-=PCTechTalk=- Re: online backup sites (My Humble Opinion)
- From: "Larry Southerland"<larrysoutherland@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- To: pctechtalk@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
- Date: Fri, 15 Aug 2008 10:57:11 -0400
First, it should not be your only backup strategy. You should also back up
your data to a 2d (external hard drive) or to DVDs.
Second, I would get a "strong" encryption program and encrypt any valuable
or personal data prior to uploading it to the server. Consider the problems
of data theft by disgruntled employees, members of the Russian mafia,
crackers, etc.
Third, if you disregard point #1, how long could you live without your data
should your internet connection fail or your ISP have problems, etc. This
is one of the major issues which may hinder the evolution of what is called
"cloud computing," where your data and your applications are stored on a
server and you have a very, very simple OS ("thin client," anyone?) whose
function is merely to get you to the OS so that you can do your work.
Coincidentally, here's an article that came out just a few days ago:
Can You Trust Your Applications to "the Cloud"?
There has been a lot of talk lately in tech circles about "cloud computing,"
but what is it, really? The "cloud" refers to the Internet (based on the
symbol used to represent the Internet in network diagrams) and computing "in
the cloud" refers to using applications and services that are provided over
the Internet, rather than being installed on your local computer. Perhaps
the best- known aspect of cloud computing is "software as a service" (SaaS).
With SaaS, instead of buying application programs, you rent them. Now, some
would argue that's what we already do, since technically you buy a license
to use an application, and don't "own" the program itself. However, the
traditional model does provide you with a copy of the application software
and does grant you the right to use it indefinitely on the computer on which
you install it. When you buy a license for Office, PhotoShop, or some other
application and put it on your system, it's good until the hardware breaks
down or the OS goes belly up - and under most licenses, if that happens, you
have the right to install the program on a new system (assuming it's
compatible with the new operating system).
When you pay for software as a service, it's usually for a specific amount
of time. SaaS usually operates on a subscription model, so that you pay a
certain amount per month or per year to use the software. In other cases,
you may pay on a metered basis; you're charged for the amount of time you
use the service or for the resources that you consume when using it. This is
often called utility computing. The subscription model works similarly to
cable TV service; you choose a level of service and pay the same fee each
month, regardless of how much or how little you watch TV. The utility model
works more like your electric service; your bill varies from month to month,
depending on how much you use the service.
Applications aren't the only thing that can reside in the cloud. Another
popular cloud-based service is online storage: you can rent space on a
server, to which you upload your files over the Internet. Storage is usually
paid for on a utility basis (based on the number of megabytes or gigabytes
of space you use). Some services advertise "unlimited" storage but if you
read the fine print, you discover that most of these reserve the right to
cancel your account if you "abuse" the privilege - meaning you use more
space than they deem to be appropriate. For instance, Carbonite is one
service that claims to offer "unlimited" backup for $49.95 per year, "no
matter how much you need to back up." But if you read the Terms of Service,
you find that "Users who are deemed to be 'abusers,' in Carbonite's sole
discretion, may be notified prior to suspension or termination of their
accounts, however, Carbonite reserves the right to terminate or suspend such
accounts without prior notice in the event of a policy violation." Readers
who went over the apparent unwritten limit of 100 GB have had their accounts
canceled, as noted here:
http://www.wxpnews.com/UK4C38/080812-Carbonite
Carbonite is by no means the only company to place limits on its "unlimited"
services; in fact, if you read the fine print, you'll find that most of them
do.
Despite this somewhat deceptive advertising, cloud services do offer
advantages to users. First, you can pay less for hardware because you don't
need the disk space on which to install big programs or store large amounts
of data. Depending on the cost of the service, you may also pay less to rent
an application (especially if you use it only occasionally and rent it under
a utility model) than you would have to pay to buy a full software license.
Modern application suites can be expensive. A full license for Microsoft
Office 2007 Ultimate Edition costs $679.95. The full license for Adobe
PhotoShop CS3 Extended costs $999. In addition, when you rent software as a
service, you may be able to upgrade to the newest version without paying a
hefty upgrade fee (Office Ultimate upgrade is $539; PhotoShop CS3 Extended
upgrade is $349).
Because a large pool of users share the service, the cost per user can be
significantly less than when each user's computer must have the resources to
host the applications and data itself. Just as it's more expensive, in most
cases, for individual homes to run their own electrical generators or
operate their own wells for water than to buy power and water from the
utility companies, this economy of numbers also applies to many computing
tasks.
Another advantage of cloud computing is that when your applications and data
storage aren't tied to your own computer, you can easily access them from
any system, anywhere. No longer do you have to buy extra licenses if you
want to use Word on your home desktop, office desktop, and laptop. And when
your data is stored in the cloud, you don't have to worry about a local
disaster (fire, flood, etc.) wiping it out.
There are obvious disadvantages to the cloud computing concept, too.
