Don’t adopt the Cupertino plan.

There are probably some sheepherders in remote areas of Uzbekistan who do not know that Apple’s new mega data center resides in the equally culturally arid desert of North Carolina. It will open to the usual hype and exaggeration next Monday. But, for the rest of us, that message has been broadcast loudly from the rooftops of Cupertino and points west for well over a year now.

First, let’s revisit what a robust, secure, distributed back-up plan looks like.

We start with the Pindelski Plan:

The Pindelski Plan. Two back-ups in the office – full and sequential. One in the car.
One somewhere else at an undisclosed location.

Now the Cupertino Plan:

Apple’s idea of multiple back-up sites.

So when Mobile Me(ss) next goes down, you will know why.

Do you feel lucky?

And in case you want confirmation of this easy target, here it is in Google Earth:

Yes, it will store a list of all your replaceable movies and tunes. But it’s probably the worst possible idea for backing up your precious photographs.

Wait a minute, you say. They will simply use the existing MobileMe (on the Hayward fault?) to back-up data. Uh huh. And you last used MobileMe when, exactly?