Filed under: Software, Internet Tools, iTunes
DreamHost offers free year of Bandwagon iTunes backup and sync service
It sure has been getting easier lately to use an account with web hosting behemoth DreamHost to back up your Mac. We found some good ideas for this back in April, but now DreamHost has gone one step further and partnered up with Bandwagon, a web-based iTunes backup service we found in March. In one of their annoyingly lengthy blog posts (scroll to the end of it), DreamHost unveiled that they are now offering a free one-year membership to Bandwagon's DIY services to all DreamHost customers, available through the end of July. This is a great deal, especially if you have both an expanding iTunes library and a massive chunk of storage at DreamHost just waiting for something to do.To access the offer, current DreamHost customers need only to go to the new Partners Page in the DreamHost control panel, then click on the Bandwagon logo to be taken to the Bandwagon signup page with the coupon code already inserted. The rest of the setup is pretty straight-forward, though I think I should share the solution I developed for a slight snag I ran into: For whatever reason, Bandwagon's FTP client couldn't log into my DreamHost account to begin uploading my iTunes library until I created a brand new FTP user. I don't know if this will hold true for everyone, but it's probably a good idea from a security standpoint anyway, take that advise how you will.
So far, after finally signing up for Bandwagon and getting everything going, I'm pretty happy with the service. Bandwagon's account manager can display statistics of what kinds of data and how many you have stored online. I'll have to see how the rest of the upload process on my 6396 item iTunes library fares before I say much more, but until then this sounds like a great deal that DreamHost customers shouldn't pass up.
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
lylebarrere said 10:26AM on 7-04-2007
If anybody wants to try this out but is not a current customer, you can enter code TUAW at check out to get a discount.
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Terence Pua said 10:44AM on 7-04-2007
For those interested, our deal with DH also allows you to buy one-year of Bandwagon for $24 and you get a free one-year of DH. Applies only to new DH customers.
Details here:
http://blog.ridethebandwagon.com/2007/06/29/free-dreamhost-account-for-bloggers-twitters-and-powncers/
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C.G. Blogs said 11:06AM on 7-04-2007
I read the April 2nd post about How to Backup a Mac to your DreamHost account (written by Michael Lee of Addison Road) and ever since following the instructions, I've never looked back. While I think the partnership makes it easy, I can backup so much more with the 'How To' article than I can with Bandwagon. I've got my iPhoto, iTunes, documents, and files all backed up nightly. If easy is your thing, then go for Bandwagon. But if you aren't a DreamHost customer or want total backup, then use Automator and iCal to schedule your backup jobs with an SSH/SFTP client.
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Jeremy said 11:19AM on 7-04-2007
So I have some of my itunes music on my internal hard drive and the bulk of it on an external. As of now bandwagon is only seeing the music that is on my internal, how do I make it recognize all the music on my external?
Thanks
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Jofell Gallardo said 11:42AM on 7-04-2007
@Jeremy.
Can we ask you to send us an email so we could talk to you the details of your issue? You can send us your issues to our support email address, support[at]ridethebandwagon[dot]com.
Thanks.
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Derek said 12:17PM on 7-04-2007
Does bandwagon support SFTP connectivity? As a rule, I do not use unencrypted protocols anymore.
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Jenny said 1:16PM on 7-04-2007
For online backup news, information and articles, there is an excellent website:
http://www.BackupReview.info
This site lists more than 400 online backup companies and ranks the top 25 on a monthly basis.
Any one can add their company in the directory. Just click on the "Search" button found at the top.
Cheers,
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Joost Schuur said 1:59PM on 7-04-2007
If I'm using Dreamhost to store the backed up content, how does Bandwagon justify charging more than a one time fee for their client?
Can I just get the current client for free, and keep that version a year from now, without getting any of the future updates?
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ramcosca said 6:08PM on 7-04-2007
Well, this might be a good push for me to try out the DH service. I've been looking through and I've only found DH to be in my list of prospectors. I'll see what I can do. =)
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Eric said 1:09AM on 7-05-2007
I have been a Dreamhost customer for nearly 2 years now and have found it to be a fantastic host. I had used various other hosts before that and they weren't even close. Honestly, I think that DH is a rare example of a company that tries to make decisions that benefit the most people and provide the best services.
On the other hand, I signed up for this Bandwagon thing but I have to be honest, I don't get it. Why I can't simply run Transmit on "Sync" between my machine and a dreamhost account I create is a bit beyond me?? I don't see why I should pay (eventually) for a piece of software that is basically an FTP client with this iTunes specific filter on the side. Perhaps for some people it is easier and that is worth it to them.
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Terence Pua said 7:29AM on 7-05-2007
@Eric - Bandwagon will be offering itunes syncing between Macs, a "grab a track" feature between Macs and web listening. Backup is also continuous and automatic (no manual intervention needed).
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Scott said 10:12AM on 7-05-2007
I've been using Dreamhost for awhile and they are pretty great for the price. If anybody wants $60 off the first year of hosting there, just use the coupon code TUAWREADER and it will work.
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Jason said 3:00PM on 7-05-2007
@ Scott
I could not make TUAWREADER work but TUAWREADERS works. You have to add the S. Hope it works for everyone, Dreamhost has always worked for me!
Jason
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Aaron said 3:35AM on 7-14-2007
Bandwagon is great, however I had nothing but problems with Dreamhost when I used them, and their customer service/support was absolutely abhorrent. Wasted days of time. Just a fair warning based solely on my experience - may be better to buy the year at Bandwagon and skip the hosting!
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