The main reason why I got this drive was to be able to use it in conjunction with WD 2go. I was under the impression that you can use that app to access the contents of the drive–that’s pretty explicit in the app description.This would have enabled me to use SmartWare to backup, and always have access to my most recent and updated files from my iOS device.
To find out now that you cannot access the automatics backup is disappointing. Basically, MBL provided two functions: Backup, and Cloud Storage. But it’s not clear anwhere that these two functions are indpendant of each other.
About the concern about making making the backup less reliable, there are two simple solutions. A: Allow read access only, B: Only allow access to users who claim to be advanced users.
I find the current setup unacceptable, and the descriptions of the MBL and the iOS app – which are vauge as to having these features independent – are close to being deceptive.
you cannot upload files, or do smartware backup through wd2go. you can only use smartware on a local network to backup. you will need to create shares, or use the public share to access the mbl through wd2go. you will have to set that up through the ui in order to access files over the internet.
i think it completly correct what Smartware does. Ab backup is a backup is a backup and never ever a ‘data pool’ that should be used as somethin like a personal cloud.
Why not using a public share and something like robocopy or allway sync (and many others) for what yo call ‘backup’.
Then you can sync with more than one device if you like to do so.
You’re quite right. It’s your decision to use another tool for creating a “backup” that will be accessible, no problem at all.
But nevertheless, a backup is just only a backup and nothing else. I think mostly all professionals will agree with this.
What you want is definitly not a backup, it’s some software to synchronise one or more folders. For that purpose i use ‘Allway Sync’ but there are much more tools working this way.
Another way may be (i didn’t checkout this) to create a symlink in public folder to backup directory. (Anywho out there who tried this?)
“It’s your backup, and it’s on your drive. You should have the choice when and how to access it”
Completely agree.
I understand the definition of backup, but it’s my data. If I want to use it in a particular way, that’s my choice.
WD could very easily give the option to make it usable for those of us who want it. It’s not a big job. In fact, it could be an option to either backup or synch the data… user choice.
Instead I am now forced to look around for additional software, which should not be necessary, since backup software already comes with the drive. It cost me time to install Smartware, try it out, and uninstall it.
Also agree that the marketing is misleading, bordering on deceptive.
The problem is that there is no way to use wd2go to view the contents of the backup created by smartware.
You should be able to see the contents of the backup, via wd2go. That would give you constant access to the files on your computer.
since smartware allows you to navigate the folder to your files, once you create the backup, you have to make sure that you have shared that folder to your mobile devices or to the web through wd2go. I don’t like smartware, so I’m not going to set it up, but you should be able to make the folder viewable, especially if you set up your backup in the public folder.
It’s your backup, and it’s on your drive. You should have the choice when and how to access it.
where do you guys get your information from? cause there are many kinds of backup software that backup in different kinds of ways. and they don’t necessarily allow you to access you data your way. this isn’t burger king. you need to know what kind of software you’re getting. there’s backup software that’s basically copy and paste, which allows you to access your data by navigating through the folders on the drive where it’s stored. but there’s also backup software that will either encrypt or compress your data, and you can’t just access that data anyway you want. you can only access that data tediously through the software itself.
Smartware does not encrypt anthing. All your files are on your drive just like they would be on your computer. It’s just that WD hides these files so it’s very hard to see them.
I know that smartware doesn’t encrypt the data, I was just referring to other types of backup software that you can find out there. but I didn’t know that smartware creates the backup folder in a hidden folder. I’ve only fiddled with smartware on a usb connected drive. thanks for the correction.
