The Acer R13 Chromebook Hands On and Crashplan Departure Options – HGG326

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Nathaniel Lindley (@thanlindley) joins to discuss the ins and outs of using Chromebooks full time in his school district and how he likes to use them at home.  We also discuss the issues that have come up now that Code42 is no long going to be in the consumer PC and Mac Back up business.  Lots of options are discussed, including how Jim already migrated his backups over to Crashplan Pro and how he did it.  That and more on this episode of Home Gadget Geeks 326!

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Full show notes and video at http://theAverageGuy.tv/hgg326

[3:35] Join us for the Home Server Show Meetup – https://homeservershow.com/forums/topic/15088-meetup-2017/

[6:26] Acer R13 Chromebook

  • Touchscreen, 1080p with Android App support
  • Light – 3.2 lbs
  • Clean bright screen, touch screen is responsive, flip around for tablet.
  • Good for Slides or Google docs that you are sharing or editing while walking around (spreadsheets, checklists)
  • Battery lasts all day.
  • Pretty good keyboard, little flimsy feeling but easy to type on.
  • FULL-HDMI out,
  • USB-C charger
  • Only 1 standard USB port.
  • Wi-Fi radio seems weaker – low bars when close to AP, on 5GHz band, supposed to be 802.11ac
  • Similar to the smaller R11 but bigger screen and faster CPU.   R11 seem more rugged though–good for school kids!

Android Apps – on Chromebook that supports it and need OS v61?

  • PLEX – nice in tablet format when screen flipped back, will work on External display when in laptop mode, better performance in tablet mode
  • Google Music
  • Google Photos
  • Google Earth – great in tablet mode, touch screen, zoom
  • AutoDesk Sketch – works with stylus, save local for free
  • What’s App doesn’t work on Android for ChromeOS yet.  🙁
  • I Like that some apps can be Fullscreen or “phone size” to stick in corner or other screen

[37:48] What do you get for under $50 for a mouse these days?

[43:15] CrashPlan Alternatives

  • What do I do and What do I tell my family and friends to do?

My situation:

  • Several household Windows and Mac devices.
    • 6 computers
    • Total 1.2 TB data
      • Pictures, Documents, home videos, music (no DVD rips or TV recordings from Media center)
      • Very likely duplicates across devices as I migrated from one computer to another.

       

    • Peer-to-Peer backup
      • Local computer to computer in house and to friend computer for some files

       

    • CrashPlan central storage
    • I have 1.2 years left on my subscription to CrashPlan Central

     

  • I am a backup target for Family and Friends using CrashPlan free
    • 17 computers to my Windows Home Server 2011
    • Several terabytes stored for friends and family

     

  • Major paths to look at for me:
    • Centralize storage to NAS/Server/Unraid
      • Backup NAS offsite using commercial cloud storage (Amazon?)
        • Cloudberry – buy software then pay separately for storage
        • NAS version plus Amazon Glacier $60 upfront, $4 month ($48/year) for 1 TB

         

      • Is there a peer-to-peer alternative that is not just “sync”?
      • Synology HyperBackup option? – to remote site – https://youtu.be/mF6wa8Ej4fQ?t=435
        • Works over internet to other location, need OpenVPN or dynDNS or remote IP and Port forwarding to work
        • Need two Synology devices, one can be older and slower
        • Hourly or daily backup interval?

         

      • HyperBackup Vault for backup archive browsing on remote Synology NAS
      • What do the backup clients on Mac and Windows look like?  How well do they work?

       

    • Per computer backup products
      • SpiderOak One – https://spideroak.com/one/
        • Just pay for storage
        • Unlimited devices – no software fee
        • Encrypted always
        • Both backup and “Sync” folder options
        • Restore from any device
        • Mobile apps
        • Versioning
        • Might be hourly/daily backup only…?
        • 1 TB  – $129 annually

         

      • Backblaze – https://www.backblaze.com/
        • Backups external drives
        • Versioning up to 30 days
        • Option for Private Key and 2FA
        • Locate missing computer
        • $50/year per computer
        • Or use Groups or B2 storage for multiple computers
        • https://help.backblaze.com/hc/en-us/articles/115001518913-Top-Questions-from-CrashPlan-Users#familyplan
        • Separate download client for restores

         

      • Arq backup – https://www.arqbackup.com/
        • Pay for client computer and then storage separately
        • Usual destinations – S3, B2 etc.
        • $50/account one time fee
        • Multiple computers can be installed under one account

         

      • Cloudberry – https://www.cloudberrylab.com
        • Backup client and storage separate
        • Bare-metal backup if you get server version
        • Free version – just pay for storage
        • Pro version $29 adds compression and encryption and 1TB storage limit
        • Multiple cloud storage providers
        • Quite complex to setup – lots of options
        • For me with 3 Windows and 3 Mac – $165 up front, software annual maintenance cost $36 and 1TB storage with B2 $5/month.   1st year would cost $261!

         

      • Google Drive Backup & Sync https://www.google.com/drive/download/backup-and-sync/
        • Drive sync and backup tool in one
        • Mac and Windows
        • $100 /TB/year

         

      • CrashPlan Pro Small Business https://www.crashplan.com/en-us/
        • Discount for first year 75% off
        • $10/device per month
        • For me, $720/year
          • If I drop to 2 devices – $240/year

           

        • Says unlimited storage…
  • What would I recommend to Friends or Family?
    • Depends on number of computers and technical familiarity
    • Single computer and limited tech chops – probably BackBlaze or SpiderOak One
    • Multiple computer and complexities?   Don’t know

More questions after the podcast…

  • Can I consolidate to one or two computers?
  • How do I restore data from CrashPlan archives to my computer? Do I need to restore deleted files?
  • How do I help my friends restore or migrate their backup archives that I store for them?
  • Colocate a server of my own?  http://www.pointnorth.net/colocation/

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