Using SuperDuper + iPod Photo for backups?

Yes.

Yes. You could even use your Pod as a startup disk if you really wanted to!

Not sure what you mean...

If you mean to backup to the Pod, plug the Pod in and the SuperDuper interface will guide you through the rest

 

I have most of my system on my iPod, a lot of the audio stuff is on a Lacie drive, but I do boot from the iPod occasionally to run Diskwarrior etc.

Very handy indeed, although 60gig isn't really enough for a full back-up drive, so I don't clone my system as such.

 

Using the iPod as a start up disc would be really slow I think it's safe enough to back up to an iPod but I'd prefer to back up to an external hard drive.

 

Yes, it's slow, but it's a convenient portable back-up that plays great music, I back my work up to it every night, and I can throw audio and video projects onto it to transfer to other Macs, then throw it in my pocket.

My pockets aren't big enough for a LaCie FW800 drive.

No-one is suggesting you'd use an iPod as your ONLY start-up drive...

 

I backup to a sparsedisk image on my external harddrive. It's spiffy

 

Before you do that, how big is your music collection? Depending on the size, the money you save from buying a smaller iPod could be spent on getting a much roomier external drive. I got a 120GB drive and a firewire case for under $100 total last December; no doubt you can get a better deal now. Personally, I rather prefer this method because I don't have to mess around with my iPod and can just use it as an all-purpose, uber-floppy drive .

Back in '03 I splurged on getting a 20GB iPod because I thought I could backup my system... but I soon ran out of room. With the same amount of money put towards a larger external drive, you'll likely get more value out of your purchase.

i've also heard some folks say (maybe even Apple?) that using the iPod as a boot drive is not recommended because it causes premature stress on the HD. Can anyone more knowledgeable confirm this?