Backup Service For Mac Users

This post is a follow up to my original post on Mozy. I did download, pay for and try Mozy, and I have found it to be a truly sub-par service. The biggest problem: It crashes every time you try to back up your data. Every. Time. It has yet to finish a back up, and I've been shelling out $4.95 a month for a few months now to give it a fair shake. The second biggest problem: customer service. I've been emailing these people for about a month now with no response at all. Why have I been emailing? Because I want to cancel the service and free my credit card from further charges. There is a place to do this on their web site, but the feature is not working and it won't allow me to cancel. It's been very frustrating and if it continues much longer I'll have to go at it from the back end and alert my credit card company to refuse the charge. The third issue arises with their technical support. Their product is just not geared for the Mac or the way the Mac works. It is geared for PCs and PC users. This would be fine, if a little clunky in interface, but it causes problems when trying to fix the multitude of technical problems, like crashing, that arise with their software. They don't seem to understand that Macs do not have the same file structure as a PC. Regardless, I am actively trying to get this product off my MacBook and cancel my service. I give this software no recommendation at all for the Mac user, in spite of the attractive price.

A friend of mine was also looking for an online backup solution. She loved Carbonite when it was on her PC before she switched to a MacBook, and was excited to see on their web site that they would have a Mac version soon, but so far no Mac version has surfaced. She has tried contacting them about it on numerous occasions, and much like Mozy has received no response at all. This demonstrates a lack of customer service that simply isn't acceptable when trusting a company with your valuable data and paying them your hard-earned money.

This same friend is now using Amazon's S3 Service, and says she loves it. I may try that next, as soon as I can get untangled from Mozy. The price is right, with rates based on usage, and it has some other features that make it attractive, like data porting from one machine to another. The data porting capabilities are especially attractive when you work on a mixed platform network - it solves the issue of compatibility without having to install Windows or programs like Dave on your Mac.

I'm sure several people will email me to say I need to be patient, the first backup always takes several hours. I am aware of that. The problem with Mozy is that after several hours, it crashes. Every single time, without exception. So in this case being patient is not the answer, getting my money back is.

Another friend of mine actually owns a data backup service called eSilo. He's a trustworthy person and I hear his backup service is fantastic, but he hasn't finished the Mac version yet. Currently he only supports Windows and Linux. If that changes, I'll update this to include a link, because I certainly would use his service over most others.

I do realize Apple offers automated backups if you buy a .Mac membership. Frankly, at $90 a year I don't think they offer enough space. I would certainly exceed the space included with membership on the first upload. Even if yo could buy more space, there are enough services around at less than $90 to make that exorbitant in comparison. They also seem to be planning on including a backup service with their next generation OS, Leopard, but if it uses a similarly limited amount of space and costs as much, I can't see it being useful. It does have the bonus of being integrated with every Apple product, which always means reliability. If the fact that this back up service will always work with your Apple products with no hassles is what you are looking for, you might find .Mac and iDisk to be the backup solution for you.

Another service I have recently heard of is BackJack, a Mac based online backup service. They seem to have a 15 day free trial with 2GB of space but the cost on a monthly basis is prohibitive: $17.50 for 2GB, plus additional charges of $6.00 a month and up for each additional GB. That would make it hugely expensive for people like myself who routinely back up 10 GB or more. It has received excellent reviews for being easy to use, but for me pricing is just as important as how it works.

Another service exists that offers a solution for Mac users called iBackup. People who use them seem happy with the results, and their pricing is middle of the road at $6.00 for 5 GB. this makes them a little more affordable, but Amazon S3 still beats them on value per dollar. Plus, their Mac product seems somewhat less feature rich than their PC product - the PC product lists data porting on its options, and the Mac version does not list that. If it isn't something you need, this may be a solution for you.

Regardless of which online data backup solution you choose for your Mac, there are several things to consider before committing: price, space and ease of use. Keep those in mind as you choose and you will find the right option for your needs.