[tomtom]

Hello,
I'm a big fan of cloud storage/online backup being a dropbox user for a couple of years and having used Mozy/Carbonite for online file back up for 4 years or so... I've also been beta testing Bitcasa (which promised unlimited backup...)

But in the last day or two the market has shifted somewhat with first Microsoft revamping/launching/whatever its Skydrive product and Google releasing/updating etc.. google drive...

I've just been playing with skydrive this AM - and it installed and works fine on all my machines (inside and outside of various work firewalls) - any experience of the other? The pricing of the google and MS products look similar - and better than Dropbox for the 100gb options... (c.£3 month)...
TT

[Jaspersharpe]

Might be issues with Google Drive........

http://m.zdnet.com/blog/btl/how-far-does-google-drives-terms-go-in-owning-your-files/75228

[slackline]

Not tried anything other than Dropbox and Box (as the later were offering 50Gb free when they released their Android app).  One feature I like of Box is that you can mount it as a local file system (under Linux at least, can't be arsed searching for the HowTo I followed as it wouldn't be of interest to anyone, but it involves using the devfs filesystem to mount WebDAV resources).  Setting this up to periodically automount and sync with a given directory makes backing up hassle free and means there is no need to have a dedicated program open and running all the time.

With regards to Google Drive, you'll retain ownership, but Google can use anything you upload to Drive for promoting any of their services presumably without remuneration.

On the plus side if anything the competition will push Dropbox & other services prices down 

[cofe]

Google is clearly as bent as a nine bob note. Dropbox still works fine for me, so I'll be sticking with that for the timebeing. Plus it's easy enough to expand Dropbox free storage - my current 5+ gb is more than enough.

[slackline]

Just clocked on Twitter that you may be able to get 25Gb free on SkyDrive if you sign up soon.  No other links I'm afraid.

[Jaspersharpe]

Nice one slackers, I just did that.

EDIT - bollocks, Sky Drive app doesn't work on XP. No use to me as my work PC runs XP and is unlikely to change any time soon.

http://answers.microsoft.com/en-us/windowslive/forum/skydrive-files/not-valid-win32-application-when-installing/8c93833f-4fd5-45ff-a0b0-bca5c3221fa5

File size upload limit using the website is 300GB but 2GB using the app.

[iain]

Thanks for that Slack

[lagerstarfish]

Just clocked on Twitter that you may be able to get 25Gb free on SkyDrive if you sign up soon.  No other links I'm afraid.

a couple of clicks and that's sorted

thanks for that Slack-man

[duncan]

Nice one slackers, I just did that.

EDIT - bollocks, Sky Drive app doesn't work on XP. No use to me as my work PC runs XP and is unlikely to change any time soon.

Worked my XP machine.  I was already signed-up, unbeknown to me, perhaps this matters?

Thanks slackers.

[Jaspersharpe]

I was already signed up. You managed to download the app on an XP machine?

The website works but you can only upload files up to 300MB whereas if you download the app that increases to 2GB.

[duncan]

I was already signed up. You managed to download the app on an XP machine?

The website works but you can only upload files up to 300MB whereas if you download the app that increases to 2GB.

Ah no - not the app. - just increasing the storage capacity.  A 300Mb limit is a hobble but when I finally join the 2010s computing world I hope I will be able to download the app. and the 25Gb will still be waiting for me...

[dontfollowme]

Can't seem to find this free 25GB. Assume offer has expired?

[Jaspersharpe]

Click "Sky Drive" click "manage storage". Shows the options for upgrading. If the free one's not there any more then presumably it's expired cos that's where it was.

[Johnny Brown]

Aye, its gone. Got the upgrade on me Julie's existing account, but no option when I signed up.

[Bubba]

I've not read this fully yet, but it looks like a decent comparison of cloud storage services

[slackline]

I've not read this fully yet, but it looks like a decent comparison of cloud storage services

First I've seen that includes SpiderOak too (have installed on computer & phone but not used, which is why I've not commented on it).

[tomtom]

Well, I've susbscribed to the 100gb skydrive option.. (107 including the free 7gb...) and its uploading now... I tried that and the Gdrive and preferred the way skydrive worked... I also wasnt too sure what Google were saying about the ownership/being able to look at the data etc.. Perfect for me, as I have  range of docs, files, programming shit scattered accross three machines at the moment - and I can now keep in one place and share etc...

Anyway, seems to be a bargain at £30.50 for a year... I feel a bit for Dropbox as they are 7-8 times more expensive now - and have a great product.. Maybe they should have taken up on those Apple takeover offers when they were on the table...

[Johnny Brown]

I think Dropbox is brilliant, I'm using it for so many things now - just a free account and running two businesses through it. All they need to do is introduce a cheaper deal (who needs 100Gb - 25 would be ample) and I think they'll stay top.

[slackline]

Not tried this but clocked it on another forum I post on as to how to maximise your Dropbox free storage....

Here's a tip: A few months ago, Google sent me a £75 AdWords voucher that I had no use for. Instead, last week I made some Dropbox ads with my referral link, each signup gets you +500MB. Bumped up my referral bonus to the maximum +16GB available, used up £6.08 of the credit. So now have 24.88GB free, which includes some other one-off bonuses (including the "getting started" bonus).

[tomtom]

£30 for 107gb is really cheap.. Having paid c.£80 for 50mb Carbonite backup in the past and £100 yr (soon to expire) for Unlimited Mozy back up - the MS deal is a bargain..

The only issue I have is that its linked to windowslive/hotmail username/passwords etc.. which dont have the best of records. Still theres nothing there of any use to anyone and it keeps cached versions on the PC's etc...

[stevej]

Still worth checking out the skydrive 25GB thing btw, seems like I must have clicked on skydrive at some stage wondering what it was because when I checked today, it turns out I'm apparently a 'loyal skydrive customer' (with no files uploaded) so deserve free space!

For xp/linux users, it looks like the skydrive is usable without the program (or the web interface) by adding as a mapped network drive. Seems a bit hit and miss, (mostly miss at the moment), will edit this if I ever get it working...

[slackline]

How Clean is Your Cloud (via a link from Stubbs).

[slackline]

One feature I like of Box is that you can mount it as a local file system (under Linux at least, can't be arsed searching for the HowTo I followed as it wouldn't be of interest to anyone, but it involves using the devfs filesystem to mount WebDAV resources).

Just clocked this as a method of mounting Box shares under Win7 (not tested by me)....

Code: [Select]

Windows7 install:

My Computer - Map network drive - choose a custom network location.

Type: [url]https://www.box.net/dav[/url] or http://www.box.net/dav

If everything goes well, you’ll get a popup window asking you for your credentials. Type your username, which is the email you use to log in to Box.net, as well as your password.

[Bubba]

Good knowledge Mr Slack.

I've just tested this and it works using https://www.box.com/dav

The strange thing is that it's showing: 6.74GB free of 34.9GB but if I log in via box.com it's showing the real picture which is 752k used of 50GB. Weird.

[slackline]

Partition size/usage is mis-reported under Linux too, but read-write works fine so I've not been too bothered.