14 DAY TRIAL // Just as we've finished talking about Paragon Software Group's Rescue Kit for Mac OS X - Lite, I remembered about another nifty backup program for the filesystem on your MAC OS X. It is called TimeDrawer and, what do you know, version 2.0.2 is now available. A trial version of the software that backs up files the instant they were changed is also available. It works with both Mac OS X Tiger and Leopard.
Oneriver Software's TimeDrawer works pretty much in the same way as Apple's standard backup utility, which is included with Mac OS X 10.5 Leopard. TimeDrawer makes automatic incremental backups of documents just like Time Machine does, but it also does something extra.
While Apple's Time Machine has users specifying a certain interval at which backups are made, TimeDrawer will backup your files the instant they change, allowing one to restore a system from as little as one minute ago.
As the developers themselves state, "TimeDrawer is an easy to use and small backup system for the filesystem on your Mac OS X. Unlike Time Machine in Mac OS X Leopard, TimeDrawer won't wait to backup your files. TimeDrawer immediately saves a backup when it detects file modifications." Also, the backup process occurs even when the TimeDrawer application is not running, Oneriver Software assures.
Sure enough, we've had a go at the software ourselves and we soon came to the conclusion that, although it does present users with some advantages (Tiger users especially), TimeDrawer is, by far, no Apple Time Machine. After all, Apple's backup utility integrates perfectly with the OS, so you'd think it works a tad bit better.
Leaving that aside, even after performing an uninstall on it, you'll probably have a hard time ejecting the TimeDrawer image 'cause of a TimeDrawer-something that will most likely still be working in the background (if you run it from the image and forget to copy it in your apps folder). However, the 40 dollar app is worth a glance. Here, check out the trial version.