DELUGACH  I have used Retrospect in various forms and versions since November 1998. I abandoned it about a year ago and have never looked back. I always suspected that it may be suited for sysadmins in very large enterprises, but more and more it seemed a clunky and confusing solution to the (important) general backup problem. Its only really valuable feature was compressed backups to save space.

I use Time Machine and Super Duper and don't really seem to need anything else. Yes, compressed backups would be nice, but not worth the hassle of figuring out how Retrospect works. An unpredictable or confusing backup is worse than none at all. I'm sure the Retrospect folks have a perfectly clear concept in their minds but it was never clear to me. Sorry.  
(Version 8.1.148)

ITTY  They seem to be going out of their way to get rid of small-size users. I've been a customer since the '80's when the original product was called DiskFit.

But now the single-user has to jump through hoops to make what should be a simple installation. Then there's the overly complex interface.

Chalk me up to another customer lost to ChronoSync.  
(Version 8.1.148)

JIM WEISBIN  As of version 8.0736, still does not work at all on my Mac Pro running OS X 10.5.6 (Leopard) server. I used the "wizard" to start an immediate backup either to File or to Disk. It appears as though something's "happening" (a yellowish "blob" "swings" into the "activities" bar from somewhere unknown - very Microsoftish), but no script actually runs. Also, the date of the "scheduled" backup for that run is 1969 - huh? Tried to schedule it on the server itself, as well as from another computer running OS X 10.5.6 Leopard (not server), same thing, nothing happens.

I was able to get something to happen on my machine which is not running server software, but after it starts the script it immediately crashes. In addition, the interface is dreadful. For example, say you are setting up a File type backup and are prompted as to where to store the catalogue. You want to make a new folder? Go ahead, but you have to make it, then close out of that dialogue and go back to actually use that folder. The disclosure triangles to the left of folders are sometimes invisible, and the interface does not look anything like Mac OS X. For example, if you want to get to your desktop folder, you have to navigate to /Users//Desktop. Ugh!

I called tech support and was told that I get one "free" service call. They gave me a ticket number and then put me on hold for 45 minutes. I gave up after that.

Probably the worst "release" version I have ever seen, ever ever evr.  
(Version 8.0.736)

ADONSA  I've been using Dantz Retrospect off and on for years. I don't do any of the feature stuff, I just back up, and get done, and it works.

Below this comment are a lot of 1 and 2 star postings/complaints. Above this email, and dated more recently, is a long list of bug fixes. Are those of you who posted complaints, going to bounce your complaints against the bug fixes and revise your comments/ratings?

Now that I'm running System Leopard, I'd like to get back into Retrospect, if I can figure out what Retrospect Express is upgradable to.

Although quite a good application, Retrospect has gone through a wierd, convoluted history - specifically, various versions and upgrade for money schemes. Well, it's Dantz-Retrospect, right? Or did they change ownership AGAIN? How many owners has retrospect had so far? Is the owner change history longer than the version revision history? Just kidding. But, it might be nice to know who the next owner will be.   
(Version 8.0.733)

STUGOTS  I've used Retrospect for years, and tried most of the 8.0 Betas. Retrospect 8.0 is *not* yet ready for production use. It was rushed to market. Check their support forums (there are two, one for general questions and one for bugs), you'll see it has a lot of problems. Network performance is extremely slow, optical devices don't work, scripts get randomly mangled, and it crashes a lot for some users.

When they've debugged it, this may be a great product. They've dreamed up some nice new features, and the new UI may one day be great. But for now, stay away.  
(Version 8.0.608)

FILCHESCAT  It looks like this is still 8.0608.1, which has been available to the public since 4-8-09. As mentioned by others, user interface is different (change is good?) than the old reliable version 6 iterations, but the product itself is still beta quality. I've had problems with it silently quitting, not recognizing configured backup locations, especially on network storage devices. EMC tech support is fairly responsive, but looks to be overwhelmed by similar complaints. They like comments sent to their forum where they are kicked around by other uses, as if a group session will help solve problems - like a beta test group. Keep trying, EMC, is all I can say.  
(Version 8.0.608)

EAN  Tested version 8.0.608 (newer than what is listed here) with a single server and several clients. Can't import scripts from former versions (v6). Can't connect to any clients--before or after updating client software. Forget about updating clients from the server. Had to downgrade the client machines I tested as v6 displayed some weirdness with the newer clients. Since I couldn't actually connect to clients, I can't review script creation or execution. All in all, it feels like an early beta. Despite the problems with v6, it's definitely not worth upgrading at this point. Besides, the upgrade to v8 with 20 clients is nearly what I paid for v6 with 10 clients some years ago. The multi-threaded engine could make it worth the price, but I am unable to test it if I can't actually connect to clients...  
(Version 8.0.594)

VICTORB  I used Retrospect and Remote for years.

The fact is, it has grown stale. Try Personal Backup from Intego. It goes well beyond in functionality and reliability.  
(Version 8.0.594)

LYLEHM  I've only just recently installed 8.0.594. Ultimately, I'll test this will multiple Mac and Win servers backing up to a 9TB FC-RAID. I'm just so impressed by the new GUI, I wanted to mention it now instead of waiting for the test results.

EMC waited quite a while do anything with Retrospect Mac after it was purchased from Dantz. However, once the public beta started, the speed of bug fix releases was spritely. From that pace, and the lively interactions on the EMC beta forum, it's apparent they are taking this product seriously. I'm cautiously optimistic and look forward to posting some real world results.  
(Version 8.0.594)

NAOH  For what it's worth, Retrospect is still receiving commitment from EMC2.

However, the 'old' Retrospect will soon be retired and Retrospect X will take over. (That is what they plan to call it, according to the blog written by the chief developer.)

The plan is to integrate the Retrospect product into EMC2's other backup products.

A PDF that outlines the planned features can be found at the following link: http://www.emcinsignia.com/assets/ds_retrox_en.pdf  
(Version 6.1.230)