We look to still be on schedule, so hopefully you'll have the new version (which, by the way, I've decided will be 2.5, not 2.1.5) in a week or so.
We've been working through a problem with copying hard folder links in a complicated source volume recently that's got us a bit stymied—what we're seeing doesn't make sense—but hopefully we'll get it wrapped up shortly.
Sorry for the briefness of the entry: both busy and sick with some stomach flu... more when there's something new/interesting to say.
03 Jan 2008 at 01:42 pm | #
Thanks for the update Dave! Hope you’re feeling better soon!
03 Jan 2008 at 02:08 pm | #
One word ... woohoo! Not about the stomach flu ... about SD! for Leopard arriving soon. I hope you feel better soon.
03 Jan 2008 at 02:22 pm | #
Hope you feel better soon. I am glad to hear that SD! will be out in a week or so, thanks for your hard work.
03 Jan 2008 at 02:59 pm | #
Better to do it right than to do it over. Will be worth the wait. And thanks again for the updates—even short ones help out with the patience thing! Get well soon.
03 Jan 2008 at 03:17 pm | #
My inner cynic notes a curious coincidental timing release with a certain large Macintosh trade show.
03 Jan 2008 at 03:30 pm | #
Honestly, I’ve seen this conjecture before, and we’re not doing any intentional timing to Macworld. I’m not even going to be there, alas.
We’ve never written to dates: as I said at the very start of this series of posts, we continue until it’s ready.
03 Jan 2008 at 03:31 pm | #
Do it well, we can wait. Get better. Thanks
JoeM
03 Jan 2008 at 03:32 pm | #
Steve Jobs’ big surprise at Macworld will be…
03 Jan 2008 at 03:40 pm | #
That’s great news! I love SuperDuper! and functionality it provides. I hope 10.5.2 won’t add any more challenges to the software.
03 Jan 2008 at 04:20 pm | #
"We’ve never written to dates: as I said at the very start of this series of posts, we continue until it’s ready.”
Right on, Dave. I wish that more managers understood that when it comes to developing software and doing it right, “it’s ready when it’s ready”.
Thanks for all your hard work on this release!
03 Jan 2008 at 06:14 pm | #
In case no one else picks up on it… I think the “2.5” is exactly the right thing to do. This is obviously far more than a minor 0.0.X point release. Fingers crossed!
03 Jan 2008 at 10:17 pm | #
Just curious, even though the new version is no longer called 2.1.5
why not 2.2, instead of jumping all the way from 2.1.4 to 2.5?
Anyway, big fan of Super Duper, thank you
03 Jan 2008 at 10:29 pm | #
Felt like the right number to me, Herman, is all. More art than science.
03 Jan 2008 at 10:56 pm | #
Dave,
As a fellow programmer, I have a great deal of respect for the way you’re handling this update to SD. Thanks for all the hard work, and I for one will continue to be a loyal customer.
04 Jan 2008 at 12:05 am | #
Great news Dave. It’s also great to see that you’re doing things right and not releasing by time or demand, but when things are ready. It’s great to see a vendor that tests the software as thoroughly as you obviously do.
Hope you feel better soon, and looking forward to getting SD back into my backup strategies.
04 Jan 2008 at 01:41 am | #
Great news but if more time is necessary to work out the kinks please take it. Better to have it right than right now.
04 Jan 2008 at 04:25 am | #
this are really good news !
thanks for your great work on the only real backup programm for osx as timemachine is useless ..
04 Jan 2008 at 07:10 am | #
Thanks for the short update. Every little helps with the patience thing.
Hope you are better soon.
04 Jan 2008 at 07:50 am | #
That’s great news...one week give or take a little!! I’m *so* looking forward to making a bootable backup on an external drive and then copying it back to my internal drive (after erasing it) so I have all Leopard files contiguous again. I always got a perceptible speed-up with Tiger after defragging via this method.
04 Jan 2008 at 08:50 am | #
Brilliant! Will certainly look forward to it! Feel better soon!
04 Jan 2008 at 08:53 am | #
Thank you very much for your work.
I wish you a good new year 2008.
04 Jan 2008 at 01:19 pm | #
Dave Nanian says:
“We’ve been working through a problem with copying hard folder links in a complicated source volume recently that’s got us a bit stymied...”
macjack says:
that’s why they’re called, “hard links”
Thanks for the update and echo the woohoos, I can’t wait!
-mj
Hope you get over that nasty flu soon.
04 Jan 2008 at 03:05 pm | #
Much thanks for the update. Forget the hard links...first get well.
04 Jan 2008 at 03:07 pm | #
Not only do I look forward to the Leopard-functional SD!, I intend to pay for it again, even though David’s generosity says that is not required. Why would I pay again? Under Tiger, SD! was used so frequently that it became “just there; there when needed”; that is, it faded into the background and became part of the operating system. Now, without it, there are certain things I’m not doing, because without SD! it is too big a hassle to recover a startup volume (via TM) after a failed experiment or problematic system update; that is, the absence of SD! has brought how important it is to the forefront.
I’m happy to wait for a release that works the first time.
04 Jan 2008 at 03:14 pm | #
Hmmm. My person info got messed up during my last post. Otherwise, ignore this entry.
