Over the years I have used many different devices to backup my data. Here is a quick list:

• 5 1/4 Floppy
• 3 1/2 Floppy
• Iomega Zip Drive
• Iomega Jaz Drive
• CD-R
• DVD-R
• FTP Site
• USB hard drive

The all had their pros and cons. Usually the pro was that the next device had more storage and was easier/quicker to use than the previous one. The cons always seemed to be that you had to remember to do it and still took time. I have decided it is time to move to the next logical device. This would be backing up my data online. This gives me the extra benefit that my backups are off site and I don’t need to remember to bring them out of my house. In the back of my head I always worried about my house getting broken into or a fire. Either one means I could easily be without my data.

One possible option is to use the Amazon S3 service for the backups. There are several companies/individuals who have written software to do this. Also there are companies that specialize in online backups. I am going to give several of them a try and figure out which one will work best for my needs and for the most reasonable price. I’ll let you know which one I settle on. If you have any suggestions for ones to try let me know.