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Acronis release new version of TrueImage Workstation

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Carol Haynes:
Acronis have released a new 'corporate' version of TrueImage which they are calling TrueImage Echo Workstation. They have also released a new version of their Universal Restore plugin.

It looks very similar to version 9.1 cosmetically and I haven't delved too much yet into what is new.

The obvious (and interesting) new features are:


* You can browse archives in an explorer type window (without mounting them first). You are initially shown a set of icons for each backup point which you double click and a the archive opens in a standard looking Explorer window. It isn't Explorer however so don't expect to see the usual context menu.
* Not sure if this is new but you can consolidate archives by choosing the backup points and creating a new self contained archive.
* With Universal restore you can now convert archives to Vitual Machine drives compatible with VMWare, Virtual PC and Parallels apps.
Looks interesting. I haven't had time to play too much yet but I am hoping that the corporate version doesn't have the usual smattering of bugs that the domestic new releases usually have (fingers crossed).

Full details/version comparison at: http://www.acronis.com/enterprise/products/ATICW/comparison.html

Josh:
Echo is designed for network backups, not individual workstation backups. It is designed to backup and restore to/from a server environment as is very clear on their product page.

Darwin:
I dunno... it's actually a bit confusing as TrueImage Workstation 9.1 has disappeared from their website AFAICT. The blurb about Echo indicates that it can both backup and restore a network AND backup and restore an individual workstation. I've requested keys for it and the new version of Universal Restore but haven't downloaded/installed it yet...

Ralf Maximus:
It sounds like there's a bunch of bored programmers at Acronis adding features just because they can.  Is any of that new stuff seriously necessary?

Converting a backup into a VM?  Consider: even if "conversion" takes zero time, it would destroy the backup image in the process.  Which means you probably need to make a copy of your image before conversion, so I'm still gonna sit around and watch 40 gigabytes spool back and forth.  Where's the convenience in that?  Much simpler to just load the backup into the VM.

Consolidating archives?  Why?  Disk savings?  But incrementals don't take much at all.  But I figured out how to consolidate my incrementals a long time ago: it's called making a new full backup.

Browsing without mounting?  Now THAT's kind of cool... except then they don't give me access to explorer.   So I might as well mount the thing to use it, especially if I'm going to go tear-assing around looking for a specific file.

They need to stop tweaking True Image before they wreck something important, like... I don't know, its ability to reliably make backups and restore them.

Darwin:
Point taken, Ralf. Like you, the only feature that "sparks my interest" is the ability to browse an image without mounting (why do I always feel so dirty when I talk like this?) and I did the same mental gymnastics that that you did and they led me to the same conclusion: sounds cool, but so what? I'm actually better off mounting the image anyway, so what's the point?

They need to stop tweaking True Image before they wreck something important, like... I don't know, its ability to reliably make backups and restore them.
--- End quote ---

Too late. Check out the support forums. Every single version is bug ridden on initial release. This is one of those apps that probably qualifies for "Perfect Software" status (see, I'm already quoting you back to yourself) but bloat creep to justify ongoing revenue is killing them (without fail they release a new version - paid upgrade - every 12 months). If they really want to make money at this, they should go slow and easy on development and simply force users to pay $10 a year to use it, after the initial purchase price of course. I know, I know, nobody likes this kind of licensing model, but if they keep the yearly subscription fee reasonable and deliver a ROCK SOLID product I, for one, would not complain.

EDIT: OK, I'd still complain. A leopard can't change its spots!

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