[Leica] Re: Backup

[lrzeitlin at optonline.net (Lawrence Zeitlin)]

Backup of digital photo files seems to be a hot topic. For Mac users,  
the yet to be released OS 10.5 (Leopard) incorporates an automatic  
backup mode which duplicates specified files on an external disc.  
Vista, Microsoft's tardy new OS, apparently will contain a similar  
function. Neither system will be available until the end of the year.

For those who can't wait, the November 2006 issue of MacWorld has an  
interesting article on terabyte capacity SATA hard drives. SATA is an  
acronym for serial ATA technology, a new method of sending a lot of  
data over a short wire. The systems will work with both PCs and Macs  
but some computers may require an expansion card. Apparently SATA  is  
a lot faster than Firewire or USB 2.0. The drives are comprised of  
two or more hot swappable 500 MB discs in the same enclosure. The  
drives can be connected in a variety of ways. Most interesting for  
Luggers is the mirror configuration, in which the same data is  
written to both drives giving a simultaneous backup. Since the drives  
are hot swappable, one of the disc cartridges can be removed and  
stored under your pillow while another is inserted into the slot.  
Some of the drives come with as many as five bays for people who  
shoot a lot of 10 mb RAW files.

The most appealing fact is that the price per terabyte is only about  
$800. Remember that a terabyte is 1000 gigabytes.

I may have to rethink my backup strategy of making several copies of  
gold plated CDs even though I've not had a data loss failure in five  
years. I'd prefer a backup technique which is independent of my more  
and more frequent memory lapses.

Larry Z