Dan's data reviews IDrive online backup, and mentions Mozy too

I suspect the "paid review" model will eventually produce the same results as PC Magazine of old, but it will take a while to corrupt Dan's Data. A recent review is very thorough and appropriately technical:

Review: IDrive online backup service

... The reason why I find IDrive particularly interesting, though, is that they're paying me via ReviewMe.com to write this review.

ReviewMe isn't one of those scummy services that allow payment to be conditional upon a favourable review, though. Whether I say IDrive is humankind's finest creation, or that it took both of my legs off at the knee, I get paid the same....

Dan's review of IDrive is pretty positive, though he only does XP stuff.

I've been looking for a good online backup solution for a while, to supplement my current Retrospect Pro USB disk solution. Apple's MobileMe might produce something, but it will be costly. I've about given up on Google -- they could deliver a service next week or next century.

DD says both IDrive and Mozy support XP and OS X. IDrive is setup for multiple accounts sharing the same space, that would work for me.

Incidentally, the primary reason to have offsite backup in Saint Paul MN is not fire, flood and quake, it's theft. True, smart thieves won't bother to steal hard drives, but most thieves are stone stupid. Elsewhere, fire and flood are right up there.

I wouldn't use these services as my primary backup solution, but as a supplementary solution they do interest me.

Update 4/11/09: Great comment below. At least some services (iDrive) don't back up OS X shortcuts/favorites -- which breaks some app data stores including some iPhoto and Aperture configurations. It's a good reminder to check how well security attributes are managed.