More syncing and a back-up solution

This week we have a potpourri of products, a mélange of mechanisms, an assortment of accessories. First is a follow-up to last's week column on synching PC data using a product called FolderShare. We just took a look at another system that provides a similar service: BeInSync.

BeInSync is in many ways similar to last week's product: It uses a central server to manage the authorization and coordination of connections between machines to be synchronized and peer-to-peer technology to mediate data transfers.

However, unlike FolderShare, BeInSync works only with Windows 2000 SP3+ or XP. Even so, it has one feature that is compelling for Microsoft Outlook users: It will synchronize your Outlook contacts, in-box and sent mail folders (but unfortunately not calendar or notes items), as well as your Internet Explorer favorites.

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This week we have a potpourri of products, a mélange of mechanisms, an assortment of accessories. First is a follow-up to last's week column on synching PC data using a product called FolderShare. We just took a look at another system that provides a similar service: BeInSync.

BeInSync is in many ways similar to last week's product: It uses a central server to manage the authorization and coordination of connections between machines to be synchronized and peer-to-peer technology to mediate data transfers.

However, unlike FolderShare, BeInSync works only with Windows 2000 SP3+ or XP. Even so, it has one feature that is compelling for Microsoft Outlook users: It will synchronize your Outlook contacts, in-box and sent mail folders (but unfortunately not calendar or notes items), as well as your Internet Explorer favorites.

In the current release of BeInSync (Version 1.5) synchronization is only done at file level; the next release is planned to include support for block-level synchronization.

In our brief testing we found BeInSync to be very easy to set up and fast in operation. Our only complaint is that the user interface is unattractive and cluttered.

There are two editions of BeInSync: the basic version, which supports five shared folders and 10 files synched per day; and the pro version, which supports 15 shared folders and unlimited file syncs, automatic operation and secure remote browser access to files on your PC for $60 per year or $100 for two years.

New from Iomega

Our other topic this week is Iomega's new Rev 35 drive. You'll remember Iomega for its ZIP drives, which were a huge force in exchangeable storage until writeable CD and DVD technology came to dominate the market.

Well, Iomega is back with an updated version of exchangeable storage: The Iomega Rev 35 drive. Where the zip drive was a floppy on steroids, the Rev drive is a re-think of hard-disk technology. The Rev 35 is available for Macintosh and PC with USB 2.0/1.1, Firewire and SCSI interfaces for external devices; and serial ATA, ATAPI and SCSI for internal enclosures. There's also an external SCSI-interfaced auto-changer with bar code scanner.

Each Rev 35 cartridge is a 2.5-inch hard-disk platter that stores 35G bytes (90G bytes compressed) housed in a plastic shell. That works out to about $1.42 per gigabyte, roughly twice the price per gigabyte of conventional hard-disk drives and about seven times the cost per gigabyte of tape. But Rev 35 cartridges are more robust in daily use than tapes, CDs or DVDs, and they have a theoretical shelf life of around 30 years.

The Rev 35 drive is bundled with Iomega's Automatic Backup Pro software, a desktop back-up solution that performs scheduled or continuous backups to Rev 35 drives, as well as network locations; supports media rotation; can restore an entire system or specific files, or do a point-in-time restore; and includes password protection and AES-based encryption.

The Rev 35's performance depends on what is being backed up. For lots of small files its performance is as good or slightly better than tape, while for large files it operates about half as well as an average Integrated Drive Electronics (IDE) drive.