Security may be an issue; although the centralized management theoretically
can provide better security and the service provider may be able to afford
security solutions that individual users can't, you lose some of the control
over your data and it is exposed to "middle men" in the form of the
service's personnel.
But probably the biggest downside is the total reliance on the Internet
that's created by cloud computing. If my applications and data live out
there somewhere "in the cloud," that means that if I don't have an Internet
connection, I don't have my applications and data, either. Today, if the
'Net goes down, I can still work on that article I'm writing in Word, enter
or access my tax information on Excel spreadsheets stored on my local
network, use PhotoShop to touch up the wedding photos I took last week, or
just play Tetris. If all my apps and data were in the cloud, I'd be stuck
with a pretty useless hunk of hardware until the connection came back up.
Granted, our FiOS line has, during the few years we've had it, experienced
phenomenal uptime and we do have an emergency backup in the form of the
EV-DO connection and data plan on the cell phones, but I still don't like
the idea of being at the mercy of Internet connectivity to be able to get
anything at all done.
Nonetheless, cloud computing seems to be the way we're headed. Microsoft,
IBM, Google and other giants in the tech industry are all embracing the
cloud. Microsoft's Office Live Workspace is a "cloud" service with more
emphasis on storage; it works in conjunction with the Microsoft Office
applications installed on your computer, rather than in place of them. There
are many other Windows Live offerings that provide specific services, such
as the Live Writer blogging tool and Live Photo Gallery, which lets you edit
pictures online:
http://www.wxpnews.com/UK4C38/080812-Live-Writer
Google goes further, with its online applications such as Google Docs, an
"in the cloud" word processing, spreadsheet and presentation application
that's intended to compete with Microsoft Word, Excel and PowerPoint:
http://www.wxpnews.com/UK4C38/080812-Google-Docs
Of course, the best known and most used "cloud" service has been around for
a long time: web-based email. Hotmail, Gmail, Yahoo! mail and others have
become the primary email systems of many users, in large part because of the
advantages discussed earlier (no requirement to install software on your
computer, ability to access it from anywhere, low/no cost).
The transition to cloud computing hasn't been going completely smoothly,
though. Even if your own Internet connection is rock solid reliable, the
service itself can go down and leave you stranded. Last month, this blog
post appeared in my local newspaper, from a reporter who was researching
challenges facing Google in the enterprise market when the word processor he
was using to write it - Google Docs - was abruptly shut down:
http://www.wxpnews.com/UK4C38/080812-Google-Docs-Outage
It wasn't a one-time occurrence. Last week (August 6), both Gmail and Google
Apps users found their work disrupted by a 15 hour outage. Now, you could
say "you get what you pay for" and note that people who use free services
shouldn't expect perfect service. And although some of the folks affected by
the outage were in fact paying for the premiere version of the service, it's
still cheap at $50/year. This article says these users run their businesses
on Google Apps and were pretty outraged when they found themselves unable to
get or send their mail or work on their documents:
http://www.wxpnews.com/UK4C38/080812-Google-Apps-Outage
I understand why they're upset, but then I'm not sure how smart it is to
allow your business to rely on a free/cheap service. On the other hand, it's
the nature of the Internet that even the most expensive, truly
business-oriented services with built in redundancy may very well go down
occasionally, too. I'm not sure I want to trust my applications and data to
any service in a nebulous cloud - at least, not until the technology is way
more proven than it is today. What about you? Do you look forward to the day
when all we'll need are cheap, low powered Internet appliances, when we can
do all our computing tasks through our web browsers, and we can rent our
software applications for as long or short a time as we need them? Do you
think it's a great idea to store your data on somebody else's server and let
them worry about disk space and security? Or are you wary about giving up
control to nameless, faceless IT people in some server room half way across
the country, whose phone number you don't even know so you call to complain
if you're suddenly cut off from your programs and documents? Will cloud
computing cut costs for users, or is it a way for providers to "nickel and
dime" us to death and end up getting more of our money over the long run
than they do when we buy licenses for their software? Let us know what you
think about this subject, at feedback@xxxxxxxxxxxx
-----Original Message-----
From: pctechtalk-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
[mailto:pctechtalk-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx] On Behalf Of Matt Moceri
Sent: Friday, August 15, 2008 10:01 AM
To: pctechtalk@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
Subject: -=PCTechTalk=- online backup sites
I sent this yesterday but I never received it! That probably means nobody
else did either so here goes again.
Has anybody felt a need to use one of these free online backup sites? Do
you think because they're free you data is not safe. If you used 3
different sites with 2 gb @ that's 6gb of free storage! (Carbonite 2gb is
free where I have my webpage.) Opinions anybody.
Thanks, Matt
Carbonite at
http://tinyurl.com/5pbbq8
http://mozy.com/free?refE1c76aa
http://www.idrive.com/online-backup-features.htm
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