I am in the market for a cloud backup solution for the Mac. Specifically, I want something that backs up my data to the cloud on a regular basis, with an accessible way to restore files if I need them.
Several years ago I signed up for CrashPlan, which has been my online backup solution ever since. At the time I signed up, I had good enough vision that I didn't need to use VoiceOver on the Mac. Since then, my vision weakened to the point that I needed to start using VoiceOver full-time, and I found that CrashPlan is only partially accessible with VoiceOver. It was good enough that I could get by, so I left it alone.
Now CrashPlan is ending support for home users. I have about a year to switch to another backup solution. This time, I want to be sure the software I use is fully VoiceOver compatible, if possible. However, I haven't been able to find information about VoiceOver accessibility for any of the options I checked out.
The three options I am primarily looking at are:
1. IDrive
2. Backblaze
3. Carbonite
I listed them in order of preference. If IDrive is accessible, that's the one I'll use.
Does anyone here have experience with any of the above applications, or any other cloud backup options? If so, how accessible are they?
Comments
Backblaze is very nice
I can't speak to the other two solutions, but i've been a Backblaze customer for years, and it works like a charm. I highly recommend it. The mac app is minimalist and accessible, and the restore interface works well through the web site.
Back Blaze
Hi,
I also use Backblaze. I find it's nice to have my computer automatically back up without choosing any files to back up in advance. The IOS app is fully accessible for grabbing small files on your phone. The website is accessible and it's affordable. I'm on a monthly plan which works for me. I like the unlimited storage size and unlimited file size.
Thanks for feedback
Thanks for letting me know about Backblaze's accessibility. What worried me was the restore process, which a number of reviewers found to be unintuitive. If it works with VoiceOver, I'm sure I could figure it out.
Having said that, I still want to know more about IDrive. The reason I would prefer IDrive is that it retains locally deleted files indefinitely, whereas both Backblaze and Carbonite only keep deleted files for 30 days. CrashPlan also offered unlimited retention of deleted files, and that saved my bacon two years ago, when a couple of folders on my computer mysteriously disappeared, were somehow not backed up by Time Machine, and I did not discover the problem until three months after it happened. If I was using Backblaze at the time, I would have been screwed.
I will definitely rule out Carbonite now, after reading that the Mac version isn't nearly as good as the one for Windows. All other backup solutions I have found are too expensive or don't have the capabilities I need, so now it's down to Backblaze and IDrive.