04 Jan 2008 at 03:30 pm | #
Are you going to support backups to (encrypted) sparse bundles? I use encrypted sparse bundles for my backup to Amazon S3 in order to save traffic and would therefore be happy about sparse bundle support!
04 Jan 2008 at 03:37 pm | #
You’re welcome to point us at an encrypted sparse bundle (mounted), Damian: we have no problem writing to it.
04 Jan 2008 at 06:02 pm | #
Hey, Dave.
Just got over the flu, so I feel your pain. Saltines and flat ginger-ale is the way to go.
Thought I’d check out the latest skinny on SD. Sounds like 2.5 will be a typical SuperDave/SuperDuper release… i.e. what gets released just plain works.
Good luck polishing things off. In the meantime, I’ll stick with Tiger. Me no want Leopard if no SD!
I’d also like to echo and encourage users to do as Pete wrote:
“I intend to pay for it again, even though David’s generosity says that is not required.”
Things are tight now in Vegas (moving back to Boston soon) so I may be forced to pay you with a chicken. I’m presently looking into how PayPal would handle that. Seriously, folks, isn’t peace of mind worth $27.95? A few weeks back I had a full backup drive take a dive on me. Thankfully, I had two more up-to-date backups, thanks to SD (yes, I maintain three revolving backups of my boot drive and at least one of every other drive I use). It’s really an easy choice when you stop to think about it:
A) Risk losing all your data, mentally and emotionally snapping resulting in “suicide by police” while shooting aimlessly from a water tower.
or
B) Use SD religiously and never feel the gut wrenching anguish of data lost forever (or the bank-breaking realization that Drive Savers will cost you thousands of buckaroos - seriously).
Summing up, if loving SD be a crime, color me guilty.
You da man, Dave.
Darin, the singing geek
04 Jan 2008 at 06:08 pm | #
As if that wasn’t long enough, I realized that, for reasons beyond me, the form submission fields auto filled with your info, Dave.
This is my attempt to correct that, as I’m certain hundreds of folks will be clicking my name to see just what a singing geek is.
04 Jan 2008 at 09:34 pm | #
So sorry you had to start 2008 with the ‘flu - lots of hot water with lemon juice, honey and aspirin usually makes me feel better (I think it’s just psychological comfort, but that’s better than no comfort). Hope you’re on the mend now, Dave.
I’m really looking forward to SD! being Leopard compatibile because (Big Blush) I upgraded to Leopard BEFORE checking to see if I could backup using SD! (2 weeks ago). Rather than use Time Machine and overwrite my SD! 10.4.11 bootable backup on my external drive I’m backing up my data to a couple of 4GB SanDisk thumb drives and holding my breath!
Have a great ‘08!! Keep up the good work - SD! is a truly shining example of great software!!!
Cheers
Tricia
05 Jan 2008 at 10:47 am | #
No--- the cure is to drink lots of clear liquids and watch Bruce Willis movies on TV. Get some rest and SD will be done when it’s done. God Bless.
05 Jan 2008 at 03:50 pm | #
I ran across this tip to make a somewhat bootable backup while we wait for SuperDuper! to be finished. It isn’t ideal, but it does make recovering from a Time Machine backup a little less hassle. I wish I’d thought of this *before* my drive failure:
http://www.macfixit.com/article.php?story=20071101112529955
Basically, it involves creating a bootable partition with an image of the Leopard install DVD next to your Time Machine partition.
I want Shirt Pocket to take all the time they need to make SD solid, as long as it is released *yesterday*.
06 Jan 2008 at 08:44 am | #
I’ll just say, a quick update with few details is (at least in this case) better than no update at all. Eagerly waiting for SD! Leopard
06 Jan 2008 at 09:06 am | #
SuperDuper is simply SUPER… Thank you.
Only one problem for me… I have some difficulties to read and understand the english language.
Is it possible… please… to product a french version of .pdf file of instructions? and if it is possible, to translate the application.
Thank you very much.
Presently, I used a paid version of SuperDuper and I have some problem. When I back-up my entirely system disk drive (of my Mac Pro with Leopard) on a external Firewire drive Western Digital Mybook 500gb, I can’t see the MyBook drive in the preference panel «starting disk«. I can boot it in the SuperDuper application only. And, in my Back-Up, I have not my preferences and personnal settings.
Thank you
DanielN
Montreal, Quebec, Canada
06 Jan 2008 at 11:06 am | #
Daniel: a localized version of SuperDuper! is something we’re considering for the future, but I can’t say when (or if) it’ll occur.
I’m not sure why your disk wouldn’t be available in the Startup Disk Preference Pane unless, perhaps, it’s not properly partitioned as “GUID” for your MacPro.
06 Jan 2008 at 06:07 pm | #
Love SuperDuper, but I installed Leopard yesterday. I have not activated Time Machine yet, but find my Smart Update is taking 3 times as long (maybe because of Leopard’s size?) It seems to hang for a long time on Repairing Permissions - is this something being addressed in the new version?
Thanks.
06 Jan 2008 at 09:17 pm | #
Not repairing permissions, no: that’s slower on Leopard, and we just ask Leopard to do the repair…
07 Jan 2008 at 02:10 pm | #
All I can say is great job Dave! I can’t wait for SuperDuper again . . . I lost a drive just a few weeks ago full of 250gb of data that makes a horrid clicking noise; just hoping that my laptop doesn’t start doing this before SuperDuper Leopard comes out.
