Tuesday Morning News

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#3

Backups should always be continuous. Not sure there’s any excuse these days for “data between backups” to even exist on almost any computer - save perhaps the document you have open and the last few words you’ve typed if you then spill wine on it.

The only time that they could migrate data from 2016 MacBook Pros onwards was when there was nothing major wrong with the motherboard or ssd. SSDs fail hard when they fail, so backups are just as, if not more important than they’ve ever been since the SSD migration started 10 years ago.

You should never leave your computer with Apple with an expectation that the data will survive IMHO. Your data is your responsibility, and always has been. When you leave the machine with them, they even make you sign a disclaimer and have for 15 years. No conspiracy here if you ask me. :man_shrugging:

#4

Just purchased a copy to watch. So many fond memories of Newton! I have a couple of eMates / Newtons somewhere at my parents’ place. While the 2100 was the “ultimate” Newton, for me the eMate was my most useful. I really do hope Apple release an iOS eMate-style device agains soon (i.e. an iPad with keyboard). It really was a wonderful machine - it was my Uni portable computer with a PowerMac at home. So perfect for note taking - compared with laptops at the time, having a device that laster days on battery was amazing for writing.

2 Likes
#5

Backs up to TM automagically when I get home. Currently I could rip the SSD out and migrate to a replacement unit, but now it appears not even Apple could recover it (a new MBP SSD) :frowning:

Having an attached external drive to “continuously” backup an MBP/A kind of defeats the purpose of having an MBP/A.

Maybe I’ll have to start having a modicum of trust in using OPC (Cloud) based backups.

#6

Mmm… true. But when I look at my Mac, the actual data stored only on my machine’s local drive is pretty minimal… Only things in-between backups or cloud syncs really are the screenshots on my desktop…

  • Email is IMAP
  • Contacts / Calendar / notes are iCloud
  • Photos is iCloud Photo Library
  • Music is iCloud Music Library
  • Tasks are synced with Things Cloud
  • 1Password syncs to Dropbox
  • ‘Documents’ are in Dropbox
#7

*you’re

4 Likes
#8

Hoisted upon my own petard - LOLs

#9

…just my email, the rest is local.

#10

Right, so in that case something like Backblaze or other preferred cloud/NAS-based backup might be the better option.

1 Like
#11

Which takes us right back, to me, trusting my data, on other peoples computers . . .

#12

So use Arq + B2, which allows you to use encryption keys only you store on your computer and just use Backblaze as a storage destination (all the data on which is encrypted). :man_shrugging:

#13

Possibly not even required given Backblaze allows one to define their own encryption key.

1 Like
#14

Just reading on MacRumours that the 2018 MacBook Pro’s - if the logic board dies - cannot have their SSD’s recovered. The 2016 / 17 versions included a special port to recover data from the SSD’s that are soldered onto the board, but the latest version does not.

So - no back up - no data.

That sucks, Apple.

1 Like
Dark Month for Apple Repairs
#15

Did you also read speculation that said this was probably due to the hardware encryption provided by the T2 chip? And that if there was someway to recover data, that would defeat the purpose of that encryption in the first place?

While there’s probably a lot of people that are going to be bitten by this, it’s an unfortunate side effect of Apple doubling down on privacy and security.

Time to start giving Backblaze subscriptions as Christmas gifts to friends and family, I guess.

1 Like
#16

I’m pretty sure there was a thread on this already, but now that I’ve got NBN (and a reliable service), what options do I have for backups?

#17

The Wirecutter now recommends Blackblaze. It has some weird limitations compared to their previous pick, Crashplan (RIP), but it’s the one I’d recommend for most users, too.

I would have a hard time naming a competitor that’s as reputable, TBH. I’ve heard of none of their alternatives.

#18

Alright, I’ll give Backblaze a shot.

My concern is finding a way to stop it backing up on anything other than my home (or whitelisted) connections - I had Crashplan for a while and it backed up over 4G, resulting in a huge data bill.

Looks like LittleSnitch might be an option.

#19

There’s an app for that:

3 Likes
#20

Thanks, currently doing initial backup to Backblaze and have installed TripMode.

I had a Backblaze account ages ago but I discontinued it after a few days as uploading via ADSL2 wasn’t viable. From memory it was going to take about a month to complete the backup.

#21

To the average user, which arguably is Apple’s #1 customer these days, data protection may be something that sounds important, but I’d bet learning that they’ve lost everything because they didn’t backup, and their hardware has died and there’s no way to recover the data, would be a bigger kick in the balls than the actual likelihood of their computer being stolen and their data being used for nefarious purposes.

I’d bet far more stolen laptops make their way to Cash Converters/Gumtree for a quick buck, rather than having their data mined for ID theft/etc.

#22

People lose data all the time because they didn’t back up. This isn’t anything new.

4 Likes