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Frequently Asked Questions about BackupMaster™ & BackupGenius™

• What are BackupMaster™ and BackupGenius™? Why are they 'revolutionary'?
• How does BackupGenius™ Differ?
• What kind of devices can I put BackupGenius™ on?
• Does it need to be a 'special' drive - like U3 or whatever?

What are BackupMaster™ 'Intelligent Profiles'?
In addition to TakeWare® itself BackupMaster™ (and now BackupGenius™) incorporates an intelligent system of portable 'profiles' which each carry the information needed about a particular system / package (or class of data) in a form flexible and intelligent enough to overcome the variety of ways in which software is installed from one PC / Server / System to another. They also incorporate a scripting system, which enables total automation of the whole process - even when services and databases need to be manipulated and started and/or stopped as a part of the process.

There are a range of other TakeWare® apps in the lab as prototypes and in various stages of development. Contact us for more information or if you would like to see another app become a TakeWare® app.

More information on BackupMaster™ | Go to BackupMaster™ site

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What are BackupMaster™ and BackupGenius™? Why are they 'revolutionary'?
They are both descended from these earlier TakeWare® apps, incorporating many refined features - fully automated archiving of previous version is now incorporated - as is extensive reporting.

BackupMaster™ exactly fits the bill described above. It arrives as a complete backup 'appliance' - with no software to install (it's already installed on the memory device). One click gives permission for it's Windows 'tray item' to load, after which just plugging it in is enough to launch and start the backup operation. No installation. No Set-up. (Alternatively it can be scheduled through Windows if you so wish).

It comes pre-loaded with profiles for all popular software titles (and in the unlikely event that you need more a profile editor is built in), and a backup is completed quickly and efficiently - blindingly fast in fact - though not as fast as all the subsequent ones.

A report is then presented on-screen confirming the details of the backup run - with an 'At-A-Glance' summary at the top, making it easy to see that your files have in fact been found and secured!

Meanwhile you can carry on working. Or you may prefer to use the time to make a cup of coffee - better be the instant variety thought! In independent trials BackupMaster™ has been found to be 15 (fifteen) times faster than the alternatives on the first run and 75 (seventy five) times as fast as them on subsequent runs (compared with tape systems).

Data is compressed and encrypted on-the-fly - typically yielding around four times as much backup storage as the raw capacity of the unit (Eg 500Gb on a 120Gb unit, 1Terbabyte on a 250Gb drive).

Restoring data is fast and flexible making it very easy to find and restore anything from an individual file, a folder, or a whole drives' worth - either to the original location (which it remembers and to which it defaults for you) or another location for ease of comparison etc.

This makes it ideal for non-techy users who sometimes need to go and fish out a file that has long since been removed or changed on their live system - or deleted by mistake.

More information on BackupMaster™ | Go to BackupMaster™ site

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How does BackupGenius™ Differ?
You can download BackupGenius™ and install it on the memory device of your choice. In fact you can download a fully functional free version right now [HERE].

Download and installation are quick and simple and once complete you have your own BackupGenius™ appliance - virtually indistinguishable from a BackupMaster™.

TakeWare® is lightweight (in footprint - ie not 'bloatware') and powerful so you don't need to devote the whole device to it - everything is tidied nicely away in the TakeWare folder, and your music and other files can happily coexist.

More information on BackupGenius™ | Go to BackupMaster™ site

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What kind of devices can I put BackupGenius™ on?
Just about anything that pops up a drive letter under Windows (2000/XP and above). Including - but not limited to:

• iPods and MP3 players
• Flashdrive and removable harddrives
• Mobile phones
• NDAS and other net-attached storage
• Digital cameras
• SD and other memory cards (with reader)
• Heavy Duty (DataTank) removable storage

More information on BackupGenius™ | Go to BackupMaster™ site

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Does it need to be a 'special' drive - like U3 or whatever?
No. Just a plain old 'mass storage' device of any sort.

More information on BackupGenius™ | Go to BackupMaster™ site

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Frequently Asked Questions about Fusion™

• Where does TakeWare® Fusion™ come into backup?
• Can we have TakeWare® Fusion™ on our own infrastructure / server - for ourselves and/or our clients?
  

What is TakeWare® Fusion™?
A part of the TakeWare® specification (and the granted patents) Fusion™ is a technology which allows for TakeWare® apps (or collections of them) to be treated as 'virtual devices', which can then be secured against loss or damage / malfunction by copying (or cloning). This is a little like 'traditional' backup but differs in three important ways:

• The replication is very selective and is near-real-time - and so is fast, complete and always up to date.
• What is replicated can be a useable device (albeit in virtual form).
• This can be totally automated and completely invisible to the user.

This contrasts to a traditional backup, which from this viewpoint, is typically just an occasional 'dump' of the information. To reconstitute the working device (or collection of apps) they are simply downloaded onto a new piece of memory (flashdrive, net attached disc etc) and voila! The device lives again. This clearly also has advantages in other areas such as deployment.

Fusion™ is now available (and shortly to be launched) in a form that applies to both TakeWare® apps and traditional apps and infrastructure. This tried and proven implementation:

• Combines the best of fast, local, selective, self-reintegrated replication (backup and archiving) with the security and power of online / remote replication.
• Delivers blindingly fast speeds with a new level of security previously only achievable with huge custom IT infrastructure and all the associated costs and complexity.
• Is able to deliver significant improvements in cost as well as speed and security as compared with existing solutions (such as tape).
• Also integrates the use of compression and encryption technologies to optimise speed, security and capacity.

