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Computer Times
Editors' Choice Storage Device Rebit Backup Drives and Software Reviewed by Angie Kibiloski
There are a lot of backup options on the market today, and it can be daunting trying to decide which one is right for you. What’s the difference between technologies? Do you really need that much space? Should you use an external drive or backup to the Internet? So many questions that often just boil down to your own personal preferences. Personally, I prefer the security of an external drive over the Internet, and look for efficiency and usability with the software. For this option, one company I’d highly recommend is Rebit. They offer durable, compact drives of varying capacities, along with very user-friendly software for a single computer or multiple PCs. More importantly, the Rebit software provides consumers with a unique backup solution that out strides other companies by a mile.
Most backup software requires you to go through a sometimes very confusing set up process, choosing which file types you want to backup, on which days of the week, at what time. Often, you’re limited to multi-media file types, like music, photos, and documents. Well, what if you want to backup more than that, like programs you have downloaded, the OS update you just installed last week, or the Windows environment you spent hours personalizing and perfecting? Or perhaps you aren’t very tech savvy and don’t even know what different file types stand for, so how can you be expected to choose which to backup? Well, Rebit will save you from all of this trouble and frustration, because it isn’t your typical backup product. No more choosing file types, no more scheduling. Get ready for a complete and constant system backup! When you get your friendly little Rebit home, just plug it in to a USB connection and let it do it’s thing. It will backup not only your personal files, like photos and documents, but also your ENTIRE COMPUTER. You’ll have a copy of everything from loaded software, to OS preferences, to passwords, to drivers. Literally, your whole system will be ready to be reloaded in case of a system failure or crash. This process consists of simply loading the included Recovery CD, then retrieving the backed up files from the Rebit. Of course, you can recover single files as well, very easily, just by dragging and dropping them from your Rebit to your hard drive in Windows Explorer. I was impressed by how effortless this product is to use. If you leave your Rebit connected to your PC all the time, another great feature comes into play. You’ll never have to worry about scheduled backups, and whether or not a certain file gets backed up. Instead of only doing a backup once a day, or once a week like other products, Rebit backs up your files as you change them. Every time you save a file, it is instantly backed up to the Rebit drive. So, if your computer crashes 5 minutes after you’ve finally finished that important presentation that your boss wants tomorrow, as long as you saved it, no worries, its stored in your Rebit already. This genius little drive is always looking out for you and your files. Also, it saves consecutive versions of the same file. For instance, if you were playing around in Photoshop drawing horns on that picture of Grandma from last Christmas, and accidentally pressed SAVE, Rebit has you covered. Just go in and recover a version of the file that was saved prior to your little artistic inspiration. Wait, there’s more. Say you have a small business with an office network of several PCs, or even just a consumer with a desktop and a laptop. Well, Rebit has an option that’s perfect for you. No need to buy an external drive for each computer. The Multi-PC software can backup up to 6 PCs, as long as you have a large enough drive to store the combined total of your hard drives. Each PC will be stored separately on the Rebit, partitioned by whatever you have chosen to title each system. If one PC crashes, you’ll use the same simple recovery process as with the single-PC software. The Rebit is smart enough to load just that individual system back onto its origin PC.
You can either buy a Rebit drive suitable for sitting stylishly on your desktop, or a more compact version for your portable needs. The desktop models come in 500GB and 1TB capacities, with the option of being loaded with either the single or multi-PC software (Retail from $189.95 up to $319.95). The portable solutions come in 160GB or 320GB. The 320GB comes with either single or multi-PC software, while the 160GB is only single-PC (Retail from $149.99 up to $219.95). Also, you can purchase both the single-PC and multi-PC software solutions on their own, to use with an external hard drive that you already have (Retail $49.95 and $79.95 respectively). As you know, you get what you pay for. While Rebit might be a little more expensive than some other backup products out there, you will get a lot more for your money. Just think about how much time and money it would cost to rebuild a crashed computer from scratch, reloading the OS, repurchasing software, spending hours reconfiguring your preferences, registering products with license keys you only hope you kept. And this is all before reloading the personal files that your other backup products so graciously saved for you. Rebit gives you all of this in one easy step, by saving your entire system, or systems, completely, and in one place. When I first spoke with the company about their products, I kept thinking, “Wow, that’s so cool, how can it DO that?” And in the case of the multi-PC software, “How does it KNOW?” I’m still thinking that today, and after using my Rebit for the last couple months, am no less impressed than I was when I first learned about what it can do. If you want easy, effortless, constant, and complete backup, Rebit is the obvious choice.
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