In this post, I’ll share why I am publicly sharing this, exactly what happened, the details of our acquisition process, how we are moving forward, and what we learned.
Broadband Speeds: Lies and Statistics
We love fast broadband speeds. Faster upload speeds mean faster backups of your data. Often we salivate over claims of 10Mbps+ blistering connections. However, periodically customers email us saying “I can’t seem to backup as fast as my internet connection implies.” Looking at the the customer’s internet connection, we see it’s slower than advertised—but it’s… Continue reading Broadband Speeds: Lies and Statistics
Backblaze Release 1.5: Back Up 9GB Files and Transfer Backup State
Backblaze has made a new release available. All users are scheduled to automatically upgrade over the next two weeks. Below are the enhancements in this release: Release Date: 7/20/10 Version: 1.5.0 Auto-Update: All Users In addition to various minor fixes and enhancements, there are two key new features: 1. Backup of Individual Files up to… Continue reading Backblaze Release 1.5: Back Up 9GB Files and Transfer Backup State
Backblaze in Oil Paint
I spent a little time creating something we can hang on the wall that isn’t a Post-it Note or print outs. The white doggy, Tiffany, was one the early fans of Backblaze.
Seagate Ships 3TB Drives
Wow. Seagate just announced the world’s first 3TB drive. Called the Seagate FreeAgent GoFlex Desk, it’s big enough to hold about 1,000 full-length HD movies or one million digital photos or songs. It is also twice the size of the Seagate drives we used in the Backblaze Storage Pod when we published the design in… Continue reading Seagate Ships 3TB Drives
GigaOm Structure 2010: Cloud Computing Event Summary
For the third year in a row, Om Malik and the team put on a fantastic event about cloud computing last week. The GigaOm Structure 2010 event was bursting at the seams as people filled the main room to capacity (with a recurring plea by MC Joe Weiman asking people to try and find seats… Continue reading GigaOm Structure 2010: Cloud Computing Event Summary
Free iPhone 4 Wallpapers
Did you get your new iPhone 4 (or upgrade to iOS 4)? I created some iPhone 4 Wallpapers (640×960) you may enjoy. They’re free to use. How to Switch Your Wallpaper: Open this blog post on your iPhone. Click on the one image you like (including the one with the flame) to open it. Click… Continue reading Free iPhone 4 Wallpapers
Backblaze Release 1.0.7
Backblaze has made a new release available and all users are scheduled to be automatically upgraded over the next two weeks. Below are the enhancements in this release: Release Date: 6/21/10 Version: 1.0.7 Auto-Update: All Users Protocol changes to add efficiency and reliability. Minor security enhancements. Rolls up changes from previous versions which were not… Continue reading Backblaze Release 1.0.7
Access Backblaze Files on Your iPad
Are you one of the several million people to have bought an iPad already? If so, you can now access your files backed up with Backblaze directly from your iPad. Since the iPad only handles a few file types by default (and can’t unzip packages or compressed files), get the excellent Good Reader application ($0.99)… Continue reading Access Backblaze Files on Your iPad
Backblaze Racks 100th Storage Pod
In 2008 we started deploying our Storage Pods and in September 2009 we gave away the design on our blog in a post titled, “Petabytes on a Budget: How to Build Cheap Cloud Storage.” This weekend we deployed our 100th Backblaze Storage Pod. For those of you counting, that’s: 100 Pods 4,500 spinning hard drives… Continue reading Backblaze Racks 100th Storage Pod
Backblaze Is Giving Away Two Apple iPads
Losing all of your photos forever. Paying iTunes a second time to buy all your music again. Pulling your hair out when your computer won’t boot. …If these reasons aren’t enough to backup your computer, we’re giving you one more: A free Apple iPad. Every computer that starts backing up in June will be entered… Continue reading Backblaze Is Giving Away Two Apple iPads
Backup Awareness Month: June 2010
Has it been a year already? It feels like just yesterday I was writing about our last survey with Harris Interactive where we asked how often people backup their computers. Well, it’s June again and we re-ran the survey. Good news: Fewer people are not doing regular backups (92% now vs. 94% last year). Bad… Continue reading Backup Awareness Month: June 2010
Backblaze Release 1.0.6 (Minor)
Backblaze has made a new release available. The release is very minor, thus users will not be automatically upgraded. A future release will include these items and automatically upgrade all users. Release Date: 6/10/10 Windows Version: 1.0.6.263 Mac Version: 1.0.6.264 Auto-Update: None Usability Slightly updated icons in Backblaze Preference Pane/Control Panel. Exclusions Added exclusions for… Continue reading Backblaze Release 1.0.6 (Minor)
Backblaze Saves a Marriage
Ok, maybe not quite the marriage…but at least the sanity leading up to it. My friend Vlad was planning his wedding recently and posted this on Facebook a couple days before the actual event: Vlad is grateful for Backblaze…phew I asked him what happened and wanted to share his reply: we’ve been going *nuts* over… Continue reading Backblaze Saves a Marriage
Don’t Push That Button
As some of you noticed, Backblaze experienced an outage. I want to provide some detail on what happened and the current status. The Cause Backblaze stores your backed up data in a top-tier data center facility. Last night at 7:35 p.m., a security guard entered the facility. The door slammed, causing the protective covering to… Continue reading Don’t Push That Button
Backblaze Release 1.0.6
Backblaze has made a new release available and all users are scheduled to be automatically upgraded over the next two weeks. Below are the enhancements in this release: Release Date: 3/1/10 Version: 1.0.6 Auto-Update: All Users Performance Improvements Reduces network traffic between client and Backblaze data center. Improved Install & Error Checking Robustness (Mac) Clearer… Continue reading Backblaze Release 1.0.6
Goodbye 2009. Hello 2010.
Happy New Year! One year ago we said goodbye to 2008—we couldn’t have even imagined what 2009 would bring. So, now, we’ll take a look back at 2009 and pull out our crystal ball to take the slightest look ahead to 2010. Mac Love We entered 2009 with a private beta of our online backup… Continue reading Goodbye 2009. Hello 2010.
Backblaze a Finalist for a Crunchie
GigaOm, VentureBeat, and TechCrunch have gotten together again to put on the Academy Awards of the tech industry—the Crunchies. Backblaze is honored to have been named a finalist in the Best Technology Achievement of 2009 category. Not sure if you have heard of the other finalists…one is a little startup called Google and the other… Continue reading Backblaze a Finalist for a Crunchie