Tag Archives: system

Backblaze Online Backup

After asking a few people on Facebook for experience with online backups, I have recently committed to using Backblaze to provide a separate backup of my entire data.  There is a NAS backup system I use as well as BluRay disc based backups but all of these are in the same place so are vulnerable to a single event taking them out.  Having an online service was something I had contemplated for a while but finally I have done something about it.

I picked Backblaze because they have an unlimited data plan for about $70 per annum.  I could use Amazon Prime for some of it but their plans are quite specific and the add ones become quite expensive.  Backblaze is all in.  I have about 13Tb of data currently.  I switched my Xfinity plan to unlimited for the upload phase.  I have a good connection so, after about 14 days of uploading, I was about halfway through so it should be done within a month.  I shall then see what the impact on bandwidth is going forward.

I have already had cause to use it.  I had a hard drive failure in my desktop.  Almost everything on it was already backed up but it turns out there were a couple of folder on there which, while recreateable, were lost initially.  Fortunately, Backblaze had already backed them up so I was able to get them back quickly and easily.  I hope I don’t need it again but having the entire system backed up will make me feel a lot more comfortable and having it constantly working in the background will be easy.

What Does 40 Years of Design Get You?

AU0E1641.jpgThe Boeing 747-8 has not been a terribly successful program.  Boeing decided to update the 747 family with new engines and revisions to the wing along with a stretch to the fuselage.  The resulting jet was delayed by its own and other program issues and it came around at a time when there were few passenger airlines interested and the freighter market was taking a kicking.  The result has been anemic sales and a production rate that has steadily reduced as a result of the low demand.  However, from a technical point of view, it is a nice upgrade.

C59F2632.jpgThe wing came in for a lot of attention and was significantly redesigned.  The most conspicuous change is the introduction of the swept tips common to many Boeing designs these days.  Less obvious is that the flap system was completely redesigned.  The original 747 flaps, carried through on the 747-400 are very complex.  Sections are triple slotted.  The Boeing aerodynamicists came up with a single slot design to replace this which apparently has good performance but I imagine is a lot simpler to make and maintain.  Only from the rear on approach can you see the difference.  These shots compare a 747-400 from Air New Zealand with a Korean Air 747-8 and you can see for yourself how much simpler the new design is.

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