"Norton Online Backup (NOB?) is available now in the US through the Symantec online store, costing $49.99 for 25GB of space and up to five PCs and notebooks protected. "

25GB wouldn't be enough to backup one of my PCs, let alone 5.

When's the KDE version being released :D

25Gig for a full backup? are symantec nob's still living in 10 years ago?? This is surely only useful for netbooks these days!! 100GB would have been a more realistic starting point for modern computers.

I tried carbonite the other week and might sign up for that. unlimited storage for similar figure of $55.. now we're talking.

I am at lost as to why people would backup online, anything thats not important is not worth backing up, anything sensitive or confidential I wouldnt trust anyone else to hold it, let alone Symantec.

The next question is, how long ? most homes or even business are on xDSL with average upload speed leass than 1Mb if you are really lucky, so uploading say a batch of camera pictures from a 10Mp camera of around 2GB could take a whole day if lucky.

That $50would be better spent on an external USB2 2.5" drive that you can take it away at anytime.

I can see the advantage of making documents portable so can access anywhere, but for that money, you might as well use something like Rapidshare.

and is also the reason why Linux and Mac users aren't supported (because, generally, they aren't as stupid).

(Caveat: am Windows user, but keep a copy of Norton Removal Tool on my USB key...)

More shite from Symantec..... Surely the computers with this rubbish installed on it should have a little Wav/mp3 file screaming UNCLEAN UNCLEAN

I use Mozy's service and really like it. Online backup isn't for everyone, however, I chose this option rather than an external HDD because I was never good at remembering/bothering to connect the HDD and backup on a regular basis. Mozy just automatically backs up all the time. It is also a good solution for me as I only have about 20GB of data to backup (I don't have huge amounts of video or audio - most of my data is photos and documents).

In terms of the Norton product, they really need the option of a DVD restore process - surely restoring 25GB over a DSL link would drive anyone to tears/drink. When my laptop's HDD gave up the ghost last year, it was a godsend to have the contents couriered out to me on DVD in about 2 days.

The problem with Mozy's service is that each computer you backup is an extra monthly subscription - I like that Norton has a pooled allowance across computers.