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Introduction
First, a little of the background and philosophy behind SuperDuper!
Backing up is one of those things that never seems important until something goes horribly wrong, and things never go horribly wrong until the worst possible moment. Many backup programs do too much for the “normal” user: rather than making it easy and faster to get their data backed up, they overcomplicate the process to the point of frustration.
That complexity can alienate and confuse users, and a proprietary, single- vendor format leaves them without an alternative should a problem arise. We think it’s important that any solution be easy to understand, usable, and not have any “lock in”.
Staying Balanced
So, to determine whether that complexity is worth adding, it’s important to ask: when do most people need to restore? In general, we’ve found that “regular users” (and by that, I mean real “end users” like yourself) need to use their backups when:
They’ve made a “bad mistake”, like accidentally deleting an important file, or overwriting one (this kind of mistake is almost always recognized immediately)
Their drive (or computer) fails catastrophically, requiring a full restore
They sent their computer in for service, and it came back wiped clean
An application they installed, or a system update, caused their system
to become unusable/unstable
None of these situations require much other than a high-quality, up-to-date, full copy backup. (The last has a better solution than a backup – a “Sandbox” – which we offer in SuperDuper! as well.)
Covering the 99% Case
Given that, it’s pretty easy to see that most end users don’t need to retrieve a two-year-old (or even six-month old) version of a file from a backup. (An archive is a different thing: I’m talking about backups.) It’s just not that common a case. Developers, on the other hand, do need older versions of files, but they should be using a version control system: something a backup should absolutely not be.
But, it is possible that a user won’t notice a problem in a “bad file” until they’ve already overwritten their backup, thus losing any chance of recovery with a “full copy”. While this is a problem for some, we have a good solution: rotate more than one full backup.
3
Any need for this kind of “temporal rollback” can be significantly reduced with a single rotation – say, on a weekly basis – and nearly eliminated with two, a weekly and a monthly. It’s incredibly rare that, on a non-archival basis, you’d need to go back more than four weeks.
Simple to Understand
The advantages to this kind of approach are many, not the least of which is that a non-technical user can easily understand what’s going on. It’s incredible how many people are confused by conventional backup terminology – “incremental”, “differential”, backups “sets” and the like. And, complicated storage mechanisms require a significant amount of expertise to perform a full recovery in the event of that all-too-common disaster: the total drive failure.
Simple to Restore
With SuperDuper!, recovery in that situation is literally a matter of booting from your most recent backup. And restoration – which, should you be on deadline, you need not do immediately – is just a matter of replacing the drive and copying back.
Individual files are also easy to restore: just drag and drop from the backup. (Yes, applications without drag-and-drop install, or system-level files, are harder, but can typically be reinstalled/archive-and-installed should that be necessary... or, see the Sandbox for another rather unique idea...)
Use It or Lose It
SuperDuper!’s approach is the kind of thing that regular end users like yourself can do, and feel confident about.
We know your time is valuable, and that a backup isn’t useful unless it’s recent and includes the files you expect. We’ve made the process of backing up extremely simple, and – with Smart Update – we’ve also made it fast and efficient.
On Sep 13, 2019, at 6:00 AM, Christy Spackman <Christy.Spackman@asu.edu> wrote:Imagine you are at a cafe. Three people are there.1) who are the three people whose interaction you want to prototype?2) what might a "normal" script be for those interactions?3) what new script(s) are you hoping to inspire?
Prototype Fall 2019publish in DIS, CHI, Leonardo, etc.Local Exhibit Emerge 2020Apply for funding Spring 2020Refine Summer 2020
I am interested in the practicum work, please let me know when is good for everyone to meet with Brandon.On Sat, Sep 14, 2019 at 9:11 AM sxw asu <shaxinwei@gmail.com> wrote:
Hi Shomit,Let’s kick off the practicum part of your semester by familiarizing with Max8 + the commonly used patchers from the sc system … in the context of creating scenarios for responsive environments experimenting with Brandon’s state methods. Do can set up a time with Brandon to learn his methods.foodmetaphorical ecologiesceremonytheater of things / ecology of things /mobile trucksLet’s capture good ideas the Google drive that Yanjun established (thanks!)Xin WeiOn Sep 13, 2019, at 6:15 PM, Yanjun Lyu <ylyu16@asu.edu> wrote:Follow up Xin Wei and Christy,I think the Global Cafe Team should receive the notification of a shared Google "Cafe Project" folder. If you are not, please remind me.I built a Google Project folder in which I uploaded all files, clips, a poster and a note(DRAFT) from my understanding and a summary based on Xin Wei and Christy's emails during these days for this project. I hope this is helpful for our Monday meeting (9/16, 3-4) and future communication. The Note named "notes for TEAM to edit" is a mutual place for us to share thoughts, suggestions, resources, even an online discussion space. I hope this helpful for teamwork and also for Xinwei, Christy, Lauren to edit any suggestion on here to us.Best,yOn Fri, Sep 13, 2019 at 1:10 PM sxw asu <shaxinwei@gmail.com> wrote:
Hi Everyone,To follow up Christy –Christy Spackman, Lauren Hayes and I think the social form of the meal / cafe gives a concrete “boundary object” in which to try out speculative, experimental artistic / computational techniques, as well as conceptual questions. It is rich enough to be a site for individual special research work, and simultaneously meaningful to people from any walk of life. So let’s make the meal / cafe social form one of Synthesis focal research platforms. (The other remains improvisatory events and participatory steering of complex systems in responsive environments.)
