One common argument is whether it is better to back up to an external hard drive, or better to use an online backup service. In fact, I wrote an offline vs. online backup post a while ago.
What doesn’t get mentioned a lot is that a lot of people (myself included) do both. It looks like LaCie and Carbonite are getting together to recognize that.
I haven’t seen anything on their websites about it, but Gizmodo is reporting that any LaCie external hard drives purchased after October 15th are entitled to a year of Carbonite service free.
Recognizing the importance of secure digital media for both consumers and professional users, LaCie has partnered with Carbonite, Inc., an innovator in online backup technology, to ensure that each LaCie drive purchased will be bundled with their award-winning services.
For one year following software installation Carbonite will automatically backup the LaCie drive by finding new and modified files, encrypting them twice before leaving the original workstation, then transmitting them by HTTPS (SSL) to a secure data center, where the information remains encrypted, protecting the user¹s privacy. Additionally, backups are completed only when the computer is idle, so the process never interferes with computer performance.
I think this is a really smart move on LaCie’s part. Online backup services are getting more and more popular, so instead of trying to fight the inevitable they are embracing it. Clever.
