Retrospect, why must you suck?
We run backups off a tape drive hooked up to a G4. I hate the whole setup and always have. The old boss loved it even though it never did anything useful for anyone ever. Dantz Retrospect is an ass sandwich and it is made of ass and poo.
We have about 20 people backed up every night and about 35 over the weekend. This is overkill to say the least. He has it set to backup their entire hard drives when what they need saved is e-mail and documents.
So here was my genius idea:
Everyone of importance is on XP. XP has a nice built-in backup utility. I plug a 256MB jump drive into the back of their computers, ne'er to be removed, onto which a nightly backup of their necessary files will be placed. The users love it because they feel more involved even though it's all automated, and I love it because I don't have to think about it. (We'll be upgrading to 1GB jump drives soon because the big boss lady just loves the whole thing so much... don't ask because I don't know.)
So everything is chipper. We've trimmed the fat (from 35 to 7 machines backed up) and everything's going smoothly. The only "problem" (I don't consider it one) is that some people who were backed up with the old system are no longer involved. Being on the same backup list as the big bosses used to be some sort of minor point of pride, "how did OUR backups go?" They were, in some way, associated, in the club.
But now they are not.
It was a great time going through the lists of the backed up and decide, in concert with big boss lady, who was important enough to be backed up. "What? Why is X backed up? Everything she does could be re-created in minutes." YEOUCH!
One person got dropped who absolutely had no use being backed up. My good buddy and close personal friend who big boss lady dismissed with a quick "no" without any debate.
Marcia (don't forget the lisp)
This morning...
M: "Adam, my computer says I haven't been backed up since the eleventh."
- "I told you last week that I took you off the backup list and that you needed to remove Retrospect from your machine."
M: "Well what happens if my computer crashes?"
- "Then you recover all your data from the backups that you keep yourself."
M: "But I don't keep any backups."
- "Then you won't be able to recover your data if your computer crashes."
...
*pout*
...
M: "Bob always kept my computer backed up."
- "Bob's system never worked and it's gone now. I am only going to focus on necessary backups."
M: "Oh, so you're saying my job isn't necessary."
- *thinking "Yes."*"No, I'm saying that I am not backing up your computer, that's your responsibility now."
M: "How do I do it?"
- "Drag all your files to a flash drive."
...
*pout*
...
M: "Will you do it for me?"
- "No. It's very easy, just do it whenever you feel like it and you'll be fine."
...
*pout*
...
- "Do you need a flash drive, I've got an extra."
M: "No, I have one. I just don't know how to use it."
- "Yes you do."
M: "I don't want to. I liked Bob's system better."
- "Even though it didn't work?"
M: "Well it didn't make me do anything."
Logic! It's what's for breakfast!
-----
Here's a side issue.
Why the hell is Apple's backup utility a part of .Mac only? That is absolutely ridiculous. RAWR!
We have about 20 people backed up every night and about 35 over the weekend. This is overkill to say the least. He has it set to backup their entire hard drives when what they need saved is e-mail and documents.
So here was my genius idea:
Everyone of importance is on XP. XP has a nice built-in backup utility. I plug a 256MB jump drive into the back of their computers, ne'er to be removed, onto which a nightly backup of their necessary files will be placed. The users love it because they feel more involved even though it's all automated, and I love it because I don't have to think about it. (We'll be upgrading to 1GB jump drives soon because the big boss lady just loves the whole thing so much... don't ask because I don't know.)
So everything is chipper. We've trimmed the fat (from 35 to 7 machines backed up) and everything's going smoothly. The only "problem" (I don't consider it one) is that some people who were backed up with the old system are no longer involved. Being on the same backup list as the big bosses used to be some sort of minor point of pride, "how did OUR backups go?" They were, in some way, associated, in the club.
But now they are not.
It was a great time going through the lists of the backed up and decide, in concert with big boss lady, who was important enough to be backed up. "What? Why is X backed up? Everything she does could be re-created in minutes." YEOUCH!
One person got dropped who absolutely had no use being backed up. My good buddy and close personal friend who big boss lady dismissed with a quick "no" without any debate.
Marcia (don't forget the lisp)
This morning...
M: "Adam, my computer says I haven't been backed up since the eleventh."
- "I told you last week that I took you off the backup list and that you needed to remove Retrospect from your machine."
M: "Well what happens if my computer crashes?"
- "Then you recover all your data from the backups that you keep yourself."
M: "But I don't keep any backups."
- "Then you won't be able to recover your data if your computer crashes."
...
*pout*
...
M: "Bob always kept my computer backed up."
- "Bob's system never worked and it's gone now. I am only going to focus on necessary backups."
M: "Oh, so you're saying my job isn't necessary."
- *thinking "Yes."*"No, I'm saying that I am not backing up your computer, that's your responsibility now."
M: "How do I do it?"
- "Drag all your files to a flash drive."
...
*pout*
...
M: "Will you do it for me?"
- "No. It's very easy, just do it whenever you feel like it and you'll be fine."
