CMS Shows Higher Capacities for Desktop & Portable Backup Systems

Making a backup is always a good things to do. Unfortunately, most folks donit think to do this until after they lose some of their data. Some of this may have to do with one actually having to run some backup software to make the backup. If only there was a way to automate a backup by simply plugging a device into your Mac...

Fortunately, the good folks at CMS Peripherals offer such a backup system, called ABSplus, the ABS standing for Automatic Backup System. We had a chance to chat with Mike LaPeters, Vice President of Sales, to give us an update on whatis been happening with the product, and to receive a demonstration.


ABSplus Portable

At the beginning of the demonstration, we noted that there were two drives on the desktop, corresponding to the two ABSplus units plugged into the Mac. The interesting part came when the drive was removed from the machine and plugged back into the FireWire port. After a few moments, the ABSplus "Automatic Launcher" technology came into play, launching the CMS backup software and backing up files. The backup involved quite a bit of data, and when it was done, clocked in at about 500 MB/minute, which is certainly impressive compared to the rates weive gotten with Retrospect.


ABSplus Desktop

We canit think of a simpler way for folks, especially those who are pressed for time or non-technical, to make sure their systems are backed up. Of course the backup software has some additional features. Thereis a "One Button Restore" feature, making restoring data a snap. One can also schedule unattended backups.

New for the show are increased capacities for both versions of the product. A 250 GB version of the ABSplus Desktop was introduced in February, and is priced at US$599. A 80 GB version of the ABSplus Portable was introduced in April, and is priced at US$549.