As good as Dopus is right now...it lacks the one thing that would make it the absolute best possible choice...integrated backup. I'm talking about the ability to do mirror images from the directory and burn onto CD/DVD/BluRay.
It doesn't do to use separate programs like Acronis or GenieSoft versions to do this. It would be absolute heaven if GPS would make this the major feature for a Dopus 10. Imagine being able to install Dopus 10 and having it do both image snapshots of hard disks and individual folder options. Both incremental and full backup options using switches built into Dopus. Wow, that would be a major upgrade indeed and I'd shell out the bucks for this ability. Dopus 9 Flash drive export right now is small fry.
Once GPSoftware gets its act together and puts in integrated backup features with major capabilities matching or exceeding Acronis or Geniesoft into Dopus...I'm there.
You mean full HDD imaging? Adding that and doing it well would be a huge amount of work. What's the advantage of Opus doing the imaging rather than a separate program (True Image, Ghost, etc.)? I don't see where there's an overlap with what Opus does already so it seems like adding the feature would be like writing a new, standalone imaging program that happens to be contained in dopus.exe.
Do you just wish there was an imaging tool that was better than the existing options, and think the makers of Opus are the best people to do it, or is there something to be gained from building such functionality into Opus?
I don't see how a "file manager" not "also" being a "disk backup application" requires GPSoft to "get its act together"... but to each their own...
Not to take anything away from GPSoft, but programming a backup solution is a whole different animal than writing a file manager, it can be a real PITA to get right. So, what sort of value added proposition do you see in Dopus providing such a feature set over another dedicated app?
I spent about 10 years working in backup software devlopment, and if my bosses had come to me and told me I needed to start making my app a 'file manager' I would have shat myself...
Just curious what you think Opus handling such a duty would bring to the table... be sure to make your suggestion to GPSoft though.
Edit: must have been in 'draft mode' for awhile... didn't see nudels post.
If full HDD imaging is too hard to do...then simple file backup capabilities should be included which allow burning to CD medium. This shouldn't be much harder than getting DOpus to do file and copy operations between listers. You already have flash drive export as a separate option...so why not go for the gold...file backup integration.
You can do this now to a limited extent with a basic command like this:
Copy UPDATEALL UPDATETOLERANCE=3602
Where
UPDATEALL
Only copies files that are newer or don't exist in the destination
And
UPDATETOLERANCE=3602
Allows for NTFS timestamp shifts when daylight savings time changes (if that is an issue in your area).
You'd probably want to add a defined source and destination to the command if you are doing the same backup day after day and of course this would not copy in use files. So it wouldn't be a true operating system clone but it works fine for normal data backups.
Given that we already get complaints that the product is too expensive, so how much extra are you willing to pay for such a feature if it were an option? The licencing of CD/DVD burning libraries would probably add another $20-$30 a copy to the product!
Given what GPSoftware has opted for its pricing for Flash export...the more options for "optional" downloads to make DOpus even better...the more the merrier.
However, I'm not holding my breath for CD/DVD backup capability any time soon but I'd just thought I'd ask.
Keep in mind that regular 'CD/DVD' burning capability is rather mundane, and is yet 'another' different beast than the sort of image backup functionality offered by something like Acronis or Ghost or Paragaon Drive Backup... Even with Symantec having gobbled up PowerQuest, there are still many worthy competitors out there playing the role of 'image backup solution' and doing rather well at it...
I'm just curious what you think the added value would be (beyond the obvious "now Dopus can do THIS") that this might bring to the table? Where would integration with Opus help you do something 'better' or 'easier' or 'more conveniently' than an external app?
About just plain 'CD/DVD' burning capability, it would be quite convenient to be able to use Opus to front end the burning of data to optical disc... For instance, even if an external engine like the nice lightweight ImgBurn (thanks to Nudel for reminding me of this app ) did the actual 'burning' it would be nice if Opus file collections could be used to 'stage' the disc layout... For instance, I often have reasons why I want data from different drives or folders to be layed out together on a disc I burn, which you can do quite easily in most dedicated burning programs... but file collections (moreso 'lately' with 'sub-collections') seems to 'tease' me with the prospect of this capability .
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