Keep it comin’ and thanks again for all of your hard work. Feel better soon.
07 Jan 2008 at 05:40 pm | #
Dave, take your time. We’ve all waited this long so…
As a paid and proud user of SuperDuper, I would have no problem paying an “upgrade fee” for the Leopard version or 2.5 as you call it.
SuperDuper is just that!
07 Jan 2008 at 07:44 pm | #
Chances are we won’t be allowed to pay more. (Sheesh, what a great system capitalism *can* be!) Perhaps a donation to Tufts vet school?
07 Jan 2008 at 08:29 pm | #
I’m rooting for SuperDuper! I’m literally checking for this update every day now, as I’m waiting for it before upgrading my G5 to Leopard. That’s how essential SuperDuper is.
08 Jan 2008 at 03:52 am | #
Hi Dave,
Truly thanks for the update. All these little updates, makes time fly and doesn’t make the wait so long at all. Also appreciate that you never committed to a Timeline till you really could. You’re a thorough professional.
Jason (UniAce) I know exactly what you mean, I too am checking Shirt Pocket blog everyday. Poor Dave, his hits and comments will go down once SD is released.
Arif
Bangalore, India
08 Jan 2008 at 10:19 am | #
Well, I’m certainly looking forward to getting SuperDuper! back. I’m currently using CC Cloner, and while that application’s scheduling UI is leagues ahead of SD’s rather clunky equivalent, I’ve so far had about 20 per cent failures while cloning my main works drive with CCC in Leopard. Here’s hoping I don’t have one of my all-too-regular hard-drive failures prior to SD 2.5 yomping on in.
08 Jan 2008 at 10:30 am | #
Not having SD! for so long makes me realise just how good it is - although I guess the point of good backup software not to be too obtrusive… Anyway, I wouldn’t mind paying an upgrade fee (it is a new OS after all). Either way though I’ll be having SD! again as soon as it’s released - keep up the good work Dave!
Fergus
09 Jan 2008 at 11:09 am | #
As a loyal customer, I really like SuperDuper, but am going to have to jump ship. The 3.5 hours a day this spends backing up - in what used to be measured in minutes under TIger - is just taking a toll on all my systems.
It is incredible that a product like this can takes months to be updated. I agree with all the posters that it should be done right, and agree that you should not be date driven, especially with something requiring such integrity, but that does not make customers any happier with the poor results which IMO could have been avoided. Not like there was not some betas for developers to work from.
Sorry for the negative tone, but in the end we are all paying for this delay.
09 Jan 2008 at 04:21 pm | #
Your comment of “Not like there was not some betas for developers to work from” leads me to believe you have not read, but merely skimmed the blog and forums posts.
So, where do you plan on landing? Again, just about all options have been discussed so surely you know your options.
09 Jan 2008 at 05:42 pm | #
Hi,
I’ve been through the hassle of restoring my sd backup laying on a NAS to my harddisk. That was when I found out that sd has no way to RESTORE from network. The manual/faq tells me to use Apple’s Disk Tool but that does not offer network drives when being started from the MacOS X install DVD which is the obvious thing when your harddrive is lost.
I would like to see a way to create a startup disk from within sd which lets me restore from any drive including network. I used this on a pc with “Ghost” and it worked fine. I had to do really weird things to get my system back and running.
Thanks for considering,
Ingo
09 Jan 2008 at 05:52 pm | #
You can create this kind of startup disk with “Das Boot”, so check that out.
09 Jan 2008 at 06:01 pm | #
Are we there yet????
Cheers,
Rob
09 Jan 2008 at 07:23 pm | #
Rob - Check out the SD! Forum “Blog update please...” for the answer. Not sure why it’s not in the Blog, but new info and a rollicking good time can be had there!
10 Jan 2008 at 01:46 am | #
Soooo… is it going to be released tomorrow? Or was the “week” thing pushed back?
I’m not trying to push you, by all means don’t release until you’re ready. But I’m just wondering when my backups can begin again.
10 Jan 2008 at 04:55 am | #
@dave
Thanks. Gonna check this out. Why not recomment it in the SD Manual?
10 Jan 2008 at 07:49 am | #
I really wish that Dave released 2.1.5 weeks or months ago rather than releasing 2.5 with another delay. Some of us don’t want new features from 2.1.4. We just want them to be compatible with Leopard.
As far as releasing the “perfect” working version, there is no such thing. I haven’t seen any program that is 100% bug free. It’s possible that one of 100 people might encounter a bug, but does that mean the rest of 99 should wait until that bug that affect 1 should be fixed? Of course, that depends on how you view the world.
I think Shirt Pocket needs to examine both technical and marketing policies of the company when it comes to releasing updates!
10 Jan 2008 at 08:56 am | #
Charlie: looks like another week or so.
user: because it wasn’t available at the time I wrote the User’s Guide.
Smiley: 2.1.5 is the same as 2.5 with a different number. It wasn’t a matter of making things perfect, or adding features. It’s a matter of getting compatibility right.
And, sorry, no: an ‘invalid backup’ bug that might silently affect 1% of users, that we know about, is not something we’ll ship with. We’re not looking for “perfect”, but we are looking for “correct copies”. Lowering those standards is not an option.
