New version of SuperDuper!
Posted in daily
Dave Nanian (Shirt Pocket) has released a new version of one of my all time favourite mac apps: SuperDuper! (discovered via ATP episode 703 @00:45:20).
I've written about SuperDuper! before, and I'm still a fan after 20 years.
It's not as critical as it once used to be for me, in part due to new backup flows and solutions, the increasing complexity of macOS and increased drive sizes, but I feel that version 4 will find its way into my backup strategy. The speed increases and the added flexibility are amazing.
Shirt Pocket has a brand new website too, in line with SuperDuper!'s new clean UI (I do feel a bit nostalgic for its former look and feel…)
Speed
This new version was rewritten from the ground up, and is 2x as fast out-of-the-box. Turbo Smart Update can speed smart update to under 1 minute! Yes, it's hard to believe, give it a try. That alone would have made me update. Tip: use an SSD for best results (recommended for bootability).
Flexibility
Scheduled or automated copies offer a tremendous number of options, that will run logged in or out. SuperDuper was the tool I used to make a bootable copy of my startup drive, in addition of my backups. Booting off an external hard drive saved my bacon a number of times back in the day. It also enabled me to try out new Mac OS seeds before they were called beta versions. It became increasingly difficult to make an external bootable drive over the last decade, as Apple introduced new security features or changed file system.
Nevertheless, Dave always found a way around, battling his way through changing or broken APIs.
Today, SuperDuper! is articulated around copy jobs:
A "copy job" describes one thing you'd like SuperDuper to do—what to copy, how to copy, when to run, and what to do when the job is complete.
You might want a nightly backup of things that have changed, a full bootable startup drive, or two different copies to two different destinations: one that one every weekday. The options aren't infinite, but they're close.
- I've set my desktop Mac to smart update every night
- My MacBook Pro will backup all newer files to my archive drive when connected
- I'm looking into making a bootable copy of my drives once a week
Friendly UI
Backups are hard, and Dave has always designed a friendly and helpful user experience for SuperDuper!. Version 4 is no exception. It walks you through the taks you want to accomplish step by step, with lots of suggestions and explanations along the way.
You'll notice it as soon as the onboarding process (guided setup).
Super duper friendly pricing
As mentioned elsewhere, Dave has never charged for an upgrade - never once in over 20 years… The full price of SuperDuper! 4 is barely more expensive than its predecessor and he offers upgrade pricing! Don't cheap out - buy a new license. Period.
Caveat
- SuperDuper! 4 requires macOS 14 Sonoma or later. SuperDuper! Classic remains available for all older versions back to Mac OS Jaguar (10.2).
If you're a SoftRAID user, it seems that SuperDuper doesn't recognise those volumes properly yet. Stay tuned.Fixed in v4.0.2 🎉
