Online backups have been allowing people to store files, whether domestic or corporate, offsite since 2008. People can save data on other devices, of course, such as CD or memory stick, (and, before these were developed, floppy disk) but these are devices that can get damaged or lost. Computers, especially laptops, can be lost or stolen, and they can also be corrupted or damaged by fire or flood, so important documents and other files need to be kept safe but available. However, the devices that are used for backing up also need to be kept safe; many people back up their data on to, say, a CD, only to leave the CD in the vicinity of the computer itself; even kept in the same house could prove disastrous should the house catch fire or suffer a burglary. Another more reliable way was needed, but one that was safe, secure, efficient, and easy to use.

Dropbox created the concept of online backups, having recognised the demand for such a service before anyone else had even thought it was possible; the system it developed eased its users’ file storage and safety worries, and soon picked up a respectable fan base. Indeed, many of its users are happy with the system that Dropbox provides for them and, if questioned, would be reluctant to change; human nature being what it is, people are willing to put a lot of research into something new but, once they have made their decision, all they then want is to be reassured by it. Today, though, advances in technology move at break-neck speed, and what seems ideal one day can look distinctly outdated the next; online backups are no exception to this, and Dropbox can no longer take its users for granted.

Online backup solutions are not only proliferating, each new one is being developed with a firm eye on the competition. The one that offers the most for the least amount of outlay, will be the one that takes centre stage. Even so, no online backup service today can afford to sit back and relax.

New services are being launched all the time, and that place at the top of the online backup tree is continually there for the taking. While Dropbox may have started the idea, and collected many followers as it evolved, other pretenders to the throne have not been far behind; now, some of them have caught up, and are poised to take them down.

Google Drive, launched in April this year, is rapidly taking the spotlight away from Dropbox. In the Which? Text Daily report of 25 April, Google Drive is described as ‘Google’s Dropbox Killer’ a title that should strike fear into the heart of Dropbox implying, as it does, the demise of Dropbox itself.

What matters to potential users:

Online Storage Capacity:
Dropbox and Google Drive offer the same basic service but with some notable differences, not least the amount of file storage capacity. Dropbox’s free 2GB, compared to Google Drive’s 5GB, also free, looks mean. Even Google Drive’s paid-for storage offers greater value for money. Dropbox really needs to increase the amount of storage it provides.

Pricing:
Prices vary depending on the plan chosen by the user but, overall, Dropbox’s paid-for options are dearer than Google Drive’s, and offer less storage. As time goes on, file storage capacity will be one of the over-riding priorities for potential online backup users when they are deciding which system to use. Dropbox needs to make this one of their priorities, too.

Many of Dropbox’s users are fiercely loyal to its service, although this probably has more to do with the fact that they are used to how it works, than for any other reason. Most people prefer to stay with something they know, but this loyalty cannot be taken for granted. Complacency has destroyed many a previously-thriving corporation, so an awareness of what is going on in the wider world is essential.

It would be a good idea right now for Dropbox to wake up and take a good look outside its own bubble. OK, it did command the top spot, and so it deserved to; after all, online backups is Dropbox’s baby but, to avoid getting left behind, it needs to up its game, starting today.

Even though it is totally free, Dropbox is one of our very favorite web applications here at Gadgets and Technology News.

We’re constantly surprised though by how many of our readers have never even heard of Dropbox so I decided to write a review to explain what Dropbox is and how you can benefit from it.

In short, Dropbox is a safe and secure disk drive in the sky where you can keep copies of your documents, photos and videos.

To get started with Dropbox, you simply sign up for a free account and download the software to your computer. This then gives you an additional folder (often on your desktop) and any files you put in this folder are automatically saved to your ‘disk drive in the sky’.

So why is this useful?

Here’s just a few ways that we use Dropbox…

1/ A Secure Backup

Too many people have all of their important files, photos etc on their computer but with no backup copy. If your computer dies… and they easily can do … or your hard-drive gets corrupted, then you could lose everything on your computer. All those important holiday photos gone forever as well as emails, downloads and important documents with no way of recovering them.

There are of course lots of ways of creating an automated backup (such as with an external hard drive or an automated online backup service such as our favorite Carbonite) but many don’t want the extra expense of this and so simply don’t have any backup!

