No big deal! (IF it is only used as a backup -- and if the user is promptly notified of the failure)
You're original data is still intact -- you just need to replace the hardware.
In the case of harddrives it is best to expect a failure rather than being surprised by one. That is why, if you have critical data it is best that it is backup in more than one spot.
In my machines, I have moved the original harddrive over to the backup slot and replaced it with an SSD that is not only newer and (hopefully) more reliable but a hell of a lot faster -- so my data is stored on the SSD and the backup is on the old harddrive. If the old harddrive dies I'll simply replace it with one of the ones I have laying around.
Years ago when I was a Cost Accountant we lost an entire year's worth of data because 3 backups of it were lost or destroyed. It showed me the value of data: Everything else on a computer can be repaired or replaced. But not the data. Once it's gone it's gone forever.
The Thinkpad I'm using right now has spots for 3 separate drives. This one is not used for critical data so I only have two of them used (the prime spot and one backup -- but if I move it over to use it for financial data I will add a third and run dual backups on it.
For Apple's laptops -- and especially for their iPads -- that is not an option. The iPads automatically backup to iCloud. I think Apple should initiate the same for their laptops. That is, in fact, an ideal way to backup a backup: If, say, my house burns down I my data would be backup off site and safe waiting to be restored once I replaced the house and the laptop.
A lot of big-name ISPs cap residential account upload speeds significantly below their advertised broadband download speeds. (One might imagine this is to prevent residential accounts from being used to host websites of any significant nature.) Likewise, many have overall monthly data transfer caps that would quickly be surpassed by the size of an initial computer hard drive’s backup. Worse, if a household has more than one notebook or desktop computer. Until these practices are no longer standard, offsite cloud backups aren’t a viable option for residential customers.
Offsite backups are not a viable option for SOME residential customers. Most though have harddrives in the 256-500Gb area where the initial backup can be done overnight and, like with iOS and Windows "file history", incremental backups are taken as needed.
Apple showed how that can and does work with iOS and iPadOS. I think they need to add that to MacOS. And, as MacOS is upgraded and folded more and more into Apple's modern ecosystem, I think they will.
the time capsules had notoriously bad thermal management. I had one that would routinely get too hot to touch. When I took it apart, I discovered that, among other things, Apple had covered up the holes in the aluminum base with a rubber foot so air couldn't flow through them. Evidently cooling was still rocket science for Apple at that point.
The "rubber foot" is made of some type of "thermal rubber" that conducts heat and acts to draw heat away, along with the thin metal base. This creates a much larger heat sink. It's like the "rubber" material placed between a CPU and a heat sink. Plus an Airport Extreme and Time Capsule are double insulated because it does not use a ground connection to the outlet. Thus there can not be any metal parts exposed that can be touched, in case of an internal short to the case.
Where Apple failed was to not put any feet on the bottom, to raise the it a half inch above the surface. Instead of the base resting directly on a flat surface. I place my TC on top of a pill bottle cap in each corner. Thus allowing air flow across the bottom. Or one can place the TC on it's side with the bottom and top exposed to air flow.
That said, I lost the 1TB HD on one of my Airport TC a while back (maybe 5 years ago). It was a Seagate HD and Seagate HD are notorious for high failure rate and the model Seagate HD that failed in the TC was one that was known for high failure. Since i did not buy the TC new, I just replaced it with a WD HD. I never noticed the TC getting "hot". Still working today. The other one that hasn't failed yet been working for over 10 years. But it's only a 500GB HD. I can't say whether there's a design flaw or I just got one with a bad HD.
But luckily, even if the TC could no longer read the HD, when I placed it in an external case, I was able to read it and recover all the data on my Mac. Which were just back ups anyway and I still had the original data. Eventually, the HD failed completely.
Apple has never had a good record with thermals. The TC was absolutely notorious for a heap of different heat related issues. There were mods all over the place for them at one point and all manner of weird design decisions became apparent.
Internal power supply was often cited as the root cause of heat build up. Bad caps. Poorly placed fan that basically didn't spin fast enough. No air inlet. Limited air outlet. Dodgy hard drives (especially the Seagates you mentioned). The famous rubber heat dissipator which many mods recomended removing completely and of course to little clearance from the underside of the unit.
As if that weren't enough the Time Machine software that went with it has always been flaky and spawned another heap of issues and TM Utilities from third parties.
IMO, the only good thing about TC when I got mine was that if you purchased it along with a Mac with AppleCare, the AppleCare would automatically cover the TC (and monitor if you purchased one too).
No big deal! (IF it is only used as a backup -- and if the user is promptly notified of the failure)
You're original data is still intact -- you just need to replace the hardware.
In the case of harddrives it is best to expect a failure rather than being surprised by one. That is why, if you have critical data it is best that it is backup in more than one spot.
In my machines, I have moved the original harddrive over to the backup slot and replaced it with an SSD that is not only newer and (hopefully) more reliable but a hell of a lot faster -- so my data is stored on the SSD and the backup is on the old harddrive. If the old harddrive dies I'll simply replace it with one of the ones I have laying around.
Years ago when I was a Cost Accountant we lost an entire year's worth of data because 3 backups of it were lost or destroyed. It showed me the value of data: Everything else on a computer can be repaired or replaced. But not the data. Once it's gone it's gone forever.
The Thinkpad I'm using right now has spots for 3 separate drives. This one is not used for critical data so I only have two of them used (the prime spot and one backup -- but if I move it over to use it for financial data I will add a third and run dual backups on it.
For Apple's laptops -- and especially for their iPads -- that is not an option. The iPads automatically backup to iCloud. I think Apple should initiate the same for their laptops. That is, in fact, an ideal way to backup a backup: If, say, my house burns down I my data would be backup off site and safe waiting to be restored once I replaced the house and the laptop.
A lot of big-name ISPs cap residential account upload speeds significantly below their advertised broadband download speeds. (One might imagine this is to prevent residential accounts from being used to host websites of any significant nature.) Likewise, many have overall monthly data transfer caps that would quickly be surpassed by the size of an initial computer hard drive’s backup. Worse, if a household has more than one notebook or desktop computer. Until these practices are no longer standard, offsite cloud backups aren’t a viable option for residential customers.
Offsite backups are not a viable option for SOME residential customers. Most though have harddrives in the 256-500Gb area where the initial backup can be done overnight and, like with iOS and Windows "file history", incremental backups are taken as needed.
Apple showed how that can and does work with iOS and iPadOS. I think they need to add that to MacOS. And, as MacOS is upgraded and folded more and more into Apple's modern ecosystem, I think they will.
There are cloud backup services that cater to personal users, like iDrive Personal, that allow you to ship them a drive with a full backup on it so you don’t have the initial huge upload requirement for the full backup. Incremental updates can then be handled reasonably well without needing massive upload bandwidth. This gives folks another option to obtain a crucial part of any backup strategy - maintaining offsite backups. If your NAS is inside your home it can be destroyed or stolen.
It’s important to think about what really constitutes your “Crown Jewels” when devising a multilevel backup strategy with things like offsite copies. Tools like Time Machine and Carbon Copy Cloner are actually serving far more needs than simply backing up your Crown Jewels. These tools can seriously reduce your downtime and can be a massive convenience by providing full system backups with snapshots or even bootable backups. Whole system backups may not rise to the level of requiring a multilevel backup strategy, but some or all of your data on these systems may.
The important point here is that you shouldn’t put off going the extra mile to back up your Crown Jewels appropriately because you don’t want to incur the effort or expense that it takes to have multiple layers of full system backups the require a lot more hardware and possibly service expenses. Yeah, for some folks, their Crown Jewels alone require terabytes of storage, but for a lot of home users, simply rotating through two or three external SSDs at some interval that makes sense for the volatility of your Crown Jewel data, e.g., daily, weekly, monthly, where one SSD is always stored offsite or in a fireproof safe, is not a bad idea.
No big deal! (IF it is only used as a backup -- and if the user is promptly notified of the failure)
You're original data is still intact -- you just need to replace the hardware.
In the case of harddrives it is best to expect a failure rather than being surprised by one. That is why, if you have critical data it is best that it is backup in more than one spot.
In my machines, I have moved the original harddrive over to the backup slot and replaced it with an SSD that is not only newer and (hopefully) more reliable but a hell of a lot faster -- so my data is stored on the SSD and the backup is on the old harddrive. If the old harddrive dies I'll simply replace it with one of the ones I have laying around.
Years ago when I was a Cost Accountant we lost an entire year's worth of data because 3 backups of it were lost or destroyed. It showed me the value of data: Everything else on a computer can be repaired or replaced. But not the data. Once it's gone it's gone forever.
The Thinkpad I'm using right now has spots for 3 separate drives. This one is not used for critical data so I only have two of them used (the prime spot and one backup -- but if I move it over to use it for financial data I will add a third and run dual backups on it.
For Apple's laptops -- and especially for their iPads -- that is not an option. The iPads automatically backup to iCloud. I think Apple should initiate the same for their laptops. That is, in fact, an ideal way to backup a backup: If, say, my house burns down I my data would be backup off site and safe waiting to be restored once I replaced the house and the laptop.
A lot of big-name ISPs cap residential account upload speeds significantly below their advertised broadband download speeds. (One might imagine this is to prevent residential accounts from being used to host websites of any significant nature.) Likewise, many have overall monthly data transfer caps that would quickly be surpassed by the size of an initial computer hard drive’s backup. Worse, if a household has more than one notebook or desktop computer. Until these practices are no longer standard, offsite cloud backups aren’t a viable option for residential customers.
Offsite backups are not a viable option for SOME residential customers. Most though have harddrives in the 256-500Gb area where the initial backup can be done overnight and, like with iOS and Windows "file history", incremental backups are taken as needed.
Apple showed how that can and does work with iOS and iPadOS. I think they need to add that to MacOS. And, as MacOS is upgraded and folded more and more into Apple's modern ecosystem, I think they will.
