Macintosh Backups
What is this about?
I frequently encounter people who are confused about backups, or haven't even really thought about them at all. A few don't even know what a backup is. Most people who own a computer, whether they know what a backup is or not, don't ever bother with backups. If there is one thing that I think every person with a computer needs to know, it is this:
If you have data you don't want to lose, you must do regular backups!
Since I keep answering the same questions over and over, I thought writing a guide would be the best way to answer those questions. However, note that this should not be considered to be the authoritative guide to backups!
The first limitation of this guide is that it is oriented towards Macintosh computers, since those are what I have the most experience with. Although the backup basics are the same regardless of platform, the software I will discuss is mostly Mac software. Secondly, there is a very wide variety of software available that is capable of doing some kind of backups, and I don't know a thing about most of them. I can only supply information about the ones I'm familiar with.
With those disclaimers out of the way, let's get started. The first section of this guide will cover basic backup concepts, most of which are not specific to any particular operating system. The second will describe the software I am familiar with and how it is used. The ultimate goal of this guide is that you never lose a file again!
If you have any comments, suggestions or corrections to make regarding this guide, please contact me!