Filed under: Software, Odds and ends, First Look
First Look: Twin 1.0 for Mac OS X
Time Machine made it easy for Leopard owners to back up their Macs on local external hard drives, and lately we've seen a number of online backup services such as Carbonite, BackBlaze, and MozyPro debut for the Mac platform. These online services are great (I personally use BackBlaze), but there's a monthly cost associated with them. What if you already have access to a large volume of server space?App4Mac has just announced Twin 1.0 for Mac OS X (US$39.67, €29.00), an online backup solution that works with all sorts of servers: FTP (all varieties), WebDAV, Amazon S3, and even MobileMe. Unlike many of the other online solutions, Twin claims that it retains all the Mac OS X file metadata, ACLs, and privileges, and your data is kept safe with AES-256 "Jack Bauer quality" encryption. In addition to the online backups, you can use Twin for backing up your files to local drives and have the backups begin when the external drive it plugged in.
I'm impressed with the powerful scheduling capabilities of Twin, which include a way to use logical operators to determine exactly when backups should proceed or not. Having an offsite backup is that extra bit of security that every Mac user should have. Check out the gallery below for some screenshots of the app in action. You can also download a free, limited-capability trial of Twin if you're interested in kicking the tires.
![TUAW [Cafepress]](http://www.blogsmithmedia.com/www.tuaw.com/media/tuaw-cafepress-promo.png)
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)
ianlive said 5:36PM on 5-15-2009
The image in the graphic above looks like the Bokeh background on pixelmator.com
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robogobo said 6:36PM on 5-15-2009
I've read the word bokeh way too many times the past few days. It's starting to make me sick (it even looks like a synonym for puke- "pukeh")
btw you're doing it wrong.
Kevlar said 2:30PM on 5-16-2009
Ha! It does!
But checking the image, it just looks similar. It isn't actually the image.
robogobo said 6:38PM on 5-15-2009
Anyway, it's too expensive but if it makes it into next years' MacHeist I'll be all over it.
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Boudu said 12:55AM on 5-16-2009
Agree, $40 is slightly steep.
Gerard said 6:39PM on 5-15-2009
You guys go on about all sorts of backup solutions yet never mention the awesome CrashPlan that lets you to another computer, to a folder or a drive and ALL for free. Or for money to their online backup servers.
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Aelver said 1:32AM on 5-16-2009
+1 to Crashplan ... awesome!
SSteve said 1:57AM on 5-17-2009
Took a look at CrashPlan but it doesn't support backing up to FTP. That's the feature that makes Twin interesting to me. I have a hosting plan with unlimited storage.
bigdilvey said 7:03PM on 5-15-2009
I'm actually really interested in this topic right now, but why is this better than Carbon Copy Cloner 3? Also, CrashPlan can't create a bootable backup if I understand its features right, so its more a Mozy type solution except to a personal computer and not a data center.
Anyone have a solution the prefer to do daily backups (don't want time machine frequency) to a remote mac that will also create a bootable backup?
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Joseph said 3:06AM on 5-16-2009
My main drive in my Mac Pro - 2x Raid 0 config.
3rd drive - Time Machine
4th drive - Super Duper - weekly dupe of my main drive
Backblaze.
This covers me on-site, off-site, recover old files, have a boot volume and get speed. Also - 100% automated.
Matthew Dornquast said 10:34AM on 5-18-2009
While the backup isn't bootable - all the data is there. A simple bless command will make your restored backup bootable.
justflybob said 7:36PM on 5-15-2009
For my two cents worth, I let MobileMe do the daily dirty work, then clone each week to an external FW HD using Shirt Pocket's SuperDuper!
I can't even begin to tell you how many times Dave Nanian's software has saved my bacon.
Mac HD crashes? No problem. Connect the external HD (which is an exact clone of your Mac HD) and boot up. Let MobileMe sync and you are back to work. Fix or replace your internal HD, clone back to the fixed/replaced Mac HD and you're done.
BTW, it is compatible with Time Machine as well.
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bigdilvey said 8:04PM on 5-15-2009
Hmm. Wish they had bulk licensing for Super Duper. Would be nice to back up connected to each mac via USB or Firewire, then move the drives to the remote location to back up via Hamachi.
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bigdilvey said 8:06PM on 5-15-2009
For the incremental backups over Hamachi, let the PC do the heavy lifting for the initial backup.
If I wasn't clear enough before.
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(01) said 11:29PM on 5-15-2009
Hasn't the traitor in CTU already hacked Jack's stuff? Just saying....
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CaptSaltyJack said 12:14AM on 5-16-2009
Not that impressed. It does incremental backups fine, but when I go to restore an individual file, I can't pick a certain date/revision of that file. And in fact, when I click "Restore...", my Mac just beeps at me. What the heck?
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Matthew Dornquast said 10:34AM on 5-18-2009
CrashPlan does this - it also data de-duplicates saving bandwidth and disk storage.
CaptSaltyJack said 11:43AM on 5-18-2009
Yeah, CrashPlan rocks, I use it. The only feature it's missing (but coming soon) is the ability to define multiple backup sets (backing up different files to different locations).
Jash Sayani said 7:59AM on 5-16-2009
I have been waiting for this app from weeks !! From the Beta period itself.... I am really looking forward to getting this app, however, the price tag is very steep !!
Can anyone give me info on the Trial version ? Is it a Limited-time trial (15-day or 30-day) OR a limited function trial with no Time limit ??
Thanks.
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app4mac said 8:08AM on 5-16-2009
With the trial version, you will be limited to a single backup of 250 Mb maximum over 15 days, as well as restoring only one file at a time. About the price, you forgot that all updates are free for your full life, so in fact, it's very cheap with free technical suppport.
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