Synchronizing data between computers/backing up data redux
Roger
just yesterday found a new product that does exactly what I wanted.
The online storage ideas that were suggested - Dropbox and Subversion
- are good too, but as a few people seemed interested in the topic, I
thought I'd share my discovery.
Not that data link cables are necessarily NEW but, I found this
product intriguing:
http://www.geek-news.net/2009/10/asus-crosslink-cable-syncs-data-allows.html
It's a USB flash drive/data link/ODD etc. etc. Right now, only the PC-
only 2GB version is out, but a 2/4GB Mac-compatible version is due out
in December if that means anything to anyone here. The version that's
out now is $40. B&H Photo Video has it, and they are physically
located where I live so I'm just gonna grab it at lunch on Friday.
The thing I like most about it is that it apparently has
synchronization software built into the flash drive. Which is exactly
what I wanted, for connection between my home PC and Netbook as I do a
lot of shared writing on both.
I am planning on buying it Friday, if anyone wants a mini-review of it
over the weekend.
Ron Newcomb
> I had a thread on this question a few weeks, maybe a month ago, and I
> just yesterday found a new product that does exactly what I wanted.
> The online storage ideas that were suggested - Dropbox and Subversion
> - are good too, but as a few people seemed interested in the topic, I
> thought I'd share my discovery.
>
> Not that data link cables are necessarily NEW but, I found this
> product intriguing:
>
>
> It's a USB flash drive/data link/ODD etc. etc. Right now, only the PC-
> only 2GB version is out, but a 2/4GB Mac-compatible version is due out
> in December if that means anything to anyone here. The version that's
> out now is $40. B&H Photo Video has it, and they are physically
> located where I live so I'm just gonna grab it at lunch on Friday.
>
> The thing I like most about it is that it apparently has
> synchronization software built into the flash drive. Which is exactly
> what I wanted, for connection between my home PC and Netbook as I do a
> lot of shared writing on both.
>
> I am planning on buying it Friday, if anyone wants a mini-review of it
> over the weekend.
I am curious. Please let us know how it goes.
Roger
I finally used it. It just finished syncing my two Inform 7 "projects"
directories between my WinXP SP3 (laptop) and my Win7 RC1 (desktop).
It's very simple to use. You don't install anything on either PC. You
plug the flash drive into one computer and connect it to the other via
a USB-to-USB Mini cable (which the package also comes with), and then
you open up the CrossLink program on both computers. (The program
opened automatically in WinXP SP3 but I had to start it manually in
Win7 RC1). It is also seen as a "VirtualLink" flash drive on both
computers simultaneously, which I found interesting.
From there, you have a number of options. I have only tried the
synchronization utility thus far, but all you do is add a sync task,
choose the two directories you want to sync (on the two PCs), and
choose how you want to sync them. Default is to copy all files to both
directories, keeping the latest one. You can also choose to just pull
all files from the "Other PC" or push all files to the "Other PC,"
overwriting dupes depending on which way you push and pull. I, of
course, chose the default. Then you click "star task" or "start all
tasks" (you can queue up multiple tasks) and it will perform the sync
for you which involves an initial file comparison and then the copy/
overwrite. It generated no prompts while copying/overwriting. It
automatically creates subdirectories as needed.
After it's done it gives you a log of all the files it copied and how
long it took. In my case, it took 133 seconds to sync which comprised
2937 files. (Yes, I've started a LOT of different Inform 7 projects
over the last two years.)
It gets a GIGANTIC two thumbs up from me. This is exactly what I
wanted. If you're curious about its other features, I can mess around
more with it later, but I figured this was mostly what you wanted to
know. It's what I wanted it for most anyway.
Roger
Update: The second time I plugged it into Win7 RC1, the program loaded
up automatically.
Ron Newcomb
Sweet. Two questions:
1) Works with Mac?
2) What if the two computers aren't side-by-side? Say, a work
desktop and a home desktop?
3) You say it overwrites the files. This meaning, the old versions
don't go into the Recycle Bin / Trash? I ask because I've been burned
by overwriting files due to an incorrect date set on one machine. If
I can separated the step into two, deleting the old THEN moving the
new, the old versions of the files would still be recoverable.
I guess that would be three questions. My left hemisphere isn't
syncing with my right hemisphere this morning.
-R
Ron Newcomb
Update:
4) How about keeping three or more computers synced?
