I've been researching new backup solutions for both online and offline backups of my development computers. I don't just want to backup a few files, I need disaster recovery (if my machine completely fails, I want to be able to replace the HDD (or computer) and be able to restore it back to the way it was in a few clicks).

For years I've been backing up my PCs using Acronis True Image Home to my local NAS drives. This works great for local backups, but I moved to a Mac last year and haven't found a backup software I really like yet that does compression as well as Acronis (currently PC-only) and offers something close to a GFS backup solution.

But this blog post is to discuss online backup solutions. While I continue to try different offline backup solutions to backup my data to my NAS drives, I really need an offline backup solution for redundancy.

Here are a list of some solutions I've been researching. I'd be grateful to hear people's thoughts on the products or to hear what other people are using that they might suggest to consider. I need something that can backup my Macs (most important), but if there is a product that can backup my PCs as well, it would be preferred:

• Jungle Disk: Offline storage powered by Amazon S3. Very affordable at only 15 cents per gigabyte per month (and you only pay for what you use).
• CrashPlan: A really cool product that allows you to use either their online storage facilities, or backup to your own servers (online and offline). You can even do redundant backups (backup to multiple devices, both your own devices and their online backup facilities). I really like this option, except it doesn't (yet) have an option to just backup to offline HDDs (like my NAS) without involving another OS (I say "yet" because their site lists that they are working on that option and may be offering it soon). Check out their video for a pretty cool demonstration.
• Mozy: An online-only backup solution. This one has been around for a while. It still doesn't appear to officially support Mac OS 10.5 yet (like CrashPlan), but I've had friends say they're using it without a problem. I believe it deletes your data after 30 days.
• Carbonite: An offline backup solution. This is a very enticing solution... only $49.95 per year with no file storage capacity storage limitation. What's that you say? You heard me correct. The downside is that its Windows-only (and I need a solution for the Mac). Still, it was worthy to list here. I believe it deletes your data after 30 days.
• iDrive: Looks like a pretty cool online backup solution, but their pricing os too high for the amount of data I need to backup and it's Windows-only.
• Drobo and DroboShare: Okay, I know... this product doesn't belong on this list of online backup solutions, but it was too cool not to talk about anyway :). The two devices together act like a NAS (using new technology that may replace standard RAID as we know it (my personal opinion)), but limitations like USB2 between the devices, no redundant gigabit connections, etc. are holding me back. Its been out for a while, so hopefully they will have a new version out soon with many of the missing features people have been asking for.

If you Google "online backup solutions" you'll get a long list of products out there (only a few of which I've looked into). So, what do you use or suggest?

On the Official Google Webmaster Central Blog, Google announced a new feature called Video Sitemaps.

Video Sitemaps-an extension of the Sitemap Protocol that helps make your videos more searchable via Google Video Search

I played with it for a couple minutes and it looks pretty cool (I sense maybe a few more features for it coming... we'll see :) ).

As the blog states: To get started, create a Video Sitemap, sign into Google Webmaster Tools, and add the Video Sitemap to your account.

I travel usually 5-8 times a year. No, it's not as many as a lot of people I know, however nine times out of ten I have to pay out of my own pocket. So here are a few tips to save you money and a few headaches and still use the same resources you know and love.

Book Trips Online

First, as many of you probably know, consider using online flight and hotel purchasing. Because I go to a lot of conferences my hotels are usually taken care of, but what about flights? In the past I used to search on all the big-name sites like travelocity, CheapTickets, Expedia, Orbitz, etc. Unfortunately searching all of those sites for the best fare, flight times, seating, etc. can take so many hours (non-billable hours) that you could have just bought the tickets at MSRP and saved money.

Kayak.com

What if I told you there was a way to search all of those sites (and more) in a single search? Don't believe me, check out Kayak.com. I've been using it for almost two years now. It searches over 120+ providers. I really like their search results. Plus they let you pin (or save) a certain search result to compare to other saved results (as long as the session allows).

SeatGuru.com

The next thing I do is seating. We all know that where you sit on a plane is a gamble with regards to a pleasant ride. Will I have room under the seat in front me to store my carry-on or laptop? Will I be too close to a high-traffic area?

Maybe you think you know a good place to sit on say a 777 because you've had a good experience in the past. But did you know there are many models/versions of a 777 and that each model can have drastic changes with regards to layout and seating experience? Not a problem. Check out SeatGuru.com; another Web2.0 site that gives you detailed information about the seating layout on a plane. Just hover over the seat(s) you are interested in and it will give you decent information. Maybe a seat you were looking to sit in only tilts back a few degrees (or not at all). Perhaps the television screen that plays from the ceiling cannot be seen very well from a particular row. This site covers it all in an easy-to-use interface and is free to use.

Earlier this summer I had service done on my house (new home, lots of warranty things all spring and summer). I don't remember which company it was (could have been the sprinkler company), but when I got the bill from them I placed it on the kitchen counter and forgot about it the rest of the day.

When my partner got home and saw it she couldn't stop laughing. I looked at the client info (me) and saw what she was laughing about.

Apparently when I gave the woman over the phone my personal info, I had given her one of my generic email addresses that has an underscore in it.

Yup, you guessed it. She actually wrote out the word underscore in my email address.

Are there awards for people like this? :)

If you haven't checked it out yet, go on over to digg.com and see their new facelift (launched today). Even the new Netscape Beta design launched recently (Digg rip-off) will have to work harder to rip-off Digg's hard work again :).

The 1.0.0 version of Subeclipse has been released. In case you're not familiar with the project, it's a plugin for Eclipse used to connect to subversion (source control software) servers.

Read more about the release on the Subeclipse website.

It feels weird to say that ("I'm 30 years old"). It's a good feeling though... a milestone if you will.

So I'm looking back at my accomplishments and failures over the last 30 years and I have to ask myself, "Self, where to now?"

Well, so far I'm very pleased with where I am at the moment and the direction I'm currently headed in. My career decisions aside my family is what's most important to me.

So what do I plan to cook up for the next 30 years? I have some really cool things planned for the next coming months, but beyond that things seem blurry. I guess as long as I keep my head high, and mind open to new possibilities and new horizons it should be another fun 30 years.

So, work day or not, I'll have a beer, sit back for a few and toast myself to the next 30 years :).

Go to Google Video to see the commercials for Super Bowl XL. They also have the GoDaddy commercials that were not accepted to be aired.

I don't know about you, but I thought the Window Washer was GoDaddy's best one (gosh darn censors).

While in court defendant Edwin Soto used his laptop, a little WiFi, and some quick thinking to prove to a judge that the officer was incorrect.

"Thanks to an open WiFi network and some quick thinking, defendant Edwin Soto was able to use Google Maps to get out of jail free."

Read the full article at arstechnica.com.

Update: Here is the original article.