We're expecting the Leopard countdown to start any day now, but in the meantime we have yet another free update for loyal Take Control readers who have the second edition of Joe Kissell's "Take Control of Mac OS X Backups," our best-selling title of all time. If you own the first edition, you can still upgrade to the second edition for half off. In either case, click the Check for Updates button on the first page of your current PDF to access the free download or your upgrade discount.

Major changes in this update include additional information about CrashPlan, greatly expanded coverage of Internet backup services, details about using Blu-ray disc drives and NDAS devices for backup, and a number of accompanying changes to Joe's recommendations throughout.

If you haven't yet availed yourself of Joe's backup expertise, I'd say that it's never too late to start backing up, but that would be a lie. Once you've lost irreplaceable files, photos, or movies, it is too late, and I beg you, don't let that happen because you thought backups were too hard or too expensive. In this book, Joe helps you understand the elements of a successful backup strategy and describes the many software and hardware options available, giving you the tools you need to devise a custom strategy or use one of his recommended options: Saving Money, Data Safety, Ease of Use, or Compromise.

In particular, Joe discusses how the forthcoming Time Machine in Leopard might (or might not) play a role in your backup plans, the increasing attractiveness of backing up to a remote server over the Internet, and why he particularly likes Data Backup and SuperDuper as components of a backup strategy. Also, although Joe is feeling somewhat less enthused about the aging Retrospect, he still includes a 20-plus page appendix that gives specific procedures for backing up with Retrospect.

The ebook also comes with several coupons, including 50% off Data Backup 3 (save $30) and 10% off on CrashPlan or CrashPlan Pro ($2 or $6).