Cucku: Social Backup - Are they serious?

Posted September 19, 2008 at 12:16 PM by Jodie Andrefski

Section: Computers, Hardware, Laptops, Networking, Security, Software / Applications, Wireless, Gadgets / Other, Household, Lifestyle, Miscellaneous, Peripherals, Storage, Web, Downloads, Web 2.0, Web Apps, Web Browsers, Websites

I’m sorry, but I just wonder, is this entire thing just someone’s idea of “Just how far can we take this and people will think we’re serious?“ I mean, the name itself. Who came up with it? You have got to be kidding me.

Okay. For those who aren’t aware…Cucku is a “Social Backup Service” that runs on Windows machines. It was available to select beta users since February of this year, and its 1.20 version just became available for all to download yesterday. You want to make all your personal files oh so safe? Well then, all you have to do according to Cucku (oh, that just makes me roll my eyes each time I type it), is back up all of your data to your friend’s computer. Oh, and in return, they back up all their work onto yours. You are “back-up buddies.“  Isn’t that special?

I mean, let’s not look at the fact that you are now opening your files up to any viruses and crashes that your “buddy” may incur. Or that what if your buddy happens to be a pedophile and is transferring those files onto your computer? Or what if you need to get to your files because your computer crashed and your buddy is having the time of his life in Vegas and has his system shut down for two weeks while he is gone? And these are just some “what if’s.“

Now, to the pluses that Cucku spouts about their product. They claim there is no throttling of speed on the free version. It is based on a “Pro” version which will allow you to backup multiple computers. They say it runs 58% faster than the beta version when it comes to backup speeds.

“There’s no need to purchase an expensive hosted backup service, just backup the way it should be – easy, trustworthy and free. Social backup offers the same peace-of-mind provided by hosted online backup solutions, without the pitfalls.  With Cucku you can get together with your partner for high-speed initial remote backup or restore, this just isn’t possible with a datacenter.“  - Cucku Press Release

According to feedback across the ‘Net, many find this view laughable. One reader responded on a techcrunch article about the service, “This technology seems pointless to me. The chances of your friend’s hardrive [sic] being destroyed or infiltrated and corrupted by viruses is much higher than a web-based corporation’s servers being contaminated….“  Many other readers seemed to take great joy in pointing out what the name meant in other languages. Apparently, it means “idiot” in Hebrew and “simple minded” in French. 

What do you think? Is this a service you would use? Or do you think they chose the perfect name after all?

Read [cucku]