Different statuses are represented by different colors, so you just need to take a look at the map and the services list to get an immediate overview across all regions.

Some of the key features of cloudspotting are:

• Visually informs the user of the status of services.
• Monitors and displays details for EC2 Instances, Elastic Block Stores and Elastic Load Balancers.
• Monitors Status Checks alarms and CloudWatch alarms for EC2 Instances and Elastic Block Stores.
• Monitors Health Check alarms for Elastic Load Balancers.
• Shows alert information per EC2 item.
• Once the user has seen an alert, he/she can mute it until it has been resolved. An alert can also be unmuted.

For any questions regarding cloudspotting please contact support.

A: Backup Buddy can use as source and/or destination any volume that is mounted on the computer (i.e. any volume that’s visible in the Finder’s sidebar). The basic rule is, as long as the Finder can see it, Backup Buddy can use it.

Q: What happens if the source or the destination volume(s) are not mounted (i.e. not visible in the Finder)?

A: Backup Buddy will not be able to execute the backup until both the source and destination volumes are available.

Q: Can’t Backup Buddy automatically mount network volumes when needed?

A: Apple’s sandboxing rules do not allow this. You have to make sure your network volumes are mounted for backup Buddy to work.

Q: Can I use an external USB drive with Backup Buddy?

A: Yes, as long as it is formatted in Mac OS Extended format. If your drive is formatted as NTFS (Windows format) Backup Buddy can only use it as a destination if

• (a) you have installed third-party software such as Tuxera NTFS which makes it writable on Mac OS X or
• (b) it is mounted as a network share from a PC.

Q: What kind of disk formats does Backup Buddy support?

A: Backup Buddy fully supports Mac-formatted volumes (Mac OS Extended HFS+ format). It can also support Windows (NTFS) and UNIX volumes if they are mounted on the Finder through the network (SMB shares). However, for these volumes you can only choose Disk Image as the destination type. FAT32 volumes are not supported for storing backups, because FAT32 has several technical restrictions.

Q: Does Backup Buddy support cloud storage services such as DropBox?

A: Yes, as long as these services are visible as volumes or folders in the Finder. Note that depending on the service, only the Disk Image destination type might be usable.

Q: What happens when the destination is full?

A: When the backup volume is full, Backup Buddy will notify you. You then have the option of letting Backup Buddy decide automatically how many previous backups must be deleted to fit in the new backup, or doing it manually from the Finder.

Q: The disk image size is reported as X when I mount it, but I expected it to be much less!

A: Backup Buddy uses sparse disk images, which change size dynamically. This means that the size you see when you mount it is not ‘real’ space but virtual space.

• If you have selected a disk image with unlimited size, the total volume size and free space reported for the image are not relevant.
• If you’ve selected a disk image with a size limit, then the total size of the volume will more or less reflect the limit you selected.

In both cases, the real size of the disk image cannot be determined from there. You have to look at the disk image file, not the disk image volume, to see the ‘real’ size of the disk image.

Q: I get some “permissions” errors. Why?

A: Because of Apple’s sandboxing guidelines, neither Backup Buddy or any other backup application offered within the App Store after June 1st 2012 is allowed to access System folders (such as System, Library, Applications, etc.) if you try to add files that are considered out of bounds by Apple to Backup Buddy, you will get this error.

Q: Can I use Backup Buddy to backup my OS and apps?

A: Please note that because of Apple’s sandboxing guidelines, neither Backup Buddy or any other backup application offered within the App Store after June 1st 2012 can access the System and Applications folders. If you want to backup your System and Applications, you have to either use Time Machine, or another third-party backup application sold outside the App Store.

Q: What are Apple’s sandboxing guidelines?

A: Apple’s sandboxing policy is meant restrict the access an application has on the rest of the system, in order to protect your computer from malware. This is not a big issue with most apps, but backup apps by their very nature need to have access everywhere. Apple has not provided a solution as yet. Developers are left with two stark choices: either follow Apple’s guidelines, or sell their applications outside of the App Store. So if you want to backup your System and Applications, you have to either use Apple’s Time Machine, or another third-party backup application sold outside the App Store.

Q: What happens if my Mac is turned off or in sleep mode when the backup schedule is meant to execute?

A: The backup will not be executed until your computer (and Backup Buddy) are activated.

Q: When a schedule is missed (e.g. Mac turned off), will Backup Buddy run a backup the next time Ι start my mac or will it wait until the next backup schedule?

A: When it’s launched, Backup Buddy will execute the missed scheduled backup immediately.

Q: Can’t Backup Buddy launch itself when a schedule is due?

A: Apple’s sandboxing guidelines do not allow Apps to launch themselves without user intervention. There are some workarounds to this which are discussed in the user manual.

Q: In version 1.0 I can’t access the Preferences. The menu item is always grey.

A: Currently, Backup Buddy has no preferences. We left the menu item to accommodate future versions.

Q: How BackupBuddy performs in the BackupBouncer test?