I’m hoping that this term, with Shomit, Yanjun, Ri, and Andrew R, Garrett, andsupported by key Synthesis researchers, we can build a new generation of experiments that will lead to publications and internationally exhibitable work that can attract support from outside ASU, even outside the academy.We’re very lucky to have faculty like Lauren and Christy interested in advising us in this work.We are interested in helping focus the really exciting explorations into tangible iterations.Yanjun, Shomit, Ri, Garrett,In order to make progress let’s propel this with the initial constraints and questions that Christy and I pose. To repeat:Imagine you are at a cafe. Three people are there.
1) who are the three people whose interaction you want to prototype?
2) what might a "normal" script be for those interactions?
3) what new script(s) are you hoping to inspire?
In order to have impact, we’ll need to have an adequate production level : I will take responsibility for this — with Connor and Pete as “goto” experts, as well as Todd, Lauren, Brandon, and the Tech Team (Pete, Luke, Ozzie). Remember the Tech Team are advisors but they have very limited time to actually fabricate solutions. So it will be important to collanorate, recruit students, and pool skills.Let’s talk today if we can .I’ll Zoom in in about 15’ as soon as I get to a quite spot and hang out near my zoom for a couple of hours as long as I can today.Xin WeiPS Thanks Garrett, Shomit, Yanjun Andrew’s for earlier ideas…Can someone — Yanjun? — start a a Google project folder + notes doc for the “cafe” ?We may want a more inclusive name for the social form / genre of collective meal / refreshment in common spaceOn Sep 13, 2019, at 6:00 AM, Christy Spackman <Christy.Spackman@asu.edu> wrote:Yanjun, Shomit, Ri (and Garrett),I met with Xin Wei yesterday, and we wanted to add on one additional task for all of you. We think that the possible interactions you could explore are quite large, so we invite you to constrain it in the following way:Imagine you are at a cafe. Three people are there.1) who are the three people whose interaction you want to prototype?2) what might a "normal" script be for those interactions?3) what new script(s) are you hoping to inspire?Please plan on being able to present this information to us in person during Synthesis lab's open work hours in a week. Please let us know which of the drop in hours you will make.Best,Christy and Xin WeiChristy Spackman, PhDAssistant ProfessorSchool for the Future of Innovation in SocietySchool of Arts, Media, and EngineeringArizona State University@christyspackman
_________________________________________________skype: shaxinwei • mobile: +1-650-815-9962Founding Director, Topological Media Lab_______________________________________________________
From: Xin Wei Sha <Xinwei.Sha@asu.edu>
Subject: FW: You’ve been added to the shared drive Global Cafe
Date: September 13, 2019 at 5:49:42 PM PDT
To: sxw asu <sxwasu@gmail.com>
From: Yanjun Lyu (via Google Drive)
Sent: Friday, September 13, 2019 5:49:37 PM (UTC-07:00) Arizona
To: xsha1@asu.edu
Subject: You’ve been added to the shared drive Global Cafe
Global CafeYanjun Lyu has added you to Global Cafe.
You can add, edit, move, and delete files in this drive.Shared drives is a space where teams can easily store, collaborate on, and access their files anywhere, from any device.
Folder for Global Cafe Team
Open shared drive
Google Drive: Have all your files within reach from any device. Google LLC, 1600 Amphitheatre Parkway, Mountain View, CA 94043
You received this email because you were invited to a shared drive.
On Sep 13, 2019, at 6:15 PM, Yanjun Lyu <ylyu16@asu.edu> wrote:Follow up Xin Wei and Christy,I think the Global Cafe Team should receive the notification of a shared Google "Cafe Project" folder. If you are not, please remind me.I built a Google Project folder in which I uploaded all files, clips, a poster and a note(DRAFT) from my understanding and a summary based on Xin Wei and Christy's emails during these days for this project. I hope this is helpful for our Monday meeting (9/16, 3-4) and future communication. The Note named "notes for TEAM to edit" is a mutual place for us to share thoughts, suggestions, resources, even an online discussion space. I hope this helpful for teamwork and also for Xinwei, Christy, Lauren to edit any suggestion on here to us.Best,yOn Fri, Sep 13, 2019 at 1:10 PM sxw asu <shaxinwei@gmail.com> wrote:
Hi Everyone,To follow up Christy –Christy Spackman, Lauren Hayes and I think the social form of the meal / cafe gives a concrete “boundary object” in which to try out speculative, experimental artistic / computational techniques, as well as conceptual questions. It is rich enough to be a site for individual special research work, and simultaneously meaningful to people from any walk of life. So let’s make the meal / cafe social form one of Synthesis focal research platforms. (The other remains improvisatory events and participatory steering of complex systems in responsive environments.)