10 Jan 2008 at 09:03 am | #
@dave @user
“Das Boot” will not work with 10.5 Installer DVD
info from
It will not recognize Install DVD, and it will presently not run under Leopard correctly.
Regards,
Mark Hurlow
10 Jan 2008 at 09:06 am | #
@jb: yes, I’m sure they’re working on that. But you can restore Tiger NAS-based backups with it.
Otherwise, you’d need to make the image available locally to restore it, or create a small, OS-only partition on your internal drive and use that to restore.
10 Jan 2008 at 11:18 am | #
timothy.lance: I’ve been through the forum posts and learned that Dave had no access to advance copies of Leopard. Apologies if I’m missing something, but lets rewind a year, to January 2007. As the maker of what his paying customers consider to be mission-critical software, with a major upgrade to the OS that runs his software around the corner, don’t you at least think it would have made good business sense for Dave to publicly ask around for Leopard betas or developers’ builds - from the SD community, from Apple, from anyone in the know - and to have kept us informed of his intention and effort to make SD Leopard-compatible starting way before the Leopard release date?
This didn’t happen, and that’s why there’s a portion of his userbase that’s upset. While I support Dave’s software, I find the reaction of these users understandable.
10 Jan 2008 at 11:38 am | #
Morten: you’re incorrect. I had access to prerelease copies of Leopard, and we even had preliminary Leopard support in February of 2007, based on the copies available at that time.
However, we did not receive the final Leopard bits until you did.
So, as I’ve explained numerous times, we did start well, well before the release date. However, final engineering and testing could not begin until the final build of Leopard was out.
10 Jan 2008 at 11:40 am | #
One last thing: we could not discuss Leopard in any detail before Leopard was released, because we—and everyone else with legitimate access to it—were under Non Disclosure. But I posted, during WWDC in 2006, about Leopard and SD! and Time Machine… and our plans.
10 Jan 2008 at 03:53 pm | #
great news! i’m looking forward to the update immensely. i’ve put off upgrading to leopard on my main machine until SuperDuper! is ready, and that machine is in dire, dire need of a nice, clean upgrade, so i can hardly wait. thanks!
10 Jan 2008 at 04:24 pm | #
Looks like Navarro Parker was correct, the cynic. “another week” coincides perfectly with MacWorld. At least this is better than Disk Warrior: no update on their site since November 1 regarding a Leopard compatible version.
10 Jan 2008 at 04:34 pm | #
I want to say this again: we are not trying to have our update come out at the same time as Macworld. In fact, from a publicity standpoint it’s the worst time it can happen—so many other things are announced then we’d be drowned out in the flood of PR.
This thing gets shipped when it’s done, and not to coincide with any event, show, meet a specific date, etc.
10 Jan 2008 at 04:57 pm | #
Hi Dave & others,
Thanks for recommendation of “Das Boot”. While this seems to be the right program for my approach to get a bootable CD with SuperDuper! on it to restore backup from NAS it just won’t work, at least using Leopard. I get no source disk presented trying to select my Leo install DVD or my Panther one. As Restoring from network is a vital feature I’d really appreciating it if you could integrate it into the SD distribution sometime after release of 2.5.
On the topic of creating a small partition with MacOS to boot from and restore to the bigger main partition. That worked for me but it was kindof tricky and now I can’t merge the smaller partition with the larger one as the smaller is the first partition on my hd and noone told me that a partition can only be extended to the end of my hd.
Anyway, is it so hard to create a boot disk with sd, disk tool & a network mount tool?
Thanks for sharing your thoughts in this blog…
Ingo
10 Jan 2008 at 10:01 pm | #
I have to say - WTF?? I realize you guys are dealing with a significant change to the operating system- but there was a long lead time with Developer Seeds. So many users depend on you and have been running without a net since Leopard came out.
10 Jan 2008 at 10:20 pm | #
Someone wanna take this one? Oh, well. WhoTF do you think you are that you can just show up and go off on somebody? Criminy. Just scroll up a very few posts since you’re too good to do any thorough reading.
10 Jan 2008 at 11:14 pm | #
When? Simply when!
11 Jan 2008 at 12:24 am | #
We need it to work the sooner the better
11 Jan 2008 at 02:34 am | #
I understand Steve’s frustration, he’ s not the only one.
11 Jan 2008 at 02:39 am | #
”...a week or so”. Probably will be “so”.
11 Jan 2008 at 08:20 am | #
Dave, I suggest either an update to the entry or a new one explaining that you’ll be a bit further delayed. Yes, you had it in the comments, but it looks like people either aren’t reading or aren’t caring.
I’m as antsy for a Leopard-compatible version of SuperDuper! as the next guy, but I’d rather it be right than on-time. For all of you complaining about the lag in the release, imagine how much you’d complain if the software you love and depend on suddenly stopped being dependable! That’s the conundrum Dave’s facing.
11 Jan 2008 at 10:24 am | #
Thanks, Dave. You are doing the right thing. Any change in your approach would just result in different flavors is whining (and fewer satisfied customers in the long term). So, just ignore the whining.
11 Jan 2008 at 11:23 am | #
Dave - I agree with Geof’s comment, now that it is 1 day past the “week” timeframe another update would be very appreciated to let us know how things are progressing and what your most current estimate would be.
