haggholm | SpiderOak: Impressions (Reply)

I recently decided to try SpiderOak to backup documents that are either too large, or too sensitive to conveniently keep in my subversion repository. I signed up for one month at a cost of $10 to get 100 GiB of space. They offer 2 GiB completely free, and I can highly recommend this for storing smaller amounts of data (I would, except that I have, use, and like subversion for this).

Initial impressions: No problems with the packages¹ or UI. I can only assume that the Windows and Mac versions are identically smooth (with most products, after all, Linux gets the least attention and support). I had some issues where my upload speed would slow to a crawl, then a halt…but I think this is more due to Shaw, whether because the cable network gets overloaded at certain times of day, or because they throttle my connection.² However, this was not immediately obvious, so I asked SpiderOak tech support, just in case. Their response was prompt, friendly, and voiced in a way that didn’t seem to assume I’m an idiot (I’m very sensitive to perceived condescension). Thus, while SpiderOak’s support didn’t solve a problem for me, because there almost certainly was none on their part, their response seemed promising: Based on preliminary data, I like their customer support.

So far, I’ve backed up about 9 GiB of data. Of course, uploading this on a cable connection with a maximum of 0.5 Mbps upload rate, it’s rather painfully slow, but once I have the data uploaded, I won’t have to repeat it… Unlike services like DropBox, SpiderOak lets me specify which directories I want to upload (and exclude subdirectories, if I so desire), so I can keep my files organised how I want them. It also turns out to be trivial to synchronise files between different computers. Their FAQ has all the details. It’s as simple as it sounds, and probably simpler.

As you can probably tell, I’m very happy with the service so far, though I’ve only used it for a few days yet. It’s quick (except for my upload speed…), easy, and I like their security model a very great deal. Based on my limited experience, I would recommend it—especially to those among you who don’t currently have an online backup service. Why not? You can get 2 GiB of safe, automatic backup for free! And if you need more (as I do), $10 a month or $100 a year gets you 100 GiB, while most other services I’ve found charges the same for only 50 GiB of space.

Again, of course, if you decide to sign up, use my referral link and give me some extra space for free…

¹ When I installed it on Ubuntu Karmic, there was no “Ubuntu Karmic” package, but the Jaunty package worked fine. A few days later, a Karmic package was available—this was within perhaps a week of the initial Karmic release, mind. I believe the package was actually the same, though of course it’s reassuring to click a link with the correct legend.

² My solution? I’m switching to TekSavvy, who offer twice the upload speed and about the same download speed at a similar price, never throttle anything, are less likely as an ADSL provider to suffer congestion than cable, and are champions of net neutrality and deserve my money more than Shaw does. On the very remote chance that my upload issue was SpiderOak’s fault rather than Shaw’s, I expect I’ll be happy with TekSavvy. (On the very, very remote chance that I’m not, I’ll just switch back.)