With Dropbox, you can simply copy all of your important documents to your Dropbox folder and as if by magic, you have a backup of them ‘in the cloud’ which you can retrieve at any time and from any computer.

2/ Your Files Available to you Anywhere

Not so many years ago most people were lucky to have one computer. These days many people with have all or a selection of a desktop, a laptop or netbook, an iPad or other tablet, and an iPhone or other Smartphone (which is essentially a tiny but powerful computer).

So, what happens if you have a file on your desktop computer but need it on your iPad or iPhone?  Again this is where Dropbox comes in!

Once you have your free Dropbox account you can download the software onto any computer or laptop, and access your files from there. There are also apps for iPhone, iPad, Android and Blackberry so you can access your files from there too. And with the Dropbox website you can even access your files from any computer anywhere in the world as long as you can get internet access.

3/ Share Files with One Person or Lots of People

If you have a number of photos or large files that you need to send to a friend then what do you do?  Many people will try to email them but often email hosts have a 10MB limit and it can take ages to do too. Maybe you could put them on a CD or memory stick …. but not so easy if your friend lives hundreds of miles away!

With Dropbox, you have two options:

1/ Within the Dropbox folder on your computer you can create a subfolder that you can easily and securely give access to your friend (or a number of friends). Any files you add to this subfolder will be accessible to them immediately and they can also add files to the folder on their computer that will be accessible to you.

It’s perfectly secure though, as only the person or people that you have given authority to will be able to access the subfolder and of course they will only be able to access that subfolder and not anything you put in your other Dropbox folders.

2/ Within your Dropbox folder there is a subfolder called ‘Public’. If for example you put a photo in this subfolder and then right-mouse-clicked on it, you would be given a public link to that photo.  For example, here’s a public link to the Gadgets and Technology News logo:  http://dl.dropbox.com/u/1360536/New-Gadgets-Logo200w.jpg    Once you have this link, you can give it to anyone you like and they will be able to download that file. You could for example, email the link to a number of friends so they could download your photo.

So there are three great uses for Dropbox. There are certainly more that you’ll discover when you join but I think that’s plenty to get you started. It’s totally free so please do give Dropbox a try… we know you’ll love it as much as we do!

As we said Dropbox is totally free for up to 2GB of storage space but we’ve got a special link that will give you a further 250MB of space for free too.

Just click here now to get your Free Dropbox

iland Internet Solutions, a premier provider of cloud infrastructure services, and Acronis, a leading provider of easy-to-use disaster recovery and data protection solutions for physical, virtual and cloud environments, today announced the global expansion of their joint cloud-based business continuity solution, with the launch of iland’s vCloud Services site in the UK. This is iland’s second vCloud services site, the first being in the US, announced in 2010.

The companies’ 18-month partnership remains focused on providing their partners and business of all sizes with the flexibility to quickly recover both locally and in the cloud with a single, easy to use solution. By leveraging Acronis Backup & Recovery® 11 the vendor’s flagship product for physical and virtual servers, and iland’s vCloud Services, a VMware vCloud Powered Service, organizations can quickly and easily restore operations by securely harnessing the power of an entire virtual datacenter for the recovery of data or their production environment.

iland and Acronis certified partners in North America and EMEA can take this solution to market as a co-branded offering or under their own brand. By providing subscription-based licensing for Acronis Backup & Recovery 11, iland’s partners are delivering a cost effective solution while maintaining complete control over the restoration process.

“We’ve worked with iland in the United States for some time now and it’s great to see them open a data center in the UK. A third of US companies do not have offsite backup, yet cloud adoption is expected to expand by 87% this year, so this is a great market opportunity. The extension of our joint venture presents huge benefit to both end users and the partner community,’ said Izzy Azeri, General Manager and Vice President, Americas at Acronis.

A growing number of organizations are using online backup to protect their data by cost-effectively streamlining the recovery process to a secure cloud computing environment. Acronis Backup & Recovery® 11 is installed on production servers and replicates data and system state over a site to site VPN to a cloud based repository at iland. Once the initial backup is received only the de-duplicated changes are compressed and replicated to the repository, minimizing storage requirements. By extending the LAN environment via VPN, a single server or a collection of servers can be restored in iland’s vCloud Services environment with a few clicks, providing flexibility during downtime.

iland vCloud Services deliver an entire virtual datacenter through a simple and secure self-service portal built on VMware vCloud Director. This enterprise cloud infrastructure empowers users to restore systems in minutes and simply pay for their consumption.