The upload speed cap and total monthly data cap issues are common for major ISPs like AT&T, Comcast and many others. Those issues make a time machine-type backup to the cloud not viable for probably a majority of residential customers. An initial time machine backup to an onsite time capsule when connected via Ethernet is an overnight proposition. A speed-capped offsite initial backup would take considerably longer. The option mentioned by @dewme above where a company allows the user to ship in an HDD with a full initial backup is an interesting workaround, but it’s not something the average consumer will do. It also doesn’t help if the user needs a complete disk recovery and the offsite backup is larger than the user’s monthly data cap.
For iOS devices, the iCloud backups you’re referring to are not full backups. They’re partial backups of ‘the important stuff,’ part of a user’s data. They are not the full backups that are done when you back up your iOS devices to a Mac via iTunes or Finder.
Perhaps a cloud backup of “important stuff” from a user’s documents folder might be a reasonable compromise to avert complete disasters, but it’s not a full backup.
Until major ISPs regularly provide residential customers with unthrottled 2-way bandwidth and unlimited data, offsite cloud backups aren’t going to be a simple, viable option for most residential customers.
No big deal! (IF it is only used as a backup -- and if the user is promptly notified of the failure)
You're original data is still intact -- you just need to replace the hardware.
In the case of harddrives it is best to expect a failure rather than being surprised by one. That is why, if you have critical data it is best that it is backup in more than one spot.
In my machines, I have moved the original harddrive over to the backup slot and replaced it with an SSD that is not only newer and (hopefully) more reliable but a hell of a lot faster -- so my data is stored on the SSD and the backup is on the old harddrive. If the old harddrive dies I'll simply replace it with one of the ones I have laying around.
Years ago when I was a Cost Accountant we lost an entire year's worth of data because 3 backups of it were lost or destroyed. It showed me the value of data: Everything else on a computer can be repaired or replaced. But not the data. Once it's gone it's gone forever.
The Thinkpad I'm using right now has spots for 3 separate drives. This one is not used for critical data so I only have two of them used (the prime spot and one backup -- but if I move it over to use it for financial data I will add a third and run dual backups on it.
For Apple's laptops -- and especially for their iPads -- that is not an option. The iPads automatically backup to iCloud. I think Apple should initiate the same for their laptops. That is, in fact, an ideal way to backup a backup: If, say, my house burns down I my data would be backup off site and safe waiting to be restored once I replaced the house and the laptop.
A lot of big-name ISPs cap residential account upload speeds significantly below their advertised broadband download speeds. (One might imagine this is to prevent residential accounts from being used to host websites of any significant nature.) Likewise, many have overall monthly data transfer caps that would quickly be surpassed by the size of an initial computer hard drive’s backup. Worse, if a household has more than one notebook or desktop computer. Until these practices are no longer standard, offsite cloud backups aren’t a viable option for residential customers.
Offsite backups are not a viable option for SOME residential customers. Most though have harddrives in the 256-500Gb area where the initial backup can be done overnight and, like with iOS and Windows "file history", incremental backups are taken as needed.
Apple showed how that can and does work with iOS and iPadOS. I think they need to add that to MacOS. And, as MacOS is upgraded and folded more and more into Apple's modern ecosystem, I think they will.
The upload speed cap and total monthly data cap issues are common for major ISPs like AT&T, Comcast and many others. Those issues make a time machine-type backup to the cloud not viable for probably a majority of residential customers. An initial time machine backup to an onsite time capsule when connected via Ethernet is an overnight proposition. A speed-capped offsite initial backup would take considerably longer. The option mentioned by @dewme above where a company allows the user to ship in an HDD with a full initial backup is an interesting workaround, but it’s not something the average consumer will do. It also doesn’t help if the user needs a complete disk recovery and the offsite backup is larger than the user’s monthly data cap.
For iOS devices, the iCloud backups you’re referring to are not full backups. They’re partial backups of ‘the important stuff,’ part of a user’s data. They are not the full backups that are done when you back up your iOS devices to a Mac via iTunes or Finder.
Perhaps a cloud backup of “important stuff” from a user’s documents folder might be a reasonable compromise to avert complete disasters, but it’s not a full backup.
Until major ISPs regularly provide residential customers with unthrottled 2-way bandwidth and unlimited data, offsite cloud backups aren’t going to be a simple, viable option for most residential customers.
I concur that data caps and limits make offsite cloud backup a challenge for residential consumers. Workaround options are few and far between although both iDrive and Backblaze both offer recovery drive shipping, where they will ship you a drive with all of your backup data on it so you don't have to worry about download limits.
I think Apple is hesitant to offer "Time Machine in the Cloud" until they can do it right. In the meantime it's imperative that users of iCloud Drive not misconstrue it as being a backup service, because it isn't.
Pretty much every company I've worked for uses Iron Mountain for offsite backups and disaster recovery for both digital and physical assets.
No big deal! (IF it is only used as a backup -- and if the user is promptly notified of the failure)
You're original data is still intact -- you just need to replace the hardware.
In the case of harddrives it is best to expect a failure rather than being surprised by one. That is why, if you have critical data it is best that it is backup in more than one spot.
In my machines, I have moved the original harddrive over to the backup slot and replaced it with an SSD that is not only newer and (hopefully) more reliable but a hell of a lot faster -- so my data is stored on the SSD and the backup is on the old harddrive. If the old harddrive dies I'll simply replace it with one of the ones I have laying around.
Years ago when I was a Cost Accountant we lost an entire year's worth of data because 3 backups of it were lost or destroyed. It showed me the value of data: Everything else on a computer can be repaired or replaced. But not the data. Once it's gone it's gone forever.
The Thinkpad I'm using right now has spots for 3 separate drives. This one is not used for critical data so I only have two of them used (the prime spot and one backup -- but if I move it over to use it for financial data I will add a third and run dual backups on it.
For Apple's laptops -- and especially for their iPads -- that is not an option. The iPads automatically backup to iCloud. I think Apple should initiate the same for their laptops. That is, in fact, an ideal way to backup a backup: If, say, my house burns down I my data would be backup off site and safe waiting to be restored once I replaced the house and the laptop.
A lot of big-name ISPs cap residential account upload speeds significantly below their advertised broadband download speeds. (One might imagine this is to prevent residential accounts from being used to host websites of any significant nature.) Likewise, many have overall monthly data transfer caps that would quickly be surpassed by the size of an initial computer hard drive’s backup. Worse, if a household has more than one notebook or desktop computer. Until these practices are no longer standard, offsite cloud backups aren’t a viable option for residential customers.
Offsite backups are not a viable option for SOME residential customers. Most though have harddrives in the 256-500Gb area where the initial backup can be done overnight and, like with iOS and Windows "file history", incremental backups are taken as needed.
Apple showed how that can and does work with iOS and iPadOS. I think they need to add that to MacOS. And, as MacOS is upgraded and folded more and more into Apple's modern ecosystem, I think they will.
The upload speed cap and total monthly data cap issues are common for major ISPs like AT&T, Comcast and many others. Those issues make a time machine-type backup to the cloud not viable for probably a majority of residential customers. An initial time machine backup to an onsite time capsule when connected via Ethernet is an overnight proposition. A speed-capped offsite initial backup would take considerably longer. The option mentioned by @dewme above where a company allows the user to ship in an HDD with a full initial backup is an interesting workaround, but it’s not something the average consumer will do. It also doesn’t help if the user needs a complete disk recovery and the offsite backup is larger than the user’s monthly data cap.
For iOS devices, the iCloud backups you’re referring to are not full backups. They’re partial backups of ‘the important stuff,’ part of a user’s data. They are not the full backups that are done when you back up your iOS devices to a Mac via iTunes or Finder.
Perhaps a cloud backup of “important stuff” from a user’s documents folder might be a reasonable compromise to avert complete disasters, but it’s not a full backup.
Until major ISPs regularly provide residential customers with unthrottled 2-way bandwidth and unlimited data, offsite cloud backups aren’t going to be a simple, viable option for most residential customers.
I concur that data caps and limits make offsite cloud backup a challenge for residential consumers. Workaround options are few and far between although both iDrive and Backblaze both offer recovery drive shipping, where they will ship you a drive with all of your backup data on it so you don't have to worry about download limits.
I think Apple is hesitant to offer "Time Machine in the Cloud" until they can do it right. In the meantime it's imperative that users of iCloud Drive not misconstrue it as being a backup service, because it isn't.
Pretty much every company I've worked for uses Iron Mountain for offsite backups and disaster recovery for both digital and physical assets.
This is ultimately what I’m getting at. They’re not going to do that until ISPs largely drop the limitations.
No big deal! (IF it is only used as a backup -- and if the user is promptly notified of the failure)
You're original data is still intact -- you just need to replace the hardware.
In the case of harddrives it is best to expect a failure rather than being surprised by one. That is why, if you have critical data it is best that it is backup in more than one spot.
In my machines, I have moved the original harddrive over to the backup slot and replaced it with an SSD that is not only newer and (hopefully) more reliable but a hell of a lot faster -- so my data is stored on the SSD and the backup is on the old harddrive. If the old harddrive dies I'll simply replace it with one of the ones I have laying around.
Years ago when I was a Cost Accountant we lost an entire year's worth of data because 3 backups of it were lost or destroyed. It showed me the value of data: Everything else on a computer can be repaired or replaced. But not the data. Once it's gone it's gone forever.
The Thinkpad I'm using right now has spots for 3 separate drives. This one is not used for critical data so I only have two of them used (the prime spot and one backup -- but if I move it over to use it for financial data I will add a third and run dual backups on it.
For Apple's laptops -- and especially for their iPads -- that is not an option. The iPads automatically backup to iCloud. I think Apple should initiate the same for their laptops. That is, in fact, an ideal way to backup a backup: If, say, my house burns down I my data would be backup off site and safe waiting to be restored once I replaced the house and the laptop.
