Well, I know there are quite a few online storage vendors out there. One of the biggest impacts perhaps has been Amazon (yes the book people!). Amazon introduced something called Amazon S3 which is part of their AWS (Amazon Web Services) range. Don’t worry about the details as yet… the reason I mentioned it is because S3 allows developers to write storage based applications (online) that can offer/use large amounts of storage at a really really reasonable price.
So, why store files online?
Well, for myself, I need at least “one other” place to store my code/documents etc. I have an external hard drive, a DVD burner (but lets face it, 4gb or so isn’t enough these days!), but I really need to store data “off-site”.
What about security?
Well, lets face it, unless you either memorise your data or burn a DVD and keep it on your person 24×7 (and even then it’s not totally safe), nothing is fool proof or 100% so you have to weigh up what is really secure and what is secure. Most online vendors have reasonable security, and if you think about email (i.e. your email zips around the internet and is usually stored on an ISP or server somewhere), then how many times have you emailed something with confidential info?
Choices and pitfalls
Well, I have been using a few online storage options with varying degrees of luck. The table below shows some of the services, the pros and cons:
| Service name | Storage | Pros | Cons |
| Live Skydrive | 5gb FREE | Nice interface, easy to use. You can store files privately, share with friends or have share with anyone type access. | Seems a little slow, although they are in beta. No access via local PC/MAC as yet (i.e. you cannot access the online files direct from your own computer.. you have to go online), although this is in the works I think. |
| iDrive | 2gb FREE (150gb for 4.95 a month) |
Been on the go for a little while now, so established. Also integrates with Windows or Mac, so nice an easy operation direct into your local computer. | Small size for free version. Seemed a little clunky using the local version, however I have not in truth tested the latest version. |
| aDrive | 50gb FREE | Whopping 50gb free! | ** Note, just testing this so will update this table shortly ** |
| xDrive (yep, more ..drives!) | 5gb FREE (50gb for 9.95 a month) |
Again, quite a reasonable amount of storage. Not used this as yet, although again will update this table shortly! Also has a desktop component (Windows/Mac) that you can access without going online. | ** Note, just testing this so will update this table shortly ** |
| ElephantDrive | Unlimited for 4.95 per month (15 day trial which converts to 1gb if not subscribed) |
A late edition (sure there are lots more), and this one uses the Amazon S3 service.. Also you do have local computer (Win/Mac/Linux) access |
** Note, just testing this so will update this table shortly ** |
Summary
So, on the face of it, aDrive certainly is a very good contender given the 50gb FREE storage, however right now it doesn’t have local PC access (coming soon though!).
I have to say that Elephant Drive (late contender) looks impressive too, and I cannot think that 4.95 per month for unlimited storage ($99 per year for upto 4 computers) will but anyone off. Again, the two wins here are huge storage (unlimited) and local access from your computer..
More soon!
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