Bootable restore disk

Personally I use both.

The primary purpose of Time Machine for me to rollback to bad app updates

or installs, roll back project directories when I have determined I took a wrong

path, and brain cloud attacks.

I use clones in the event of some system corruption and I need to get back up and

running immediately. Also, if a system re-install is necessary, recovering using

Migration Assistant from a clone is much faster than restoring from Time Machine.

In addition, I back up all data completely separate from the above on separate drives

in the event of a complete hardware meltdown or if access is needed from other

machines.

As far as cloud solutions, the cloud is wonderful, the cloud is good, except

when it isn't available which is a higher probability of happening than a

local backup drive failing.

Actually, to cover most potential issues, having both would be the better way to go. For example, let's say your Mac's internal drive fails. With a bootable clone, you can basically, just plug it in and continue where you left off until you can get a replacement drive. A Time Machine restore would only be helpful once the drive is replaced.

I prefer a bootable Carbon Copy Cloner external disk clone on my Intel Mac mini 2018.

But M1 Macs might need some changes to the backup plan. Is it possible for an end-user to accidentally erase the M1 Mac's internal SSD so it won't boot?

"An M1 Mac Can’t Boot from an External Drive If Its Internal Drive Is Dead"

https://tidbits.com/2021/05/27/an-m1-mac-cant-boot-from-an-external-drive-if-its-internal-drive-is-dead/

"Failure of internal storage means failure of the whole Mac, which can’t then boot from an external disk"

https://eclecticlight.co/2021/01/14/m1-macs-radically-change-boot-and-recovery/

hcsitas wrote:

That depends on where one is (ISP, speed etc). Where I am, it’s always there ☺️, a rare hiccup at the most.

One of Murphy's laws says it won't be the one time that you need it the most

and a reliable ISP doesn't help if a truck takes out a telephone pole or some

one is digging and severs an underground cable or a server farm goes down which

is starting to become more common these days.

But then again after years of relying on my computer systems for making

a living and being down more than 10-15 minutes could have been a disaster,

I am just a bit over cautious.

Not in my neighborhood...we booted Murphy out and he's never been since...

Point taken nonetheless. To each his or her own. Speaking for myself, I'm done with backup disks, TM's been retired. Life's never been better.

Cheers

Neither, included Recovery tool is best. If you use the cloud for all your data, you don’t need TM at all.

That depends on where one is (ISP, speed etc). Where I am, it’s always there ☺️, a rare hiccup at the most.