A lot of big-name ISPs cap residential account upload speeds significantly below their advertised broadband download speeds. (One might imagine this is to prevent residential accounts from being used to host websites of any significant nature.) Likewise, many have overall monthly data transfer caps that would quickly be surpassed by the size of an initial computer hard drive’s backup. Worse, if a household has more than one notebook or desktop computer. Until these practices are no longer standard, offsite cloud backups aren’t a viable option for residential customers.
Offsite backups are not a viable option for SOME residential customers. Most though have harddrives in the 256-500Gb area where the initial backup can be done overnight and, like with iOS and Windows "file history", incremental backups are taken as needed.
Apple showed how that can and does work with iOS and iPadOS. I think they need to add that to MacOS. And, as MacOS is upgraded and folded more and more into Apple's modern ecosystem, I think they will.
The upload speed cap and total monthly data cap issues are common for major ISPs like AT&T, Comcast and many others. Those issues make a time machine-type backup to the cloud not viable for probably a majority of residential customers. An initial time machine backup to an onsite time capsule when connected via Ethernet is an overnight proposition. A speed-capped offsite initial backup would take considerably longer. The option mentioned by @dewme above where a company allows the user to ship in an HDD with a full initial backup is an interesting workaround, but it’s not something the average consumer will do. It also doesn’t help if the user needs a complete disk recovery and the offsite backup is larger than the user’s monthly data cap.
For iOS devices, the iCloud backups you’re referring to are not full backups. They’re partial backups of ‘the important stuff,’ part of a user’s data. They are not the full backups that are done when you back up your iOS devices to a Mac via iTunes or Finder.
Perhaps a cloud backup of “important stuff” from a user’s documents folder might be a reasonable compromise to avert complete disasters, but it’s not a full backup.
Until major ISPs regularly provide residential customers with unthrottled 2-way bandwidth and unlimited data, offsite cloud backups aren’t going to be a simple, viable option for most residential customers.
I have no data caps on my cable. That may be a regional thing -- like where you only have one to choose from. Here I bounce back and forth between Comcast and Verizon based on the best deal. Right now Comcast is offering 100Mbs with a 12 month contract for $40 while Verizon is offering 200Mbs without a contract for the same amount I'll be back on Verizon by the end of the month.
And, when I restore my iPhone I get everything back except stored passwords*.
I don't see why they couldn't do the same for MacOS. And, if your carrier imposes data caps then turn the backup off if you want.
* Although that may at least partially be because all apps came from Apple's App store.
No big deal! (IF it is only used as a backup -- and if the user is promptly notified of the failure)
You're original data is still intact -- you just need to replace the hardware.
In the case of harddrives it is best to expect a failure rather than being surprised by one. That is why, if you have critical data it is best that it is backup in more than one spot.
In my machines, I have moved the original harddrive over to the backup slot and replaced it with an SSD that is not only newer and (hopefully) more reliable but a hell of a lot faster -- so my data is stored on the SSD and the backup is on the old harddrive. If the old harddrive dies I'll simply replace it with one of the ones I have laying around.
Years ago when I was a Cost Accountant we lost an entire year's worth of data because 3 backups of it were lost or destroyed. It showed me the value of data: Everything else on a computer can be repaired or replaced. But not the data. Once it's gone it's gone forever.
The Thinkpad I'm using right now has spots for 3 separate drives. This one is not used for critical data so I only have two of them used (the prime spot and one backup -- but if I move it over to use it for financial data I will add a third and run dual backups on it.
For Apple's laptops -- and especially for their iPads -- that is not an option. The iPads automatically backup to iCloud. I think Apple should initiate the same for their laptops. That is, in fact, an ideal way to backup a backup: If, say, my house burns down I my data would be backup off site and safe waiting to be restored once I replaced the house and the laptop.
A lot of big-name ISPs cap residential account upload speeds significantly below their advertised broadband download speeds. (One might imagine this is to prevent residential accounts from being used to host websites of any significant nature.) Likewise, many have overall monthly data transfer caps that would quickly be surpassed by the size of an initial computer hard drive’s backup. Worse, if a household has more than one notebook or desktop computer. Until these practices are no longer standard, offsite cloud backups aren’t a viable option for residential customers.
Offsite backups are not a viable option for SOME residential customers. Most though have harddrives in the 256-500Gb area where the initial backup can be done overnight and, like with iOS and Windows "file history", incremental backups are taken as needed.
Apple showed how that can and does work with iOS and iPadOS. I think they need to add that to MacOS. And, as MacOS is upgraded and folded more and more into Apple's modern ecosystem, I think they will.
The upload speed cap and total monthly data cap issues are common for major ISPs like AT&T, Comcast and many others. Those issues make a time machine-type backup to the cloud not viable for probably a majority of residential customers. An initial time machine backup to an onsite time capsule when connected via Ethernet is an overnight proposition. A speed-capped offsite initial backup would take considerably longer. The option mentioned by @dewme above where a company allows the user to ship in an HDD with a full initial backup is an interesting workaround, but it’s not something the average consumer will do. It also doesn’t help if the user needs a complete disk recovery and the offsite backup is larger than the user’s monthly data cap.
For iOS devices, the iCloud backups you’re referring to are not full backups. They’re partial backups of ‘the important stuff,’ part of a user’s data. They are not the full backups that are done when you back up your iOS devices to a Mac via iTunes or Finder.
Perhaps a cloud backup of “important stuff” from a user’s documents folder might be a reasonable compromise to avert complete disasters, but it’s not a full backup.
Until major ISPs regularly provide residential customers with unthrottled 2-way bandwidth and unlimited data, offsite cloud backups aren’t going to be a simple, viable option for most residential customers.
I have no data caps on my cable. That may be a regional thing -- like where you only have one to choose from. Here I bounce back and forth between Comcast and Verizon based on the best deal. Right now Comcast is offering 100Mbs with a 12 month contract for $40 while Verizon is offering 200Mbs without a contract for the same amount I'll be back on Verizon by the end of the month.
And, when I restore my iPhone I get everything back except stored passwords*.
I don't see why they couldn't do the same for MacOS. And, if your carrier imposes data caps then turn the backup off if you want.
* Although that may at least partially be because all apps came from Apple's App store.
Run a speed test. A dollar to a donut says your 100 Mbs plan does about 15 or 20 for upload speed.
You iPhone restoration experience is exactly because apps are reinstalled from the App Store and not recovered from your backup. MacOS isn’t going to work that way. As a result, a partial MacOS backup of user data with apps reinstalled rather than recovered from backup would result in a mess upon which Apple wouldn’t put its name.
No big deal! (IF it is only used as a backup -- and if the user is promptly notified of the failure)
You're original data is still intact -- you just need to replace the hardware.
In the case of harddrives it is best to expect a failure rather than being surprised by one. That is why, if you have critical data it is best that it is backup in more than one spot.
In my machines, I have moved the original harddrive over to the backup slot and replaced it with an SSD that is not only newer and (hopefully) more reliable but a hell of a lot faster -- so my data is stored on the SSD and the backup is on the old harddrive. If the old harddrive dies I'll simply replace it with one of the ones I have laying around.
Years ago when I was a Cost Accountant we lost an entire year's worth of data because 3 backups of it were lost or destroyed. It showed me the value of data: Everything else on a computer can be repaired or replaced. But not the data. Once it's gone it's gone forever.
The Thinkpad I'm using right now has spots for 3 separate drives. This one is not used for critical data so I only have two of them used (the prime spot and one backup -- but if I move it over to use it for financial data I will add a third and run dual backups on it.
For Apple's laptops -- and especially for their iPads -- that is not an option. The iPads automatically backup to iCloud. I think Apple should initiate the same for their laptops. That is, in fact, an ideal way to backup a backup: If, say, my house burns down I my data would be backup off site and safe waiting to be restored once I replaced the house and the laptop.
A lot of big-name ISPs cap residential account upload speeds significantly below their advertised broadband download speeds. (One might imagine this is to prevent residential accounts from being used to host websites of any significant nature.) Likewise, many have overall monthly data transfer caps that would quickly be surpassed by the size of an initial computer hard drive’s backup. Worse, if a household has more than one notebook or desktop computer. Until these practices are no longer standard, offsite cloud backups aren’t a viable option for residential customers.
Offsite backups are not a viable option for SOME residential customers. Most though have harddrives in the 256-500Gb area where the initial backup can be done overnight and, like with iOS and Windows "file history", incremental backups are taken as needed.
Apple showed how that can and does work with iOS and iPadOS. I think they need to add that to MacOS. And, as MacOS is upgraded and folded more and more into Apple's modern ecosystem, I think they will.
The upload speed cap and total monthly data cap issues are common for major ISPs like AT&T, Comcast and many others. Those issues make a time machine-type backup to the cloud not viable for probably a majority of residential customers. An initial time machine backup to an onsite time capsule when connected via Ethernet is an overnight proposition. A speed-capped offsite initial backup would take considerably longer. The option mentioned by @dewme above where a company allows the user to ship in an HDD with a full initial backup is an interesting workaround, but it’s not something the average consumer will do. It also doesn’t help if the user needs a complete disk recovery and the offsite backup is larger than the user’s monthly data cap.
For iOS devices, the iCloud backups you’re referring to are not full backups. They’re partial backups of ‘the important stuff,’ part of a user’s data. They are not the full backups that are done when you back up your iOS devices to a Mac via iTunes or Finder.
Perhaps a cloud backup of “important stuff” from a user’s documents folder might be a reasonable compromise to avert complete disasters, but it’s not a full backup.
Until major ISPs regularly provide residential customers with unthrottled 2-way bandwidth and unlimited data, offsite cloud backups aren’t going to be a simple, viable option for most residential customers.