A: Backup Buddy uses rsync, so it preserves all of the HFS+ metadata that rsync supports, apart from extended attributes, for OS X Lion and OS X Snow Leopard, and group ownership, just for OS X Snow Leopard. We had to remove these because of limitations in the versions of rsync on these operating systems.

Still have questions? Send us an email.

PocketPacket incorporates a software-based TNC, allowing you to directly capture and visualize, or encode and transmit 1200 baud packets (AFSK modulation) using a VHF radio transceiver. With PocketPacket you can also get and send packets over the Internet, by selecting one of the available Tier 2 servers of the global APRS-IS network.

Incoming data is presented on a map, as most packets define some object, with a specific symbol and location. By selecting a symbol, you can view the latest information sent for the corresponding object, as well as the raw packets that produced it. All available objects are also shown in a list, which allows you to search for the ones you are looking for. Messages and bulletins are shown in a separate set of screens, structured like an e-mail client.

With PocketPacket you can follow the status of the APRS network or submit your station’s info. Monitor moving objects, get real time weather reports directly from local stations and more. Especially with the iOS version and an iPhone/iPod Touch/iPad, you can have a full-fledged picture of packet activity in a small, portable package – ideal for field work or the ham shack.

73 de SV1OAN

You can download PocketPacket’s Usage Guide here.

Also check out the Frequently Asked Questions section of the iOS version.

We are deeply saddened by the loss, but certain that his innovative spirit will live on in the every day achievements of all Mac OS and iOS developers. A unique personality, whose work will not only be praised and remembered as something of the past, but has irreversibly changed our lives and will continue to influence a future where technology is an integral part of human society. We have been lucky enough to see him live, but consider ourselves even luckier to live in his era.

Thank you Steve and goodbye.

PocketPacket incorporates a software-based TNC, allowing you to directly capture and visualize, or encode and transmit 1200 baud packets (AFSK modulation) using a VHF radio transceiver. With PocketPacket you can also get and send packets over the Internet, by selecting one of the available Tier 2 servers of the global APRS-IS network.

Incoming data is presented on a map, as most packets define some object, with a specific symbol and location. By selecting a symbol, you can view the latest information sent for the corresponding object, as well as the raw packets that produced it. All available objects are also shown in a list, which allows you to search for the ones you are looking for. Messages and bulletins are shown in a separate set of screens, structured like an e-mail client.

With PocketPacket you can follow the status of the APRS network or submit your station’s info from anywhere. Monitor moving objects, get real time weather reports directly from local stations and more. Now, with an iPhone/iPod Touch and PocketPacket, you can have a full-fledged picture of packet activity in a small, portable package – ideal for field work or the ham shack.

73 de SV1OAN

You can download PocketPacket’s Usage Guide here.

We also have a Mac OS version available.

Frequently Asked Questions:

Q: How do I connect my iOS device to my radio?

A: To connect the radio to your iPad/iPhone/iPod Touch, you need a very simple cable that connects the radio’s audio-out with your device’s audio-in and vice versa. Check this example.

However, note that your radio needs to have VOX, or you need some kind of external VOX circuit in order to transmit from your iOS device, as there is no way of controlling PTT. A Signalink should work, but I have not tried it.

Q: Where do I get such a cable? Do you sell one?

The cable should be very easy to make. You just need to go out and buy a 4-pin 3.5mm audio plug. No, I don’t make or sell audio cables.

Q: Why am I not getting any packets in from the microphone?

A: Capturing packets from the microphone is very difficult and results may vary from device to device (I do not know how sensitive the mics are, etc.). Please try using a cable connection.

Q: What’s a passcode and why do I need one?

A: You need a passcode to be able to submit packets via APRS-IS servers. When you use the right passcode, you will show up as “verified” in the server status page.

Q: Where do I get a passcode?

A: To make the long story short: contact us.

Also, if you have an APRS-IS passcode from another software, use that. Your passcode is based on you callsign and works with all servers. It has nothing to do with the software you are using.

However, I think that normally you should contact your closest APRS-IS server administrator for getting a passcode. The purpose of the passcode is to verify somehow that you are indeed a ham. The most appropriate person to verify this, should be the one closer to you, that may also be aware of any amateur radio laws and regulations specific to your region or country.

That is why in the Usage Guide I suggest contacting your closest APRS-IS server administrator and requesting a passcode. Some server operators say it is up to the application author to provide it. I have no problem with this and have happily handed out passcodes to everyone that has asked, giving me a callsign that looks valid.

You can choose to automatically place your backup data inside a disk image file, which can be very useful in situations where you want to store your data on a network volume that is not Mac-formatted (an SMB server for example).

Some of the key features of backup Buddy are:

• Designed to be simple. No complicated settings; we make all the hard decisions for you.
• Gives you full control over the really important stuff: choosing what you want to backup, where you want to save your backup, and when you want the backup to occur.
• Creates chronological backups by using hard links to save disk space, just like Apple’s Time Machine.
• Can save your data inside a disk image, making it easier to safely store your data on non-Mac network volumes.

You can download Backup Buddy’s manual here.

For any questions regarding Backup Buddy you can check the FAQ or contact support.