Below, you'll find questions that our users and potential users often ask. If you can't find an answer to your question in the list, feel free to drop us a line at support@martian.com.

If you've installed Martian LifeBoat on your Mac already, you can check out the Help Manual built right into the app. Just pick "LifeBoat Help" off the Help menu.

• Why would I use Martian LifeBoat? Martian LifeBoat is designed to make it really easy to keep backups of your most important files. It's hard to get motivated to keep your backups up to date, so LifeBoat makes it simple -- just define a LifeBoat containing your iPhoto library, your Documents folder, or any other important data. Each time you plug in your external hard drive or USB Flash Key, LifeBoat automatically backs up your data.
• What are the system requirements? Martian LifeBoat requires Mac OS X version 10.4 ("Tiger"). If your computer can run Tiger, it is more than capable of running LifeBoat well. Also, it's compiled as a Universal application, which means it supports the new Intel-based Macs natively (and it works great on all the existing PowerPC Macs too).
• Is LifeBoat available for other platforms besides Mac OS X? Not as of yet, since we love the Mac platform and the unique qualities of its users. Of course, if you're interested in a Windows or Linux version of LifeBoat, please do let us know.
• I have 5 computers in my house. Do I need 5 licenses? Nope! One license is all you need to use LifeBoat on all the computers that you personally own. If you're a business, you need one license for each computer that will use LifeBoat. Please get in touch with us so that we can give you a discount on multiple licenses.

• Do I have to understand hardware stuff, like partitioning disks, in order to use LifeBoat? Absolutely not. LifeBoat works with your existing removable media, with no knowledge of computer arcana required (just like a good Mac app should behave).
• Can I use a USB Flash Key as a LifeBoat? Definitely! In fact, we originally designed LifeBoat with USB Flash Keys in mind. How cool is it to be able to just plug in your 4gb USB Flash Key and have LifeBoat back up all your bits onto it?
• Can I use an external hard drive (FireWire or USB) with LifeBoat? You sure can. LifeBoat works with any device that your Mac thinks of as removable media, including USB external hard drives, FireWire external hard drives, and USB Flash Keys.
• How long will it take to back up my stuff? Mostly this depends on how long it takes to write data to your external device. External hard disks are usually faster than flash-based media like USB Flash Keys, but both work great.
• Can I use my removable media for other things besides storing a LifeBoat on it? Yes. LifeBoat stores your backups in a file called "LifeBoat.dmg" on the removable media. You're free to put other stuff on the device as well.

• Does LifeBoat have to be running in order for backups to start when I connect my removable media? LifeBoat includes a little helper application (we call it the Anchor App, actually) that sits in your menu bar and waits for removable media devices to get plugged in. When it senses you've connected one, it immediately starts a backup to the device, even if the main LifeBoat application is not running. The Anchor app can be configured to start automatically when you log into your Mac.
• What if I don't want to update the LifeBoat one time when I connect its device? LifeBoat waits 5 seconds before beginning a backup, giving you time to cancel the operation if needed.
• Can I define LifeBoats that don't automatically back up when their device is connected? Yes, when you're defining the LifeBoat, just de-select the checkbox for automatic backups for this particular LifeBoat.
• Can I use the same removable media for more than one LifeBoat? Not at the moment. Just add more files and folders to the LifeBoat definition instead. If you'd like us to reconsider this design, please let us know.
• How do I access files backed up on a LifeBoat? Just plug in the removable media device. If LifeBoat is running on the machine, make sure to cancel the automatic backup this time — you wouldn't want to lose the existing copies of the files. Just double-click on the "LifeBoat.dmg" file on the removable media and it should open up in the Finder. You can also copy that .dmg file or rename it if you'd like to archive it somewhere.

• I've lost my license key. Can you help me find it? Sure. Just get in touch with us and let us know your First and Last Name, your email address, and if you know it, the approximate date you bought your license. We'll dig up a copy of your license key and get right back to you.
• How do I update to the latest version of LifeBoat? LifeBoat automatically checks with us periodically to see if there's a new version available. (You can turn off these checks if you want to, but why would you go and do a thing like that?)
• I want to back up my LifeBoat definitions. How do I do it? You just need to backup the folder "Library/Application Support/LifeBoat" in your home directory.
• Can I give LifeBoat as a gift? Yup! We have nice gift certificate cards that we can print and send you as well, which you can give to the lucky gift recipient. Just drop us a line and let us know you're interested in one.
• What's your upgrade policy? Will I need to buy a new license the next time a new version comes out? While we might, in the future, charge an upgrade fee for new versions of our products, rest assured that our policy will be to give free upgrades to those who've purchased the application within the previous 12 months. Bug fix versions are always free. If you have questions about this, please feel free to drop us a line and we'll be happy to discuss.

• Is it true you guys donate 6% of your profits every year to charity? Yes. We're grateful for the warm reception we've had here on your pretty blue planet, and we like giving something back in return (besides cool software!) In 2006, we've donated several thousand dollars to a few charities whose missions really resonated with us.
• Hey, you guys got a blog? Of course! Check it out here.
• So, like two or three years ago there was this cool Wireless Hard Drive....I think they called it the "Martian NetDrive"....know anything about it? Yeah, that was *cough* some guys we know. If you still have a Martian NetDrive, we'd love to hear from you about how you're using it.