I have no data caps on my cable. That may be a regional thing -- like where you only have one to choose from. Here I bounce back and forth between Comcast and Verizon based on the best deal. Right now Comcast is offering 100Mbs with a 12 month contract for $40 while Verizon is offering 200Mbs without a contract for the same amount I'll be back on Verizon by the end of the month.
And, when I restore my iPhone I get everything back except stored passwords*.
I don't see why they couldn't do the same for MacOS. And, if your carrier imposes data caps then turn the backup off if you want.
* Although that may at least partially be because all apps came from Apple's App store.
Run a speed test. A dollar to a donut says your 100 Mbs plan does about 15 or 20 for upload speed.
You iPhone restoration experience is exactly because apps are reinstalled from the App Store and not recovered from your backup. MacOS isn’t going to work that way. As a result, a partial MacOS backup of user data with apps reinstalled rather than recovered from backup would result in a mess upon which Apple wouldn’t put its name.
I'm sure that upload speed is 15 or 20 Mbs. But that's fine. It's not a data cap.
And, Apple could backup and restore Macs to / from iCloud just as they do iOS and iPadOS. For those who like to bypass the App Store and side load their own -- well they'll have to do that again. Too bad. Next time use the App Store. It doesn't mean that Apple should not use all of their facilities to serve their customers the best they can.
No big deal! (IF it is only used as a backup -- and if the user is promptly notified of the failure)
You're original data is still intact -- you just need to replace the hardware.
In the case of harddrives it is best to expect a failure rather than being surprised by one. That is why, if you have critical data it is best that it is backup in more than one spot.
In my machines, I have moved the original harddrive over to the backup slot and replaced it with an SSD that is not only newer and (hopefully) more reliable but a hell of a lot faster -- so my data is stored on the SSD and the backup is on the old harddrive. If the old harddrive dies I'll simply replace it with one of the ones I have laying around.
Years ago when I was a Cost Accountant we lost an entire year's worth of data because 3 backups of it were lost or destroyed. It showed me the value of data: Everything else on a computer can be repaired or replaced. But not the data. Once it's gone it's gone forever.
The Thinkpad I'm using right now has spots for 3 separate drives. This one is not used for critical data so I only have two of them used (the prime spot and one backup -- but if I move it over to use it for financial data I will add a third and run dual backups on it.
For Apple's laptops -- and especially for their iPads -- that is not an option. The iPads automatically backup to iCloud. I think Apple should initiate the same for their laptops. That is, in fact, an ideal way to backup a backup: If, say, my house burns down I my data would be backup off site and safe waiting to be restored once I replaced the house and the laptop.
A lot of big-name ISPs cap residential account upload speeds significantly below their advertised broadband download speeds. (One might imagine this is to prevent residential accounts from being used to host websites of any significant nature.) Likewise, many have overall monthly data transfer caps that would quickly be surpassed by the size of an initial computer hard drive’s backup. Worse, if a household has more than one notebook or desktop computer. Until these practices are no longer standard, offsite cloud backups aren’t a viable option for residential customers.
Offsite backups are not a viable option for SOME residential customers. Most though have harddrives in the 256-500Gb area where the initial backup can be done overnight and, like with iOS and Windows "file history", incremental backups are taken as needed.
Apple showed how that can and does work with iOS and iPadOS. I think they need to add that to MacOS. And, as MacOS is upgraded and folded more and more into Apple's modern ecosystem, I think they will.
The upload speed cap and total monthly data cap issues are common for major ISPs like AT&T, Comcast and many others. Those issues make a time machine-type backup to the cloud not viable for probably a majority of residential customers. An initial time machine backup to an onsite time capsule when connected via Ethernet is an overnight proposition. A speed-capped offsite initial backup would take considerably longer. The option mentioned by @dewme above where a company allows the user to ship in an HDD with a full initial backup is an interesting workaround, but it’s not something the average consumer will do. It also doesn’t help if the user needs a complete disk recovery and the offsite backup is larger than the user’s monthly data cap.
For iOS devices, the iCloud backups you’re referring to are not full backups. They’re partial backups of ‘the important stuff,’ part of a user’s data. They are not the full backups that are done when you back up your iOS devices to a Mac via iTunes or Finder.
Perhaps a cloud backup of “important stuff” from a user’s documents folder might be a reasonable compromise to avert complete disasters, but it’s not a full backup.
Until major ISPs regularly provide residential customers with unthrottled 2-way bandwidth and unlimited data, offsite cloud backups aren’t going to be a simple, viable option for most residential customers.
I have no data caps on my cable. That may be a regional thing -- like where you only have one to choose from. Here I bounce back and forth between Comcast and Verizon based on the best deal. Right now Comcast is offering 100Mbs with a 12 month contract for $40 while Verizon is offering 200Mbs without a contract for the same amount I'll be back on Verizon by the end of the month.
And, when I restore my iPhone I get everything back except stored passwords*.
I don't see why they couldn't do the same for MacOS. And, if your carrier imposes data caps then turn the backup off if you want.
* Although that may at least partially be because all apps came from Apple's App store.
Run a speed test. A dollar to a donut says your 100 Mbs plan does about 15 or 20 for upload speed.
You iPhone restoration experience is exactly because apps are reinstalled from the App Store and not recovered from your backup. MacOS isn’t going to work that way. As a result, a partial MacOS backup of user data with apps reinstalled rather than recovered from backup would result in a mess upon which Apple wouldn’t put its name.
I'm sure that upload speed is 15 or 20 Mbs. But that's fine. It's not a data cap.
And, Apple could backup and restore Macs to / from iCloud just as they do iOS and iPadOS. For those who like to bypass the App Store and side load their own -- well they'll have to do that again. Too bad. Next time use the App Store. It doesn't mean that Apple should not use all of their facilities to serve their customers the best they can.
It’s not Apple’s general practice to offer something that won’t “just work.” A Mac iCloud backup that takes days to get established via slow upload doesn’t fit that bill. Nor does offering something they know will hammer many customers’ monthly data caps. MacOS doesn’t prevent third-party app installations, and many common programs aren’t available via the Mac App Store. Doing what you want would be a miserable experience for a lot of customers, and as such wouldn’t be serving them “the best they can.”
No big deal! (IF it is only used as a backup -- and if the user is promptly notified of the failure)
You're original data is still intact -- you just need to replace the hardware.
In the case of harddrives it is best to expect a failure rather than being surprised by one. That is why, if you have critical data it is best that it is backup in more than one spot.
In my machines, I have moved the original harddrive over to the backup slot and replaced it with an SSD that is not only newer and (hopefully) more reliable but a hell of a lot faster -- so my data is stored on the SSD and the backup is on the old harddrive. If the old harddrive dies I'll simply replace it with one of the ones I have laying around.
Years ago when I was a Cost Accountant we lost an entire year's worth of data because 3 backups of it were lost or destroyed. It showed me the value of data: Everything else on a computer can be repaired or replaced. But not the data. Once it's gone it's gone forever.
The Thinkpad I'm using right now has spots for 3 separate drives. This one is not used for critical data so I only have two of them used (the prime spot and one backup -- but if I move it over to use it for financial data I will add a third and run dual backups on it.
For Apple's laptops -- and especially for their iPads -- that is not an option. The iPads automatically backup to iCloud. I think Apple should initiate the same for their laptops. That is, in fact, an ideal way to backup a backup: If, say, my house burns down I my data would be backup off site and safe waiting to be restored once I replaced the house and the laptop.
A lot of big-name ISPs cap residential account upload speeds significantly below their advertised broadband download speeds. (One might imagine this is to prevent residential accounts from being used to host websites of any significant nature.) Likewise, many have overall monthly data transfer caps that would quickly be surpassed by the size of an initial computer hard drive’s backup. Worse, if a household has more than one notebook or desktop computer. Until these practices are no longer standard, offsite cloud backups aren’t a viable option for residential customers.
Offsite backups are not a viable option for SOME residential customers. Most though have harddrives in the 256-500Gb area where the initial backup can be done overnight and, like with iOS and Windows "file history", incremental backups are taken as needed.
Apple showed how that can and does work with iOS and iPadOS. I think they need to add that to MacOS. And, as MacOS is upgraded and folded more and more into Apple's modern ecosystem, I think they will.
The upload speed cap and total monthly data cap issues are common for major ISPs like AT&T, Comcast and many others. Those issues make a time machine-type backup to the cloud not viable for probably a majority of residential customers. An initial time machine backup to an onsite time capsule when connected via Ethernet is an overnight proposition. A speed-capped offsite initial backup would take considerably longer. The option mentioned by @dewme above where a company allows the user to ship in an HDD with a full initial backup is an interesting workaround, but it’s not something the average consumer will do. It also doesn’t help if the user needs a complete disk recovery and the offsite backup is larger than the user’s monthly data cap.
For iOS devices, the iCloud backups you’re referring to are not full backups. They’re partial backups of ‘the important stuff,’ part of a user’s data. They are not the full backups that are done when you back up your iOS devices to a Mac via iTunes or Finder.
Perhaps a cloud backup of “important stuff” from a user’s documents folder might be a reasonable compromise to avert complete disasters, but it’s not a full backup.
Until major ISPs regularly provide residential customers with unthrottled 2-way bandwidth and unlimited data, offsite cloud backups aren’t going to be a simple, viable option for most residential customers.
I have no data caps on my cable. That may be a regional thing -- like where you only have one to choose from. Here I bounce back and forth between Comcast and Verizon based on the best deal. Right now Comcast is offering 100Mbs with a 12 month contract for $40 while Verizon is offering 200Mbs without a contract for the same amount I'll be back on Verizon by the end of the month.
And, when I restore my iPhone I get everything back except stored passwords*.
I don't see why they couldn't do the same for MacOS. And, if your carrier imposes data caps then turn the backup off if you want.
* Although that may at least partially be because all apps came from Apple's App store.
Run a speed test. A dollar to a donut says your 100 Mbs plan does about 15 or 20 for upload speed.
