MozyPro 2.0 for Windows is Here!

Now you have one more reason to offer MozyPro to your valued business customers: MozyPro 2.0 for Windows. It’s loaded with great new features and a simplified look and feel you’ll both appreciate.

With MozyPro 2.0, your customers can expect faster upload speeds and decreased bandwidth usage, new convenience and access features, and Mozy 2xProtect™ – a new feature which allows MozyPro users to back up to a local external drive in addition to Mozy’s online data centers at no additional cost. Now your customers can be double protected!

Learn more about 2xProtect for Business or visit our blog to see all the new benefits of MozyPro 2.0.

Be safe,
The Mozy Reseller Team

I haven’t tried 2.0 yet for onsite backup, but if it works as smoothly as previous versions for offsite backup – sign me up.

It’s important to stress that there is no guarantee on the lifespan of a hard drive. 1 day, 3 weeks, 6 months, 7 years. Nobody really knows when that spinning disk will bite the dust. So how can you keep your eyes dry? Luckily, there are many options.

The first decision you’re faced with is onsite vs. offsite backup. Their names are self explanatory – onsite backup means you’re storing your backup “onsite” and offsite backup is where you store your backup “offsite” or on the internet or “cloud”. While backing up and restoring your data offsite might take more time (you’re limited by the speed of your internet connection), it’s worth it as your data is more secure (theft/fire/flood/etc. aren’t an issue.) The other inevitable downside to offsite backup is the cost that you’ll incur – it’s a monthly subscription service vs. the upfront cost of paying for hardware/software for onsite backup. However, in the rare case that you have very little data that you need to backup you might be able to get a free pass – more on that in a minute.

If you’re going to be using onsite backup you need to first get yourself an external hard drive, or a spare hard drive in your computer that’s not being used. A flash drive might work as a backup medium, but I usually don’t recommend it because the average flash drive storage capacity isn’t adequate for most people’s backup needs.

Next, you’ll need some software to facilitate the backup job. If you’re a home user looking for something simple then I recommend Genie-Soft’s Timeline Home. It’s a continuous (always backing up vs running at a scheduled time) program that copycats Apple’s Time Machine backup. I find it to be incredibly easy to setup and restoring files is a snap. That brings me to my next point – if you’re an Apple user I recommend Apple’s Time Machine hands down. I wouldn’t use any other software. Apple’s Time Machine is really as “set it and forget it” as it gets. Bundling Time Machine with an offsite backup solution is even better.

If you’re a home or business user that requires more control/options and you want to run your backups on a schedule then I recommend Genie-Soft’s Backup Manager Pro. It has been absolutely bullet proof in my experience. Another good option that’s slightly less expensive is SmartSync Pro.

If monthly fees don’t scare you, and having your data secure is your primary goal then offsite backup is really the way to go. There are two big dogs in this category – Carbonite & Mozy. Carbonite is $54.95 a year (business or pleasure). Mozy comes in three different flavors. The first is for home users, which is $4.99 a month per machine for unlimited backup. The second is MozyPro for business users, which charges $ .50 per GB plus a licensing fee per machine. Don’t let that discourage you because most business machines on average aren’t backing up more than 10 GB of data, and you can’t put a price on a reliable solution for your business. Both companies offer a very similar service, but in my experience Mozy’s interface/options are superior. On top of that, Mozy’s third flavor is completely free if you’re a home user backing up 2 GB or less! While 2 GB of data isn’t going to cover years of photos, it’s usually enough to cover the really critical data.

While doing one is better than none, I recommend doing both (onsite & offsite) if your data is highly valuable and having little downtime is of concern – time is money after all. Well there you have it. Go out there and backup your data. After all – it really is cheaper than the counseling you’ll be paying for if you don’t and your hard drive decides to die.

Laptops are becoming more and more popular nowadays. They’re replacing their bulkier desktop counterparts because they provide *almost* the same performance (especially with the introduction of solid state hard drives) with the added benefit of portability.

