Apple's Time Capsule does the trick
Apple's Time Capsule does the trick
Some of my most urgent service calls come from clients who are faced with a "crashed" hard drive. When this happens, I do everything I can to restore data, but sometimes I am the bearer of bad news. It’s a struggle to face a client’s disappointment and hurt when I tell her I cannot restore the memories represented in pictures and movies; the family budget information held in the Quicken file and spreadsheets; the family history, work history, and documents created through countless hours of work. All of it is sometimes gone – literally in a click.
Sadly, most people don't take backing up their files seriously until something like this happens. Sure, there are services that can resurrect files from drives that have experienced natural and man-made disasters, but trust me when I tell you that it’s often not 100%, and it is cost-prohibitive. Rather than relying on that possibility as your safety net, I’d like to encourage you to think proactively about backing up.
My clients know me as a "belt and suspenders" kind of guy – an advocate of regular and redundant backups. When you start thinking about developing that kind of system, it can become overwhelming. It can make your head hurt, so it’s easy to put off those decisions for another time. Don’t put yourself in that situation. Apple (and Tech Me Back) can make it easy for you. Let's talk about four compelling reasons why Apple's Time Capsule does the trick.
Ease of use
Time Capsule is essentially an Airport Extreme Base Station with a built-in hard drive. To back up your files, it uses the Time Machine application that is installed on your Mac as part of your operating system to “talk” to your computer. If you already have a wireless router – Apple or any other brand – in your home, the Time Capsule replaces that piece of equipment.
Setting up the Time Capsule is simple if you’re comfortable with basic networking concepts. You use the Airport Admin Utility to complete this step. Of course, if you don’t like the “alphabet soup” of networking (IP, DHCP, LAN, etc.), I know a good Mac guy who can help you!
It does the work
The thing I love about the Time Capsule is that it does the work for you. Sure, you can go out and buy another hard drive and hook it up to your current wireless router and manually run your backups. That sounds like a great plan, but it also sounds like one more tick on your personal to-do list. Not to mention that fact that the inherent flaw in the plan is that it requires your intervention in order for your backup to be completed. Calendar alerts are easy to dismiss or ignore and life happens to be best of us. You’ll run the backup right after you get back from soccer practice. That sounds a bit like doing your homework when you were in high school, doesn’t it? I personally tried this approach for years and finally found myself asking why I was trying to work around a technology solution designed to make my life easier. Do yourself a favor. Let Time Capsule do the work.
It backs up every Mac in your house
If you have multiple Macs in your house, Time Capsule can back up and store files for each Mac running OS X Leopard (10.5) or later that is connected to your wireless network. It’s just that simple.
It is inexpensive
There are two models of the Time Capsule: a 2TB model for $299 and a 3TB model for $499. That price may seem steep, but let’s think about this a little differently.
If you’re currently using an external drive to back up your computer, it probably cost you around $100. If you have multiple computers with multiple drives, it’s easy to extrapolate that figure.
If you have a wireless network in your house, chances are that you paid for your wireless router. An Airport Extreme Base Station costs $179.
For these two pieces of equipment, you’re at $279. Taking that $20 leap to get to a Time Capsule is not that hard – especially when you consider the time it saves you and the satisfaction you’ll have in knowing that your files are backing up.
Are you with me on the Time Capsule? Give me a call to discuss how one would fit into your network!