You iPhone restoration experience is exactly because apps are reinstalled from the App Store and not recovered from your backup. MacOS isn’t going to work that way. As a result, a partial MacOS backup of user data with apps reinstalled rather than recovered from backup would result in a mess upon which Apple wouldn’t put its name.
I'm sure that upload speed is 15 or 20 Mbs. But that's fine. It's not a data cap.
And, Apple could backup and restore Macs to / from iCloud just as they do iOS and iPadOS. For those who like to bypass the App Store and side load their own -- well they'll have to do that again. Too bad. Next time use the App Store. It doesn't mean that Apple should not use all of their facilities to serve their customers the best they can.
It’s not Apple’s general practice to offer something that won’t “just work.” A Mac iCloud backup that takes days to get established via slow upload doesn’t fit that bill. Nor does offering something they know will hammer many customers’ monthly data caps. MacOS doesn’t prevent third-party app installations, and many common programs aren’t available via the Mac App Store. Doing what you want would be a miserable experience for a lot of customers, and as such wouldn’t be serving them “the best they can.”
The storage on my iPhone and my MacBook are both the same: 128Gb. And iPads now go up to 2,000Gb.
Why would it take longer to back that up from a MacBook?
No big deal! (IF it is only used as a backup -- and if the user is promptly notified of the failure)
You're original data is still intact -- you just need to replace the hardware.
In the case of harddrives it is best to expect a failure rather than being surprised by one. That is why, if you have critical data it is best that it is backup in more than one spot.
In my machines, I have moved the original harddrive over to the backup slot and replaced it with an SSD that is not only newer and (hopefully) more reliable but a hell of a lot faster -- so my data is stored on the SSD and the backup is on the old harddrive. If the old harddrive dies I'll simply replace it with one of the ones I have laying around.
Years ago when I was a Cost Accountant we lost an entire year's worth of data because 3 backups of it were lost or destroyed. It showed me the value of data: Everything else on a computer can be repaired or replaced. But not the data. Once it's gone it's gone forever.
The Thinkpad I'm using right now has spots for 3 separate drives. This one is not used for critical data so I only have two of them used (the prime spot and one backup -- but if I move it over to use it for financial data I will add a third and run dual backups on it.
For Apple's laptops -- and especially for their iPads -- that is not an option. The iPads automatically backup to iCloud. I think Apple should initiate the same for their laptops. That is, in fact, an ideal way to backup a backup: If, say, my house burns down I my data would be backup off site and safe waiting to be restored once I replaced the house and the laptop.
A lot of big-name ISPs cap residential account upload speeds significantly below their advertised broadband download speeds. (One might imagine this is to prevent residential accounts from being used to host websites of any significant nature.) Likewise, many have overall monthly data transfer caps that would quickly be surpassed by the size of an initial computer hard drive’s backup. Worse, if a household has more than one notebook or desktop computer. Until these practices are no longer standard, offsite cloud backups aren’t a viable option for residential customers.
Offsite backups are not a viable option for SOME residential customers. Most though have harddrives in the 256-500Gb area where the initial backup can be done overnight and, like with iOS and Windows "file history", incremental backups are taken as needed.
Apple showed how that can and does work with iOS and iPadOS. I think they need to add that to MacOS. And, as MacOS is upgraded and folded more and more into Apple's modern ecosystem, I think they will.
The upload speed cap and total monthly data cap issues are common for major ISPs like AT&T, Comcast and many others. Those issues make a time machine-type backup to the cloud not viable for probably a majority of residential customers. An initial time machine backup to an onsite time capsule when connected via Ethernet is an overnight proposition. A speed-capped offsite initial backup would take considerably longer. The option mentioned by @dewme above where a company allows the user to ship in an HDD with a full initial backup is an interesting workaround, but it’s not something the average consumer will do. It also doesn’t help if the user needs a complete disk recovery and the offsite backup is larger than the user’s monthly data cap.
For iOS devices, the iCloud backups you’re referring to are not full backups. They’re partial backups of ‘the important stuff,’ part of a user’s data. They are not the full backups that are done when you back up your iOS devices to a Mac via iTunes or Finder.
Perhaps a cloud backup of “important stuff” from a user’s documents folder might be a reasonable compromise to avert complete disasters, but it’s not a full backup.
Until major ISPs regularly provide residential customers with unthrottled 2-way bandwidth and unlimited data, offsite cloud backups aren’t going to be a simple, viable option for most residential customers.
I have no data caps on my cable. That may be a regional thing -- like where you only have one to choose from. Here I bounce back and forth between Comcast and Verizon based on the best deal. Right now Comcast is offering 100Mbs with a 12 month contract for $40 while Verizon is offering 200Mbs without a contract for the same amount I'll be back on Verizon by the end of the month.
And, when I restore my iPhone I get everything back except stored passwords*.
I don't see why they couldn't do the same for MacOS. And, if your carrier imposes data caps then turn the backup off if you want.
* Although that may at least partially be because all apps came from Apple's App store.
Run a speed test. A dollar to a donut says your 100 Mbs plan does about 15 or 20 for upload speed.
You iPhone restoration experience is exactly because apps are reinstalled from the App Store and not recovered from your backup. MacOS isn’t going to work that way. As a result, a partial MacOS backup of user data with apps reinstalled rather than recovered from backup would result in a mess upon which Apple wouldn’t put its name.
I'm sure that upload speed is 15 or 20 Mbs. But that's fine. It's not a data cap.
And, Apple could backup and restore Macs to / from iCloud just as they do iOS and iPadOS. For those who like to bypass the App Store and side load their own -- well they'll have to do that again. Too bad. Next time use the App Store. It doesn't mean that Apple should not use all of their facilities to serve their customers the best they can.
It’s not Apple’s general practice to offer something that won’t “just work.” A Mac iCloud backup that takes days to get established via slow upload doesn’t fit that bill. Nor does offering something they know will hammer many customers’ monthly data caps. MacOS doesn’t prevent third-party app installations, and many common programs aren’t available via the Mac App Store. Doing what you want would be a miserable experience for a lot of customers, and as such wouldn’t be serving them “the best they can.”
Why does it matter if an initial backup takes days? It's just an initial backup.
This sort of system works fine for BackBlaze and CrashPlan, I see no reason why Apple couldn't make it work. It can come with a data cap management tooling if necessary.
No big deal! (IF it is only used as a backup -- and if the user is promptly notified of the failure)
You're original data is still intact -- you just need to replace the hardware.
In the case of harddrives it is best to expect a failure rather than being surprised by one. That is why, if you have critical data it is best that it is backup in more than one spot.
In my machines, I have moved the original harddrive over to the backup slot and replaced it with an SSD that is not only newer and (hopefully) more reliable but a hell of a lot faster -- so my data is stored on the SSD and the backup is on the old harddrive. If the old harddrive dies I'll simply replace it with one of the ones I have laying around.
Years ago when I was a Cost Accountant we lost an entire year's worth of data because 3 backups of it were lost or destroyed. It showed me the value of data: Everything else on a computer can be repaired or replaced. But not the data. Once it's gone it's gone forever.
The Thinkpad I'm using right now has spots for 3 separate drives. This one is not used for critical data so I only have two of them used (the prime spot and one backup -- but if I move it over to use it for financial data I will add a third and run dual backups on it.
For Apple's laptops -- and especially for their iPads -- that is not an option. The iPads automatically backup to iCloud. I think Apple should initiate the same for their laptops. That is, in fact, an ideal way to backup a backup: If, say, my house burns down I my data would be backup off site and safe waiting to be restored once I replaced the house and the laptop.
A lot of big-name ISPs cap residential account upload speeds significantly below their advertised broadband download speeds. (One might imagine this is to prevent residential accounts from being used to host websites of any significant nature.) Likewise, many have overall monthly data transfer caps that would quickly be surpassed by the size of an initial computer hard drive’s backup. Worse, if a household has more than one notebook or desktop computer. Until these practices are no longer standard, offsite cloud backups aren’t a viable option for residential customers.
Offsite backups are not a viable option for SOME residential customers. Most though have harddrives in the 256-500Gb area where the initial backup can be done overnight and, like with iOS and Windows "file history", incremental backups are taken as needed.
Apple showed how that can and does work with iOS and iPadOS. I think they need to add that to MacOS. And, as MacOS is upgraded and folded more and more into Apple's modern ecosystem, I think they will.
The upload speed cap and total monthly data cap issues are common for major ISPs like AT&T, Comcast and many others. Those issues make a time machine-type backup to the cloud not viable for probably a majority of residential customers. An initial time machine backup to an onsite time capsule when connected via Ethernet is an overnight proposition. A speed-capped offsite initial backup would take considerably longer. The option mentioned by @dewme above where a company allows the user to ship in an HDD with a full initial backup is an interesting workaround, but it’s not something the average consumer will do. It also doesn’t help if the user needs a complete disk recovery and the offsite backup is larger than the user’s monthly data cap.
For iOS devices, the iCloud backups you’re referring to are not full backups. They’re partial backups of ‘the important stuff,’ part of a user’s data. They are not the full backups that are done when you back up your iOS devices to a Mac via iTunes or Finder.
Perhaps a cloud backup of “important stuff” from a user’s documents folder might be a reasonable compromise to avert complete disasters, but it’s not a full backup.
Until major ISPs regularly provide residential customers with unthrottled 2-way bandwidth and unlimited data, offsite cloud backups aren’t going to be a simple, viable option for most residential customers.
I have no data caps on my cable. That may be a regional thing -- like where you only have one to choose from. Here I bounce back and forth between Comcast and Verizon based on the best deal. Right now Comcast is offering 100Mbs with a 12 month contract for $40 while Verizon is offering 200Mbs without a contract for the same amount I'll be back on Verizon by the end of the month.
And, when I restore my iPhone I get everything back except stored passwords*.