I’m hoping that this term, with Shomit, Yanjun, Ri, and Andrew R, Garrett, andsupported by key Synthesis researchers, we can build a new generation of experiments that will lead to publications and internationally exhibitable work that can attract support from outside ASU, even outside the academy.We’re very lucky to have faculty like Lauren and Christy interested in advising us in this work.We are interested in helping focus the really exciting explorations into tangible iterations.Yanjun, Shomit, Ri, Garrett,In order to make progress let’s propel this with the initial constraints and questions that Christy and I pose. To repeat:Imagine you are at a cafe. Three people are there.
1) who are the three people whose interaction you want to prototype?
2) what might a "normal" script be for those interactions?
3) what new script(s) are you hoping to inspire?
In order to have impact, we’ll need to have an adequate production level : I will take responsibility for this — with Connor and Pete as “goto” experts, as well as Todd, Lauren, Brandon, and the Tech Team (Pete, Luke, Ozzie). Remember the Tech Team are advisors but they have very limited time to actually fabricate solutions. So it will be important to collanorate, recruit students, and pool skills.Let’s talk today if we can .I’ll Zoom in in about 15’ as soon as I get to a quite spot and hang out near my zoom for a couple of hours as long as I can today.Xin WeiPS Thanks Garrett, Shomit, Yanjun Andrew’s for earlier ideas…Can someone — Yanjun? — start a a Google project folder + notes doc for the “cafe” ?We may want a more inclusive name for the social form / genre of collective meal / refreshment in common spaceOn Sep 13, 2019, at 6:00 AM, Christy Spackman <Christy.Spackman@asu.edu> wrote:Yanjun, Shomit, Ri (and Garrett),I met with Xin Wei yesterday, and we wanted to add on one additional task for all of you. We think that the possible interactions you could explore are quite large, so we invite you to constrain it in the following way:Imagine you are at a cafe. Three people are there.1) who are the three people whose interaction you want to prototype?2) what might a "normal" script be for those interactions?3) what new script(s) are you hoping to inspire?Please plan on being able to present this information to us in person during Synthesis lab's open work hours in a week. Please let us know which of the drop in hours you will make.Best,Christy and Xin WeiChristy Spackman, PhDAssistant ProfessorSchool for the Future of Innovation in SocietySchool of Arts, Media, and EngineeringArizona State University@christyspackman
_________________________________________________skype: shaxinwei • mobile: +1-650-815-9962Founding Director, Topological Media Lab_______________________________________________________
From: Xin Wei Sha <Xinwei.Sha@asu.edu>
Subject: FW: You’ve been added to the shared drive Global Cafe
Date: September 13, 2019 at 5:49:42 PM PDT
To: sxw asu <sxwasu@gmail.com>
From: Yanjun Lyu (via Google Drive)
Sent: Friday, September 13, 2019 5:49:37 PM (UTC-07:00) Arizona
To: xsha1@asu.edu
Subject: You’ve been added to the shared drive Global Cafe
Global CafeYanjun Lyu has added you to Global Cafe.
You can add, edit, move, and delete files in this drive.Shared drives is a space where teams can easily store, collaborate on, and access their files anywhere, from any device.
Folder for Global Cafe Team
Open shared drive
Google Drive: Have all your files within reach from any device. Google LLC, 1600 Amphitheatre Parkway, Mountain View, CA 94043
You received this email because you were invited to a shared drive.
On Sep 13, 2019, at 6:00 AM, Christy Spackman <Christy.Spackman@asu.edu> wrote:Yanjun, Shomit, Ri (and Garrett),I met with Xin Wei yesterday, and we wanted to add on one additional task for all of you. We think that the possible interactions you could explore are quite large, so we invite you to constrain it in the following way:Imagine you are at a cafe. Three people are there.1) who are the three people whose interaction you want to prototype?2) what might a "normal" script be for those interactions?3) what new script(s) are you hoping to inspire?Please plan on being able to present this information to us in person during Synthesis lab's open work hours in a week. Please let us know which of the drop in hours you will make.Best,Christy and Xin WeiChristy Spackman, PhDAssistant ProfessorSchool for the Future of Innovation in SocietySchool of Arts, Media, and EngineeringArizona State University@christyspackman
Angela Walch