Roger
1) No Mac support YET. This version (the black-colored 2GB model) is
PC-only. However a white-colored 4GB version is due out next month.
2) This is designed for physical proximity, but there are flash drive
options. I'm not sure how they work but I don't know if it allows the
functionality you seem to be hinting at. I'll look into it.
3) No, sadly, they seem to just overwrite.
4) Well, it's a one-on-one sync. But it should work anyway. Let's say
you have a laptop with the oldest files on it, Desktop A with the
second newest set of files, and Desktop B with the very newest set of
files. If you sync the laptop with Desktop A, both the laptop and
Desktop A will now have the second newest set of files. Then if you
sync both up with Desktop B, you get the newest set on all three. Of
course, that requires some extra manual steps.
Considering your questions, I'm not sure this is the right product for
you (even the Mac version). You'd probably be better off with a LAN-
compatible sync program (assuming your 3+ PCs are networked). This is
mainly designed for laptops/netbooks, I believe, considering the
"device sharing" capabilities. You can use the internet connection of
any computer you are CrossLinked too, as well as the optical disc
drive (CD-/DVD-ROM). But...it's not really designed for mass
synchronization. You can of course go around to all your PCs updating
as you need but that requires more work.
Adam Thornton
Roger <roger.h...@gmail.com> wrote:
>Considering your questions, I'm not sure this is the right product for
>you (even the Mac version). You'd probably be better off with a LAN-
>compatible sync program (assuming your 3+ PCs are networked). This is
>mainly designed for laptops/netbooks, I believe, considering the
>"device sharing" capabilities. You can use the internet connection of
>any computer you are CrossLinked too, as well as the optical disc
>drive (CD-/DVD-ROM). But...it's not really designed for mass
>synchronization. You can of course go around to all your PCs updating
>as you need but that requires more work.
I don't understand what even the USB buys you. This sort of problem
seems to be exactly what Unison is designed for, and it's free and
cross-platform. It does do its traffic over the LAN, so I guess if all
you have is low-bandwidth wifi that's a problem.
And I'm not sure how or whether Unison manages keeping multiple boxes in
sync, but at that point it sounds like you want, I dunno, a code
repository and multiple clients or something like that, and you're into
needing to engineer a trickier solution.
Adam
Roger
> In article <e75c74bb-b5f0-4839-9828-1ffda294d...@p19g2000vbq.googlegroups.com>,
I assume you're replying to Ron and not me? I (personally)
specifically wanted a USB solution to sync files between my desktop
and netbook without connecting it to the LAN. The USB (in this case)
also lets you share devices on the desktop PC. I have an external,
slim DVD-R burner I can hook up to my netbook so it doesn't matter too
much to me, but brainless (keyword here is brainless) ODD sharing is
something that appeals to many people. It worked across WinXP SP3 and
Win7 RC1 with no configuration. I don't need it, but that's pretty
cool IMO. And the USB transfer was faster that my internal network
seems to be, but you mentioned that already.
Ron Newcomb
My setup is a Windows box at work, and two Macs at home on wifi that
ranges from slow to competes-with-microwave slow. Obviously the work
machine blocks out great whacks of the internet and I'd rather not
attempt xferring artsy-fartsy personal stuff through my IT dept's
firewall anyway. A sync program that lives on a USB flash drive
sounds perfect, but I'm going across operating systems here, too.
Hm. Thank you very much for the detailed product rundown, Roger.
Roger
No problem. I could see you getting utility out of this for sure but
just make sure that if you do want it, wait for the Mac version in
December as this one is incompatible but that one will be.
Adam Thornton
Roger <roger.h...@gmail.com> wrote:
>I assume you're replying to Ron and not me? I (personally)
>specifically wanted a USB solution to sync files between my desktop
>and netbook without connecting it to the LAN. The USB (in this case)
>also lets you share devices on the desktop PC. I have an external,
>slim DVD-R burner I can hook up to my netbook so it doesn't matter too
>much to me, but brainless (keyword here is brainless) ODD sharing is
>something that appeals to many people. It worked across WinXP SP3 and
>Win7 RC1 with no configuration. I don't need it, but that's pretty
>cool IMO. And the USB transfer was faster that my internal network
>seems to be, but you mentioned that already.
Fair enough. The device sharing is a neat feature; I'd see that as more
compelling than filesharing, but then I tend to view the world as
TCP/IP-centric anyway, and so my first thought would be a network backup
of some kind.
Adam