I don't see why they couldn't do the same for MacOS. And, if your carrier imposes data caps then turn the backup off if you want.
* Although that may at least partially be because all apps came from Apple's App store.
Run a speed test. A dollar to a donut says your 100 Mbs plan does about 15 or 20 for upload speed.
You iPhone restoration experience is exactly because apps are reinstalled from the App Store and not recovered from your backup. MacOS isn’t going to work that way. As a result, a partial MacOS backup of user data with apps reinstalled rather than recovered from backup would result in a mess upon which Apple wouldn’t put its name.
I'm sure that upload speed is 15 or 20 Mbs. But that's fine. It's not a data cap.
And, Apple could backup and restore Macs to / from iCloud just as they do iOS and iPadOS. For those who like to bypass the App Store and side load their own -- well they'll have to do that again. Too bad. Next time use the App Store. It doesn't mean that Apple should not use all of their facilities to serve their customers the best they can.
It’s not Apple’s general practice to offer something that won’t “just work.” A Mac iCloud backup that takes days to get established via slow upload doesn’t fit that bill. Nor does offering something they know will hammer many customers’ monthly data caps. MacOS doesn’t prevent third-party app installations, and many common programs aren’t available via the Mac App Store. Doing what you want would be a miserable experience for a lot of customers, and as such wouldn’t be serving them “the best they can.”
Why does it matter if an initial backup takes days? It's just an initial backup.
This sort of system works fine for BackBlaze and CrashPlan, I see no reason why Apple couldn't make it work. It can come with a data cap management tooling if necessary.
Backblaze is not a full backup. Crashplan is for small business, not for individual users. That info is literally part of their logo.
Apple will make offsite cloud backups a thing when they feel they can deliver a product that's secure and works well without users navigating workarounds for upload speed, data caps and other issues.
The thing that makes Time Machine backups to an NAS so Apple is that, with very little user interaction you have full backups of your Mac that will be useful for retrieving small things as well as for full restorations if you've crashed a disk, dropped a MacBook into the lake or you're simply moving the contents of an old machine to a new one.
No big deal! (IF it is only used as a backup -- and if the user is promptly notified of the failure)
You're original data is still intact -- you just need to replace the hardware.
In the case of harddrives it is best to expect a failure rather than being surprised by one. That is why, if you have critical data it is best that it is backup in more than one spot.
In my machines, I have moved the original harddrive over to the backup slot and replaced it with an SSD that is not only newer and (hopefully) more reliable but a hell of a lot faster -- so my data is stored on the SSD and the backup is on the old harddrive. If the old harddrive dies I'll simply replace it with one of the ones I have laying around.
Years ago when I was a Cost Accountant we lost an entire year's worth of data because 3 backups of it were lost or destroyed. It showed me the value of data: Everything else on a computer can be repaired or replaced. But not the data. Once it's gone it's gone forever.
The Thinkpad I'm using right now has spots for 3 separate drives. This one is not used for critical data so I only have two of them used (the prime spot and one backup -- but if I move it over to use it for financial data I will add a third and run dual backups on it.
For Apple's laptops -- and especially for their iPads -- that is not an option. The iPads automatically backup to iCloud. I think Apple should initiate the same for their laptops. That is, in fact, an ideal way to backup a backup: If, say, my house burns down I my data would be backup off site and safe waiting to be restored once I replaced the house and the laptop.
A lot of big-name ISPs cap residential account upload speeds significantly below their advertised broadband download speeds. (One might imagine this is to prevent residential accounts from being used to host websites of any significant nature.) Likewise, many have overall monthly data transfer caps that would quickly be surpassed by the size of an initial computer hard drive’s backup. Worse, if a household has more than one notebook or desktop computer. Until these practices are no longer standard, offsite cloud backups aren’t a viable option for residential customers.
Offsite backups are not a viable option for SOME residential customers. Most though have harddrives in the 256-500Gb area where the initial backup can be done overnight and, like with iOS and Windows "file history", incremental backups are taken as needed.
Apple showed how that can and does work with iOS and iPadOS. I think they need to add that to MacOS. And, as MacOS is upgraded and folded more and more into Apple's modern ecosystem, I think they will.
The upload speed cap and total monthly data cap issues are common for major ISPs like AT&T, Comcast and many others. Those issues make a time machine-type backup to the cloud not viable for probably a majority of residential customers. An initial time machine backup to an onsite time capsule when connected via Ethernet is an overnight proposition. A speed-capped offsite initial backup would take considerably longer. The option mentioned by @dewme above where a company allows the user to ship in an HDD with a full initial backup is an interesting workaround, but it’s not something the average consumer will do. It also doesn’t help if the user needs a complete disk recovery and the offsite backup is larger than the user’s monthly data cap.
For iOS devices, the iCloud backups you’re referring to are not full backups. They’re partial backups of ‘the important stuff,’ part of a user’s data. They are not the full backups that are done when you back up your iOS devices to a Mac via iTunes or Finder.
Perhaps a cloud backup of “important stuff” from a user’s documents folder might be a reasonable compromise to avert complete disasters, but it’s not a full backup.
Until major ISPs regularly provide residential customers with unthrottled 2-way bandwidth and unlimited data, offsite cloud backups aren’t going to be a simple, viable option for most residential customers.
I have no data caps on my cable. That may be a regional thing -- like where you only have one to choose from. Here I bounce back and forth between Comcast and Verizon based on the best deal. Right now Comcast is offering 100Mbs with a 12 month contract for $40 while Verizon is offering 200Mbs without a contract for the same amount I'll be back on Verizon by the end of the month.
And, when I restore my iPhone I get everything back except stored passwords*.
I don't see why they couldn't do the same for MacOS. And, if your carrier imposes data caps then turn the backup off if you want.
* Although that may at least partially be because all apps came from Apple's App store.
Run a speed test. A dollar to a donut says your 100 Mbs plan does about 15 or 20 for upload speed.
You iPhone restoration experience is exactly because apps are reinstalled from the App Store and not recovered from your backup. MacOS isn’t going to work that way. As a result, a partial MacOS backup of user data with apps reinstalled rather than recovered from backup would result in a mess upon which Apple wouldn’t put its name.
I'm sure that upload speed is 15 or 20 Mbs. But that's fine. It's not a data cap.
And, Apple could backup and restore Macs to / from iCloud just as they do iOS and iPadOS. For those who like to bypass the App Store and side load their own -- well they'll have to do that again. Too bad. Next time use the App Store. It doesn't mean that Apple should not use all of their facilities to serve their customers the best they can.
It’s not Apple’s general practice to offer something that won’t “just work.” A Mac iCloud backup that takes days to get established via slow upload doesn’t fit that bill. Nor does offering something they know will hammer many customers’ monthly data caps. MacOS doesn’t prevent third-party app installations, and many common programs aren’t available via the Mac App Store. Doing what you want would be a miserable experience for a lot of customers, and as such wouldn’t be serving them “the best they can.”
The storage on my iPhone and my MacBook are both the same: 128Gb. And iPads now go up to 2,000Gb.
Why would it take longer to back that up from a MacBook?
... Days? Are you still running dial up at 14Kbs?
Once again, you're not paying attention. Because iOS/iPadOS apps all must come through the app store, Apple is able to create iCloud backups for those devices that only store crucial user-created data. The operating system and apps are not uploaded to iCloud as part of your backup, and so don't have to go through your upload-speed-throttled internet connection, and won't use any of your monthly data allowance. If you have to completely restore your iPhone or iPad from an iCloud backup, it will download a fresh copy of the operating system from Apple, then load your user data and settings, then re-download and install your apps from the app store, bypassing the apps you haven't used in a while, only reinstalling those when you try to use one.
Your Mac is almost guaranteed to have applications on it that did not come through the Mac App Store. So an iCloud backup of a Mac could not provide the user with a full restore from backup without first uploading a complete disk image of your Mac, which would take a very, very long time at <20Mbs, and would also very likely burn up many people's monthly data cap in the process.
Also, your 128GB MacBook disk is dinky. The cheapest MacBook Air currently starts at 256GB, and you can get a MacBook Pro with an 8TB SSD built in. Apple isn't going to make a Mac iCloud backup product that caters to your minuscule 128GB machine but regularly runs into roadblocks for customers who've shelled out for a higher-end MacBook Pro.
No big deal! (IF it is only used as a backup -- and if the user is promptly notified of the failure)
You're original data is still intact -- you just need to replace the hardware.
In the case of harddrives it is best to expect a failure rather than being surprised by one. That is why, if you have critical data it is best that it is backup in more than one spot.
In my machines, I have moved the original harddrive over to the backup slot and replaced it with an SSD that is not only newer and (hopefully) more reliable but a hell of a lot faster -- so my data is stored on the SSD and the backup is on the old harddrive. If the old harddrive dies I'll simply replace it with one of the ones I have laying around.
Years ago when I was a Cost Accountant we lost an entire year's worth of data because 3 backups of it were lost or destroyed. It showed me the value of data: Everything else on a computer can be repaired or replaced. But not the data. Once it's gone it's gone forever.
The Thinkpad I'm using right now has spots for 3 separate drives. This one is not used for critical data so I only have two of them used (the prime spot and one backup -- but if I move it over to use it for financial data I will add a third and run dual backups on it.
For Apple's laptops -- and especially for their iPads -- that is not an option. The iPads automatically backup to iCloud. I think Apple should initiate the same for their laptops. That is, in fact, an ideal way to backup a backup: If, say, my house burns down I my data would be backup off site and safe waiting to be restored once I replaced the house and the laptop.
A lot of big-name ISPs cap residential account upload speeds significantly below their advertised broadband download speeds. (One might imagine this is to prevent residential accounts from being used to host websites of any significant nature.) Likewise, many have overall monthly data transfer caps that would quickly be surpassed by the size of an initial computer hard drive’s backup. Worse, if a household has more than one notebook or desktop computer. Until these practices are no longer standard, offsite cloud backups aren’t a viable option for residential customers.
