Has backup moved past removable media?

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by Stephen Withers

Monday, 12 May 2008

Page 2 of 3 If you don't have a huge amount of data that changes every day, backing up to DVD is about as cheap as it comes - around 11c per gigabyte using brand-name discs. Depending on your needs and strategy, you may be able to achieve an even lower cost with a mix of regular and rewritable DVD media. The latter costs a little over $A1 per disc, but can be reused many times. (I always tell my backup software to verify the files written to DVD, and I've always been able to recover files from DVD-RW when I've needed to.) Related stories Dell records boom growth in Asia Pac and Japan Google 'views' success with Video ID SMS records strong growth Demand growing for mobile content and services Sony takes page out of Xbox 360 book in PS3 hardware change The trouble with using DVD is that if the data you're backing up won't fit on one disc, the job's less likely to be done with the regularity it deserves. But back to the survey. It was carried out by Galaxy Research for Gizmo, a company that provides technology support to Australian homes - including the installation of backup systems. The report draws on 514 interviews, but there's no indication of how respondents were selected. Significantly, the most common type of information that respondents feared losing was digital photos. The majority of other types mentioned were replaceable, though replacement would incur a cost in terms of money or time (eg music tracks may have to be repurchased, while recreating a work or study document takes time), but most photos are simply irreplaceable. The survey also suggests the old saw that I quoted at the beginning of this article isn't true after all: while only 15 percent of respondents said they back up at least once a week, 30 percent of them reported accidentally losing or deleting important files. So what's with the other 15 percent? More than one person in seven has lost an important file, but still doesn't back up regularly? I suppose some of them may back up regularly but less frequently. If you go on a photographic 'expedition' once a month, there's no need to back up your photos every week. But that still leads a surprising number that are leaving themselves vulnerable to a repeat performance. And there's another problem. << First page <   1 2 3 Next page > Last page - Post your comment >>

 

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