NTI's Shadow 2 keeps your data alive when hard drive isn't
December 24, 2005
By CRAYTON HARRISON
The Dallas Morning News
Hard drives aren't built to last forever. All the photos, music files and
other precious documents stored on a computer can disappear the moment that
little device stops humming.
There are plenty of software options to back up important data. Some come
with external hard drives; others are sold separately.
And now, NewTech Infosystems Inc. has a pretty good offer on the table.
Until the end of 2005, its backup software is available for download for 99
cents.
Shadow 2, as the software is called, works on Windows and Mac OS X. It is
bare-bones and simple, with only a few easy options. It's pretty hard to
mess up.
To back up files, you'll need a separate device with its own memory. This
can be a keychain drive, an external hard drive or a personal organizer, to
name a few options. What you use depends on how much data you need to back
up.
The software walks the user through each step, selecting the folders to back
up, picking the backup device and scheduling the frequency of backups.
If the user desires, the software can also back up only certain file types.
It offers the option of a regularly scheduled backup or an update every time
a new file is saved in the designated folder.
But having the software constantly monitoring for new files can drag down
the computer's performance. My iMac was noticeably slower using this
function, although it is an old model.
Pros: Easy to understand and clutter-free.
Cons: There's no status bar or other indicator when the software is backing
up files, making it impossible to tell how much longer the process will
take.
Bottom line: Hey, it's 99 cents. Definitely worth a look.SHADOW 2
Software requirements: Windows XP or 2000; Mac OS X 10.1.5 or later
System requirements for Windows: Pentium III or higher, 256 megabytes of RAM
System requirements for Mac: 128 megabytes of RAM
Available for download at www.ntius.com
SOURCE: NTI
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