Offsite backups are not a viable option for SOME residential customers. Most though have harddrives in the 256-500Gb area where the initial backup can be done overnight and, like with iOS and Windows "file history", incremental backups are taken as needed.
Apple showed how that can and does work with iOS and iPadOS. I think they need to add that to MacOS. And, as MacOS is upgraded and folded more and more into Apple's modern ecosystem, I think they will.
The upload speed cap and total monthly data cap issues are common for major ISPs like AT&T, Comcast and many others. Those issues make a time machine-type backup to the cloud not viable for probably a majority of residential customers. An initial time machine backup to an onsite time capsule when connected via Ethernet is an overnight proposition. A speed-capped offsite initial backup would take considerably longer. The option mentioned by @dewme above where a company allows the user to ship in an HDD with a full initial backup is an interesting workaround, but it’s not something the average consumer will do. It also doesn’t help if the user needs a complete disk recovery and the offsite backup is larger than the user’s monthly data cap.
For iOS devices, the iCloud backups you’re referring to are not full backups. They’re partial backups of ‘the important stuff,’ part of a user’s data. They are not the full backups that are done when you back up your iOS devices to a Mac via iTunes or Finder.
Perhaps a cloud backup of “important stuff” from a user’s documents folder might be a reasonable compromise to avert complete disasters, but it’s not a full backup.
Until major ISPs regularly provide residential customers with unthrottled 2-way bandwidth and unlimited data, offsite cloud backups aren’t going to be a simple, viable option for most residential customers.
I have no data caps on my cable. That may be a regional thing -- like where you only have one to choose from. Here I bounce back and forth between Comcast and Verizon based on the best deal. Right now Comcast is offering 100Mbs with a 12 month contract for $40 while Verizon is offering 200Mbs without a contract for the same amount I'll be back on Verizon by the end of the month.
And, when I restore my iPhone I get everything back except stored passwords*.
I don't see why they couldn't do the same for MacOS. And, if your carrier imposes data caps then turn the backup off if you want.
* Although that may at least partially be because all apps came from Apple's App store.
Run a speed test. A dollar to a donut says your 100 Mbs plan does about 15 or 20 for upload speed.
You iPhone restoration experience is exactly because apps are reinstalled from the App Store and not recovered from your backup. MacOS isn’t going to work that way. As a result, a partial MacOS backup of user data with apps reinstalled rather than recovered from backup would result in a mess upon which Apple wouldn’t put its name.
I'm sure that upload speed is 15 or 20 Mbs. But that's fine. It's not a data cap.
And, Apple could backup and restore Macs to / from iCloud just as they do iOS and iPadOS. For those who like to bypass the App Store and side load their own -- well they'll have to do that again. Too bad. Next time use the App Store. It doesn't mean that Apple should not use all of their facilities to serve their customers the best they can.
It’s not Apple’s general practice to offer something that won’t “just work.” A Mac iCloud backup that takes days to get established via slow upload doesn’t fit that bill. Nor does offering something they know will hammer many customers’ monthly data caps. MacOS doesn’t prevent third-party app installations, and many common programs aren’t available via the Mac App Store. Doing what you want would be a miserable experience for a lot of customers, and as such wouldn’t be serving them “the best they can.”
Why does it matter if an initial backup takes days? It's just an initial backup.
This sort of system works fine for BackBlaze and CrashPlan, I see no reason why Apple couldn't make it work. It can come with a data cap management tooling if necessary.
Backblaze is not a full backup. Crashplan is for small business, not for individual users. That info is literally part of their logo.
Apple will make offsite cloud backups a thing when they feel they can deliver a product that's secure and works well without users navigating workarounds for upload speed, data caps and other issues.
The thing that makes Time Machine backups to an NAS so Apple is that, with very little user interaction you have full backups of your Mac that will be useful for retrieving small things as well as for full restorations if you've crashed a disk, dropped a MacBook into the lake or you're simply moving the contents of an old machine to a new one.
iCloud backups of an iPad are likely using the same WiFi & cable as the person's MacBook -- and storage in each is equivalent (actually, at 2Tb, the iPad can probably have more than most MacBooks) -- so speed & data caps should not be an issue.
But, as mentioned above: with the iPad Apple has knowledge & control over everything on it. They don't need to backup apps because they can simply download them from the App Store. But that isn't possible with a MacBook. They would have to do something else -- or leave the user to deal with sideloaded apps.
But that's OK -- backing up the data is the most important. Everything else can be replaced.
No big deal! (IF it is only used as a backup -- and if the user is promptly notified of the failure)
You're original data is still intact -- you just need to replace the hardware.
In the case of harddrives it is best to expect a failure rather than being surprised by one. That is why, if you have critical data it is best that it is backup in more than one spot.
In my machines, I have moved the original harddrive over to the backup slot and replaced it with an SSD that is not only newer and (hopefully) more reliable but a hell of a lot faster -- so my data is stored on the SSD and the backup is on the old harddrive. If the old harddrive dies I'll simply replace it with one of the ones I have laying around.
Years ago when I was a Cost Accountant we lost an entire year's worth of data because 3 backups of it were lost or destroyed. It showed me the value of data: Everything else on a computer can be repaired or replaced. But not the data. Once it's gone it's gone forever.
The Thinkpad I'm using right now has spots for 3 separate drives. This one is not used for critical data so I only have two of them used (the prime spot and one backup -- but if I move it over to use it for financial data I will add a third and run dual backups on it.
For Apple's laptops -- and especially for their iPads -- that is not an option. The iPads automatically backup to iCloud. I think Apple should initiate the same for their laptops. That is, in fact, an ideal way to backup a backup: If, say, my house burns down I my data would be backup off site and safe waiting to be restored once I replaced the house and the laptop.
A lot of big-name ISPs cap residential account upload speeds significantly below their advertised broadband download speeds. (One might imagine this is to prevent residential accounts from being used to host websites of any significant nature.) Likewise, many have overall monthly data transfer caps that would quickly be surpassed by the size of an initial computer hard drive’s backup. Worse, if a household has more than one notebook or desktop computer. Until these practices are no longer standard, offsite cloud backups aren’t a viable option for residential customers.
Offsite backups are not a viable option for SOME residential customers. Most though have harddrives in the 256-500Gb area where the initial backup can be done overnight and, like with iOS and Windows "file history", incremental backups are taken as needed.
Apple showed how that can and does work with iOS and iPadOS. I think they need to add that to MacOS. And, as MacOS is upgraded and folded more and more into Apple's modern ecosystem, I think they will.
The upload speed cap and total monthly data cap issues are common for major ISPs like AT&T, Comcast and many others. Those issues make a time machine-type backup to the cloud not viable for probably a majority of residential customers. An initial time machine backup to an onsite time capsule when connected via Ethernet is an overnight proposition. A speed-capped offsite initial backup would take considerably longer. The option mentioned by @dewme above where a company allows the user to ship in an HDD with a full initial backup is an interesting workaround, but it’s not something the average consumer will do. It also doesn’t help if the user needs a complete disk recovery and the offsite backup is larger than the user’s monthly data cap.
For iOS devices, the iCloud backups you’re referring to are not full backups. They’re partial backups of ‘the important stuff,’ part of a user’s data. They are not the full backups that are done when you back up your iOS devices to a Mac via iTunes or Finder.
Perhaps a cloud backup of “important stuff” from a user’s documents folder might be a reasonable compromise to avert complete disasters, but it’s not a full backup.
Until major ISPs regularly provide residential customers with unthrottled 2-way bandwidth and unlimited data, offsite cloud backups aren’t going to be a simple, viable option for most residential customers.
I have no data caps on my cable. That may be a regional thing -- like where you only have one to choose from. Here I bounce back and forth between Comcast and Verizon based on the best deal. Right now Comcast is offering 100Mbs with a 12 month contract for $40 while Verizon is offering 200Mbs without a contract for the same amount I'll be back on Verizon by the end of the month.
And, when I restore my iPhone I get everything back except stored passwords*.
I don't see why they couldn't do the same for MacOS. And, if your carrier imposes data caps then turn the backup off if you want.
* Although that may at least partially be because all apps came from Apple's App store.
Run a speed test. A dollar to a donut says your 100 Mbs plan does about 15 or 20 for upload speed.
You iPhone restoration experience is exactly because apps are reinstalled from the App Store and not recovered from your backup. MacOS isn’t going to work that way. As a result, a partial MacOS backup of user data with apps reinstalled rather than recovered from backup would result in a mess upon which Apple wouldn’t put its name.
I'm sure that upload speed is 15 or 20 Mbs. But that's fine. It's not a data cap.
And, Apple could backup and restore Macs to / from iCloud just as they do iOS and iPadOS. For those who like to bypass the App Store and side load their own -- well they'll have to do that again. Too bad. Next time use the App Store. It doesn't mean that Apple should not use all of their facilities to serve their customers the best they can.
It’s not Apple’s general practice to offer something that won’t “just work.” A Mac iCloud backup that takes days to get established via slow upload doesn’t fit that bill. Nor does offering something they know will hammer many customers’ monthly data caps. MacOS doesn’t prevent third-party app installations, and many common programs aren’t available via the Mac App Store. Doing what you want would be a miserable experience for a lot of customers, and as such wouldn’t be serving them “the best they can.”
The storage on my iPhone and my MacBook are both the same: 128Gb. And iPads now go up to 2,000Gb.
Why would it take longer to back that up from a MacBook?
... Days? Are you still running dial up at 14Kbs?