...
*pout*
...
- "Do you need a flash drive, I've got an extra."
M: "No, I have one. I just don't know how to use it."
- "Yes you do."
M: "I don't want to. I liked Bob's system better."
- "Even though it didn't work?"
M: "Well it didn't make me do anything."
Logic! It's what's for breakfast!
-----
Here's a side issue.
Why the hell is Apple's backup utility a part of .Mac only? That is absolutely ridiculous. RAWR!
Comments
Originally posted by groverat
Here's a side issue.
Why the hell is Apple's backup utility a part of .Mac only? That is absolutely ridiculous. RAWR!
Perhaps, but MS doesn't seem to have any sort of disk imaging built in to the OS. You have to use Ghost, which is annoying and sucky.
...tecnophobes are the WORST! Never let them lull themselves into thinking they are capable of backing up or maintianing their systems!!! Wipe their "noses and butts", its a dirty job, but these ding dongs find more new and inventive ways of leaving the reservation than I care to mention.
Why not stick a linux box (with smb turned on) in the back, map a drive to it, and use that for their outlook archive folders? You can use a bash shell script to back up to a removable drive on the server. and slave a drive in each machine (unplugged when not in use) and mirror their virgin drive to it. In the event of an emrgency, just boot off of "Ghost" (of whatever powerquest program it happens to be this week) and put their machines back -- outlook can 'plug back in' to it's archive folders pretty easy. You could use a 266 K6 chip box for the server, and you get to play with linux.....
that is my free, probably inappropriate, advice.
edit: (I forgot to mention that retrospect drove me from ASIP to linux)
edit: you could put yellow dog linux on the G4
Such economy.
Do you think I'm going to screw with Linux to help them? MADNESS, my friend, MADNESS!
You assume I want to help them. They are not my concern so I would actually laugh heartily if those people who were culled lost everything in a disaster.
These people work with computers every goddam day of their lives. I will shave off my skin with plastic sporks before I enable their idiocy.
I will teach you to fish, I will give you no fish. Fucker.
People here don't use Outlook for their e-mail.
NO SIR!
Everyone here uses Eudora.
"Hello, Adam, it's 1997 calling and it wants it's e-mail client back."
- "Well tell 1997 it's going to have to wait until these bitches all die."
I bet you thought they didn't keep it updated, didn't you? I bet you thought it was dead!
I used Eudora for about 36 hours back in 1999. There was ---I swear it was a bug in eudora --- an "incident" where vacation pictures of a friend of mine mooning me at Mezcal party were inadvertantly emailed to my dad.
Upgraded to Clairs emailer shortly thereafter.
Originally posted by dmz
Eudora!
I used Eudora for about 36 hours back in 1999. There was ---I swear it was a bug in eudora --- an "incident" where vacation pictures of a friend of mine mooning me at Mezcal party were inadvertantly emailed to my dad.
That's nothing. I once sent my ex-girlfriend's mum and dad an email saying 'FUCK OFF.'
With italics. There was nothing in the subject line.
We were having a laugh and I wrote the most inappropriate email I could think of. Heh heh. Wouldn't it be funny if I sent that?
Heh heh.
And then instead of closing the window, I sent it.
I then sent another apologetic email explaining. Me and your daughter were having a laugh. Sorry for the pottymouth. Her mum thought it was hilarious, or she had the good manners to pretend she did. She lives in Hertford Connecticut. It was probably the most interesting thing that happened to her all day.
Anyway, I blame mail.app. Bastard thing. So fiddly and, er, difficult to use.
I still remember my dad's email back: "Should I be seeing this?"
Originally posted by dmz
I still remember my dad's email back: "Should I be seeing this?"
That reminds me of my dad's reaction when he found a bag of hash in his sixteen-year-old son's sock drawer, looking for his socks.
"I've just found something very interesting in Idris's sock drawer."
Burned on my soul.
Originally posted by Hassan i Sabbah
Well, that's my candidate for thread title of the year.
Such economy.
And the Oscar for most descriptive metaphor goes to...
Dantz Retrospect is an ass sandwich and it is made of ass and poo.
--B
That's the most F**cking disgusting thing I've seen. Can I have one supersized?
Originally posted by ThinkingDifferent
Can I have one supersized?
You sick bastard.
--B
Originally posted by Omega
Cant see that lasting....
Oh I think you'd be surprised. It's amazing how tolerant they can be when it suits them.
Originally posted by crazychester
Oh I think you'd be surprised. It's amazing how tolerant they can be when it suits them.
The fact that my girl probably can't do this:
which can currently be found in this active thread, doesn't mean we should discriminate. She ain't heavy...
--B
Hot Swapable Raid Ten (Mirrord raid five)
Forget tape.
Originally posted by Hassan i Sabbah
That reminds me of my dad's reaction when he found a bag of hash in his sixteen-year-old son's sock drawer, looking for his socks.
"I've just found something very interesting in Idris's sock drawer."
Burned on my soul.
I hear you.....the many downsides of self-medication.