Is there such a thing as a differential or incremental backup where you don't need a specific program - just a file browser - to view (the most recent/the least recent/any version of) backed-up files?
Also, is there any list of backup software/methods online where each entry says whether it saves the backup in a way that it can be easily viewed in a file browser? (or how specifically it saves the backup)
Two good references for different backup methods:
https://help.ubuntu.com/community/jmburgess/Backup
How to backup settings and list of installed packages
I use the 'rsync' method myself, because I can simply view the backup files in a file browser.
The script I use for backup is as follows:
#!/bin/bash
dpkg --get-selections > ~/backupData/Package.list
sudo cp -R /etc/apt/sources.list* ~/backupData/
sudo apt-key exportall > ~/backupData/Repo.keys
rsync --progress --delete -a /home/chick/ /media/chick/Lbck/backup
This has the possibly questionable advantage of also backing up the list of installed packages, and everything in my home directory, onto a USB HDD.
Please note that this is not an exclusive list of how to do backups, but a pretty good list of inexpensive methods. What is important here is that you have a backup to prevent those little times in life when everything goes south.
If you have the resources available, multiple backups using different backup methods is a great idea.
