Now that the release of Leopard is imminent-ish, I thought I'd do an update of my Time's Arrow post from a year ago regarding SuperDuper! and Time Machine. Let's get into it!
Leopard Compatbitility
First, v2.1.4 of SuperDuper! is not fully compatible with Leopard.
Changes were made to Leopard since our last release in February. We've been following Leopard's development closely, and we have a working version of SuperDuper! nearly ready. Given the nature of SuperDuper!, though, we don't want to release it until we have the final "bits" of Leopard to test with. It should be available shortly after Leopard's release (earlier if we get the final build before the public does--which we won't).
To answer the inevitable question: the update will be free when released.
Note that netTunes is not Leopard compatible due to a Leopard bug I was unable to work around. I'm hoping for a fix in an upcoming Leopard release, since I do not have a workaround for the problem.
Leopard and Sandboxes
When the Leopard-compatible version is released, please realize that Leopard is a pretty different version of the OS. I recommend against using a Sandbox to share a Home folder between Tiger/Panther/Jaguar and Leopard: there have been a lot of changes to the way data is stored, and a Sandbox is not likely to provide sufficient isolation.
Time Machine
As far as Time Machine goes -- in general, I've always thought that some sort of backup functionality belongs in the OS. It's been a long time coming. The fact that it wasn't there left opportunities for 3rd parties, but that doesn't mean Apple shouldn't address the missing functionality.
And so, they have, with Time Machine. Really, I think that's a great thing. People need to back up more often, and I think Time Machine encourages them to do so, and gives them a relatively transparent way to do it.
Time Machine and SuperDuper!
That said, though, Time Machine isn't the be-all and end-all of backup programs. In fact, given how it works, I really do think that SuperDuper! remains both relevant and necessary -- a true complement to the functionality in Time Machine.
First, as is likely obvious, Time Machine is designed to provide automatic "temporal" backup (discussed in broad terms in the post The Ninety-Nine-Per-Cent Solution many months ago). Its primary usage scenario -- and the one that most demonstrations and documentation focuses on -- is to allow quick recovery of files and data that have gone missing, etc.
It does this in a way that's highly integrated with the OS, with a unique UI that's both cool and kinda cheesy (I'll tell you, the 'space' theme hasn't grown on me at all...)... and, as was the case with Spotlight, with a certain amount of application-level impact (something 3rd parties like Shirt Pocket could never mandate).
Fully, Directly Bootable Backups with SuperDuper!
What's important to note is that this isn't, and never was, what SuperDuper! was designed to do.
Our tagline, Heroic System Recovery for Mere Mortals, tries to sum up the whole idea: SuperDuper! is designed to provide excellent failover support for the all-too-common case where things fail in a pretty catastrophic way, such as when a drive fails, or your system becomes unbootable. We do this by quickly and efficiently creating a fully bootable copy of your source drive. Perhaps more importantly, recovery is near immediate, even if the original drive is completely unusable, because you can start up from your backup and continue working.
You can even take your backup to a totally different Macintosh, start up from it, and work while your failed Macintosh is in the shop... then, when it comes back all fresh and shiny, restore things and keep working. And even if the other Mac is a different CPU type, you can still open and edit the files on the backup.
You cannot do this with Time Machine: Time Machine copies are not bootable until they're restored.
In SuperDuper!, system recovery is done with a minimum of fuss and bother, and with respect for your time. Yes, Time Machine can restore a full system, but that's not its strength. Doing so requires you to actually start up from the Leopard DVD (which you'll need to have with you) and then take the time to restore the backup in full, which interrupts your workflow, requires a working, entirely separate destination device, and takes a lot of your time -- at the exact moment when you can least afford it.
So, when Leopard comes out, and Time Machine is released, be assured that SuperDuper!'s fully bootable backups continue to be relevant and necessary. We'll work alongside its rapid recovery of individual files, augmenting that with our rapid system recovery.
And, of course, we'll continue to improve every part of SuperDuper! to make backups faster and easier for all.
