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Hi all.
I've got a query about online storage of photographs. I've got a Flickr Pro account but it won't accept NEF files. I've been looking at a company called Datablaze which offers unlimited storage for £18 per year - roughly the same price as Flickr - but can't seem to find many reviews about them on the web.
Does anyone have any experience of this company, or an alternative online storage company (UK based) which won't break the bank?
Thanks in advance.
Damien
Hi Damien,
I have just been looking round the datablaze site, from appearances it looks ok but they don't seem to offer a free trial like most of the others. Personally I would rather have a play with the system before handing over cash.
There are quite a few of these services about now but not many based in the uk. I've been using backblaze for 3 years now and it is excellent. Though it's not uk based that has never been an issue.
I would not rely on these as your only backup as the upload times are usually really slow but they are great if you need access from another machine or to recover from fire, theft and flood.
Chris
As Chris says, the key is upload times. If you have a relatively small amount to backup and really fast broadband upload speeds, then it may only take you a few weeks to get your data up. Incidentally I have heard of ISPs that don't like continuous uploading for a long time at all and classify it as undesirable.
Don't forget that your upload speed is usually around 5% of your download speed unless you have SDSL, which is rather rare. Even cable speeds are widely divergent in this manner.
Then, if you need to download all your data, you will again run into acceptable usage policies and may get capped.
So.... the alternative of having a spare external disk which you backup to and store at a friend or relative's home will be much quicker to access, not piss of your ISP, but may cost £100 (or less) for a 2TB disk.
IMHO, of course.
I certainly would not use any on-line back-up service as my only or main back-up.
You have absolutely no guarantee that the company will not go bust, get hacked, lose your data or whatever.
Used in parallel to back-up storage on external hard drives, it possibly does provide "belt and braces" safety as long as you immediately replace one or the other as soon as a problem arises.
My upload used to average 2GB a day (it's now 4GB with FTTC) and have 650GB with backblaze. My initial upload took nearly 6 months.
Quote: Then, if you need to download all your data, you will again run into acceptable usage policies and may get capped.
Good point, best to use a service that will courier you a DVD or USB HDD with your data on as an option.
Quote:
So.... the alternative of having a spare external disk which you backup to and store at a friend or relative's home will be much quicker to access, not piss of your ISP, but may cost £100 (or less) for a 2TB disk.
Though really you need 2 drives which you swap round, otherwise sods law says that a disaster strikes just when you bought the drive home to update it 
Quote:
Though really you need 2 drives which you swap round, otherwise sods law says that a disaster strikes just when you bought the drive home to update it
I had already assumed (and I know I shouldn't have) that a local backup existed on a secondary disk.
So had I, but it takes time to update a backup drive
In practice most people will. Bring the drive home, update it, then drop the drive back a few days later. It's sods law that the time when you have the drive at home is when someone breaks in and Knicks all you computer equipment or your water tank bursts, etc etc
Hi Guys,
I have a Datablaze account, they are actually a Livedrive reseller so you get the same product but cheaper. They do do free trials, I had a Briefcase test account. They also give a full 30 day money back guarantee. Have a few PC's and a Mac on my account and had no issues over the last two years.
Hope this helps.
Quote:
Even Amazon offers online storage these days.
LOL at "Even Amazon" - a lot of the 3rd party storage vendors are using the Amazon infrastructure, and huge numbers of websites are powered by their infrastructure.
A lot of people regard them as just a retailer, but technology-wise they are an absolute powerhouse.
I've been thinking how I can best use my free 5GB Amazon Cloud. With such a small space one would have to be very selective. Maybe a zipped file of all my documents plus my most important photos. Videos are pretty much out. Hmm - decisions, decisions! 
5GB is quite generous as free storage goes
I probably have a good 20GB in total dotted here and there, and don`t use any of it as yet.
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