Backup systems
Posted: Sat Mar 05, 2005 8:56 amHello:
Here's what I would recommend: buy two external USB2/Firewire hard drive units, and rotate their use every week. Keep one off site for a week and then swap them.
Here is a seller with lots of choices (scroll down to the bottom of the page to get to the links for each brand):
They come in two basic classes: units that use a desktop 3.5" hard drive, and those that use a laptop 2.5" hard drive. Many have both a USB2/1.1 and a Firewire connection. USB1.1 is pretty slow, so the intial (big) backup would be pretty slow; but USB2 and Firewire are much faster.
They come in capacities up to 400GB -- these are about $325.
The best thing about these drives is that you can plug them into just about any computer: Windows, Mac, or Linux, and you can retrieve your data. So, they are relatively "future proof". They are reasonably portable -- a nice protective case/box would be smart; maybe even a fireproof one!?