Backblaze, a cloud-based backup solution for Windows machines that we likened to the online equivalent of Time Machine when it first got onto our radar, is today its product for Macs to the public after it debuted a private beta version last December.
Backblaze, available in 11 languages, costs $5 a month or $50 a year for unlimited online storage for backing up your hard drive, with a 15-day free trial available. The service continuously monitors files for changes and uploads them to the server, and in the event of a hard drive failure allows users to selectively download files via a web interface or have them delivered on DVDs or a USB drive.
Backblaze puts the emphasis on simplicity, allowing users to begin backing up in only a few button clicks with a minimal amount of setup (though it does have advanced features – they’re just hidden by default). Other online backup services include SugarSync, Mozy, iDrive and Carbonite (and yes, we know there are many many more).
On a sidenote: both Blackblaze’s CTO and its VP of Engineering previously held senior technical positions at Apple, so that should lend it quite a bit of credibility. Until something goes wrong of course, which it almost always does (multiple backups = must).
Mac users, check out Backblaze and let us know how your tests go.
Have been using BackBlaze for a couple of months and it fully delivers as promised. An excellent product that leaves no excuse for not backing up. Well-thought out UI and workflow. Apple should buy them and include it as part of MobileMe.
I also use SugarSync, another product that delivers, to sync and backup across multiple computers.
Between the two I sleep well.
I’m so happy with this product. Exelent stuff.
Wow, good product, I am sure you can work nicely with http://www.openarchive.net – for archiving on LINUX!
Slight clarification – Backblaze is going gold today (not public beta.)
Thank you,
Gleb Budman
CEO, Backblaze
Backblaze is also giving away 25 free licenses to people who install for the first time today! (You’ll be emailed tomorrow if you were one of the winners.)
Gleb
Gleb, well done with this product. It shows a focus on quality and detail.
There is a new kid on the block – online backup product that will come out later this month called CloudBerryDrive. It will be powered by amazon S3 reliable and cost efficient storage. What safer place to keep your files than Amazon’s servers?
I heard CloudBerry Drive is going to be Windows only.
Did try the Mac version of BackBlaze during the beta, but couldn’t really see what the differentiator was compared to the various other online backup facilities there are out there.
Uninstalling it was quite a challenge.
There are simple instructions on the BackBlaze website, and there is an uninstaller that can be downloaded.
https://www.bac...lp.html#install
Honestly, I don’t see the news here. Online backup companies are everywhere, and most of them already have Mac clients (see http://www.carbonite.com, http://www.mozy.com, http://www.elephantdrive.com, http://www.spideroak.com, and others).
“Emphasis on simplicity” isn’t quite innovation. What am I missing?
Lance Cabellero
cloudstorage.wordpress.com
Robin,
Why was it a challenge to uninstall?
Looking at their FAQ, it has some problems.
The largest file can only be 4GB. So forget about backing up large videos or zip archives.
Also, to backup a file you need 1.5 times the space for the file. So if you are backing up a 3Gb file, you need 4.5 GB of free space on your disk.
I just tried out backblaze for the mac and I’m not a fan. It seemed extremely hard to exclude directories and I just kept getting a message box telling my “X folder cannot be backed up.” I’ll stick with mozy for now.
I may have to give it a try. I used SugarSync for a while, and I’m in the market for one that doesn’t suck.
My files consistently fall out of sync on SugarSync. It tries to redownload all my files every couple months for no good reason, and sometimes forgets to backup what I need backed up.
Just got a new Mac. Thinking of trying MobileMe + Apple Backup.
I may have to give it a try. I used SugarSync for a while, and I’m in the market for one that doesn’t suck.
My files consistently fall out of sync on SugarSync. It tries to redownload all my files every couple months for no good reason, and sometimes forgets to backup what I need backed up.
Just got a new Mac. Thinking of trying MobileMe + Apple Backup.
I’ve been using the Mac client for a few months now, and love it! It’s a wonderfully seamless process, and such an affordable price. I also love their recovery options. Definitely worth your time/money.
Yes, there are many online backup service providers out there.
BackupReview.info has about 400 of them listed in its directory.
A very resourceful online backup site:
http://friendfe...om/onlinebackup
What kind of resource strain does it put on a Windows PC with CPU and network usage?
It looks like a very polished product, but I always fear of companies like this disappearing in the short term — along with all of my data.
> What kind of resource strain does it put on a
> Windows PC with CPU and network usage?
I’m curious about that, too, as my biggest complaint with Mozy is that it’s a big resource hog (assuming the backup hasn’t finished overnight).
I’ve been using Backblaze on my Mac for a couple of months, seems to work well, doesn’t seem to hog up system resources.
I am not doing anything custom, so can’t speak to include/exclude directories.
But had to send my laptop to the shop last week – they didn’t erase the data, but was happy I didn’t have to worry about having a back-up in case they did.
I have the basic account for Sugar Sync ($2.99 for 10GB) which I use for syncing and accessing specific work files on other computers or online, and that’s a pretty good combo.
I’m using Mozy for about 6 months now and it works well. But I will check out Blackbaze to find out what are the advantages or disadvantages.
I tried BackBlaze a few months ago and found it to be polished and well designed. The big issue for me, however, is that I want something I can use to backup a large set (~1TB) of photo and music files. Uploading this much data to their servers would have taken months. I inquired about something whereby users could send in a drive with the initial data set, but this wasn’t anything they offered. Too bad…
There is a serious issue with performance for most of these online backup services. I think IDrive performs better and provides better control over your backups, but still, local backups with some online backup is the way to go.
These services are all well and good, but the thing to find out is what happens if you have to reinstall your operating system, get a new computer, or whatever. With Backblaze when you reinstall the software you’ll have to reupload all your data, even if you copied it all onto that new computer or just moved the hard drive right in.
Mozy has the same problem, but I believe it’s only an issue if you use a private key. Sucks to back up for months, finally be set, and then find out you have to start over because you got a new computer or had to do a restore.
It would be nice if it worked with http://www.myotherdrive.com for file sharing, too. MyOtherDrive.com seems to have a cool import where they can import files from some of the other online backup sites as a redundant backup.
The Mac version is worthless. It excludes Applications, bin, dev, Developer, etc, Library, net, private, sbin, System, usr. It excludes all files over 4Gb. None of these can be overridden.
So, the claim on their home page of:
“Backup Everything
Backblaze online backup encrypts and uploads all your data – no questions asked. No picking files. No digging through folders.”
is disingenuous at best and pure and total BS at worst.
Sounds great!! But for me, nothing compares with SafeCopy Backup. It’s really easy to use, I can easily share file over 1GB. Works with mac, iPhone, USB Drives. Plus I can use one account for all my computers. And has many more functionality that I couldn’t find on other online backup providers.
Interesting article. Backups are more important today then they have ever been in my opinion, if you loose your data and you cant recover it then your business is dead. Thanks again.
Backblaze is a fine online backup service, but there are many services out there today and the one thing for sure is one size does not fit all. Some are better for Mac, others Windows, some business oriented others for the individual or small business users. Be sure to compare the online backup services out there before you choose the one you want to pay for. Online Backup Service Reviews