Is rsync right for us?

[Amadeus R.]

> From what I understand, doesn't the -a option
> mean to archive?

Yes, in the sence that file permissions are transfered aswell, so the 
destination files are exact the same as the source files. It doesn't 
mean that the files are being zip, rar, gzip packed or anything like that.

> We don't want to archive the files, just make
> the directory on the IBM exactly the same
> as the one on the G4.

Then you should use the -a option.

> The files are created on the G4, but actually downloaded from
> the IBM, but my developer doesn't always remember
> to keep uploading to the IBM, hence my thoughts about syncing.

So you want to check the timestamp on the files on both the G4 and IBM, 
and overwrite the oldest?