Backing up Ubuntu

I need to solve this. I’ve tried numerous times to get a solution in place (not for 8.10 though) for getting a dependable backup running which really is a area to improve on Ubuntu (and other linuxes as well) we need a simple and dependable solution.

What is easy and dependable then?
- Backing up to USB-drive is ideal (cheap, large storage available everywhere)
- Backing up everything without any questions
- Saving all versions for a configurable time
- Excluding by file patterns (for example *.mp3 *.avi)
- Easily restoring single files
- Restoring the latest version to a new disk easily (ideally by booting from the USB-drive)

This is pretty much Apples approach in Time Machine I guess, but I’m not running a Macintosh so I can’t install that and test. Let the search for a solution begin.