James Thigpen

I thought it was over, but then David Friend, CEO of Carbonite had to go and make some good points that I felt it only fair I should recognize.

Carbonite and Mozy target fundamentally different sets of users. Mozy feels more “Power User-y” because it has more knobs and buttons and whistles, but Carbonite’s interface is much simpler. I think that was one of the factors that made me a little miffed when I was trying to use it was that it didn’t explain why it wouldn’t backup files on my external drive, the menu just simply wasn’t there. It made me feel like something was wrong.

I claimed Mozy’s interface is “way better”, but in truth it’s way better for me. If I were to setup a backup software on my mom’s or dad’s computer (which I have been considering), I would definately go with Carbonite, for the same reason that I prefer Mozy: the buttons and knobs (or lack thereof). Carbonite also has a faster restore time, which would probably confuse my parents less. (”I can’t get to my file backups for how long!? Why? Why aren’t they in the tubes?”), I don’t know how long the restore time is in Mozy, I haven’t had a chance to use the restore part yet, but from what I understand there is some waiting involved.

A critical part of my needs though is backup of my external drive, because I bought my computer with a really wimpy drive in it because I got a good deal and I just use my external drive for all my storage. I don’t have a 200GB mp3 library, I just have my photos on it and my documents. I need to back that up. Carbonite can’t (currently) do that, so to me it’s an unacceptable option.

So Spin The Choice and make your own decision as to which feature set you need and which backup service is best for you. I know several people using each service, and all of them are happy. I don’t know anyone who has Mozy or Carbonite who isn’t happy with it. People who aren’t happy are those that don’t do backups and lose lots of data. So I think it’s well worth having one, whichever one. Both make backing up your data retardedly easy.

Me? I currently feel dirty for spending upwards of $8 on a jar of super fancy pineapple salsa.