Thanks! Really appreciate all you are doing to make sure this is going to work great.
11 Jan 2008 at 12:58 pm | #
I think one should do its best to get things right no matter how much time one uses. Due ALSO to the fact that if the 2.5 upgrade comes WRONG and we all lost our precious data...there will be more problems for ourselves and complains for the developer than just some about a “date to accomplish”.
I think we should support him and wait for the final version.
IN THE OTHER HAND… If the developer takes more time than the “A week or so” promised timeframe… he should at least, communicate with all his customers that are waiting in line. Even if the communication just says “It will take another week or so...”. I think is just a matter of respect and consideration for people that is waiting not only on his product but are hanging and stooping making CRITICAL back Ups to their precious and invaluable data.
This is not a complain why it hasn´t happened yet, is just what I would expect on the future to happen.
The developer and us should remember very well what we are dealing with: BACK UPs. And that´s a heavy and serious word in todays world.
Thanks for the program. I am waiting to buy it for the first time as soon it comes with leopard compatibility.
11 Jan 2008 at 02:02 pm | #
For what it’s worth, Super Duper is the _only_ program I’m still waiting for leopard compatibility on… and that has been the case for some time… And I have in excess of 200 programs installed. I do understand the need to release software that works but the length of time it has taken does suggest something went awry with planning for Leopard.
11 Jan 2008 at 02:39 pm | #
I’m getting tired of the wait, too. But I don’t know of any reasonable alternative. I just downloaded CCC and ran it as a test, but found the result extremely disappointing: it miscalculated space during the backup, turned off my external drive halfway through, and froze the backup. Lame.
11 Jan 2008 at 04:12 pm | #
"For what it’s worth, Super Duper is the _only_ program I’m still waiting for leopard compatibility on… and that has been the case for some time… And I have in excess of 200 programs installed. I do understand the need to release software that works but the length of time it has taken does suggest something went awry with planning for Leopard.”
Leopard, with Time Machine, fundamentally changed how the filesystem works. If your software is designed to be a perfect copy, down to the last file, no amount of early testing with developer seeds will prepare you for every last wrinkle introduced with the real gold master.
11 Jan 2008 at 05:53 pm | #
Dave,
Two suggestions:
1. Release a 2.1.5 that, when run on Leopard, states that it won’t work properly. This should have been done in October, but better late than never.
2. Update the text on your home page. For 2.1.4, it states “...added preliminary support for Leopard...”, which it appears should be removed now. Again, better late than never.
11 Jan 2008 at 06:10 pm | #
How about a function to automatically make an iCal entry when a clone operation is completed? I think that would be handy to keep track of backups.
11 Jan 2008 at 06:23 pm | #
Hi guys.
SuperDuper is—by far—the most useful utility program I’ve ever used. It’s saved my bacon more often than diskwarrior (though in a different way) and simplified my mulitple HD/multiple macs/multiple locations life N times over.
sure I’ve been waiting and watching… but SD has been foolproof in my 3 years with it… I’ve recommended it to hundreds of trade show visitors and otherwise clients etc…
It really is no big deal If I have to wait one more week. I’ve backed up before switching (very recently) to leopard…
Hang in there… and make us a nice update.
Ohh, and for the next update, if we could have a pref tick box for SD NOT TO REMEMBER the source and dest. drive.... I use SD to back up lotsa things… the fact that SD tries to find the latest used disks is endearing, but useless…
11 Jan 2008 at 07:44 pm | #
HEy! Just wanted to let u know that I really appreciate your work and that I am very looking forward to the leopard compatible release of SD!
I’ll be patient and will go on using it rather than TM - it has saved my life a few times in the past!
11 Jan 2008 at 08:41 pm | #
Hey, Max-pol, there is a pref for that.
12 Jan 2008 at 07:48 am | #
Is it soup yet?
12 Jan 2008 at 08:21 am | #
Hi! I wait for your update to buy a new computer.
Since I had a safe behavior by not updating my OS, I totally do agree with your release strategy.
Take your time for issuing a safe update.
I love SD !!! You’re great guys !
12 Jan 2008 at 08:23 am | #
David A says “1. Release a 2.1.5 that, when run on Leopard, states that it won’t work properly. This should have been done in October, but better late than never.”
David, this is backup and restore software we’re talking about. Either it works or it doesn’t. There’s no way a half-way backed up drive is acceptable when you have a data loss. A version that doesn’t work properly is therefore totally useless.
12 Jan 2008 at 09:12 am | #
Dave, Even if you get 2.5 ready this weekend, please don’t release it until after the Hollywood writers’ strike ends. These posts are what keep me going in the absence of new television. For those of you wanting to catch up on all the posts, but who don’t have the time to read through them all, here’s a synopsis:
A bunch of people are posting, saying, “Dave, you worthless piece of crap, you’re taking too long. Give us a Leopard-compatible version of SD now.”
A bunch of other people are posting, saying, “Dave, don’t worry about those worthless pieces of crap who are calling you a worthless piece of crap. Take all the time you need. We want it done right.”
I just can’t wait to read the next episode. It has me on the edge of my seat.
12 Jan 2008 at 10:41 am | #
Here’s one trick for using SuperDuper to clone a Leopard system drive. Requires 3 external drives. User beware!--this method has not been completely tested.
