Backblaze has made a new release available. All users are scheduled to automatically upgrade over the next two weeks. Below are the enhancements in this release:

Release Date: 7/20/10
Version: 1.5.0
Auto-Update: All Users

In addition to various minor fixes and enhancements, there are two key new features:

1. Backup Of Individual Files Up To 9 GB
Despite most photos, songs, and documents being just a few megabytes each, Backblaze has always supported backing up individual files up to 4 GB (1000 times bigger) to ensure we captured even your full-length HD movies. However, once in a while we had users tell us they have even larger files: extra-long HD movies, raw footage from photographers and videographers, Outlook files in certain businesses, and more. So, in this latest release, we added support for backing up uber-large files up to 9 GB.

A question we sometimes get asked is: “My iPhoto, Aperture, or Lightroom file that contains all my pictures is bigger than that. Will it get backed up?” Yes. All of those store the files individually inside what is called a “Package” on the Mac. Backblaze sees that it is a package and backs up all the individual files inside of it – which are typically a mere few megabytes.

The default remains 4 GB for existing and new installs since this will not be necessary for most people. However, all it takes is a flick of a menu item to change it if you do.

How do you take advantage of this new maximum file size?
* Update to the new release (or wait to be auto-updated within 2 weeks.)
* Open the Backblaze Preference Panel > Settings > Exclusions.
* Change the “Do not backup files larger than:” setting to “9000 MB”.

2. Transfer Backup State

“Do I need to upload all my data again?”

We have heard this question many times in the past. Users upgrading from Windows XP to Windows 7 or buying new computers to replace old ones want their backup magically tied to their new setup. Transfer Backup State enables this to happen easily.

When would you use Transfer Backup State?
* You are upgrading the operating system on your computer.
* You are buying a new computer to replace an old computer.
* When your old computer died AND you already restored data to your new computer.

When would you NOT use Transfer Backup State?
* When your old computer died. (Instead, you should restore your data ASAP.)

How do you Transfer Backup State?
Windows: http://www.backblaze.com/help-transfer-backup-win.html
Mac: http://www.backblaze.com/help-transfer-backup-mac.html

Backblaze has made a new release available and all users are scheduled to be automatically upgraded over the next two weeks. Below are the enhancements in this release:

Release Date: 6/21/10
Version: 1.0.7
Auto-Update: All Users

* Protocol changes to add efficiency and reliability.
* Minor security enhancements.
* Rolls up changes from previous versions which were not set to automatically update.

Backblaze has made a new release available. Release is very minor, thus users will not be automatically upgraded. A future release will include these items and automatically upgrade all users.

Release Date: 6/10/10
Windows Version: 1.0.6.263
Mac Version: 1.0.6.264
Auto-Update: None

Usability
* Slightly updated icons in Backblaze Preference Pane/Control Panel

Exclusions
* Added exclusions for temporary filetypes created in iPod Photo Cache (created by iPhone, iPad, etc.)

Backblaze has made a new release available and all users are scheduled to be automatically upgraded over the next two weeks. Below are the enhancements in this release:

Release Date: 3/1/10
Version: 1.0.6
Auto-Update: All Users

Performance Improvements
* Reduces network traffic between client and Backblaze data center.

Improved install & error checking robustness (Mac)
* Clearer messaging during installation if Backblaze data center cannot be reached.
* Clear notification when two Backblaze computers are running with the same ID.
* Many miscellaneous small fixes.

Backblaze has made a new release available and all users are scheduled to be automatically upgraded over the next two weeks. Below are the enhancements in this release:

Release Date: 12/4/09
Version: 1.0.4
Auto-Update: All Users

All binaries are signed (Win)
The installers Windows and Mac installers has always been signed and all Mac binaries have been signed since the Snow Leopard release. Now all binaries on Windows are signed as well per request by Symantec to reduce old versions of Norton anti-virus from misidentifying Backblaze as a virus.

Renewal notification enhancements
* Added notifications to alert customers if their renewal did not succeed.

Added temporary file exclusions
* Excluded DropBox, MobileMe, and Safari cache files since they are temporary and automatically rebuilt.

UI enhancements
* Touched up German and French text to be more accurate and fit better.
* Updated “Vault” icon in Backblaze Preference Pane. (Mac)
* Clicking “Backblaze Preference…” from the icon in the top-bar shows the pane even if it was minimized to the dock. (Mac)
* Stopped printing unnecessary status messages to stdout log. (Mac)

Backup enhancements
* Added iPhone backups to be backed up (for iPhones that are synched with iTunes to the desktop or laptop.)
* Added Mozilla Firefox shortcuts to backup. (Mac)
* Avoid backing up bogus “.” and “..” files found in /Users/Shared/ folders.

Improved install & auto-update robustness (Mac)
* Unpack new installer into uniquely named folder to avoid conflicts.
* Pre-check for Backblaze system files running during auto-update.
* Pre-check for certain esoteric system items to enhance install success.

Ever since Backblaze launched, providing incredibly easy, unlimited online backup, for individual users…companies have said, “Hey, but we have laptops and desktops that need to be backed up too!”

