My Macbook Pro is probably my best buying decision in 2010. What a shame it took till Christmas to finally act upon my craving for a laptop, but more importantly for the mobility which lets me type away in the living room while catching the latest episode of Big Bang Theory.

Yes, it's been less than a month since buying but I can almost already call myself a full-fledged macboy. My fears of the mac being incompatible with the array of PC software I've grown used to were quickly put to sleep as soon as I found out that bittorrent programs also worked on the Mac. You can imagine where the story goes from there

The main problem that I encountered from working and downloading from two different computing devices, at times simultaneously, is that I'd have to save my stuff on an external HDD if I wanted to switch from one platform to another.

I knew that the solution was hidden in cloud computing somehow - I just didn't have enough knowledge as to how it all worked and where I could get it. Rather than spend hours sifting through a shitload of search results and text ads on Google, I went straight to FB and Twitter to ask people I knew and who would've already done comparisons in their own time.

My surprise came as a variety of my friends from uni, work, church and past colleagues gave me a short but sweet list to choose from, including:

1. Dropbox
2. MobileMe
3. Carbonite
4. Mozy

1. Dropbox

Dropbox was the first recommended online backup and file syncing tool. In fact, this was the only cloud computing software that receive 2 positive reviews from my friends who responded to my dilemma. Judging from the website, the concept for Dropbox is simple - the main goal to allow file sharing across multiple computers be it PC, Mac or Linux. A key feature worth mentioning is that with this software you can undelete and undo changes to files for a history of up to 30 days. You can also Dropbox anywhere - you iPhone, iPad, Android or Blackberry. Pretty cool!

Dropbox is actually free to download and use on the basic plan that gives you 2GB of online storage and backup to use.

Price Plan
2GB - Free
50GB - US$9.99/month (AU$10.08)
100GB - US$19.99/month (AD$20.18)

2. MobileMe

My first touch point with MobileMe came from a tweet by one of the people I follow, just after its initial launch. Having clicked through to the site and encountering a splash page that prompted you to log in, I never really thought much about this Apple product until it was recommended by one of my mates through FB.

I soon found out how cool this was, allowing you to sync not just files, but your email, contacts, and calendar across your iPhone, iPad, Mac and PC! However, I'm also wary that signing up for MobileMe will lock me deeper into the addictive decadence that is Apple.

Price Plan
20GB - US$8.25/month (AU$8.25) with max 200GB data transfer

3. Carbonite

Carbonite is an online backup software that works in very much the same way as Dropbox. The perks for Carbonite is that you pay a fixed fee each month for unlimited backup storage, and is probably the best value for money. The downside though is that the Australian version of Carbonite isn't Mac compatible, meaning I'd have to sign up through the US site instead.

Price Plan
Unlimited storage - AU$6.00/month

4. Mozy

Very similar to Dropbox, Mozy offers up to 2GB free for home users but only charges a flat monthly fee for unlimited online backup. Mozy allows you to backup files while actually working on them. It also saves only the edited portion of updated files, meaning less strain and consumption on your internet bandwidth.

Price Plan
2GB - Free
Unlimited storage - US$4.95/month (AU$5.00)

My Final Choice

Each online backup tool has a whole heap of pros and not many cons to it. I especially like the fact that Dropbox lets you do stuff and access files on mobile devices. The same applies for MobileMe, plus you have the ability to also sync your calendar entries, something which I'm finding really important these days.

I like how Mozy and Carbonite are both cheap as chips, although the fact that Mozy's website loading times are slow as balls raises concerns as to whether I should expect the same when uploading or downloading files to the cloud.

So it came down to Mozy or Dropbox. In the end, I went back to Google and came across an interesting discussion around Dropbox vs Mozy that basically said to use Dropbox for sync and Mozy for storage. Seeing as my original need was to have a file sync across different computers, I've decided to try out Dropbox on the free plan to see how things go for now. I'll keep you guys updated!

Just a quick post to follow up from the last time I blogged about my participation in Tough Bloke Challenge Melbourne in 2010.

I checked the Max Adventure website and the next challenge in Melbourne will take place on Sat 5 March 2011. Woohoo!

Well I'm excited, and will be officially starting my training programme to beat my time last year.

You can sign up now at the official Tough Bloke Challenge website.

If you are going to be running the challenge this year, it'd be great to meet you so leave a comment and we can organise a catch up on the day!

Tom and I participated in the Melbourne chapter of Tough Bloke Challenge just last month in mid April. Tough Bloke Challenge is a off road running event organised by Max Adventure - the Melbourne race involves 6km of hard cross country running combined with a bunch of military obstacles in between to challenge you physically and mentally. I have to check my sources on this one, but Tough Bloke Challenge is a spin off from the infamous Tough Guy challenge in the UK. Despite the event being called 'Tough Bloke', 42% of the battle hardened athletes that participated were female. So girls, get your gear on because if a weak kid like me can do it, so can you!

The Military Obstacles

Don't be fooled by the military obstacles - they are easier than you think. More importantly, the obstacles make a boring run interesting! The highlight of Tough Bloke would have to be the mud pit, which was the first challenge in the race. Warriors have to crawl their way through a pit of 'A' grade mud (which is totally clean, even if it smells like $%!*) while trying not to get caught in the barbed wire just centimetres above the mud itself. As you exit from the other end, you soon realise the slimy earth stuck all over your body is actually quite heavy, and you begin to understand why every subsequent step feels like moving dead weight. If you like to show off your love handles, now's the perfect time to get rid of the mud soaked top and display that 'tough' body of yours!

The 6km Sprint

While the race was only about 6km, it wasn't exactly a sprint. At least not for me. The hardest part about Tough Bloke Challenge would have to be the run itself. The terrain is rough, making it easy to roll an ankle or slip over loose rocks and twigs if you're not careful. Plus the overall course involved a savage combination of steep uphill climbs which make even the toughest athletes like Tom admit to burning leg muscles.

If you want to get the best time, it helps if you focus on overtaking the person running in front of you. And if there's no one in front to compete against, start imagining someone behind you on the verge of always catching up. It occurred to me afterward that the challenge wasn't about the running, the obstacles, or the other participants. The challenge was yourself. It was about how far you could push your body by sheer determination. It was a hard physical workout, but the real challenge was in your mental capacity to swallow the pain and keep moving forward, one step at a time.

The Results

Tom, being a former Olympian in freestyle wrestling, came 8th overall out of about 370 people. Well done Tom!

I came 71st overall.. But top 10 in the Male 20-29 age group! Think I'll stick with the latter result.

For those of you that are interested, the Sydney challenge is around the corner in July 3. Check out Tough Bloke Challenge for more info!