Friday, February 29, 2008

CrashPlan Release 2.29.08

It's a leap day! Time for a new version of CrashPlan! We've also added an RSS feed and blog so you can easily keep track of what's new with CrashPlan.

Upgrade Notes
After this release it may appear that CrashPlan is backing up everything all over again. Don't panic! CrashPlan is not starting over, it is validating your backup archives with each of your backup destinations to insure your backup archives are in good health.

If you're running CrashPlan PRO the previous snapshot of your backup files is still available. Select "Display deleted files" in the restore panel and expand the older backup set.

CrashPlan Desktop Changes
  • Better multi-user support on a single computer- each user gets their own display preferences
  • We now use our own file browser to better communicate what you can and cannot do with CrashPlan. This avoids situations where the user can see a folder, but CrashPlan cannot
  • Aliases, Shortcuts, Symlinks. These now have a special green arrow through them to help you know they're not the real deal, but a fancy pointer to something else.
  • Backup file selection panel behaves a bit more intuitively for those few users who have local disk systems that are quite extraordinary
  • Fixed restore UI problem when many computers were involved
  • Option to require login credentials when launching GUI now works as intended
  • A problem with specifying default backup location was fixed
  • Massive performance improvements in UI, especially on backup tab
  • Inviting a friend in foreign languages works better via e-mail. Some 16bit characters were getting lost in translation
  • We now speak Dutch! Huge thank you to Ceriel. Contact us if you would like to assist in translation to your language
  • Our Swedish has improved! Huge round of applause for Jörgen
  • Those lucky folks with two 30" monitors will better appreciate how CrashPlan behaves when switching back to smaller screens
  • Settings have been reorganized somewhat and small text changes throughout to better communicate what's going on
  • You can now specify 999 days for deleted file retention for those users that like to keep things a bit longer. Can you imagine what their closets look like?
  • Background on a few control settings didn't match the background of the window. In related news, OCD CEO seems content for the moment
  • When moving a friend's backup location, the desktop interface is more predictable when switching friends
  • It's more obvious what's going on when trying to force a backup during a time when CrashPlan is configured to not run
  • Backup destination names now display better if they have odd lengths
Backup Engine Changes
  • You can now control how much CPU & Disk I/O CrashPlan may use when backing up. To make things even more fun, we allow you to specify them in terms of when you're using your computer, and when you're away! The default is 80% when you're away, 20% when you're there. You could set them to say 100% when you're away. And 0% when you're there. (Thus turning off backup altogether when computer is in use.) Controls are located in the Settings/Advanced screen
  • Fixed a rare invalidManifestPath issue seen by an unfortunate few folks
  • Better cleanup when someone stops using you as a destination
  • Lots of new status messages for backup destinations to better communicate what's going on. (i.e. Who is on first.)
Networking Changes
  • You can now force it to try and reconnect to a particular destination instead of waiting for it to try automatically. Handy if you're testing firewalls, etc.
  • Buffers adjusted to further enhance throughput on hi-speed LANs.

Macintosh Changes
  • Volumes are displayed in a more intuitive way in the restore panel (Not everyone knows an external disk drive is located in /Volumes on their Mac! Shocker! In other breaking news, developers think they're just like everyone else.)
  • Fixed upgrade scripts for OS X 10.4 permissions. If you're upgrading an older release of CrashPlan and you're running OS X 10.4, you may need to manually upgrade. To do this, download the latest version from our website and run "upgrade". Do not run the uninstaller!
Windows Changes
  • Fixed situation where a removable disk could prompt to insert a disk. Thanks to all who helped track this one down!
  • Installer enhanced to better support Vista and add firewall exclusions for CrashPlan automatically
  • Restoring files that were "hidden" when backed up, now appear unhidden if being restored to desktop in certain special cases.
CrashPlan Central / Website Changes
  • We now e-mail detailed invoices each month when you're billed. It includes total usage by computer (Unlike many other online backup providers, we pool your storage together and charge for total used.)
  • Our store has been remodeled - new hard drives, new bundles, and a few really neat package deals
  • We're now using blogger to announce new releases so you can subscribe to new
  • Forgot your password could fail to reset it for you, fixed
  • You can now upgrade licenses to PRO that you have not yet used
  • Invoices now include better instructions on how to activate your license purchases