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What is TakeWare® Gatekeeper™ ?
TakeWare® Gatekeeper™ is a sophisticated security technology (and product) which protects organisations and individuals - and their systems - against mass data theft and the consequences of copyright and other abuse.

The world changed - for the better - when memory became pocketable and hot-pluggable. But every powerful tool brings the potential for abuse and it’s possible to steal or inject Megabytes - even Gigabytes - of crucial information very quickly now. This is a major 21st century problem - a huge security issue for just about everyone.

There are even suites of USB based / pluggable hacker-utilities freely available on the Internet which automate the task of covertly accessing and abstracting interesting data - in person and also over the Internet. (Google USBHackSaw and USBSwitchBlade for more info, and PodSnaffler for a safe demonstration of how powerful this technology is).

Banning the tool - in this case memory devices - is never the solution. Nor is a heavy-handed regime that over-controls the PC / network and makes work and inconvenience for everyone.

We have taken a radically different path to enabling the effective and complete use of these powerful tools while controlling and eradicating the abuse - as well as bringing a new kind of accountability to prevent it.

We don't believe that turning off the ports - however selectively - or even controlling them is the answer ('end-point security' as it is sometimes known), as this creates yet another burden on already overburdened people and resources.

We have used our unique approach and technology to effectively monitor and control the devices themselves and content they hold. A new and different approach which has proved extremely effective in some of today's toughest environments.

This enables us to deliver TakeWare ® Gatekeeper™ as a 'Fit&Forget' solution, constantly monitoring and policing abuse without a need for a phalanx of techies to waste their time on it.

More information on Gatekeeper™  | Go to Gatekeeper™ site

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What is SaferLogin™
When computers became part of life so did passwords. The more so once the web became the norm for banking, commerce and shopping.

The cracks have been showing for a long time now... and TakeWare® SaferLogin™ offers a more secure way forwards that is also more 'people-friendly' than the host of passwords we now have, yet is more cost effective than the alternatives.

Invitations

Our founder and the inventor of TakeWare® Barry E James - click here for biog - is a regular chair and keynote speaker at various conferences, and writes on innovation, entrepreneurship and future technologies. If you would like to invite Barry to speak at your event on  invention, the future of technology or practical entrepreneurship please email

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Contact us for more information...

Email:

Tel:  +44 (0)844 8844941
Fax: +44 (0)870 8380828

Address:

The TakeWare Company,
C/O The Really Useful Machines Company,
40 Stoneycroft Cresent,
Liverpool,
L13 6QW
UK

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TakeWare® is:
TakeWare® is a powerful and wide ranging new technology which has been granted patents in the UK, USA and around the world.

• It is a new way of thinking about and building software, which 'breaks the mould' we have all been creating since the start of the software industry.
• It means that almost any kind of software can be made and delivered in a new way, which makes it completely independent of any hardware.
• It is therefore far more portable and flexible since it does not need to be installed on any PC. It can be held in your hand and transported in your pocket.
• It has a very different security 'profile' - it could be drastically LESS secure than the old model, but because of features we have built in, from the ground up, it is FAR MORE secure. In fact it makes it possible to create applications and systems that are not only very secure but also effectively indestructible - using our Fusion™ technology
• Almost any existing application can be re-tasked as a TakeWare® application and TakeWare® also has deep implications for the design of a wide range of computing devices - not least the PC itself.

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What is a TakeWare® App?
TakeWare® applications have important new properties including:

• No installation is required
• No configuration or setup is required
• They offer an unprecedented level of portability
• Together with greater security
• They remove the need for Synching

While not all apps will necessarily have all of these properties (by design or otherwise), taken together they remove the biggest barriers to take-up and use of software and ever increasing computing power.
While pretty much all that can be done has already been done to make software 'installation and setup' easier for non-techy users TakeWare® presents the opportunity to abolish these barriers altogether and deliver 'ready-to-roll' applications straight into the hands of even novice users.
While this can be seen as 'gadgetising' software it is more powerful than the phrase would suggest, as applications are not limited to lightweight or client apps but extend to a vast range of potential 'heavy duty' applications too.

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Can a conventional app become a TakeWare® app?
Yes. Via variety of routes ... We have tools for this.... For some apps it's easier than others. In some cases our toolkit means it can be almost instant. Please call us if you would like more information. Or to convert an app.

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Is this vapourware, or are there any real, mature, TakeWare® apps now?
Yes. The first 'proof of concept' TakeWare® apps were built over five years ago (circa 2000). They were followed by a rather quirky backup app call 'BackupBuddy' - this was little known but widely loved by it's devoted following of PC users. This was later followed by BackupMaster™ and now BackupGenius™ (and Fusion™).

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Why that? What's so special about backup?
Backup was selected for a number of reasons, but mostly as it represents a real challenge to the technology (and the designer).

Millions of users have neither the time nor the skill to install and configure backup themselves. Many don't even know where their most crucial files live on their PC. Would it be possible to create a completely 'Plug&Go™' solution that required neither installation nor configuration (set-up), that a novice user could use straight out of the box?

A thorny problem because it encompasses not just all the challenges inherent in delivering the app itself - but also dealing with the real-world difficulties created by the wide range of other software in use (and the variety of ways that it can be installed and used).

This challenge has been met in full, by the introduction of another innovation: See BackupMaster™

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