Runaway iDisk

This makes me wonder why iDisk syncing images aren't sparse images (a la FileVault) that are only as large as the space used on the image. Since WebDAV performance is fairly pokey from the Finder, syncing the iDisk is the easiest way to store large files (so that they upload in the background as time permits). This is a real problem for folks with small drives.

On 10-Aug-2007, at 03:43, Nik Friedman TeBockhorst wrote:
> This makes me wonder why iDisk syncing images aren't sparse images
> (a la FileVault) that are only as large as the space used on the
> image. Since WebDAV performance is fairly pokey from the Finder,
> syncing the iDisk is the easiest way to store large files (so that
> they upload in the background as time permits). This is a real
> problem for folks with small drives.

500GB external USB2 drives for $100 at MicroCenter this last week. I
have no sympathy for anyone with 'small' drives.

USB2 PCI card (for any PCI Mac) for $14.

OK, if you have a pre-USB2 iMac you will have to spend a little more
for a firewire case, but still...

On Aug 10, 2007, at 11:39 AM, Google Kreme wrote:

> On 10-Aug-2007, at 03:43, Nik Friedman TeBockhorst wrote:
>> This makes me wonder why iDisk syncing images aren't sparse images
>> (a la FileVault) that are only as large as the space used on the
>> image. Since WebDAV performance is fairly pokey from the Finder,
>> syncing the iDisk is the easiest way to store large files (so that
>> they upload in the background as time permits). This is a real
>> problem for folks with small drives.
>
> 500GB external USB2 drives for $100 at MicroCenter this last week. I
> have no sympathy for anyone with 'small' drives.
>
> USB2 PCI card (for any PCI Mac) for $14.
>
> OK, if you have a pre-USB2 iMac you will have to spend a little more
> for a firewire case, but still...
>

If you have one of those, there's not much need for an iDisk :)

I never use my iDisk because it's too slow and I don't want to waste
disk space syncing it. My Buffalo TeraStation 1TB works better and is
a lot faster than an iDisk.

--On August 11, 2007 1:47:15 AM -0700 Mike Cohen <mike3kgmail.com> wrote:
> If you have one of those, there's not much need for an iDisk :)
>
> I never use my iDisk because it's too slow and I don't want to waste
> disk space syncing it. My Buffalo TeraStation 1TB works better and is
> a lot faster than an iDisk.

I use my iDisk every day, but just through the Backup app. I want at least
some of my documents backed up off-site, so a large USB drive isn't a total
replacement.

The boost in disk space is welcome, I upped my base backup to 6 GB of files
and still have room for plenty of daily updates. I'm still looking for an
online backup that costs less for more disk space, isn't in beta, and
preferably works with my Amazon S3 account. I'll change over to one of
those and reduce my .Mac usage to just the iTunes ID and iChat ID (I
believe those are still usable for free if you cancel your account?)

Kevin

On Aug 11, 2007, at 1:47 AM, Mike Cohen wrote:

> I never use my iDisk because it's too slow and I don't want to waste
> disk space syncing it. My Buffalo TeraStation 1TB works better and is
> a lot faster than an iDisk.

But unless you are set up in an unusual way, your TeraStation dies in
the same fire your Mac does. (In that size, .mac isn't an
alternative, and Amazon S3 is only if you have better-than-consumer
connectivity.) Three TeraStations with periodic copy and ship
somewhere routines would work.

It's rather amazing how disks have changed over the years. I only
saw RAMAC from a distance. The first disk drive I worked with was
NCR's late 1960s drive (office desk size but taller) with two four-
megabyte (binary counting, and I do mean mega (or mebi)) removable
disk packs. The packs were roughly the size of the consumer HP 2575
all-in-one printer at my right front. The most expensive hard drive
I've bought was the 5 megabyte Apple Profile.

All that leads up to my current state, of becoming nervous if my boot
disk has less than 30 gigabytes free (I don't take action until its
down closer to 20, I just start getting nervous).

   --John

Yes, external disks are getting cheaper, but I find the "keep a local copy of your iDisk" feature most useful when I'm using a laptop somewhere and an internet connection is not available (think "airplanes").

Laptop internal disks tend to be smaller than desktop machines', so while a 10 GB iDisk copy isn't a problem at home, it's a considerable chunk of the free-space on my laptops.

Increase the mail storage.

I had the same problem with my PB G4--I suddenly had 9Gb less disk space. The solution is simple: Increase your mail storage so that your iDisk shrinks to the desired size. At the moment, I'm happy with 1 Gb, so I allowed approximately 9Gb for mail. In a few minutes, the MirrorAgent had resized my disk image and I got back by lost 9Gb.

true, it was quite the shock to me to discover I'd suddenly "lost" 10 Gigs of space on my MacBook Pro. The fix was simple however: I went to dotMac and adjusted my mail space to use most of that expansion. Upon restart and reconnect my iDisk again readjusted itself to it's old (albeit slightly larger) size. When I'm in need of more online storage I'll do it a little bit at a time and adjust the storage on the MBP accordingly.

On Aug 14, 2007, at 6:20 AM, deebee wrote:

> true, it was quite the shock to me to discover I'd suddenly "lost"
> 10 Gigs of space on my MacBook Pro. The fix was simple however: I
> went to dotMac and adjusted my mail space to use most of that
> expansion. Upon restart and reconnect my iDisk again readjusted
> itself to it's old (albeit slightly larger) size. When I'm in need
> of more online storage I'll do it a little bit at a time and adjust
> the storage on the MBP accordingly.

You can also turn off iDisk syncing in the .Mac preference panel.

On 11-Aug-2007, at 02:47, Mike Cohen wrote:
> On Aug 10, 2007, at 11:39 AM, Google Kreme wrote:
>> 500GB external USB2 drives for $100 at MicroCenter this last week. I
>> have no sympathy for anyone with 'small' drives.
>
> If you have one of those, there's not much need for an iDisk :)

Erm, no, these things are in no way related. Off-site off-line
storage that is accessible from any other computer and a large local
hard drive about as different as having a season box set of a TV
series and having a TV station.