Google Drive and its competitors

[haven]

Google has announced an Internet-based file storage and synchronization service called Google Drive. Google Drive lets you store files on Google's servers somewhere in the Internet "cloud," and access the files from multiple machines.

Google starts you off with 5GB of storage for free. You can purchase as much extra space you want at pretty reasonable prices. For example, $5 a month buys 100 GB of space.

To start, Google Drive will support Windows, Mac and Android devices. There's an iOS app in development. The Google Drive appears as a folder on your desktop. Any file you put in the folder will be copied to the cloud, and synchronized with other devices you use to connect.

You can access documents stored on Google Drive through your web browser. You can edit files created by Google Docs, and you can open and view files in lots of other different formats.

Here's a video that explains the Google Drive service


Sign up for Google Drive here
https://drive.google.com/start#home

 

[haven]

There are lots of competitors for Google Drive. Microsoft has Skydrive. Apple has iCloud. Others include Dropbox, Sugar Sync, and many more. Here's a comparison of these services

http://www.theverge.com/2012/4/24/2...-skydrive-sugarsync-cloud-storage-competition

 

[haven]

Then there's the security issue. Google Drive and its competitors provide basic file access control, but your files are not encrypted. Google explicitly says that it will scan and index all the documents you store through Google Drive, just like they do for GMail. The information will be used to present ads tailored to your interests.

The cynical among us will have theories about other ways Google and its partners will use the indexing of files for nefarious purposes. Clearly, you shouldn't use a service like Google Drive to store your critical projects, financial data, or plans to take over the world.

One more privacy note: Files on Google Drive can be subpoenaed for use in legal matters. So keep your plans to defraud the company or run away with your mistress in a more private place.

I'm happy with Gmail, so I think I'll be fine with Google Drive.

 

[nwoods]

I use Dropbox, Mozy, and Box, for different things in different ways. My goto is DropBox. I have refereed a dozen or so people, so I think I'm up to 5 or 6GB of free storage. I just got an alert that they raised the maximum free account to 10GB with referrals. That's pretty hard to beat. Last year Dropbox was a bit slow to synchronize and make my files available across multiple devices, but int he past few months that has not been an issue and it syncs pretty fast. I really like it. I only scratch the surface of what Box can do. I only turned to it because my Dropbox was full I backed up a full computer on Mozy a while back, and it syncs on a differential backup regularly, and works great in the background. Definitely a low complexity solution, but DropBox is still my fav.

Hey, if you check it out, please use me as a referral! I need more space!

 

[haven]

"I only scratch the surface of what Box can do"

Just to be clear, we're talking about Dropbox, not Box.com, a company that offers a similar cloud storage and synchronization service. Box.com offers increased security (access logging, access control by groups, encryption, and so forth) for corporate clients, as well as a free 5GB plan for individuals.

I signed up for Google Drive, and find it convenient (the Drive icon is embedded in the right side of the Menu Bar at the top of my iMac's screen) and fast (it only takes a few seconds to upload the under-50K documents I tried).

 

[nwoods]

I meant Box in the statement you quoted. I use the heck out of DropBox, but only use Box.com as a static repository for one particular project, thus barely scratching the surface of all that it can do.

I don't and won't use GoogleDrive because I don't want them scanning my info and selling the metrics to others to spam me with.

 

[haven]

Microsoft has launched a web page comparing Apple's iCloud with Microsoft's Skydrive
http://windows.microsoft.com/en-US/skydrive/icloud

The points Microsoft makes:
-- Skydrive works with any type of file. iCloud is limited to iWork files, JPGs and music files.

-- Skydrive works with files up to 2 GB in size. iCloud limit is 25 MB.

-- Skydrive helps you collaborate with Microsoft Office. If your Mac or iPad doesn't have Office, you can run Microsoft's Office Web apps in a browser.
Get started here http://office.microsoft.com/en-us/web-apps/

-- iCloud can access notes from many devices, but you can't share notes between accounts. Microsoft OneNote can.
OneNote is available for free for iPad, iPhone, Android, and other mobile OS

-- Skydrive offers 7 GB for free, iCloud only 5 GB

Skydrive has apps that work with iOS devices and MacOS computers, as well as Windows computers