Rebit 500 GB Appliance

Much of Rebit's simplicity stems from its lack of a file selection process: The drive simply backs up everything (space allowing). The Rebit worked perfectly in all my tests, but I quickly grew tired of nag messages telling me that the drive was not attached when I removed it for safekeeping.

The Rebit Appliance gives you two ways to restore files backed up on it: You can browse the drive (using Windows Explorer), and drag desired files and folders off it; or you can perform a wholesale restore using the Rebit disaster recovery CD. I wish, however, that Rebit provided some rudimentary restore hand-holding for users less who are inexperienced at navigating the Windows file system--by supporting, say, a quick search by file type or category.

Another quibble involves Rebit's desktop hardware. Smaller, 2.5-inch hard drive enclosures don't have room for FireWire 800 or eSATA interfaces; but the 3.5-inch enclosure on the desktop Rebit I reviewed does have room for them, and at this price I'd like to see those ports included for greater versatility and speed. Another issue: The desktop Rebit packs in just 500GB of storage space, which may not go far if your PC carries a 1TB drive.

When it debuted, Rebit was an innovative product--one of the first to give PCs set-it-and-forget-it backup. But the company now has competition (from Seagate, which licenses the Rebit software for its Seagate Replica drive), and it needs to follow the competition's lead in discarding product keys and in dropping its charge of $50 extra for drives that will back up multiple PCs. Currently the Seagate Replica is the better deal of the two: It's cheaper and more stylish than the Rebit 500 GB Appliance, and it can back up multiple PCs.