A few weeks ago, I mentioned my 5 favorite websites. One of those was DropBox, which works flawlessly, cross-platform, and on mobile (They are rumored to be heading for an IPO).
Since then, I have discovered a few competitors. One is called CX.com, and they give you 10 gigs for free. The other is a little site called Google Drive, and they start you out with 5 free gigs.
>
CX.com
>
Google Drive
>
Now you know!
Category: Web/Tech
Please use the comments to demonstrate your own ignorance, unfamiliarity with empirical data and lack of respect for scientific knowledge. Be sure to create straw men and argue against things I have neither said nor implied. If you could repeat previously discredited memes or steer the conversation into irrelevant, off topic discussions, it would be appreciated. Lastly, kindly forgo all civility in your discourse . . . you are, after all, anonymous.
Microsoft’s SkyDrive offering (Compare) appears to offer more functionality than DropBox, iCloud, and Google’s Drive.
Oh, and 2 additional GB at the free level.
Walt Mossberg review of Google Drive – which just launched today – here:
http://goo.gl/n9703
Also see David Pogue’s review of OnLive Desktop Plus for the Ipad from February here:
http://goo.gl/1udZV
This stuff is only going to keep evolving and changing how we store information and run apps.
check out sugarsync too – they’re better reviewed than most other cloud programs and have a lot free features. Syncing is very easy. http://www.theverge.com/2012/4/24/2954960/google-drive-dropbox-skydrive-sugarsync-cloud-storage-competition
and, if you were coming around to the Idea that “Facebook~Hollerith2.0″..
these ‘gizmos’/SaaS/’Apps’ are a (Marketer’s/’Stasi’) “Wet-Dream” ..
http://search.yippy.com/search?query=Hollerith+Machine&tb=sitesearch-all&v%3Aproject=clusty
http://search.yippy.com/search?input-form=clusty-simple&v%3Asources=webplus-ns-aaf&v%3Aproject=clusty&query=Facebook+Hollerith+Machine
and, one ‘from the Other Side’..
http://www.iisis.net/index.php?page=mark-zuckerberg-herman-hollerith-reincarnation-walter-semkiw-kevin-ryerson&hl=en_US
Microsoft Skydrive is indeed a great alternative. Seemless integration with my PC and phone, both Windows, so the experince may vary. Also if you already have a live account, you can upgrade to 25g for free.
As a financial adviser, the security concerns at Dropbox have caused me to try other options. I am testing Safe Sync (from Trend Micro) to share files with a remote assistant and am very happy with how it works so far.
Cloud Drive Price Comparison: Amazon, Apple, Google, Box, Dropbox, Skydrive and SugarSync
Price can be an important factor when selecting the right cloud hosting service. With that many services in the field, it is important to compare prices, as much as it is important to look at the feature sets individual services offer. Like pricing, features differ a lot between services.
….
http://www.ghacks.net/2012/04/24/cloud-drive-price-comparison-amazon-apple-google-box-dropbox-skydrive-and-sugarsync/
I was about to mention SkyCloud as well. And I’ve historically had trouble with dropbox not uploading complete folders/sets of data. But that was a while back, so maybe it has improved since then.
You missed Box.com, collaboration themed but you get 5gb free.
To me, Dropbox has the best user experience. One problem I have with all these services is that they don’t store your data encrypted. It is encrypted between your device and their servers, but not on their servers. Some, like Dropbox, encrypt it on their servers too but they hold the encryption key. If you read the privacy policy, they will open your data for law enforcement. I believe box.com will do it right on their premium service, but using their service is much more clunky than Dropbox. Frankly, it’s not technically hard to maintain your data in a form inaccessible to anyone else, including the host company, so why won’t they go the extra step?
You can set up your own Cloud with virtually unlimited space using Pogoplug (http://pogoplug.com/devices). I have one at home plugged into a little 200 GB drive on my kitchen counter. Can access it via web anywhere. Can send links to individual files or folders to others, and later disable. Pretty slick.
http://www.box.com/
Box.com (formerly box.net), 5GB free, easy to use, cross platform.
https://spideroak.com/
Given your need to handle proprietary information why would you consider using something everyone can access?
I’m a happy user of Ubuntu One https://one.ubuntu.com/downloads/
5 Gig free, multiple platforms including Linux, and the server app is even available if you want to host your own cloud.
Google’s terms and conditions – http://www.zdnet.com/blog/btl/how-far-does-google-drives-terms-go-in-owning-your-files/75228
One was called Megaupload …
@BenGraham: I’m testing an about-to-be-launched product right now that’s essentially DropBox with encryption keys on the user side (mostly transparent to the user). It allows group encryption as well as individual encryption.
@lippard- please let me (us) know somehow
Follow up for BenGraham and BR
http://bits.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/04/25/companies-raise-concerns-over-google-drives-privacy-protections/?ref=business
Robert- interesting. I wouldn’t trust Google or Facebook, period. Their leaders embody a “no privacy” ethos, which many seem to think is the future, particularly for kids who grow up sharing everything. I’ll fight that trend tooth and nail. Personally, I think privacy is a human need and should be a basic human right. Your bank has no right to see what’s in your safe deposit box and the PO has no right to read your mail even though you use their services and physical plant. [Ben gets off his soapbox now]