Year: 2015

Adding Google Drive to Your Backup Plan

Backing up your Google documents seems rather redundant doesn’t it? Google does that stuff for you, right? However, forgetting to back up your Google items is something you could deeply regret. There are a few common reasons for this error and some easy ways to prevent it. Risk of Accidental Deletion or Removal Although Google… Continue reading Adding Google Drive to Your Backup Plan

Backblaze B2: The World’s Lowest Cost Cloud Storage

Ever since we open-sourced the original Backblaze Storage Pod and shared our storage costs, people have been saying, “I love your backup service, but I need a place to just store data. Can you give me direct access to your cloud storage?” After a year of hard work and tremendous excitement from our team, I’m delighted that today the answer is, “Yes!” We are announcing a brand new service, Backblaze B2 Cloud Storage.

Eight Highlights in Storage Pod Evolution

In September 2009, we introduced the Backblaze Storage Pod to the storage community. We then open-sourced the Storage Pod’s hardware design, and included a parts list, assembly instructions, and a cool 3D Storage Pod model. This enabled anyone with the desire and ability to create their own storage system. Over the past six years, we’ve… Continue reading Eight Highlights in Storage Pod Evolution

Know Before You Go: Reshoring Manufacturing Services Back to the U.S.

Reshoring is a hot topic these days. How hot? Consider the following: According to some estimates, US-based companies anticipate reshoring 20% of their manufacturing capacity within the next five to seven years. (Source: Reshoring Institute.) In a recent study conducted by Boston Consulting Group, it was found that 54% of all US companies with over… Continue reading Know Before You Go: Reshoring Manufacturing Services Back to the U.S.

Backblaze Release 4.0.4

We’ve updated our Backblaze client to version 4.0.4. This is a fairly minor release; there are a few key changes. Windows: Designed with latest Visual Studio 15 Updated to latest OpenSSL, resulting in increased performance and security Minor tweaks and fixes Mac: Support for Mac OS X 10.11 “El Capitan” Flame icon changes Minor tweaks… Continue reading Backblaze Release 4.0.4

The Faceplate for the Next Storage Pod: What Do You Think?

We have over 1,000 Backblaze Storage Pods storing over 150 petabytes of data. Who cares what they look like as long as they work, right? Turns out lots of people care—they care a lot. And it’s not just the folks in the data center, nearly everyone here at Backblaze has an opinion—marketing, engineering, sales, finance,… Continue reading The Faceplate for the Next Storage Pod: What Do You Think?

Don’t Build a Billion-Dollar Business. Really.

The better goal? Keep your head down, make a great product, and build a successful business. Silicon Valley prays at the altar of the billion-dollar business. And for good reason: These companies define industries, give the founders so-called “F-you money,” and provide VCs with a return that can counterbalance a dozen lousy investments. I don’t… Continue reading Don’t Build a Billion-Dollar Business. Really.

A Behind the Scenes Look at Designing the Next Storage Pod

Tim holds up a drive beam and shows the design to Matt, who is attending the meeting courtesy of a telepresence robot. They are discussing the results of a prototype Storage Pod developed using Agile development methodology applied to hardware design. The Storage Pod they are discussing was the result of the fifth sprint (iteration)… Continue reading A Behind the Scenes Look at Designing the Next Storage Pod

How to Use Free Cloud Storage and Unlimited Online Backup Together

Where do you store your files? This has become a modern dilemma, thanks to the proliferation of online storage services like Dropbox and Google Drive and online backup services like Backblaze. Using multiple services offers additional protection for your precious data, but you don’t want your files scattered everywhere either. Here’s my layered approach for… Continue reading How to Use Free Cloud Storage and Unlimited Online Backup Together

A 16TB SSD: OMG

It was reported today by Ars Technica UK, Slash Gear, and others, that Samsung is introducing a 16TB SSD. The world’s largest hard drive was unveiled at the Flash Memory Summit in Santa Clara, California. What’s even more amazing is the 2.5″ form factor—it would fit in your laptop. Before you run out (OK, log… Continue reading A 16TB SSD: OMG

Backblaze Labs: Center for Hardware Design

In September 2009, Backblaze introduced and open sourced our Storage Pod 1.0 design. Storage Pod 1.0 was the result of an iterative yet informal design process where ideas were designed, built, tested, and evaluated in a matter weeks and sometimes days. Rapid iteration was key, but over time, with each major Storage Pod release, rapid… Continue reading Backblaze Labs: Center for Hardware Design

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