PEGRITZ(.com)!: HP’s Upline: Good Idea, HORRIBLY Executed
Jim
· 1 year ago
Not only is their application not quite ready for prime time, make sure you carefully read their T&C's which are also not ready for prime time. Particularly this: "Any material, information or other communication ("Communications") you transmit or post to this Site will be considered non-confidential and non-proprietary. HP will have no obligations with respect to the Communications. HP and its designees will be free to copy, disclose, distribute, incorporate and otherwise use the Communications and all data, images, sounds, text, and other things embodied therein for any and all commercial or non-commercial purposes."
Who in their right mind would sign up for a backup service that gives away ALL of their right associated with THEIR OWN DATA ?????
I'm really stumped as to the lack of QA associated with this service, which is not what I have come to expect from HP.
Derek C. F. Pegritz
· 1 year ago
Jim:
That is quite alarming. I read over the T&Cs; before I even considered signing up for the service and at the time that I read them there was no such mention of that particular clause in the document. Now, it's certainly possible that I could've overlooked it--my brain tends to be lulled into a trancelike state by legalese--but I'm fairly certain that I would've noticed a clause like that immediately.
It's also possible that they've revised their Terms & Conditions since I signed up (and subsequently closed the account). It seems nonsensical, though, to include wording like that in reference to a "secure" backup service, even one that gives users the ability to share backed-up materials. This is reminiscent, though, of the recent T&C; controversy concerning Adobe's online version of Photoshop, which contained terms rather similar that explicitly allowed Adobe the right to use any and all images processed by the service for their own use. Adobe was smart, though, and subsequently revised their docs after the blogosphere tore into them like a pack of furious hounds.
Perhaps HP will do the same. I will make sure that this "gets out" and the right people are allerted.
Don
· 1 year ago
HP don't seem to get "it": I helped a friend configure one of their multi-function & WiFi capable printer/scanner gizmos recently: the software install download, which consumed approx 240MB file system space, took abt 40 minutes to process & installed a bucket load of unwanted-ware without any option not to. I'd categorise that attitude as displaying the same sort of arrogant disregard for customers "property" (treating your hard drive like their own) as the above.
Jim
· 1 year ago
Derek,
Thanks for getting the word out on this.
I am sure they will take action soon after others become aware of this. This just cannot be a correct Term/Condition for a secure backup site. I'm thinking it must be a hold-over from some other web service that they are offering and it didnt get the careful review it needed.
This is an awesome concept, so hopefully they will get the execution right. I have TONS of personal photos and video clips that are screaming out for a service like this.
Jim
Oren
· 1 year ago
I just installed & started using Upline last night on an XP machine, and had similar crashing and forgetting problems. The first time, it decided that one of my setup options was invalid (daily backup frequency) and then crashed - forgetting everything else. The next time, I got it going, then changed the "Power" options in the Control Panel so that the machine would not suspend while the first backup went on. As soon as I hit "Apply", Upline died (with no error message). A third startup this AM seemed to go OK, but it also used 100% of the CPU time for at least 10 minutes before settling down. I'm waiting to see what's happened when I get home tonight.
Derek C. F. Pegritz
· 1 year ago
Oren:
Good luck with that, and please post any further weirdness. It seems to me as though no one has had a seamless experience with this service, and the problems always come from the Upline software itself. It's even worse than the Zune 1.0 software!
Sean
· 1 year ago
I ran into the same issues with UpLine. HP was kind enough to keep my account open but they refunded my money.
I can't even contact their tech support. The tech support website for UpLine is not working. I was able to backup 1 GB on 2 machines but I kept getting a "Space Exceeded" window and UpLine would not backup anymore.
I agree. . . Great idea and value but not ready for prim time.
All Comments
Who in their right mind would sign up for a backup service that gives away ALL of their right associated with THEIR OWN DATA ?????
I'm really stumped as to the lack of QA associated with this service, which is not what I have come to expect from HP.
That is quite alarming. I read over the T&Cs; before I even considered signing up for the service and at the time that I read them there was no such mention of that particular clause in the document. Now, it's certainly possible that I could've overlooked it--my brain tends to be lulled into a trancelike state by legalese--but I'm fairly certain that I would've noticed a clause like that immediately.
It's also possible that they've revised their Terms & Conditions since I signed up (and subsequently closed the account). It seems nonsensical, though, to include wording like that in reference to a "secure" backup service, even one that gives users the ability to share backed-up materials. This is reminiscent, though, of the recent T&C; controversy concerning Adobe's online version of Photoshop, which contained terms rather similar that explicitly allowed Adobe the right to use any and all images processed by the service for their own use. Adobe was smart, though, and subsequently revised their docs after the blogosphere tore into them like a pack of furious hounds.
Perhaps HP will do the same. I will make sure that this "gets out" and the right people are allerted.
Thanks for getting the word out on this.
I am sure they will take action soon after others become aware of this. This just cannot be a correct Term/Condition for a secure backup site. I'm thinking it must be a hold-over from some other web service that they are offering and it didnt get the careful review it needed.
This is an awesome concept, so hopefully they will get the execution right. I have TONS of personal photos and video clips that are screaming out for a service like this.
Jim
Good luck with that, and please post any further weirdness. It seems to me as though no one has had a seamless experience with this service, and the problems always come from the Upline software itself. It's even worse than the Zune 1.0 software!
I can't even contact their tech support. The tech support website for UpLine is not working. I was able to backup 1 GB on 2 machines but I kept getting a "Space Exceeded" window and UpLine would not backup anymore.
I agree. . . Great idea and value but not ready for prim time.