From bobrankin@MHV.NET Fri Feb 27 22:25:45 1998 Date: Wed, 11 Feb 1998 00:31:32 -0500 From: Bob RankinReply-To: TOURBUS-Request@LISTSERV.AOL.COM To: TOURBUS@LISTSERV.AOL.COM Subject: TOURBUS - 10 Feb 1998 - Even Better Backups _________ ____________ ________ __________ _____________ ___ _ / | / | | / | \ / Join the International Advisory Panel / | \ |__________|__________/__________|__________|___________/ | \ / /______|----\ | Answer Questions on Interesting Topics and |//////| | | Win $$$ Prizes. Web: http://www.AdvisoryPanel.com |//////| | Email: Info@AdvisoryPanel.com |//////| | \________________________________________________________|______|____| / \ / \ / \ \___/ \___/ T h e I n t e r n e t T o u r B u s \___/ TODAY'S TOURBUS TOPIC: Even Better Backups Hi All, Today the World's Largest Bus is going to back up to the topic of backups. I got a BUNCH of messages from Tourbus readers about how they do backups, so for completeness, I'm going to share some of those interesting ideas today. <------------------> LEARN ABOUT THE INTERNET <------------------> Wondering what your PC can do and how to get the most out of the Internet? Learn more here! http://www.connectedpc.com/cpc/learn/index.htm?iid_itm:1TB07F03& <------------------------------------------------------------------> <*><*><*><*><*><*><*> IT'S COLD IN THE DOGHOUSE! <*><*><*><*><*><*> Valentine's Day is Saturday, and FlowersFast has great prices, friendly service and fast delivery. Send Roses, Carnations or a Hershey KISS Bear Bouquet to your sweetheart. Register to win a FREE Stereo CD Player, no purchase required! <*><*> CLICK <*><*> http://www.FlowersFast.com <*><*> CLICK <*><*> In my "Better Backups" issue on 1/27, I wrote about tape drives, removable hard disks, and modem-based backups. Here are some other alternatives you should consider: TAPE BACKUP UPDATE I wrote that tape backups are not so convenient because you can't directly access files on the tape like you can with a disk. But with some special software, it turns out you can. Check out Seagate Direct Tape Access (for Win95 - www.seagate.com) or Tape-It from PGSoft (Win3.x - www.pgsoft.com). Basically, this lets you use your tape drive as a very slow hard disk, but you can list, copy and open files like usual. REMOVABLE DRIVE OPTIONS In addition to the high-capacity Iomega Jaz and the Syquest SyJet drives, check out the new Syquest SparQ. It costs $200, and uses a 1-Gig cartridge that goes for about $30. This makes the SparQ a MUCH better price-performer than Jaz ($100/1-Gig Cartridge) or the SyJet ($80/1.5-Gig Cartridge). So unless you already have one installed, or need to share data with a friend who has one of them, the SparQ looks like a much better value. For details, visit Syquest at http://www.syquest.com/. And if you're willing to wait a few months, you can try the CastleWood Orb Drive. The Orb is supposed to retail for about $199 and have a 2.1 GB removable cartridge which will retail for $30.00. Additionally, there will be a 4.7 GB cartridge which will be available for about $60.00 in late 1998. For more info on this drive, see http://www.castlewoodsystems.com One reader also mentioned the Summatec MobileDrive, which has a capacity of up to 3-Gig and a blazing fast 16.7 MB per second transfer rate. For info, see http://www.summatec.com/. ZIP DRIVES AND THE "CLICK OF DEATH" Some Iomega Zip drive users are reporting a problem that has come to be known as the "click of death." In some cases, their Zip drives refuse to read disks and instead produce a loud clicking sound. The problem affects the drive, the disk in it at the time, and other disks inserted later. If this happens to you, the disk will be permanently unreadable. But wait... this just in. A message on the Unofficial Iomega Click of Death Mailing List (see http://www.thirdeyesp.com/jatin/iomega) reports that putting the afflicted disk IN THE FREEZER for a few hours, and allowing it to warm to room temperature cured the problem! Your mileage may vary, but I can't see any harm in trying it. HARD DISKS AND CDROMS Install a second hard disk, either internally or in an external carrier. They're cheap now, and you can do a backup in a very small amount of time. But beware: If you use the DOS XCOPY command to archive your data, you'll have to handle "hidden" files manually. CDROMs - either CD-R (a write-once disk) or CD-RW (rewriteable) may suit your needs. You'll have to cough up $400-500 for the hardware, but the disks are ridiculously cheap at $2-$4 for 650MB of storage. PRO: If you spill your Jolt on a CD, it's no big deal to clean it. CON: You need a bunch of them to back up a large hard drive. REMOTE BACKUP TWIST One person wrote to tell me about another modem-based backup system called RBACKUP from Quantum Tech. Turns out these folks have been in the remote backup business for over a decade, and are recognized leaders in the field. By contrast to the other products I've reviewed here, RBACKUP is designed to backup other people's data - not your own - using a modem. I checked out the RBACKUP website, chatted with company founder Rob Cosgrove, and came away impressed. Over 3500 people around the world use RBACKUP to provide data backup service to small businesses, as a part or full-time job. All you need is a modest 486 computer with modem, some basic computer knowledge, and the RBACKUP BizKit to get rolling. The backups are all automated, and the client doesn't have to fuss with tapes or invest in any hardware to secure their data. It's definitely not a get-rich-quick type of thing, but if you're looking for a legitimate home-based enterprise that has nothing to do with vitamins, phone cards, chain letters, or cleaning products, this could be it. RBACKUP was even recommended by Paul & Sarah Edwards, the well-known self-employment gurus, as an excellent opportunity. Oh, and Mr. Cosgrove told me that he's willing to offer TOURBUS riders a $25 discount on RBACKUP, if you visit this "secret" web page in the next few days: http://www.alice.net/rbs Check it out, and if you decide to try RBACKUP, drop me a line in a few months to let me know how things work out! See you next time. --Bob =====================[ Tourbus Rider Information ]=================== The Internet Tourbus - U.S. Library of Congress ISSN #1094-2238 Copyright 1995-97, Rankin & Crispen - All rights reserved Archives on the Web at http://www.TOURBUS.com Join: Send SUBSCRIBE TOURBUS Your Name to LISTSERV@LISTSERV.AOL.COM Leave: Send SIGNOFF TOURBUS to LISTSERV@LISTSERV.AOL.COM =====================================================================
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