1. On your Leopard Machine, turn off Time Machine, unmount the TimeMachine (external) disk, and eject the Time Machine disk.
2. Shut down your machine. Disconnect the Time Machine disk.
3. Boot your Mac to an external system disk running Tiger that has SuperDuper on it.
4. Use SuperDuper to backup and erase the third external disk and then clone your Mac internal system disk to it.
5. Shut down your machine. Disconnect the 3rd external disk and keep handy should your internal Mac system disc get completely hosed.
The reason you have to do #1 and #2 is that if you boot to Tiger on an external, for some reason it starts to play havoc with your Time Machine disk. I found this out the hard way.
12 Jan 2008 at 10:44 am | #
Sorry, #4 above just means the regular “erase and back up to (clone)” SuperDuper feature that we use to clone our system disks to a new (virgin) external disk.
12 Jan 2008 at 12:12 pm | #
Dave,
Lives are not at stake but to some people it is a close second. In either case the only way to do things is to do them right. There are no points for half ass efforts and quick fixes that can cause more problems… “first do no harm”. Your business model is correct. Stick to it.
12 Jan 2008 at 01:32 pm | #
If only there was a good alternative while waiting for SuperDuper upgrade, but there is none (certainly not the overated CCC).
12 Jan 2008 at 02:42 pm | #
Who am I? I’ve been using SD and relying on it for several years. I’ve also recommended it to at least 25 other users who are now SD users.
I’ve also seen semi-regular postings from Dave Nanian - saying its just around the corner for months.
Fact is - if you are the lead program in the space, as is SD, there is a responsibility to your users to provide TIMELY updates to your program.
Of course it has to be done right - but it also has to be done before 10.6 comes out! So many posters are giving these guys a pass - saying don’t worry, whenever is fine for me. And some even offer to pay for a massively delayed release! Ridiculous.
12 Jan 2008 at 03:25 pm | #
LOL @ Frustrated Steve.
Three months Steve. That’s all it’s been. This is hardly a Microsoft sized delay
12 Jan 2008 at 03:34 pm | #
I agree with Frustrated Steve: way toooooooo long… three months and probably another month or two delay with 10.5.2 (a week or so, of course).
12 Jan 2008 at 04:10 pm | #
Episodes 86-92 of the SD Saga definitely did not disappoint.
#92 is a “hurry it up” post.
#91 is a “be patient” post.
#90 is a “hurry it up” post with a little preaching thrown in (”...there is a responsibility to your users...” Uh.. no… there’s not any such responsibility… Frustrated Steve just wants his SD and he’s trying the “imaginary ethics” tack.)
#89 is a lament, with an acknowledgement that CCC sucks.
#88 is basically a “be patient” post, with a little “keep up the good work” peppered in for good measure.
#86-87 is an interesting change of pace. Sandy attempts to provide us with a workaround, but it’s a lot of work, and doesn’t tell me what to do since I have my Time Machine on a secondary internal drive. Why not just use the Time Machine Restore strategy if you have a disc failure? Chances are, you’ll be fine…
12 Jan 2008 at 04:14 pm | #
On another note, I tell you who should have waited until his software was fully tested and ready for release, and that’s Steve Jobs. Leopard has its share of flaky behaviors. Mail is not ready for prime time, for instance, with its old “drag an attachment onto the Mail icon in the dock and I’ll open up two windows for you, but if you ever need to see an Outbox in the left pane when you need it, forget it” quirkiness.
Maybe Steve will redeem himself Tuesday. I sure hope so. Hey, what if Steve releases a new Leopard version on Tuesday that has SuperDuper 2.5 integrated right into it, as a complementary backup strategy to Time Machine? Is that what’s going on here, Dave N? Did Apple buy you out? If so, good for you! Why not take another trip to Europe? Enjoy your enormous pot of gold, and it’s been nice postin’ ya.
12 Jan 2008 at 04:16 pm | #
Sorry, no: nothing so dramatic. Just working to get this done.
12 Jan 2008 at 04:24 pm | #
I’m being patient but my hard drive is filling up with stuff I’d ordinarily delete after backing it up. Can anyone suggest another backup program, preferably free, that’s comparable to SuperDuper till the updated program arrives?
12 Jan 2008 at 04:28 pm | #
Michael: use Time Machine for now, eh? It’s free, since it comes with Leopard, and it’s been tested with Leopard, because, well, it’s part of Leopard, and should work as well as Leopard does.
12 Jan 2008 at 04:29 pm | #
Clonetool
12 Jan 2008 at 04:30 pm | #
Keep it up, Hal! Oh, you, too Dave. But, Hal, thanks for the entertainment you’ve provided I find it easier to now tolerate much of what is posted. It has been Dave’s wish for us to not beat each other up. I hope to see some more posts from you so as to not bite on the bait.
12 Jan 2008 at 04:51 pm | #
(Sorry, Paul - I’ve had to delete your comment: let’s not be abusive, eh...?)
12 Jan 2008 at 06:06 pm | #
Wow, macworld a day away and no update. Amazing. You guys have balls, I’ll give you that.
12 Jan 2008 at 06:48 pm | #
Don’t forget episode #93 which is basically a clip show post!
12 Jan 2008 at 07:44 pm | #
On a more positive note....