“We thought it was important to extend the capabilities of the iland Continuity Cloud to provide our customers and partners with the means to recover a portion or even their entire environment within minutes,” said Dante Orsini, iland Vice President, business development. “The Acronis team shares this vision and through our integration of vCloud Services we are delivering a powerful solution that goes beyond cloud hype by providing an easy to use platform for the protection and recovery of data and systems locally and in the cloud”.

“We have evaluated several cloud solutions and frankly not found a platform that would provide our team with the ability to manage the recovery of files and systems quickly without breaking the bank” explains Keith Williams, Managing Director at Netexperts, a UK based IT Professional Services organization. “iland’s joint offering with Acronis is leading the way forward for our clients as we are able to deliver a single integrated solution for backup, recovery and even production cloud capacity on our terms.”

This joint solution is available today. For more information or to enquire about the new partner certification please visit: http://www.iland.com/data-replication/acronis

BackupAssist continues to be one of the only backup software products on the market that integrates with the performance reports of Windows Small Business Servers, including SBS 2003, SBS 2008 and now, with the release of BackupAssist v6.2.4, SBS 2011 as well.

SBS performance reports give users a quick view of the overall health of their server, including any issues that need attention. With BackupAssist’s Performance Report Integration, System Administrators can see the status of the latest BackupAssist backup simply by reviewing the SBS Performance Report summary on any Small Business Server.

“We’ve always done our best to integrate with as many of the features that are already built into Windows as possible. A business owner has already invested money in Windows, so it makes sense to take advantage of its capabilities where you can and when appropriate. Where there are gaps in Microsoft, we try to fill them with our own solutions, but where there are features that just need a little extra polish to make them functional, we use them as much as we can,” explains Linus Chang, CEO and Lead Developer of BackupAssist.

“While the Microsoft SBS backup wizard is lacking in several key features, such as email reporting, user-friendly media rotation and full hardware support, fundamentally it provides a great way of backing up and restoring an entire system from bare metal. This is precisely why we leverage off this built-in Windows functionality. There’s no reason why a third-party software vendor like us shouldn’t integrate with features already in Windows: it saves on development time, which ultimately saves the consumer a lot of money without sacrificing on functionality,” comments Linus.

“We’d already developed BackupAssist to integrate with SBS 2003 and SBS 2008 reporting, so it made perfect sense to update the software to be compatible with SBS 2011 as well,” continues Linus Chang.

SBS Performance Report Integration is enabled as part of the normal BackupAssist installation and setup process – no special configuration is required. After installing BackupAssist v6.2.4 or later, upon accessing the Backup and Server Storage section of the Microsoft Windows SBS Console, users will see a message indicating that BackupAssist is managing backups on your system.

“Upon launching the Windows SBS Console, a user will be able to see the status of their backup immediately within the server report summary, which has been directly inserted by BackupAssist. Users can even click the ‘Details’ link for a detailed HTML report of the BackupAssist backup,” explains Linus.

SBS Report Integration comes free as part of a BackupAssist license purchase and works with any backup job configured in BackupAssist. You can download a 30-day free trial of BackupAssist from their website http://www.backupassist.com

Historically, tornado season spans from April to June and tornadoes commonly hit an area in the U.S. ranging from northwest Texas across Oklahoma and Kansas, known as tornado alley. But, as this year has shown us, tornadoes can hit anywhere and at any time of year.

24 Hour Data Encourages Regular Back Ups to Protect Data During a Disaster
How can you protect data in the event of a tornado or any natural disaster? Perform regular back-ups of data and follow these tips:

1. Maintain three forms of data backup, including at least one remote back-up that can be accessed over the web.
2. Rely on storage “in the cloud” so you can access data in the event of an emergency anywhere in the world, from any computer with Internet access;
3. Unplug computers during a storm to prevent damage caused by power surges;
4. Keep the phone number for 24 Hour Data handy for emergency data recovery services, in case a computer can’t access files or the Internet to start the data recovery process online.

Tornadoes Harm Hard Drives, Causing a Need for Data Recovery

A hard drive that’s been knocked around and thrown by tornado winds can suffer shock damage. Floods and heavy rains from thunderstorms associated with twisters can also damage hard drives, as can power surges, often caused when power lines experience tornado force winds or direct contact with a twister. In all these cases, it’s possible that data recovery specialists can recover data through complex physical and logical data recovery.

