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In search of ideal backup utility
tslim:
Hi,
It could be considered wizard like but it's not imo. It's more a step by step process type deal where I would have to do a backup and take screenshots at each step.
In other words it will not show the details of each step without actually taking action in each step.
-cmpm (August 21, 2008, 09:25 AM)
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That is exactly what a wizard-like interface shall look like. I don't see anything from your screen captures that make it a bit non-wizard-like.
FYI, I do not against Wizard-like interface being provided in any utility/application. But that should be an optional mean of introduction or a guide for newbies to gain experience. As users become more and more familiar with what the program can do, shouldn't there be an object oriented way, something flexible and efficient. Wizard-like is task-orientated and worse still, the process is sequential...
To be frank, I own a license of Genie Backup Manager Pro and am still using it (the latest ver)... but I don't like it. I use it, NOT because it is good, but its competitors are worse. I can't find one better than it wrt to my 7 requirements.
The GBM Pro is the world most extreme software. It has fast zip engine, it is unicode aware, has treeview to select source items plus wildcard filter and it can backup registry keys and ADS streams. In brief, the engine, the internal organs of this gargoyle is extremely decent and powerful. But its interface design... uh!!! is extremely inefficient, inconsistent, brainless, ... Btw, from the screen captures, I think titanBackup wizard is a better wizard than the GBM's, though they both are wizard that I dislike.
If you don't mind my long-winded story, please read the below, the world most incredible backup achievement in 21st century:
GBM does not support job grouping nor does it provide anything that help one to quickly backup several jobs. So my wish to prepare backup jobs then create different combinations of jobs (groups) and schedule group instead of jobs is too big a dream for the developer of GBM. I decide to DIY - I use LS to prepare a list of GBM jobs (they are physical files in a folder, anyway) into a plain text file, I then use MacroExpress to process that text file line by line (after some trimming, each line becomes a job name) and these job names are supplied (as command-line parameter) to GBM (one at a time) in order to group-run the jobs. Finally I add that macro to True Launchbar so that I can one-click run a group of jobs, I have about a dozen of such macro on the launchbar... what a solution in blood and sweat, isn't it? No, no, the story doesn't end here, not yet. When I run my macro, that is - running a series of backup jobs, for each job run, I see a dialog pop up with countdown counter, wait n seconds then only a job starts... (I can't even opt to have no countdown) wtfk kind of interface is that, ugh!!!
Believe me, all that has pushed me so hard that I am willing to burn my house in order to drop it, but I find no alternative, I have no choice... don't get me wrong, I mean ... I got no other place to stay :)
cmpm:
Well.....
I tried....
These objectives can be achieved I believe.
But a solid one program solution hasn't been made yet imo.
Perhaps a fresher approach would be needed.
Or using more then one program solution.
But this is way above my head as far as programing.
I'm not a programmer, I just run them.
You seem to be at a point of moving into much more complex backups.
If I could even call it that at this point.
I'd ask where the IT's are personally.
MSDN and the like.
I suppose that one link didn't help.
But Universities are into all this as well.
And I take no offense in you or anyone outright saying what they think.
How in the hell can we get to the damn point if we don't.
http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&rlz=1B3GGIC_enUS269US270&q=object+oriented+backup+programs&btnG=Search&aq=f
f0dder:
I still haven't found a backup application I like, and I'm still pondering whether I should roll my own. Would be a tedious job though, so I'll keep an eye on this thread.
A word of advice, though: don't even consider Acronis TrueImage for backup. It's super and great and lovely for imaging, but it's backup engine sucks sucks sucks. And it's unreliable, in case there's an error while backing up, you risk ruining your latest incremental backup.
tslim:
Well.....
I tried....
You seem to be at a point of moving into much more complex backups.
If I could even call it that at this point.
-cmpm (August 21, 2008, 02:46 PM)
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Most of the features that I have listed are fundamental features, they are suppose to be present in a backup utility irregardless of how simple/complex the backup task it will handle.
Hence, the phase "much more complex backups" is over emphasized.
If you look at all my 7 requirements, you should notice that, except for the 2 items: "Registry key(s)" and "ADS Stream and Folder junction" which I think not everyone will have interest, but the rest of the features are of universal nature, I mean any user of a backup utility will love to have them and will use them.
If one find he/she does not need many of the features that I have listed, chances is he/she does not need backup at all or may be just buy WinRar, setup few profiles to backup personal documents/data, e.g. those in MyDcoument folder, that it is, why bother to use a backup utility?
Softland:
How nice it will be if Backup4All supports unicode and registry keys backup or I were the interface designer of Genie Backup Pro...<sigh>!
-tslim (August 21, 2008, 04:27 AM)
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We hope to have Backup4all 4.1 fully Unicode (we're depending on a 3rd party, so it might be sooner). Regarding the registry backup, Backup4all has the ability to do that but we haven't made this public because we consider this a rather dangerous thing if it's not used by powerusers. I mean you do a backup now of your registry, and if you forget to set it as incremental or to do subsequent backups and want to do a restore 2 months from now, your system will be messed up because there were changes in this time. If we find a way to make this safe, we'll add the registry backup feature too. Right now Backup4all can back up registry entries as part of the XML plugins system.
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