At least Dave should be able to check that it’’s 10.5.2 compatible as well......?
12 Jan 2008 at 11:01 pm | #
Here’s a tip Dave....stop posting updates period. I know you are trying to be nice and let the community know were things stand, but all you are do is piss people off with these bogus time frames. You’ve all ready screwed up on delivering a timely release for what most consider critical software, just get it done.
13 Jan 2008 at 01:13 am | #
anyting done well is done right
Tek U Time MON
13 Jan 2008 at 01:16 am | #
Any ting done right is done Well
Tek U Time MON
13 Jan 2008 at 10:35 am | #
Jim #98. Thanks for the heads-up.
Dave, I am patient, but going on 3 months is WAAAAYYYY too long. Freeware, I would have moved along, but I paid for this software, so I’d like to use it. I don’t think that is asking for too much.
I chose SuperDuper to be able to instantly reboot and keep on working in case of a crash or to experiment. Time Machine doesn’t do that. And CCC is buggy, every link on the clone disk ends up with invalid permissions.
So again, going on 3 months is WAAAAYYYY too long.
13 Jan 2008 at 11:17 am | #
How many of the abusive and impatient posters on this page have actually had a drive crash on them? I have, and let me tell you, it ain’t pretty. During the 20+ years that I’ve been using and advocating Macs it’s happened multiple times (hey, a drive is just a mechanical device - use it often enough and it _will_ fail).
While I am as anxious as anyone here to get SD! for Leopard I can tell you from personal experience that the only thing worse than not having a backup app that works properly is having one that you _think_ works properly and, when the chips are down, doesn’t.
I’ll wait for the fully-compatible Leopard version of SD! because it has absolutely saved my butt at least once. Other apps I’ve used - including CCC, Synk and others, have claimed to work and have failed when I’ve needed them most.
In the interim I’ve begun using an online solution - Mozy - that makes me feel more comfortable. It doesn’t make a bootable clone but it does store all of my critical files. It costs $5/month for unlimited storage (I’ve got 105 GB stored online right now) and works in the background. Even after SD! is fully operable, for $5/month I’ll keep using this as a disaster backup (your backup drive might be in the same fire, flood, theft or earthquake as your primary drive). IMHO anyone who does not use this as part of a total backup solution is missing a critical component to their strategy.
Dave - I hope you’ve recovered from the stomach flu. I had it a couple of months back and the experience was memorable in the worst way.
To the rest of the posters here - until a better solution comes along (and, based on my experience, it won’t) be more patient. Waiting a few months for an upgrade that requires a complete re-write due to the differences in the file system isn’t all that onerous. If you find a better solution you have the right to vote with your wallet and use it, but stop complaining. If Dave & Co. rushed the product and you didn’t have a 100% working app when you needed it most you’d have the right to complain - and that’s exactly what Shirt-Pocket is trying to avoid.
Of course, that’s just my 2 cents.
13 Jan 2008 at 12:57 pm | #
"I’m being patient but my hard drive is filling up with stuff I’d ordinarily delete after backing it up. Can anyone suggest another backup program, preferably free,”
Try Carbon Copy Cloner. Not as elegant but in some ways now more robust than SuperDuper (sad to say.)
13 Jan 2008 at 01:42 pm | #
Hey Dave,
Sorry for that, I was getting upset at all the whinning, won’t happen again.
13 Jan 2008 at 03:38 pm | #
People. Leave the poor guy alone and let him do his work. He has a great piece of software for a reason. If you don’t like the delay try something else. A bad backup is almost as worthless as no backup…
13 Jan 2008 at 04:58 pm | #
I’ve delayed upgrading to Leopard until SD! works with it; I can’t imagine not having the backups that let me sleep so soundly. There’s probably some benefit in delaying the upgrade anyway, giving Apple time to fix some of the bugs that are bound to come with a new OS. No program works better than SD!, nor is there better support anywhere than that provided by Dave N!
13 Jan 2008 at 05:07 pm | #
Maybe that will be Steve’s “One More Thing” during the keynote. SuperDuper! for Leopard is now shipping. Then he’ll call Dave up on the stage.
13 Jan 2008 at 05:57 pm | #
Heyo Dave,
I have just jumped into the idiotic shark’s pool again and, after two window-free years, I am installing a network with Microsoft stuff for a small NGO. It hurts. Big time.
But, more importantly, it makes every minute of waiting for Super Duper! worth the time. Good software takes, and please don’t let yourself be hassled or frustrated by some people who are more impatient - but may well have lost sight of the stinking alternative.
As Confucius once said: “The superior man makes the difficulty to be overcome his first interest; success only comes later.”
13 Jan 2008 at 06:01 pm | #
Dave: why do the post pages only show 100 comments, when there are way more?
13 Jan 2008 at 06:05 pm | #
It’s a limitation of something in Expression Engine I haven’t been able to figure out.
13 Jan 2008 at 07:44 pm | #
Is it my imagination or does the list of comments stop at 100 even though the number of comments appears to be 116?
14 Jan 2008 at 03:14 am | #
Almost at 3 months. Great job guys! Doing a bang up job.
14 Jan 2008 at 08:32 am | #
Is this a bug or a feature ???
On:
http://www.shirt-pocket.com/blog/
I can see the following:
Posted by Dave Nanian in Shirt Pocket in SuperDuper!
