Several years ago, a guy sent us an email saying he liked our service and was planning on recommending Backblaze on his newsletter, Photojojo. We’d never heard of him or his newsletter but we said, “Great!” Shortly thereafter he wrote “Backblaze: Backup Software You’ll Actually Use” and almost 10,000 people showed up to try the… Continue reading Get Well, Amit!
A Small Tribute to Steve Jobs
One of our support guys sent an email to the company a few minutes ago saying Steve Jobs died. After a moment of disbelief there was some shock, then sadness. Steve Jobs wasn’t one in a million. He was one in a billion. And while we had never met him, he had a profound impact… Continue reading A Small Tribute to Steve Jobs
Sean Has a New Friend. His Name Is Guido.
A single Backblaze Storage Pod weighs nearly 150 lbs and takes two people to rack it. Each time Sean has gone to the data center to rack new Pods (which happens every two weeks) he needed to bring another person for assistance. In the interest of giving Sean a hand, we bought him a friend.… Continue reading Sean Has a New Friend. His Name Is Guido.
$399.99 for a 3.1GB Hard Drive
No, not 3TB…3GB. We stumbled across this scan of a Best Buy news ad from 1996. “30-Message Pagers,” “Motorola Cellular Flip Phone,” “28.8 kbps modem”—what a trip down memory lane. One of my favorite ads, for obvious reasons, is for hard drives: At those prices, a Backblaze Storage Pod today would cost $18,000,000! (45 drives… Continue reading $399.99 for a 3.1GB Hard Drive
GINA Builds Some Backblaze Pods
Okay, actually it was Chloe that built the first Pod. And Greg that built the second. But those Pods were built to store the geospatial information data for GINA—the Geographic Information Network of Alaska. When searching for pics of Backblaze Storage Pods, I stumbled across Stefanie “Chloe” Edgar’s Picasa album with photos of the Storage… Continue reading GINA Builds Some Backblaze Pods
Petabytes on a Budget 2.0: Revealing More Secrets
To get the latest updates and information on ALL of the Storage Pod versions. Click Here. It’s been over a year since Backblaze revealed the designs of our first generation (67TB) Storage Pod. During that time, we’ve remained focused on our mission to provide an unlimited online backup service for $5 per month. To maintain… Continue reading Petabytes on a Budget 2.0: Revealing More Secrets
Backblaze Fully Supports OS X Lion (10.7)
While Apple just recently announced their newest operating system, OS X Lion (10.7), Backblaze has been working with developers and beta testers for a while to ensure our online backup service is fully compatible. When you rush out to upgrade to Lion, know that your Backblaze online backup service will work seamlessly. The new OS… Continue reading Backblaze Fully Supports OS X Lion (10.7)
94% of Computer Users Still Risk Data Loss
Each of the last four years during June’s Backup Awareness Month, Backblaze has conducted a data backup survey using Harris Interactive. We always ask the same question: are you backing up your computer data and, if so, how often? The results of this fourth annual survey and the three previous ones are: Percent of Respondents… Continue reading 94% of Computer Users Still Risk Data Loss
Backblaze Finds $1 Million Counterfeit Cash
No, I’m not kidding. Just over a month ago we launched Locate My Computer, a free feature of our online backup service, to find your computer if it is lost or stolen. Since then a number of people have recovered their computers. However, one of our customers (let’s call him “Joe” as he requested anonymity… Continue reading Backblaze Finds $1 Million Counterfeit Cash
Price Gap: Storage vs. Bandwidth
Cloud computing success relies on high-speed bandwidth. Whether streaming movies or running applications from the cloud, the ability to get data quickly from the cloud to the computer (or tablet or phone) is a key requirement for rapid adoption. As such, we decided to take a look at how well internet bandwidth to the home… Continue reading Price Gap: Storage vs. Bandwidth
$94 Trillion Petabyte
IBM is celebrating the 55th anniversary of the first hard drive. At the time, this was a breakthrough that would change the path of technology. However, to put into perspective how far we’ve all come: The hard drive IBM shipped in 1956: Stored five megabytes Cost $11,000 per megabyte Was 60 inches long x 68… Continue reading $94 Trillion Petabyte
Ignite: Lean Startup—Petabytes on a Budget, the Video
Ignite is a “fast-paced, fun, thought-provoking, social, local, global” evening of “high-energy 5-minute talks by people who have an idea.” Specifically, as the presenter you get exactly 20 slides that auto-advance every 15 seconds. No running over. No slide remote control. The theme of the evening was “Lean Startup” a set of principles (clearly communicated… Continue reading Ignite: Lean Startup—Petabytes on a Budget, the Video
Is the Backblaze Cloud Bigger than iCloud?
Possibly. A customer yesterday asked, “Do you have any idea how big iCloud is?” I thought it was an interesting question and poked around. Two months ago it was reported that Apple ordered 12 petabytes of storage rumored to be used for its new North Carolina data center. Certainly Apple already has significant storage for… Continue reading Is the Backblaze Cloud Bigger than iCloud?
Your X-Ray on a Pod: Vanderbilt Builds Backblaze Storage Pods
After we open sourced the Backblaze Storage Pod, hundreds of people contacted us expressing interest in building their own. A few have shared their experiences including the team at the Vanderbilt University Institute of Imaging Science, where Hampton Albert and others have modified the original design for their own purposes. They explain their approach and… Continue reading Your X-Ray on a Pod: Vanderbilt Builds Backblaze Storage Pods
Backblaze Works Seamlessly with iCloud
Yesterday, Apple announced iCloud, launching in the fall, which lets you sync music, photos, apps, calendars, etc. between your iPhone, iPad, and Mac. As Mac-fans, all of us here at Backblaze are pretty excited about using these features for ourselves! A couple people asked, “How will Backblaze work with iCloud?” The answer? Seamlessly! iCloud will… Continue reading Backblaze Works Seamlessly with iCloud
Lost Your Computer? Get It Back! Backblaze Launches: Locate My Computer
There are many causes of data loss, but a lost or stolen computer has been a guaranteed reason to need Backblaze to recover data. Unfortunately, with some exceptions, the computer itself was gone. Today, Backblaze announces “Locate My Computer“—a new feature of the Backblaze online backup service that shows you a map of your computer’s… Continue reading Lost Your Computer? Get It Back! Backblaze Launches: Locate My Computer
Hello Iron Mountain Customers, Can We Help?
After shutting down its cloud storage business last month, today Iron Mountain sold the entire Iron Mountain Digital business to Autonomy. Why did Iron Mountain shut down the cloud storage business and sell off its Iron Mountain Digital business? According to ZDNet, Iron Mountain “is exiting the digital business because it can’t keep up with… Continue reading Hello Iron Mountain Customers, Can We Help?
Restore Files Within a Date Range
Backblaze has always kept a four week history of all the files we back up—typically referred to as “versioning.” This enabled you to realize that you liked your Powerpoint presentation from a couple days ago, before you added all that amazing clipart, and simply restore that previously backed up version. Today we are launching the… Continue reading Restore Files Within a Date Range