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This is a really interesting way to sell cloud-based storage. My parents use Dropbox for synchronisation of files on multiple computers, but they don't really u

by mryall 16y ago

This is a really interesting way to sell cloud-based storage. My parents use Dropbox for synchronisation of files on multiple computers, but they don't really understand how it acts as a backup system too. Pitching cloud storage as a safety deposit box clearly spells out the benefit to people. On a related note, Mac OS X can already create password-protected encrypted disk images with a few clicks in Disk Utility. These are great for creating a "safety deposit box" yourself on an existing system.

joebananas 16y ago
> but they don't really understand how it acts as a backup system too. Maybe your parents are just more sophisticated than you and know the difference between redundancy and backups.
- kgermino 16y ago
  Dropbox also lets you go back and open past versions of all your files, meaning that anything in your Dropbox is effectively backed up as well.
  - wizard_2 16y ago
    Versioned storage isn't a backup, but it is quite helpful. Additionally Amazon S3 does redundant storage ( http://aws.amazon.com/s3/#protecting http://aws.amazon.com/s3/#protecting ) but in the end you're relying on a single service with a single account.
    - kgermino 16y ago
      I still say Dropbox provides a legitimate backup, consider the features my free Dropbox account offers: (1) Redundancy - All files in your Dropbox are saved on every computer and stored on Dropbox's servers (2) Accessibility - Files in the Dropbox can be reached from any computer with internet access via a browser and downloaded (3) Versioned Storage - Every saved version of every file in the Dropbox going back thirty (30) days is available online (4) Deletion Protection - Every file in the Dropbox is available online and can be restored, even after the file is deleted from the computer and removed from the dropbox I may be missing something, but what exactly does a "true" backup system do that Dropbox doesn't?
      - blocke 16y ago
        You're ignoring that DropBox has access to your original copy on your computer and can just delete that one when it goes bezerk and deletes the cloud copy too. ;) With that said once a month I copy my DropBox directory to an external hard drive and call it good enough for my data.
        kgermino 16y ago
        True, I hadn't thought about that. Have you heard of it happening before? With that being said my backup dataset is way too big to make Dropbox a cost-effective solution so I also have Backblaze account that backs up everything including the local copies of my Dropbox, so personally I'm ok.
- Locke1689 16y ago
  You're playing semantics. Fundamentally all "backups" are just storage redundancy.
  - andrewvc 16y ago
    The difference is isolation. If I accidentally rm a file on a RAID, which is redundant, but not a backup, it's gone for good. Backups protect you by providing a distinct interface to >= 2 copies of a piece of data, this provides greater protection against malice, mistakes, and hardware failures.
    - cosmicray 16y ago
      As you say, RAID (specifically RAID level 1) is redundancy. Time Machine is a form of generational/chronological backup. Apple has stated that Time Machine is not archival. I wonder is this new patent is referring to an extension of TM, to the cloud, to provide something as close to archival as can be achieved.
    - foljs 16y ago
      If you delete something on your Dropbox folder, it still exists on Dropbox.
    - Locke1689 16y ago
      This is equivalent to a version-controlled FS with storage redundancy.
tzs 16y ago
> On a related note, Mac OS X can already create password-protected encrypted disk images with a few clicks in Disk Utility. There's a major annoyance with these. The dialog that accepts the password does not support paste. You actually have to type the password. I don't even want to know my password--that's the job of a password manager. I've been using TrueCrypt instead.
- borism 16y ago
  There's a major annoyance with these. The dialog that accepts the password does not support paste. You actually have to type the password. I don't even want to know my password--that's the job of a password manager. but once you do type the password into that dialog you can save it and password manager will do its' job from then on.
  - sudont 16y ago
    True, but since it’s fairly easy to disable paste in applications this was done on purpose. IIRC, Apple broke the first responder chain, and there’s workarounds to paste into it. [1] Most likely this was to prevent any script-based brute force attacks as the disk mounter does not lock down after any number of failed attempts. [1] http://hints.macworld.com/article.php?story=20040120184422156 http://hints.macworld.com/article.php?story=2004012018442215...

by mryall 16y ago

joebananas 16y ago

> but they don't really understand how it acts as a backup system too. Maybe your parents are just more sophisticated than you and know the difference between redundancy and backups.

kgermino 16y ago
Dropbox also lets you go back and open past versions of all your files, meaning that anything in your Dropbox is effectively backed up as well.
- wizard_2 16y ago
  Versioned storage isn't a backup, but it is quite helpful. Additionally Amazon S3 does redundant storage ( http://aws.amazon.com/s3/#protecting http://aws.amazon.com/s3/#protecting ) but in the end you're relying on a single service with a single account.
  - kgermino 16y ago
    I still say Dropbox provides a legitimate backup, consider the features my free Dropbox account offers: (1) Redundancy - All files in your Dropbox are saved on every computer and stored on Dropbox's servers (2) Accessibility - Files in the Dropbox can be reached from any computer with internet access via a browser and downloaded (3) Versioned Storage - Every saved version of every file in the Dropbox going back thirty (30) days is available online (4) Deletion Protection - Every file in the Dropbox is available online and can be restored, even after the file is deleted from the computer and removed from the dropbox I may be missing something, but what exactly does a "true" backup system do that Dropbox doesn't?
    - blocke 16y ago
      You're ignoring that DropBox has access to your original copy on your computer and can just delete that one when it goes bezerk and deletes the cloud copy too. ;) With that said once a month I copy my DropBox directory to an external hard drive and call it good enough for my data.
      - kgermino 16y ago
        True, I hadn't thought about that. Have you heard of it happening before? With that being said my backup dataset is way too big to make Dropbox a cost-effective solution so I also have Backblaze account that backs up everything including the local copies of my Dropbox, so personally I'm ok.
Locke1689 16y ago
You're playing semantics. Fundamentally all "backups" are just storage redundancy.
- andrewvc 16y ago
  The difference is isolation. If I accidentally rm a file on a RAID, which is redundant, but not a backup, it's gone for good. Backups protect you by providing a distinct interface to >= 2 copies of a piece of data, this provides greater protection against malice, mistakes, and hardware failures.
  - cosmicray 16y ago
    As you say, RAID (specifically RAID level 1) is redundancy. Time Machine is a form of generational/chronological backup. Apple has stated that Time Machine is not archival. I wonder is this new patent is referring to an extension of TM, to the cloud, to provide something as close to archival as can be achieved.
  - foljs 16y ago
    If you delete something on your Dropbox folder, it still exists on Dropbox.
  - Locke1689 16y ago
    This is equivalent to a version-controlled FS with storage redundancy.

tzs 16y ago

> On a related note, Mac OS X can already create password-protected encrypted disk images with a few clicks in Disk Utility. There's a major annoyance with these. The dialog that accepts the password does not support paste. You actually have to type the password. I don't even want to know my password--that's the job of a password manager. I've been using TrueCrypt instead.

borism 16y ago
There's a major annoyance with these. The dialog that accepts the password does not support paste. You actually have to type the password. I don't even want to know my password--that's the job of a password manager. but once you do type the password into that dialog you can save it and password manager will do its' job from then on.
- sudont 16y ago
  True, but since it’s fairly easy to disable paste in applications this was done on purpose. IIRC, Apple broke the first responder chain, and there’s workarounds to paste into it. [1] Most likely this was to prevent any script-based brute force attacks as the disk mounter does not lock down after any number of failed attempts. [1] http://hints.macworld.com/article.php?story=20040120184422156 http://hints.macworld.com/article.php?story=2004012018442215...