To help these companies, this week we launched Backblaze for Business, making available the same $50 per year per computer unlimited backup.

What is Backblaze for Business?
It is an online backup service that automatically and continuously backs up all data from laptops and desktops over the Internet. The data is de-duplicated, compressed, encrypted, and broken up into small pieces before being uploaded so that it can sent incrementally. If the computer dies, individual employees can restore their data by downloading it or having Backblaze FedEx the data on DVDs or a USB hard drive.

How much does it cost?
Just $50 per computer per year for unlimited storage.

Wait, this sounds just like the consumer service?
Yes, why change a good thing?! What Backblaze for Business adds is:
* Central Billing – a company can pay for all of its accounts centrally and can choose to pay via credit card or be invoiced for the service.
* Central Reporting – the person in charge of the backup service can get automated reports about which computers are licensed, when their last backup was, how far into the backup they are, etc.

Who should use Backblaze for Business?
The service is available for companies with at least 5 employees. Have less than 5? Just have each user sign-up for the regular Backblaze service. Have 10, 100, 1000, or more? Get started on the Backblaze for Business page.

How does this compare to my other options?
There are various ways to backup employee laptops and desktops. You could:
* Buy each user an external hard drive – which will cost you about two years of Backblaze service; you still need a way for them to backup to the drive; there is no central management; and the chances that the hard drive is in the same place as the laptop? Well, you get the point.
* Use a central tape drive system – and sign up to rotate and manage tapes continuously? Deal with the stat that over half of the time tapes fail when you need to restore data? Oh, and how do you deal with users being remote with their laptops?
* Tell users to save important files to a shared drive – seriously, you know this does not actually happen, right?
* Don’t backup laptops and desktops – even though 60% of corporate data is on those employee computers and 70% of companies die after a significant data loss?

What about other online backup solutions?
There are other certainly other options available. We heard 3 requests from companies:
1. Make it easy to deploy. All other solutions required IT to figure out what to backup. Unfortunately, without going to every employee’s computer, that was impossible to figure out, so they would either just backup “My Documents” or pick common filetypes; knowing that other data was going to get lost.
=> Backblaze automatically backs up all data.

2. Make the pricing predictable. Companies need to budget, especially in the current economy. Having unpredictable expenses that grow with the amount of data backed up it challenging.
=> Backblaze charges one fixed price for unlimited storage.

2. Make the pricing affordable. Companies really want to backup their data, but paying $0.50 – $2.00 per GB per month adds up very quickly to hundreds or thousands of dollars per computer per year. A laptop with just 100 GB on it would cost $600 – $2400 per year to backup. Most companies just cannot afford this.
=> Backblaze charges just $50 per computer per year.

How do I get started?
Just visit Backblaze for Business and stop worrying.

Microsoft has been asking people to throw house parties for the launch of Windows 7. We threw our own…but rather than bags of Doritos we racked stacks of hard drives.

For those of you that did throw a Windows 7 house party, or just bought or upgraded to Windows 7, Backblaze fully supports the new OS. In fact, about 6% of Backblaze customers are already using Windows 7 and backing up their data.

Planning to upgrade an existing computer?
* Windows Vista to Windows 7: Use the “In-Place Upgrade” option if available. This keeps your data and Backblaze will continue to operate seamlessly. If the option is not available and you need to do do a “Custom Install”, please carefully follow the steps in FAQ #18 so as to not require re-backing up data. (Find out if you are able to do an In-Place Upgrade to Windows 7 on the Microsoft upgrade chart.)

* Windows XP to Windows 7: Microsoft does not provide a migration path and requires you to delete all data and applications prior to upgrading. Thus, in order to continue with your backup where you left off without needing to re-backup your data, carefully follow the steps in FAQ #18.

Buying a new computer?
Did you get a new computer for the house?
Have friends, family, or co-workers that picked up a new Windows 7 system?
Make sure those new laptops and desktops are also backed up for just $5/month.

Backblaze has made a new release available and all users are scheduled to be automatically upgraded over the next two weeks. Below are the enhancements in this release:

Release Date: 6/8/09
Windows Version: 1.0.3.209
Mac Version: 1.0.3.210
Auto-Update: All Users

Enhanced Bandwidth Utilization
Streamlined metadata uploads to reduce bandwidth usage and enhance backup speed.

Enhanced Update Checking
“Check for Updates” menu item now takes users to a dedicated update page if a new update is available. (Note: software autoupdates, so checking for updates is optional.)

UI Enhancements
* Updated new graphics elements including “Vault” and “Computer.”
* Updated certain dialogs with the Vista “white” look and feel. (Win)

Added Exclusions
* Excluded WER (Windows Error Reporting) folder. (Win)
* Excluded Mac mail “Envelope Index” since it constantly changes and is then recreated automatically. (Mac)

Minor Bug Fixes
* Increased height of several pull down menus that became too short after adding support for blind users.
* Updated installer to handle certain permission restrictions. (Mac)
* Updated installer to fix ‘standard’ user install regression. (Mac)
* Updated installer to handle spaces in temporary folder names or the lack of an existing temporary folder altogether. (Mac)