

XXCLONE README.TXT ------------------------------------------------------------


From:     Kan Yabumoto   tech@xxclone.com
To:       XXCLONE user
Product:  XXCLONE Pro
Version:  v.0.58.0
Released: 2007-02-07
===============================================================================  

What's new with this version:

  * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

  This version (v.0.58.0) propagates the compress-bit in the file
  attributes correctly when the target volume is of NTFS type.

  Unlike other attributes, the compress-bit is not just a bit that
  suggests the way the file is to be treated by applications.
  Rather, it represents the compression state in which the file
  is being stored.

  Note: when either the source volume or the target volume is
  configured as a compressed volume (volume-wide), then, the target
  volume's file compression will not be manipulated by XXCLONE.
  That is, in such a case, XXCLONE will let the target volume's
  volume-wide compression setting determine the way the files
  and the directories are to be written.

  This scheme allows the user full control of how the target volume
  is saved with respect to compression mode.


  * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

  In the current version (v.0.53.0), we are testing a new backup algorithm.
  
  The feature which is temptatively called "Hyper-Sync" improves the
  speed of an incremental backup significantly with the aggressive
  assumption that if a directory's timestamp has not changed since
  the last backup (by XXCLONE), then, the content files in the directory
  at the first level need not be individually compared.
  
  In this version, the feature can be activated only via the command
  line parameter, /HYPER.  If this feature is proven to be useful,
  we will create a GUI control in the advanced settings page.  When
  the /HYPER switch is enabled, the amount of data skipped by this
  scheme will not be reflected in the estimation of the job progress.
  Therefore, the actual termination of the job may be siginificantly
  earlier than the estimate.
  
  The HyperSinc features still needs a lot of tests in the field.

  The current version, v.0.53.0 has an improved disk volume detection
  mechanism to handle rare disk configurations.
  

  * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

  The current version, v.0.52.0 improved the creation and modification
  of the BOOT.INI file which is responsible for the boot menu and
  the parameters associated with the entries.
  
  Through the dialog box for the Add-TestBoot function, the user may
  edit the text that appears in the boot menu.

  If you have not tried a version newer than v0.50.0, you will
  find this version much faster than previous version.  For
  incremental backup, XXCLONE used to traverse the directories
  twice (the first pass to clean up and the second pass to copy).
  Now, they are combined into one pass for improved efficiency.

  Starting with v.0.51.0, XXCLONE gives you an estimate for the
  completion time.

  While it is difficult to make an accurate forecast of how long
  the current job will take, XXCLONE tries its best with a number
  of assumptions.  When most of the assumptions are in the ballpark,
  the estimate may give you a rough idea on when the job will be
  completed.

  The estimate for the "Windows Essential Files option" (/BACKUP3)
  will be very pessimistic.  This is because of the assuption that
  the entire volume consists of the \Windows\ and the
  "\Documents and Settings" directories which is almost always
  not a very good assumption (just ignore the estimate for this).

  Since every computer environment is unique, let alone each job
  is different, the user should study the estimator's behavior
  and make his own mental adjustment on how to interpret it.
  If one takes time and learn the tendency, the estimated value
  may hopefully be of some value.  If it's totally useless to you,
  you can always ignore it.  It's not more than an estiamte.



XXCLONE Installation:

  The current XXCLONE Installer was introduced on 2005-04-26 (v.0.40.0)

  A skeleton version of the XXCLONE.CHM file is included.
 
  The installation wizard comes with a Product Activation step
  that connects to the XXCLONE.COM web site to obtain your unique
  Activation Key.


Product Activation:

  This is our first attempt to implement the Product Activation
  procedure.  This procedure is very similar to Microsoft's
  Product Activation scheme where a hash value is computed from
  various hardware-related parameters.  
  
  Here, XXCLONE also computes its hardware hash value based upon
  the Motherboard's BIOS chip (a CRC value of the first 8192 bytes).

  The Product Activation procedure consists of the following steps:
  
  1.  The user visits the XXCLONE product activation page.

  2.  The user will submit the following values at the site:
  
        Serial Number: SNxx-xxxx-xxxx
        License Code:  LCxx-xxxx-xxxx
        Hardware Hash: HHxx-xxxx-xxxx   (calculated for the computer) 

  3.  The web site will then issue an Activation Key for the
      license by looking up the customer database.  
      The hardware hash value will be saved in the database
      along with the customer name and address.

  4.  Activation Key should look like the following:
  
        Activation Key: AKxx-xxxx-xxxx


Privacy Concerns:

    The Product Activation procedure is implemented as
    a manual operation using the web browser of user's choice.
    XXCLONE or its Installation Utility does not connect to
    the Internet automatically or in the background.  
    Furthermore, it never behaves like a "spyware".  
    The only information that transmitted to the XXCLONE server
    is the information the user enters manually (or by
    copy-and-paste) procedure.  No other information will be
    transmitted during the Product Activation procedure or
    any other time.


Future Updates:

    Once the Product Activation is made, as long as you use
    the same computer (with the same hardware),  the XXCLONE
    customer database should maintain the hardware hash values
    for the computers that were installed with the license.
    Therefore, when a new version is issued, the user can
    download a copy of XXCLONE release that are pre-activated
    for the computers that were registered previously.


The purpose of Product Activation:

    We try to set a fair price to the XXCLONE product.
    From our years of experience in software publishing,
    we have come to a conclusion that to set the fairest
    price to a wide range of customers, the price must be
    somewhat proportional to the scale of usage.
    
    So, we chose the number of computers as the key parameter
    that determines the (site) license fee.
    
    The Hardware Hash value that is computed by XXCLONE
    that are sent to XXCLONE's web site will allow us to
    determine the approximate number of computers that are
    to be used with the XXCLONE utility.

    By having a relatively simple but strict enforcement
    mechanism, we can offer a very low price to small-scale
    users.  The Activation Key that is tailor-made to each
    computer allows small users to enjoy the relatively
    low price of XXCLONE.


