krystof
2008.05.25, 02:46
I've been wanting for some time to start a discussion like this. Please do not expect all questions to be resolved at once. I will edit this post as I remember things, as I have time, and as others offer their advice and corrections.
This first report is on the best synchronization software. This is essential for everyone who uses both a PC and a laptop. Which in turn however is not essential for everyone.
Most people can do well with just a pocket-size external USB hard drive, which with some precautions can be used safely at any internet cafe in the world, as I will discuss later. But if you need to get serious work done while you travel, then you do need a laptop, which need not be all that expensive. And yes it is like carrying around several bricks, but the clincher is, it does not count in luggage limits.
But if you need a laptop, why then also have a desktop PC? Why not just use the laptop? Yes a possibility. But a desktop is half the cost, twice as powerful, and can be more easily made to last twice as long. For heavy at-home or at-office users, it makes sense to wear out the desktop, not a laptop. But if you are a student, a realtor, a salesman or frequently traveling executive, i.e. if the laptop is what you must use most of the time, then maybe it is the desktop that is optional.
So anyway 'if' you need a laptop as well as a desktop, then you need synchronization, not just 'backup.' So that you can pack up your laptop at any time, know that you have all the notes that you made on your desktop, work on that laptop for several hours, days, or months, then return and continue on the desktop. Needs for this synchronization software:
1. Free or cheap.
2. Very reliable.
3. Very automatic.
4. Made by a solid company that will not suddenly go out of business, thereby inevitably leaving you with several months during which you are snowed under from problems due to lack of synchronization and lack of time to find, install, test, etc., a new synchronizer. And during which crisis you can expect of course to have a serious hardware crash or virus attack resulting in a nervous breakdown. Well maybe this scenario is not all that likely but maybe protection against it is worth paying $10 extra? Not to mention probably 'getting what you pay for' in better day-to-day features and hassle-free usability.
(I was hoping also to find one with optional encryption for sensitive files. But there are good free and cheap encryption programs. Whereas those that come with a synchronizer all seem questionable based on reviews. You do not want an encryption to be questionable.)
A good free synchronizer: SyncBack by 2BrightSparks. Very good reviews but I suspect the features are somewhat basic. Well worth a try if you have the time. But I don't have the time so I haven't.
A good $15 synchronizer: BestSync by RiseFly Software. However this seems to encrypt and compress everything. I like this feature but it is not necessarily a good feature for everyone. Some reviewers specifically advise not to use compression, because you want to be able to copy or restore any backup or synchronized copies without relying on the software.
Perhaps more to the point, the above companies do not seem especially well established, in comparison to the companies for the products below for $30 to $60.
A $60 synchronizer: BeInSync by BeInSync. Seems flawless in all respects except only that equally flawless software by equally solid companies below costs only $20 to $35.
$20 SynchronizeIt by Grig Software, makers of CompareIt.
$30 GoodSync by Siber Systems, makers of the all-popular Robo Form.
$33 ADCS (Advanced Directory Comparison and Synchronization) by Heatsoft, who claim among their customers: Alcoa, Reuters, Intel, Oracle, Siemens, Deutsche Bank, Federal Loan Bank of Chicago.
I have decided to go with the $30 GoodSync, for two main reasons, in addition to high company stability which is shared equally by Grig and Heatsoft.
1. Based on reviews, there seems no question that GoodSync can do everything I need perfectly, reliably, and is user-friendly.
2. They advertise "free updates." This presumably does not mean "lifetime updates". For how long is not specified. But it is better than nothing.
The $20 SynchronizeIt is certainly worth a free trial if you have the time and want to save $10. However I saw no 'free updates' mentioned, and the company seems a tad less likely to last than Siber Systems.
The $33 ADCS is the one to get for the most serious company use. By all accounts, ADCS is probably the most powerful and versatile synchronizer, but by the same token, not the most user friendly. This is the one to get if you have a sizable company, or if by chance you enjoy working with complex software.
This first report is on the best synchronization software. This is essential for everyone who uses both a PC and a laptop. Which in turn however is not essential for everyone.
Most people can do well with just a pocket-size external USB hard drive, which with some precautions can be used safely at any internet cafe in the world, as I will discuss later. But if you need to get serious work done while you travel, then you do need a laptop, which need not be all that expensive. And yes it is like carrying around several bricks, but the clincher is, it does not count in luggage limits.
But if you need a laptop, why then also have a desktop PC? Why not just use the laptop? Yes a possibility. But a desktop is half the cost, twice as powerful, and can be more easily made to last twice as long. For heavy at-home or at-office users, it makes sense to wear out the desktop, not a laptop. But if you are a student, a realtor, a salesman or frequently traveling executive, i.e. if the laptop is what you must use most of the time, then maybe it is the desktop that is optional.
So anyway 'if' you need a laptop as well as a desktop, then you need synchronization, not just 'backup.' So that you can pack up your laptop at any time, know that you have all the notes that you made on your desktop, work on that laptop for several hours, days, or months, then return and continue on the desktop. Needs for this synchronization software:
1. Free or cheap.
2. Very reliable.
3. Very automatic.
4. Made by a solid company that will not suddenly go out of business, thereby inevitably leaving you with several months during which you are snowed under from problems due to lack of synchronization and lack of time to find, install, test, etc., a new synchronizer. And during which crisis you can expect of course to have a serious hardware crash or virus attack resulting in a nervous breakdown. Well maybe this scenario is not all that likely but maybe protection against it is worth paying $10 extra? Not to mention probably 'getting what you pay for' in better day-to-day features and hassle-free usability.
(I was hoping also to find one with optional encryption for sensitive files. But there are good free and cheap encryption programs. Whereas those that come with a synchronizer all seem questionable based on reviews. You do not want an encryption to be questionable.)
A good free synchronizer: SyncBack by 2BrightSparks. Very good reviews but I suspect the features are somewhat basic. Well worth a try if you have the time. But I don't have the time so I haven't.
A good $15 synchronizer: BestSync by RiseFly Software. However this seems to encrypt and compress everything. I like this feature but it is not necessarily a good feature for everyone. Some reviewers specifically advise not to use compression, because you want to be able to copy or restore any backup or synchronized copies without relying on the software.
Perhaps more to the point, the above companies do not seem especially well established, in comparison to the companies for the products below for $30 to $60.
A $60 synchronizer: BeInSync by BeInSync. Seems flawless in all respects except only that equally flawless software by equally solid companies below costs only $20 to $35.
$20 SynchronizeIt by Grig Software, makers of CompareIt.
$30 GoodSync by Siber Systems, makers of the all-popular Robo Form.
$33 ADCS (Advanced Directory Comparison and Synchronization) by Heatsoft, who claim among their customers: Alcoa, Reuters, Intel, Oracle, Siemens, Deutsche Bank, Federal Loan Bank of Chicago.
I have decided to go with the $30 GoodSync, for two main reasons, in addition to high company stability which is shared equally by Grig and Heatsoft.
1. Based on reviews, there seems no question that GoodSync can do everything I need perfectly, reliably, and is user-friendly.
2. They advertise "free updates." This presumably does not mean "lifetime updates". For how long is not specified. But it is better than nothing.
The $20 SynchronizeIt is certainly worth a free trial if you have the time and want to save $10. However I saw no 'free updates' mentioned, and the company seems a tad less likely to last than Siber Systems.
The $33 ADCS is the one to get for the most serious company use. By all accounts, ADCS is probably the most powerful and versatile synchronizer, but by the same token, not the most user friendly. This is the one to get if you have a sizable company, or if by chance you enjoy working with complex software.