Alternative to .Mac backup?

January 23, 2006 10:42 PM

Is there an OS X app that will do what Apple's backup does but without having to be a .Mac member?

I'm trying to migrate away from .Mac and I've found the features of backup very useful when I rebuild my system disk. Specifically, I need the ability to backup mail, bookmarks, iTunes library files, etc. to a CD or DVD and NOT to an iDisk.

posted by photoslob to Computers & Internet (13 answers total)

Best answer: iBackup is what I use; it does the job pretty well. I don't think that you can backup to a CD or DVD, but you can to an external hard drive.
posted by rossination at 10:46 PM on January 23, 2006

I use Rsyncx to do all my backups to an external drive, although you can certainly create a disk image that you could then just burn to a disk.

Actually, have you though about using burn folders to do your backups?
posted by bshort at 11:02 PM on January 23, 2006

Take a look at SuperDuper!. It's got a great user interface, clearly explaining what's going to happen when you click the "Copy" button. They have a demo that allows you to try it out before you buy ($27.95).
posted by blueberry at 11:12 PM on January 23, 2006

I like Synchronize X Pro. It can backup to a webdav drive.
posted by kirkaracha at 11:47 PM on January 23, 2006

Sorry, (this is what I get for trying to post an answer while watching a video) SuperDuper! cannot back-up to CDs/DVDs.
posted by blueberry at 11:51 PM on January 23, 2006

Is there anything that can backup to CD/DVD?
posted by Thorzdad at 6:23 AM on January 24, 2006

bshort writes "Actually, have you though about using burn folders to do your backups?"

What's a burn folder?
posted by fionab at 6:33 AM on January 24, 2006

Best answer: Dantz Retrospect can back up to CDs/DVDs and FTP servers. The latest version is getting mostly bad reviews at Amazon and MacUpdate.

According to this list of Retrospect alternatives, Backup Mastery can back up to CDs.

MacWorld has a two-part article, "Take Control of Mac OS X Backups" and an article on turning your old Mac into a backup server.

What's a burn folder?

Apple:

Burn a CD or data DVD directly from the Finder by quickly creating a "burn folder" where you can drag and drop the files you want to save.

More info.
posted by kirkaracha at 7:58 AM on January 24, 2006

I use Deja Vu. I've had my both my logic board and my hard drive die at different times, and I was able to reboot from my identical backup drive both times within minutes. I'm pretty sure it will back up to a CD or DVD on its own, but I know that it also has a plugin to do this with Toast. It also comes bundled with Toast, so if you're considering buying that, you're set.
posted by al_fresco at 8:42 AM on January 24, 2006

This isn't what you asked, but I've been using iPod Backup for some time now...
posted by esch at 3:21 PM on January 24, 2006

Response by poster: Even though it doesn't backup to a CD, iBackup is exactly what I was looking for. I think there should be a way to combine iBackup with a burn folder to do what I need it to do. Thanks.
posted by photoslob at 6:10 PM on January 24, 2006

I have to say that I'm surprised how little people seem to care that the backup app bundled with MacOS X requires a .Mac membership to be useful. I can understand needing the .Mac membership to be able to backup to a .Mac account (obvious), but needing it to be able to back up to the DVD drive in your machine? That's ridiculous, bordering on extortion. Imagine if Microsoft said that the only way to backup to an installed DVD-R would be to buy a membership to MSN...
posted by delfuego at 12:46 PM on January 25, 2006

Oh, I forgot to post: Impression has always looked awesome to me. Seems to do everything, including writing to CDs and DVDs (including spanning multiple volumes and creating multisession volumes, or more than one backup on a single disc).
posted by delfuego at 12:50 PM on January 25, 2006