Section 49. Backup

49. Backup

Time Machine (built into Leopard) is the perfect "don't make me think" backup app. Some Mac users, however, may prefer a finer degree of control over exactly which files are backed up, how often, and when.

Apple's .Mac service provides Backup, a utility that syncs the files you specify with the storage space on your .Mac account. Want more flexibility? Martin Jahn's free iBackup utility (www.grapefruit.ch/iBackup) creates scheduled backups of the files you select (including system preferences) to a location you specify. And SyncupX (freeridecoding.net, $20.00) uses Smart Folders to collect the files it saves to an external or networked drive.