Comments (118) • Trackbacks (0) • Permalink • Tell-a-Friend
But if when I’m in the blog it end with #100
Greetings
14 Jan 2008 at 08:38 am | #
I’ve figured out how to display more comments here, so all the comments are now visible (they were always saved).
14 Jan 2008 at 10:08 am | #
Just dropped in to see if the Leopard-compatible version has been released.
Guess not, huh?
Oh, well, Time Machine seems to be working OK although I have no experience using it to resurrect my primary drive. Hopefully won’t have to either.
Is there a new target date since I don’t stop by very frequently?
14 Jan 2008 at 01:11 pm | #
I did restore a whole HD with TimeMachine - worked fine.
14 Jan 2008 at 01:56 pm | #
@Felix:
Use an RSS reader to subscribe to this blog’s RSS feed.
14 Jan 2008 at 02:09 pm | #
@don
I did a full restore with TM and it failed to restore modified system files and folder actions. I was Not Pleased.
14 Jan 2008 at 03:20 pm | #
I have to agree with Frustrated Steve. I have found this whole updating process a disappointment. None of this will make any difference. It will come out when it comes out but this has taken way to long.
14 Jan 2008 at 03:32 pm | #
Is it soup yet? I’m HUNGRY!
14 Jan 2008 at 04:27 pm | #
Prepare to STARVE…
Shirt Pocket - Software for an audience of NONE.
14 Jan 2008 at 04:32 pm | #
The last excuse I read in the updates was something about stomach flu (good one) and I guess the next one will be, having to update the update ‘cause of 10.5.2 release.
And the wait continues.
My question is, will we see a SD! update before the next MAJOR update to OSX?
14 Jan 2008 at 05:01 pm | #
Will you be at Macworld Expo this week, Dave? I’ll be there tomorrow (Tuesday) and hope to see you there (if you have a booth). Still patiently waiting for SD! 2.5, but do keep up the good work!
14 Jan 2008 at 05:04 pm | #
The stomach flu was a statement, not an excuse, and I worked while I had it. I’m offering no excuses, just facts about what’s going on. As I said, we’re being frustrated by a bug that’s shown up during late testing. We’re trying to get to the bottom of it, and have been since we encountered the case. It’s what’s holding us up.
@Russell—sorry, no, won’t be at Macworld Expo this year… too much to do.
14 Jan 2008 at 06:39 pm | #
Sing along everyone!
“Until the 12th of never, and that’s a long long time....”
Or…
“I can feel it coming in the air tonight… Hold on, hold on...”
...and on, and on , and on…
Oh, wait, that’s Apple’s new line, sorry.
14 Jan 2008 at 06:57 pm | #
Question: is the registered copy of SD! transferable?
I was just wondering, if I die before a workable update arrives may my wife and kids use it?
thanks!
14 Jan 2008 at 07:03 pm | #
IMHO probably yes, and no Padre, since we’ll all just be waiting for the 10.6 compatible version at that point anyway.
14 Jan 2008 at 09:33 pm | #
As a software engineer, I can understand not wanting to commit to a date. It is one of my least favorite aspects of my job. However, I do think it is reasonable and courteous to offer estimates, and to continue to offer updated estimates as time passes without a release. It’s great that Dave has mentioned “a few weeks” and then “a week or so”, but that week or so has past with no official update. Just a short blog update that says “there is one remaining bug - we hope to have it nailed in 1 week” would do wonders to let everyone (that doesn’t read all the blog and forum messages) know what the progress is. I think the best compromise for the developers and the customers is to offer a “reasonable estimate” and continue to update it as things change or time passes. I think that is much better than providing little or infrequent information and saying “it’s done when it’s done”. I realize some of this has been provided in your responses, Dave, but it’d be nice to see a short summary in an official blog post, for those of us that don’t want to keep up with all the messages.
19 Jan 2008 at 01:07 pm | #
I’m not a programmer, but I discovered the “magic files and folders” when I installed Leopard a couple weeks ago. For me it was all about the Hevetic Hell font conflict. I use Adobe Postscript fonts and tried to delete the System>Fonts>Helvetic.dfont and HelveticNeue.defont and use Font Manager Pro to load the Adobe Helv fonts. You could do this in Tiger with no problem, but in Leopard if you remove the fonts from the System>Fonts folder they would “magically” regenerate themselves! I would look in the trash and sure enough the deleted fonts were there, but they had magically reappeared in the Sys>Fonts folder!!
Turns out there is a deeply burried folder called “Protected Fonts” that contained the “magic fonts” that generated the new fonts in the Sys>Font folder. Deleting these protected fonts, then going back to the Sys>Fonts folder and deleting the Apple Helv.dfonts finally resolved the 16 dialog warnings that I was getting informing me of font conflicts (one for EVERY font attribute). All is running well now.
Appreciate all your hard work, Dave!.
20 Jan 2008 at 03:24 pm | #
Time machine works quite okay, because it could restore easily the install i had.
However, i think it will use a lot of space on the external hard disc. And it also backups files that i downloaded to the desktop! So i take care all the music and files i download to the external hard disc.
I don’t want a time machine backup of downloaded files, that is stupid. But i cannot prevent.
Superduper would make that possible i guess, so i am still waiting.