Users of the MozyHome and MozyPro online backup services who also use Apple's Time Machine and a Time Capsule for onsite backups were dismayed to find last week that their Time Machine backups were not working. A bug in version 1.4.1 of the Mozy software caused Time Machine backups to Time Capsules and other network drives to pause, and then freeze up.

A user quoted on the Computerworld website last week noted that Time Machine would no longer mount his MacBook Pro's sparse bundle file while running Mozy offsite backups, and that he had to wipe the Time Machine backup in order to get the Time Machine / Time Capsule combination working again. The problem did not affect Mozy users who were backing up to a locally attached hard drive. Part of the issue was that Mozy was attempting to back up the large Time Machine sparse bundle files.

Engineers at Mozy's parent company, Decho, worked with Apple to gain resolution to the issue, and a fix was made available for download last Friday as version 1.4.3 of the Mac software for MozyHome and MozyPro.

[via Macworld and Computerworld]

In this round of Ask TUAW we've got questions about connecting a MacBook to a plasma TV, using a Bluetooth headset with an iPod touch, backing up online, ripping DVDs to watch on an iPhone and more.

As always, your suggestions are welcome. Questions for next week should be left in the comments. When asking a question please include which machine you're running and which version of Mac OS X (we'll assume you're running Leopard on an Intel Mac if you don't specify). And now, on to the questions!

Back in December, online backup company Backblaze launched a private beta of its service for Mac users. Like its Windows counterpart, the Backblaze subscription service is $5 US a month (or $50 US a year) for unlimited backup space. Today, the company is officially launching its service for Mac users, along with an updated client, better support for external drives and enhanced recovery options.


Configuration and setup

Just like in the beta, Backblaze remains extremely easy to set-up and use. You just install the program (by default it will run in the background, though you can change this), enter in your e-mail address and password, and it will start backing up your files. The default setting has Backblaze running any time it finds an available internet connection. The backup process is constant and Backblaze stores multiple versions of a file for 30 days (so if you are frequently changing a document or spreadsheet, 30 days worth of revisions are saved to Backblaze).

If you want to remove Backblaze, the company has made the uninstall process easier and more intuitive. There is now an uninstaller built into the install DMG image, just double-click on Uninstall (right next to the install option) and you can take Backblaze off your system. If you trash the DMG, just download it again off the Backblaze web site for easy removal.

Backblaze won't backup your Applications (thought it WILL backup stuff in your User/Library folder, so many of your application settings will remain backed up), but it will backup your photos, movies, audio files as well as things like your iPhoto or Aperture database, various documents, and more. By default, .ISO, *.exe and *.DMG files are excluded from the backup file type list, but you can remove most of those extensions (*.ISO cannot be removed) if you want to backup that information.

The maximum single file size is still 4 GB, but keep in mind this doesn't mean your iPhoto or Aperture databases won't be safe. Those databases are actually just folders with lots of smaller individual files, that's fine. If you have individual files over 4 GB in size, those won't be backed up with Backblaze. You'll need to split the files into smaller segments or make alternate arrangements.

Just like every machine with moving parts, the hard drive that holds your iTunes library will eventually stop working. Read that line again - I didn't say might stop working, but will stop. It's going to happen, so be prepared.

Mark Nichols at zanshin recently wrote about his own experience of swapping and burning CDs and DVDs to back up iTunes purchases (something we blogged about awhile ago). That got me thinking about strategies for iTunes backups.

Time Machine and SuperDuper make it easy to execute local backups at regular intervals, but that's only half the battle. A good off-site backup of your mission-critical files (and I don't know about you, but for me, music is definitely considered mission-critical) is essential. You can go with services like Mozy or CrashPlan.

Personally, I've been very happy with Bandwagon. For only $12US per month, they provide the means to backup to either Amazon S3 or your own FTP server.

So, what's your solution? Please share in the comments, and save Mark another day of swapping discs in and out of his optical drive.

A little over a year ago we wrote about back up purveyor Mozy's beta Mac client, and many people were quite excited. Time passed, the seasons changed, and the Mozy folks were quiet. Quiet until today, that is. That's right, Mozy 1.0 for the Mac is now available for download.

In a nutshell, Mozy is a backup application which backs up your files to Mozy's servers. As you might guess, this requires the use of the Internet, and perhaps just a little magic. The backups are encrypted, so you don't have to worry about someone peeking at your files or taking some of your MP3s for their own collection. Mozy also ships with 'Backup sets,' which are predefine file locations and the like to make backing up easier. For example, the iTunes Library Backup Set will target your (shockingly) iTunes library, while the Desktop Backup Set makes sure all the files on your Desktop are backed up. You can even create Backup sets of your own, which I did to backup only those items that I bought via the iTunes Store.

The application itself is free because Mozy makes their money charging for the storage your back ups use. A free account will get you 2 gigs of back up space, while $4.95 per month will get you unlimited space (and if you pay for a year or two in advance you get a few months for free).

I signed up for a free account and took Mozy for a spin. Overall, the application is just what you want from a backup app: unobtrusive and easy to use. The downside to Mozy, and this is true of any system that backs up over the network, is speed (I know that the topic of upload/download speeds is fertile ground, but that discussion is outside the scope of this post). I backed up 1.4 gigs using Mozy and it took 4.5 hours.

Check out this gallery for lots of screenshots of Mozy, as well as a look at how one restores files from back up.

Way back last year, Steve Jobs mentioned that a 3G iPhone would debut some time this year. Then we started seeing iPhones being clearanced. And now, Yahoo reports that the 3G iPhone is on-track for, um, real soon now -- as early as Q3 2008 with a possible Q2 launch.

Everyone and their brother has been waiting for the 3G iPhone. So is this report reliable? AT&T declined to comment on specific launch dates. Apple declined comment. Yahoo bases its article on a report by Bank of America analyst Scott Craig. But it fits into what (a) everyone expects and (b) we already know. Is there anything new here? Possibly not. More from Apple Insider and iPod observer about possible Hon Hai 3G contracts and Kevin Rose's 3G iPhone predictions.

Does this spin & speculation make any difference to your purchasing plans for the iPhone of today -- buy now, or wait until something better comes along? Let us know.

Mozy is a secure online backup service from Berkeley Data Systems. Today, Mozy introduced a public beta for Mac users, offering a Universal binary that runs on both Power PC and Intel systems. Mac Mozy provides both full- and incremental-backups and allows you to schedule those backups for specific times or to wait for when your computer is idle. Berkeley offers two basic plans to choose from. You can store up to 2 GB of data for free or, if you need more space, $5/month provides unlimited backup space.

Most importantly, the data is stored securely. Mozy uses 448-bit blowfish encryption on your data and you select your private encryption key. No one at Berkeley has access to that key. If you'd like to give Mac Mozy a spin, stop by their free registration page, answer some personal questions and wait for an e-mail with a link to their download page.