For businesses ravaged by a tornado, recovering lost data can make the difference between staying in business or closing shop forever. For a family that’s lost their home to a tornado, finding family photos on a recovered hard drive provides a link to the past and hope for the future.

“Our data recovery specialists aren’t policemen, firefighters or emergency responders who save lives. We owe those people a huge debt of gratitude for their actions during events like the Joplin tornado,” says 24 Hour Data President Sean Wade. “But our emergency data recovery services give us a small opportunity to be heroes to business owners and individuals who rely on crucial data stored on computers that may now be damaged to the point where do-it-yourself data recovery just won’t work.”

24 Hour Data offers 24/7 Emergency Recovery Service and Fair Pricing

“A computer, hard drive or server can be a lifeline to recovering some of what people have lost in a natural disaster,” Wade adds. “We understand this, and that’s why we pride ourselves on offering round-the-clock 24 Hour Data recovery service, and honest price quotes.”

In most cases, 24 Hour Data offers a free diagnostic for data recovery within 24 hours of receiving storage media, including hard drive recovery, RAID recovery, SSD recovery, and Mac recovery. Most data recovery services can be accomplished within 48 hours. And if 24 Hour Data can’t recover lost data, there’s no charge for the service.

24 Hour Data has data recovery specialists standing by to offer data recovery services across the U.S. Call us today at 866-598-DATA to find out more.

Codero announces a service to help businesses of all sizes increase the reliability of their backup strategies. The provider of optimized hosting infrastructure will assist customers with designing, deploying and managing Disaster Recovery (DR) customized to their needs. The off-site backup solution can help ensure business continuity of mission-critical applications, data, hardware and communications in the event of an unplanned service failure or disaster.

Relying on EVault backup storage, data is securely transferred and continuity is ensured through network storage to help avoid data loss. Disaster Recovery from Codero is available for small and large enterprises all over the world and can be specifically designed to meet technical and budget requirements. As an extra layer of data center protection for dedicated hosting and cloud computing, Disaster Recovery supports all operating systems including Windows®, Linux and Unix®.

Disaster Recovery can be created by simply adding EVault off-site storage to a server or by adding EVault off-site storage to load balanced servers. Customers can set their own data backup schedules and can pay for only the storage used. There are no setup fees.

About Codero

BluPointe Disaster Recovery Service (DRS) today announced its BDR flexible backup solutions for fast and complete disaster recovery (DR), utilizing silent data corruption prevention technology and capable of supporting multiple servers and workstations.

BluPointe’s BDR service provides a significant improvement over the performance of earlier backup processes that may be consuming an inordinate amount of capacity and processing time. Businesses and organizations serious about avoiding unplanned downtime are turning to DR strategies that integrate BluPointe’s file level backup and Bare Metal backup in one product.

BluPointe’s BDR Bare Metal Image Support unit provides both a local and remote complete image of servers and workstations for unparalleled disaster recovery. Each BDR supports multiple servers and workstations, and utilizes silent data corruption prevention technology that works proactively to verify the integrity of all data. It also supports local file and folder backups and complete image backups for laptops and other non-critical systems.

“When a company of any size experiences system downtime, the losses incurred can run in the hundreds of thousands of dollars,” said Rob Roberts, BluPointe CEO. “Our software can have a company’s critical server or workstation back up within minutes, and easily recover any missing data.

“Another perk, it is easy to increase storage and memory for an in-service BDR, which means there is no need to purchase a new unit if the business grows more than anticipated.”

BluPointe’s BDR systems will enable customers to handle even the most demanding data protection requirements cost-effectively, with flexible pricing to suit every individual organization’s needs.

Cyberlab launches Cyberbackup; the only backup solution needed for business and personal data. This is the solution for people on the go and businesses using remote computers worldwide. Take away the fear of losing critical documents with a trusted resource available at inexpensive prices.

Cyberbackup data is 100% encrypted for the ultimate safety and is accessible on-line for the ultimate convenience. Cyberbackup can synchronize files, replicate folders, and perform backups like never before. This software saves time, is innovative and fast and has been tested by average PC users.

