[X4U] Which program to clone with?

[B. Kuestner]

>> I have a few issues with CCC:
>> - Only requests password but not login name. So you cannot run it as
>> a non-admin user and only authorize this one process with admin  
>> privileges.
>
> Exactly. Prominently stated in the instructions: "You must be  
> logged in as an
> administrator or root to use CCC." It's a common security feature.

I know that it's in the instructions. I still find it an  
inconvenience. As has been said many times before, it is good  
security advice to work with a non-admin account. I would appreciate  
if I could run backups with CCC and not having to switch to the admin  
account. Lazy? Yes. But then, I found that the best and fortunately  
common way for apps to ask for authentication goes like this:

Ask for login name and password, where the login name is auto-filled  
for admin accounts.

CCC's "shortcut" of leaving out the option to enter an admin login is  
but a nuisance, yet it's a nuisance after all.

But before I continue, I want to make straight that I find CCC still  
recommendable: My summary said that it is "affordable and it seems  
reliable". That's about as good as it can get for a backup  
application. (And as was added, for some users CCC is even free,  
others can donate as they wish.)

> If you want the ability to run it while logged into nonadmin user  
> account, file an
> enhancement request: <mailto:mike at bombich.com>. However, I doubt  
> that it'll be
> included in the new version, currently under development.

I have requested the feature looong ago. Equally I have long waited  
for the new version. I think CCC has not seen a new version since  
2003 when 2.3 came out.

Again, not complaining. Thanks to Mike Bombich for a good app at the  
right price for everybody since the user defines the price, not Mike.  
It's still said to not see CCC developed.

>> - CCC requests the password over and over again at initial copy (when
>> it isn't syncing)
>
> Not true. There's only been one reported instance of this behavior  
> and all
> indications are that was due to operator error. See
> <http://forums.bombich.com/viewtopic.php?t=6738> for details

Indeed. I must have run into the same problem, because I, too, was  
asked again for a password.

Let me add though, that I find this behavior to a not very graceful  
handling of the user entering an incorrect password. If that happens,  
then CCC should simple pause and request the user to type his  
password again.

Again, it's a minor issue.

>> - You need psync installed. CCC should help to install it, but the
>> link in the application is broken. You can get it from Mike Bombich's
>> home page
>
> Only if you desire to do synchronized clones. The automatic  
> download works for
> most people. For those who have problems, there are posted  
> workarounds; see
> <http://forums.bombich.com/viewtopic.php?t=6620 >for example.

Well, I don't have statistics to claim that it works or not for  
"most" or "many" or "some". But I haven't seen it work on my two Macs  
for a while now.

Again, that is a minor issue, since downloading and installing  
manually from Mike Bombich's page always worked for me.

It still wouldn't hurt to see this fixed in 2.3.1 or 2.4, no?

>> - Sometimes the GUI virtually freezes: switching to the application
>> does not bring up the window, interrupting processes (e. g. repairing
>> permissions) is not possible
>
> Apparent freezes, as stated in the FAQs:
> Q(9): The progress bar is not moving, and CCC does not appear to be  
> responding,
> what should I do?
> A: Due to the lack of a decentdialog between CCC and Darwin, it is  
> not possible
> to determine how far along each copy task is, so the progress bar  
> is not to
> scale. Because of this, CCC may appear to be hanging when it is  
> actually
> copying files.

Well, most somewhat experienced users are familiar with progress bar  
problems. But that is again not an excuse for a) the app not  
responding (bringing the window to front when switching back to it)  
and b) not allowing the user to quit the application and/or the  
current process gracefully rather than force-quitting.

It would be nice if CCC also offered some sort of verbose mode  
displaying the files that are currently compared or copied.

Again, that is just cosmetics. But then I personally find that the  
user interaction is also a significant part of an application.

But, once more, CCC is affordable and seems reliable. I use it and  
can live the the above mentioned issues easily.

Björn