Once again, you're not paying attention. Because iOS/iPadOS apps all must come through the app store, Apple is able to create iCloud backups for those devices that only store crucial user-created data. The operating system and apps are not uploaded to iCloud as part of your backup, and so don't have to go through your upload-speed-throttled internet connection, and won't use any of your monthly data allowance. If you have to completely restore your iPhone or iPad from an iCloud backup, it will download a fresh copy of the operating system from Apple, then load your user data and settings, then re-download and install your apps from the app store, bypassing the apps you haven't used in a while, only reinstalling those when you try to use one.
Your Mac is almost guaranteed to have applications on it that did not come through the Mac App Store. So an iCloud backup of a Mac could not provide the user with a full restore from backup without first uploading a complete disk image of your Mac, which would take a very, very long time at <20Mbs, and would also very likely burn up many people's monthly data cap in the process.
Also, your 128GB MacBook disk is dinky. The cheapest MacBook Air currently starts at 256GB, and you can get a MacBook Pro with an 8TB SSD built in. Apple isn't going to make a Mac iCloud backup product that caters to your minuscule 128GB machine but regularly runs into roadblocks for customers who've shelled out for a higher-end MacBook Pro.
I'm not paying attention? LOL....
I'm the one who originally pointed that out!
But, neither do I over emphasize its importance. There is only one thing on a computer that, once lost, can never be recovered: data.
Hardware & software can always be replaced.
So, while it would be nice to have automatic backups of a laptop's software, it is not, in any way, as critical as backing up the data. To equate the two is simply a red herring....
(I also pointed out that iPads now come with up to 2Tb of storage -- and Apple has no problems backing them up automatically to iCloud. Obviously SSD size is no longer a factor)
Backblaze is not a full backup. Crashplan is for small business, not for individual users. That info is literally part of their logo.
I don't see how either of those are relevant. You're expressing concern about the size of the backup - Backblaze has no size limits. What difference does it make if the data is system data, application data or user data? Size is size.
Apple will make offsite cloud backups a thing when they feel they can deliver a product that's secure and works well without users navigating workarounds for upload speed, data caps and other issues.
Sure, no argument there. But I venture that they could do that now, if they had the will.
The thing that makes Time Machine backups to an NAS so Apple is that, with very little user interaction you have full backups of your Mac that will be useful for retrieving small things as well as for full restorations if you've crashed a disk, dropped a MacBook into the lake or you're simply moving the contents of an old machine to a new one.
Ok. And why wouldn't they be able to do that to the cloud, if they wanted to? I've no doubt there would be challenges, but I'm pretty sure it's within their capability. Quite possibly the biggest challenge would be capacity - I'm not sure Apple have enough disk space for redundant backup of all their users data. But that's controllable and ultimately solveable with time and resource.
Backblaze has guidance for how to backup Time Machine to their cloud storage. You seem to be implying that Apple aren't capable of doing something that other service providers are already doing, albeit in a slightly different form.
Backblaze is not a full backup. Crashplan is for small business, not for individual users. That info is literally part of their logo.
I don't see how either of those are relevant. You're expressing concern about the size of the backup - Backblaze has no size limits. What difference does it make if the data is system data, application data or user data? Size is size.
Apple will make offsite cloud backups a thing when they feel they can deliver a product that's secure and works well without users navigating workarounds for upload speed, data caps and other issues.
Sure, no argument there. But I venture that they could do that now, if they had the will.
The thing that makes Time Machine backups to an NAS so Apple is that, with very little user interaction you have full backups of your Mac that will be useful for retrieving small things as well as for full restorations if you've crashed a disk, dropped a MacBook into the lake or you're simply moving the contents of an old machine to a new one.
Ok. And why wouldn't they be able to do that to the cloud, if they wanted to? I've no doubt there would be challenges, but I'm pretty sure it's within their capability. Quite possibly the biggest challenge would be capacity - I'm not sure Apple have enough disk space for redundant backup of all their users data. But that's controllable and ultimately solveable with time and resource.
Backblaze has guidance for how to backup Time Machine to their cloud storage. You seem to be implying that Apple aren't capable of doing something that other service providers are already doing, albeit in a slightly different form.
No, I’m just saying that if the experience doesn’t meet Apple’s standards, they’re not likely to offer it. Other companies sell lots of services and products that Apple could also do, but they don’t, until they can deliver it in a way that stands out. Or, with something like backups, until it’s virtually invisible.
Tidal and Amazon offered spatial audio a year before Apple. They charged a premium to get it, and buried it in terrible apps.
Apple waited and delivered a much better app experience and included it in their standard pricing. For the others, it was a nerdy, niche product. Apple’s implementation makes it mainstream, and will actually drive the rapid creation of new content in the format.
Apple will do the same with iCloud time machine backups. As 5G builds out and goes mainstream, the broadband market will see significant changes in offerings and pricing in the near future. When those shifts are sufficient, it’d be surprising if we don’t see full MacOS iCloud backups become a thing, probably included in standard iCloud pricing tiers.
Backblaze is not a full backup. Crashplan is for small business, not for individual users. That info is literally part of their logo.
I don't see how either of those are relevant. You're expressing concern about the size of the backup - Backblaze has no size limits. What difference does it make if the data is system data, application data or user data? Size is size.
Apple will make offsite cloud backups a thing when they feel they can deliver a product that's secure and works well without users navigating workarounds for upload speed, data caps and other issues.
Sure, no argument there. But I venture that they could do that now, if they had the will.
The thing that makes Time Machine backups to an NAS so Apple is that, with very little user interaction you have full backups of your Mac that will be useful for retrieving small things as well as for full restorations if you've crashed a disk, dropped a MacBook into the lake or you're simply moving the contents of an old machine to a new one.
Ok. And why wouldn't they be able to do that to the cloud, if they wanted to? I've no doubt there would be challenges, but I'm pretty sure it's within their capability. Quite possibly the biggest challenge would be capacity - I'm not sure Apple have enough disk space for redundant backup of all their users data. But that's controllable and ultimately solveable with time and resource.
Backblaze has guidance for how to backup Time Machine to their cloud storage. You seem to be implying that Apple aren't capable of doing something that other service providers are already doing, albeit in a slightly different form.
No, I’m just saying that if the experience doesn’t meet Apple’s standards, they’re not likely to offer it. Other companies sell lots of services and products that Apple could also do, but they don’t, until they can deliver it in a way that stands out. Or, with something like backups, until it’s virtually invisible.
Tidal and Amazon offered spatial audio a year before Apple. They charged a premium to get it, and buried it in terrible apps.
Apple waited and delivered a much better app experience and included it in their standard pricing. For the others, it was a nerdy, niche product. Apple’s implementation makes it mainstream, and will actually drive the rapid creation of new content in the format.
Apple will do the same with iCloud time machine backups. As 5G builds out and goes mainstream, the broadband market will see significant changes in offerings and pricing in the near future. When those shifts are sufficient, it’d be surprising if we don’t see full MacOS iCloud backups become a thing, probably included in standard iCloud pricing tiers.
So what do you think needs to change? What does 5G have to do with it?
Comments
Internal power supply was often cited as the root cause of heat build up. Bad caps. Poorly placed fan that basically didn't spin fast enough. No air inlet. Limited air outlet. Dodgy hard drives (especially the Seagates you mentioned). The famous rubber heat dissipator which many mods recomended removing completely and of course to little clearance from the underside of the unit.
As if that weren't enough the Time Machine software that went with it has always been flaky and spawned another heap of issues and TM Utilities from third parties.
IMO, the only good thing about TC when I got mine was that if you purchased it along with a Mac with AppleCare, the AppleCare would automatically cover the TC (and monitor if you purchased one too).
Wifi off, ethernet only, external USB RAID-5 (stored in the server room)
Oddly, they have been more reliable than Time Machine built into the macOS Server
It’s important to think about what really constitutes your “Crown Jewels” when devising a multilevel backup strategy with things like offsite copies. Tools like Time Machine and Carbon Copy Cloner are actually serving far more needs than simply backing up your Crown Jewels. These tools can seriously reduce your downtime and can be a massive convenience by providing full system backups with snapshots or even bootable backups. Whole system backups may not rise to the level of requiring a multilevel backup strategy, but some or all of your data on these systems may.
The important point here is that you shouldn’t put off going the extra mile to back up your Crown Jewels appropriately because you don’t want to incur the effort or expense that it takes to have multiple layers of full system backups the require a lot more hardware and possibly service expenses. Yeah, for some folks, their Crown Jewels alone require terabytes of storage, but for a lot of home users, simply rotating through two or three external SSDs at some interval that makes sense for the volatility of your Crown Jewel data, e.g., daily, weekly, monthly, where one SSD is always stored offsite or in a fireproof safe, is not a bad idea.
This sort of system works fine for BackBlaze and CrashPlan, I see no reason why Apple couldn't make it work. It can come with a data cap management tooling if necessary.
Apple will make offsite cloud backups a thing when they feel they can deliver a product that's secure and works well without users navigating workarounds for upload speed, data caps and other issues.
The thing that makes Time Machine backups to an NAS so Apple is that, with very little user interaction you have full backups of your Mac that will be useful for retrieving small things as well as for full restorations if you've crashed a disk, dropped a MacBook into the lake or you're simply moving the contents of an old machine to a new one.
Your Mac is almost guaranteed to have applications on it that did not come through the Mac App Store. So an iCloud backup of a Mac could not provide the user with a full restore from backup without first uploading a complete disk image of your Mac, which would take a very, very long time at <20Mbs, and would also very likely burn up many people's monthly data cap in the process.
Sure, no argument there. But I venture that they could do that now, if they had the will.
Ok. And why wouldn't they be able to do that to the cloud, if they wanted to? I've no doubt there would be challenges, but I'm pretty sure it's within their capability. Quite possibly the biggest challenge would be capacity - I'm not sure Apple have enough disk space for redundant backup of all their users data. But that's controllable and ultimately solveable with time and resource.
Backblaze has guidance for how to backup Time Machine to their cloud storage. You seem to be implying that Apple aren't capable of doing something that other service providers are already doing, albeit in a slightly different form.