Personal data files that can be protected include:

* Family photos
* Personal documents
* Music and videos

Business:

* Avoid data loss to keep business running smoothly
* No backup operator or network admin needed
* Can improve backup and recover times from hours to minutes

Cyberbackup provides

* Automatic backup – users simply set it and forget it
* Free unlimited customer support
* 60 day 100% money back guarantee
* Access to files anywhere, anytime

Cyberbackup is designed for Microsoft windows. Enrollment in the service begins at $9.95 a month. “All of our software goes through rigorous testing both in-house and with users that have no technical experience,” says Carl D. Haugen III, President of Cyberlab. “We believe in getting the kinks out before releasing a product so when any of our software hits the market, it is foolproof and successful from day one.”

Cyberlabs reputation for futuristic software made easy is a goal achieved since 2004. Cyberlab tests each product with average PC users before releasing any software. Average PC users run the software and give feedback as to how to automate advanced features and simplify programs. The Cyberlab approach is –software for people, not geeks.

Contact: Carl D. Haugen III, CdO, HsD
Company: Cyberlab

http://cyberlab.com

Phone: 561-469-5393

Keeping desktop files in sync and backed up in the cloud has never been easier with Smartbins’ new mySmartbins™ desktop client. mySmartbins enables users to quickly upload and backup their files and folders without logging in to Smartbins’ web-based file sharing and document management solution. Users can choose to backup entire folders or files to their Smartbins account and can select whether or not to enable automatic sync each time these items are altered. mySmartbins serves as the most user-friendly link between the desktop and the cloud, and streamlines collaboration processes for businesses.

“Our focus with Smartbins is always on improving the speed at which users can collaborate and store important files and folders in our cloud-based application,” remarked Shawn Ryan, VP Product and Marketing, BlueTie, Inc. “Our free desktop tool affords Smartbins users the ability to quickly upload and backup files to their account without having to log in to the application via a web-browser. Users can choose to automatically sync files or entire folders with Smartbins each time these items are altered or updated ensuring that no document is lost if their desktop fails.”

Smartbins is the most intuitive file sharing and document management tool for small and midsized businesses and lets users upload and tag any file type by subject matter instead of burying it in folders like in competing solutions. Files and documents are organized in libraries by tags so they are easy to locate, download or revise. Revised documents uploaded with mySmartbins retain their original file tags and library location and are uploaded as a revision to the original, not a replacement, with the total number of versions continuously updated and easy to preview before downloading.

“By tracking revisions and enhancing our file preview functionality we’re enabling our users to most effectively locate and collaborate on mission critical documents,” said Ryan, “We continue to enhance Smartbins for our users and look forward to building on the foundation of the mySmartbins desktop client and delivering the most intuitive and efficient solution to market.”

In keeping with its mission to help consumers secure, organize, and enjoy their digital lives, MiMedia has added a number of innovative feature enhancements to its platform. MiMedia’s new files library provides users with a simplified and user friendly approach to file organization.

The new files library enhances the user’s ability to navigate their file directories and updates dynamically to always display the most recent folders and files added to a user’s backup. Therefore, users are always just one click from accessing their most important files.

“MiMedia now provides an elegant access experience for all facets of a consumer’s digital life” said Erik Zamkoff, CEO & Founder, MiMedia. “We believe that providing the same high quality access and navigation for files that we provide for photos, videos, and music will enhance the value of our platform to the consumer.”

The new files library enables users to access the file directories for their backed up devices and easily download files or folders from anywhere. Subscribers can instantly view their recently updated folders and a list of most recently updated files from the main landing page. Users can also click on graphical images of their devices to access file directories and any files that have been backed up in their MiMedia account. In addition, the files library enables subscribers to download and open the files and folders from all of their devices. Finally, users can now access and upload files to their (m:)drive from any connected device directly from the files landing page.

About MiMedia:
MiMedia brings you a totally new approach to online backup – a way to protect, access, enjoy and share your digital life all in one place. Beyond online backup and storage, MiMedia also provides instant on demand access to your files from anywhere. Listen and back up music online, including your favorite playlists. Watch and share videos instantly, view any of your photo galleries, and access your other files all in one user friendly location. With MiMedia, you are always just one click away from enjoying your digital life. MiMedia is privately held and based just outside of New York. For more information, please visit the company’s Web site at MiMedia.com.