CreativeIQ - Staging

Over the last couple years we've struggled to find the best tool for backing up laptop users. Most creative teams have copywriters or account managers that work primarily from portable laptops. There are a couple recurring challenges building a reliable backup strategy for laptop users:

Issue One — Users don't reliably back up their own computers. We have a well established understanding that a "good intentions" approach to backup will always fail. Portable firewire drives can work as a backup option, but eventually users won't take the time to initiate a regular daily backup.

Issue Two — Proactive Retrospect-based backups are problematic. When we set up systems to aggressively backup laptops during the day, users complain about slow downs or never-ending backup requests. (Laptops travel so after-hours backups is not an option).

What would be ideal would be a backup solution that is small, light and portable. Performing a backup should be quick and nearly automatic. Finally, an ideal system should make backing up fun! A perfect backup solution would become an almost addictive habit.

It turns out Apple's new 80GB iPods fits that description almost perfectly! In this tip we'll show how to setup a backup script that automatically backs up your laptop every time you plug in your new iPod to sync or charge.

Note: Yes you read correctly. This tip is in fact the business case for purchasing 80GB iPods for laptop users! Forward it to your boss.