Backup...which is better?

[Aleema]

I'm using dropbox, and I've never felt safer.

My backup harddrive (internal) got sicker than my main HDD, and I freaked out. My external is almost always plugged in ... Thumb drives are easily stolen, lost, and forgotten. Online seems like the smartest move so long as you don't have to pay a monthly fee or else it goes away. ^^;

[LVUER]

I keep my all my data (backup or not, whatever, I keep all my data) in spare HDD. I have 80GB HDD x4, 160GB HDDx1, 320GB HDD x1, and 1TB HDDx1. Last week, I give two 80GB HDD to my bro (since I just bought the 1TB HDD). Other than that, I have 1GB SD Card x3 and 5 Flashdisk (64MB, 128MB, 1GB, 2GB, 4GB)... but I never use SD Card and Flashdisk for backup purpose. I used to use DVD to do backup, but since my laptop DVD-writer busted, I never burn DVDs anymore (at least until I buy new desktop, since DVD-writer for laptop is too expensive for me).

The point is, that everyone seems like to forget, is the price. HDD price for each Megabytes is the cheapest among all (compared with SD card, flashdisk, or even DVD).

And why do you need to backup your data to the internet, if you have your own personal 1TB HDD? Of course, fire or burglary is an exception since they are special case that you don't expect it to happen (and too often).

Anyway, this is could be specific to my case, since in my country, internet speed is too slow (I need almost half hour to just upload 15MB of data).

[KomiTsuku]

All depends on the size. Personally, I keep all of my studio stuff on my computer's hard drive, do weekly (or sooner, depending on importance) backups to my 16 gig flash drive, and do quarterly to CDs. The nice thing about the CDs is that even if you have a sudden power surge, you have all your information. Short of snapping the disks in half, there is NO way that you are gonna be forced past that update point. Also, it is cool to sometimes check really old disks and see how things evolved. The flash drive is much more practical and useful, but it does run the risk that all electronics do in that it can be wiped or destroyed with relative ease. 99% of the time this is really all you need.

The only reason I would backup to the web is if I think someone is going to break down my door and steal every single CD, which I keep locked up, and all my electronics and I am regularly losing my flash drives. Otherwise, you are putting everything in someone else's hands. You have no idea if they will be there tomorrow, what they are doing with it, and you still run the risk that something on their end will go wrong and you won't have your information. Too many variables when you have a much more reliable system (flash drives) that is easily cheaper than any sort of fee you may be charged.