There is a huge problem though. Most laptops have the structural rigidity of a sandcastle and the build quality of a Ford Pinto. What does that mean for you then? More than likely your electronic right hand man will wither and die long before expected. It’s the truth. The Dell Inspiron you’re using to read this blog will soon start to lose its lustrous paint on the palm rests and before you know it you’ll have to jimmy-rig a twizzler under the power jack just to get the laptop to charge. It’s an unavoidable fate.

So what are you to do? It’s very easy – buy a quality laptop. There are two main laptop brands that we’ve been recommending for the last three years. The first is Lenovo, or you might know them as IBM. Lenovo’s T & X series notebooks are a great solution for someone that must go the PC route. Here are a few reasons why we love Lenovo’s T & X series notebooks:

• Spill resistant keyboards
• Cushions for the hard drives
• Titanium hinges
• Stronger power connectors
• Best in class keyboards
• Higher quality plastics
• Great drivers
• Excellent customer support

The list really goes on and on. What’s really cool is that these great machines have really come down in price. A T400 series notebook now starts at $799.00 which is extremely reasonable.

If you’re tired of the PC experience and want something a little fruity…er different may I present you with door number 2 – Apple. Apple has really done an excellent job in the last few years with their notebook offerings. One of the greatest things about Apple products is that you’re getting your hardware AND software from one company, unlike PCs where you have to worry about getting your Windows updates from Microsoft, and your driver updates from NVIDIA. Besides that you have these other benefits:

• Excellent support (phone and in store)
• Viruses (for the most part) aren’t a concern
• Great battery life
• Very few hardware issues
• Slick designs – they’re sexy as hell…you can’t deny it

Apple’s MacBooks are also priced quite reasonable. They start at $999 for the basic MacBook and $1199 for the MacBook Pros.

Which one is right for you? It really depends on what you’re going to use it for. If you’re a business user that spends an entire day on Outlook, or if you just think Apples are for sissies, then the Lenovo will float your boat just fine. On the other hand if you’re a general user that’s looking to organize photos, listen to music, browse the web, and Facebook your friends (pretty much 90% of what most people use their computers for) then Apple is probably the way to go.

If you’re thinking, “Is that really it? There aren’t any other options out there?” Well as far as what we recommend…. yes, and you can see from this link we’re not off our rockers. There are some laptops out there that we consider “best of the worst” like Dell’s Lattitude lineup, but if you’re going to be spending that kind of a dough you might as well get a real quality product.

Thanks for reading guys,
James

This is my first official post on the new blog.  I should introduce myself.  My name is James Huegli and I’m the owner of PCMD, Inc.   I’m not the best writer but I’m looking forward to sharing who I am through  these blogs.

For my first blog I thought I would tell you a little bit about who I am and what my background is.  I’ve had an interesting technology journey as of now.  When I was young (9-13) I used to spend my days on AOL in chat rooms where I  learned to type at an incredible pace.  From there I got interested in the internet and computers and what they had to offer. All through middle school and high school I took any technology related course I could.

In my senior year of high school I got involved in Cisco’s CCNA program.  At the same time I started an internship at Intel (JF3 if you know Intel).  At Intel I was part of the network card department testing network cards and building network card testers for Malaysia.  I worked at Intel for a year and a half and took the opportunity to soak up all the wisdom and knowledge that was all around me.

After Intel I went to work for Logical Systems, Inc. – a local audio/video consulting business.  There I was put in charge of designing and building audio/video broadcast computers/servers for local city governments (West Linn, Corvallis, Wilsonville).  I also designed and taught a custom workflow to local city employees who were then put in charge of these systems.  I worked there for several years before I decided that I wanted build something of my own.

I established PCMD, Inc. back in January of 2007 and now I get to combine my two loves – people & computers into a business that has been growing year after year.  That pretty much covers it for now.

Thanks for reading,

James Huegli

Owner