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Bandwagon, the iTunes backup program, has finally released their version of software that supports backup to an FTP server. They have had a version that supported Amazon’s S3 service for a couple months now but now you can backup to any FTP server including another computer on your local network. I tested it last night by backing up my iTunes music to a Buffalo Linkstation I have on my LAN. The 40 gigs of data took about 2 hours to backup so speed was good. I’m probably going to try a backup to my Dreamhost site soon but thats going to take some time. Everything worked great except the app was always at 100% CPU usage when it was running. The program is in beta so bugs are expected. For a first release tho, it offers a great way to backup your iTunes library locally or offsite.

Also they are offering a free 6 months to any blogger who posts about the release. Just make a post, not unlike this one, and post a trackback to the post on their blog and you will get a code good for a 6 months free.

Mozy was one of my favorite programs on Windows. It’s an automatic online backup system that worked very well. It was small, easy and just worked. They give you 2GB free or unlimited for $4.95/month which is incredible.

Mozy features:

• Open/locked file support
• 448-bit Blowfish encryption
• 128-bit SSL encryption
• Automatic or scheduled backups
• New and changed file detection
• Block level incremental backups
• Bandwidth throttling
• File versioning
• Public or private key encryption

Well the folk over at Mozy released a beta for Mac today. As soon as I seen the news, I started the install. Install was a breeze and in a few minutes it was searching my hard drive for “Backup Sets” which are pre-determined file types. These include Word and Excel files and Mac specific items such as iCal, Address book, iTunes Library and iPhoto Library. You can also choose individual files and folders if you would like too. I choose my Documents and SItes folders in addition to some Backup Sets as you can see below.

So far I’m only 62% done with my initial backup so I haven’t had a chance to try a restore yet. But if its anything like the Windows client was, it will be easy and seamless. So far I’m impressed by the beta. I haven’t run into any issues yet but I really haven’t done too much yet. The program runs in the menu bar so its out of the way. With 2GB’s of space for free, you really have no reason not to be backing up important files now.

[Mozy Mac Beta page]

Bandwagon is offering free 1 year subscriptions to bloggers who blog about there service before Feb 22th. Bandwagon is an online backup for iTunes. Currently I’m using Mp3tunes.com to backup my iTunes but I’ve been running into some problems with them. First off they just backup musics and not other media files where as Bandwagon backs up everything. Music, TV Shows, Music and even games. Also from the screenshots the application looks great. Mp3tune’s Oboe Sync is for a better word, lacking. They are still working on a pricing scheme but so far I think I maybe be replacing Mp3tunes very soon.

Btw, Bandwagon is Mac only.

If you’re anything like me, you spend a lot of time trying to keep your music collection backed up. If your library is relatively small, you can use iTunes 7’s built-in backup to burn to DVD. Thats all fine and dandy unless you have a large collection. In my case I need to keep my iTunes library on an external hard drive due to my Macbook’s hard drive being too small to support it. This poses a problem as now I need an additional external hard drive just to back up my music. I would buy an iPod and keep everything sync’d to there but I’m waiting for the 120GB Widescreen video before taking that route.

This is were Mp3tunes.com comes in. They are now offering unlimited storage for free accounts. This means I can sync my entire iTunes music library and now have it backed up to an offsite server for free. Plus I can sync my library with other computers and stream my entire library wherever I have an internet connection.

You use a program called Oboe Sync that scans your collection and will only uploads what has been added or changed. There is a Oboe Sync client for Windows, Mac and Linux so no one is left out. There are also plugins for iTunes, Mac and PC, and Winamp that allows streaming of your locker. In the case of the iTunes plugin, you see your locker show up under the Shared music source list. Files are streamed at 128kbps so its CD quality.

While everything sounds perfect. There are some caveats:

1) It only sync’s music, no video files so any iTunes TV shows or Movies you have, you still need to back those up on your own. It will sync DRM’d music tho.
2) Syncing takes along time. This is due to your internet connection. Upload speeds tend to be a lot slower than download. For a 42GB library, I’ve been syncing for about a week on and off.
3) The Obeo plugin for iTunes (Mac) is not Universal binary yet.
4) All new free accounts do not have unlimited storage right away. They are adding the unlimited storage to free accounts in waves. It took me about a week after I signed up before my account was converted to unlimited.

If you’re looking for a way to backup your music collection, look no father. The price is right, free, and you have the added bonus of being able to stream your music anywhere and keep multiple computers sync’d with the same library.

[Sign up now]