a amateur who has their finger on the shutter release button it is probably worth it. As well as this it also has a lot of extra features which you can download and improve upon.

What I haven’t noticed a lot on is the number of laptops that a photographer would bring. I personally have a MacBook Pro and I have seen many photographers use such a laptop in sporting events. Considering the size of the kit they bring I would have thought they could spare some room for a laptop. Thanks to Vincent Laforet for the image below you can read more about him here.

Even if you are only starting out this a happy snappy camera Apple is well equipped to help you. Probably one of the best apps for anyone starting out on a Mac is iPhoto. Although it is a basic application it does have some good features to get you started. If you want to move on from iPhoto you can always use Gimp or Photoshop, the elements package is very good.

One of the best reasons for taking pictures is to share them and view them back. Some great examples include MobileMe. if you go past all of the problems MobileMe had it is a great way of showing photos off to your friends and family. A quick snap with your iPhone in the Olympic stadium and your friends and family could be soon viewing the best action. I doubt the iPhone produces the best picture. A 800mm lens might make a better picture.

As you can see Macs have a great number of applications to use in view, editing and sharing your photos. One of my new favourites is Timeline, i’ve mentioned about it before. It is a good Mac application for viewing time lines of events. It can import data from iPhoto and Aperture so you can view when you have taken photos.

Finally even if you do take pictures you may want to do more with them. Since this is a tips site I would like to point your attention to Changing The Application A Camera Opens With, as well as converting Images With Terminal.

There are hundreds of ways in which you can use Apple and Macs to share, edit and enjoy your pictures. What I would like you to do is leave a comment below about your experiences of Mac’s and manipulating images. I want to hear your opinions. Its not often I hold discussions. I want to hear your opinions, good or bad. There are no prizes for keeping silent (none for speaking either). Discuss.

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