Leopard's Time Machine: backup like it should be

Stuart Corner
Tuesday, 08 August 2006 10:52

Opinion and Analysis

If the previewed promises of Leopard, the next iteration of the Mac OS X operating system, are realised Apple will have done for backup what it did for the operating systems 22 years ago when it launched the Mac: made it easy and intuitive to use. For years the gold standard in backup for the Mac was Dantz Retrospect: it was conceived for the Mac but the Windows version became the tail that wagged the dog and the situation has not improved since the acquisition of Dantz by storage giant EMC corporation. At its best, Retrospect was never the most user friendly piece of software.

Now with Leopard, previewed at Apples' World Wide Developers launch and due for launch in the northern Spring of 2007, comes Time Machine, Apple's automated system that "regularly backs up everything on your Mac — music, photos, movies, documents". And it won't let you forget easily. The first time you attach an external drive to a Mac running Leopard, Time Machine asks if you'd like to back up to that drive.

Once Time Machine is set in motion, Apple claims it can keep track of every version of every file you have ever created, and let you find it easily with a browser-based interface.

According to Apple's preview: "Right from the start, Time Machine in Mac OS X Leopard makes a complete backup of all the files on your system. That includes your system files, applications, accounts, preferences, music, photos, movies, documents — everything you keep on your Mac.

"As you make changes, Time Machine only backs up what changes, all the while maintaining a comprehensive layout of your system...Since backups are stored on your device by date, you can browse through your entire system as it appeared on any date."

Time Machine is claimed to minimise the space required on the backup device, but even so if every version of every file created is retained, including old versions of applications, system files etc storage requirements for long term backup could be considerable.

The cost per gigabyte of hard disc storage has however plummeted in recent years, and continues to fall. And that as much as software innovation is what makes Time Machine possible.

Until recently, for the average consumer, backups might not have seemed a high priority but with an ever increasing percentage of the population now using digital cameras to record significant moments in their lives the potential for a personal disaster of the data destruction kind is now much greater. The time is definitely ripe for a product like Time Machine.

Many people are notoriously neglectful of backups and even those that zealously backup their data overlook, until the crunch comes, the amount of effort involved in recreating their hard disc with all its system files, applications, preference settings etc. Time Machine, according to the preview caters for that eventuality also, "With Time Machine, you can restore your whole system from any past backups."

Can't find a file you want? Apple says you can "just enter Time Machine's time-based browser to see a snapshot of how your entire system looked on any given day — file by file. When you find the file you want, just select it and restore it. Time Machine brings it into the present. You can do the same with a group of files, whole folders, even your entire system. With a single click."

Apple has not gone into details but it does suggest that your Mac will at least have to be bootable to do this. Leopard notwithstanding, this Mac user won't be changing his spots: He'll be updating a bootable clone of his hard drive every week as has been is wont for several years.