The CLOUD!

[rg200amp]

Google has finally launched it's Google Drive to the mass market.

Apple has iCloud.

Microsoft has Skydrive.

We have DropBox and countless others out there. . . .

Have you tried any? Whats your poison?

After giving up on iCloud (hopefully Mt. lion will make it more user friendly) and dropping DropBox,I have settled, for now, on Microsoft's SkyDrive.

It is VERY easy to use and they have the iOS apps up and running which is great.


The prices have dropped BIG TIME and they are going to continue. If you have not checked out off site storage, give it a look now. It's never been easier.

 

[SuperDave456]

The idea and lingo behind "Cloud" is mainly marketing.
There are different types of clouds. Effectively it is "The Internet", but you get down into distributed processing and distributed storage.

The REAL question that has to be asked is 2 fold.

1. What happens to all of YOUR data if one of these companies goes belly up? Do they sell it to the highest bidder? Are they allowed to rewrite their contracts to make it more profitable through chapter 11 and sell your information?

2. What happens to all my Mother's and Father's assets once they pass away? All their intellectual property is PROPERTY, so it too should be split amongst their heirs. So all the e-books, all the white papers, PDF's etc. are part of his estate.

Ahh... the legal battles that have not been fought yet!

 

[rg200amp]

Originally Posted By: SuperDave456
The idea and lingo behind "Cloud" is mainly marketing.
There are different types of clouds. Effectively it is "The Internet", but you get down into distributed processing and distributed storage.

The REAL question that has to be asked is 2 fold.

1. What happens to all of YOUR data if one of these companies goes belly up? Do they sell it to the highest bidder? Are they allowed to rewrite their contracts to make it more profitable through chapter 11 and sell your information?

2. What happens to all my Mother's and Father's assets once they pass away? All their intellectual property is PROPERTY, so it too should be split amongst their heirs. So all the e-books, all the white papers, PDF's etc. are part of his estate.

Ahh... the legal battles that have not been fought yet!


Well, those are questions some would want to ask.

But, as I have stated in other posts, IMHO the whole "cloud" concept is not a replacement but a back up.

It is easy to access files anywhere with internet, and it is a nice, off location back up for your files.

But you should always have atleast two copies of your data on location if you care about it. Depending the value of the data, more may be desired.

 

[uc50ic4more]

I use Ubuntu One and Dropbox; and will probably use Google Drive a lot once they release their Linux client.

The privacy agreements for these services is downright scary, though. Although I don't use them in this way (I use these services conventionally, uploading "native" files and working with these files from the U1 or Dropbox folders like any other folder and letting the sync daemons do their business), it is probably best to encrypt everything (ie. a TrueCrypt container, etc.) before uploading it.

 

[ahoier]

Well, being a fan of Gmail, I guess I've used "The Cloud" to an extent.....for the longest time I was also using ImageShack......but they seem to have changed their agreements now.....it's no longer "free" - you can only hold up to 1000 pics or something......for $2 a month.....I was paying for it.....but figured I may just go with Google Picasa for managing my image backups.....rather than ImageShack....sure Google is a little higher priced (20$ a year I think.....) but they are a bigger name....hehe.

 

[Nick R]

My biggest problem is that that cloud storage isn't big enough for me (Several Terabytes of stuff) and that it would take years to upload it with my 2mb up connection.

 

[AccordV6MN]

And, one must take into account that all these cloud services will be and can be targeted by hackers. Be careful with personal data, say, your tax filing back up.

The more people have their data in the cloud, the more enticing for hacker to poke around in the cloud and the less likely the hackers try to hack your personal PC.

 

[rg200amp]

Originally Posted By: Nick R
My biggest problem is that that cloud storage isn't big enough for me (Several Terabytes of stuff) and that it would take years to upload it with my 2mb up connection.


Google is offering upto 16 TB.

At today's consumer upload speeds though, your right, it's like filling a pool with a garden hose.

Takes some TIMEEEEEEE. lol

 

[NJC]

I also use Ubuntu One, and have found their ability to publish data (make a public link) quite handy. I don't use it to backup data online, but rather share with others. Yousendit used to be useful, but removed their free service file limitation from 100MB to 50MB so I no longer use it.

 

[thelazyhero]

I honestly run my own server from the house. Just a decently sized NAS that is hooked up to the network that can be accessed via the internet.

The problem with Cloud is as someone already stated. You're giving another company access to your personal files which somewhat becomes part of their "property." Just sketchy for me to feel comfortable with. Its already getting bad trying to keep your personal data off the internet without everyone knowing what you're looking at.

 

[ToyotaNSaturn]

I like the ease of use of Dropbox, but overall I like Skydrive best. Integrated Office online enables you to work on the documents in the web browser, better than Google docs IMO.

And One Note is a nice app too. Integrates nicely with the free hotmail/live addresses, iPhone app works great.

All for free!

I do like the idea of a completely private cloud, keeps security concerns to a minimum. I feel the MS has the most to lose from privacy breaches & terrible TOS EULA's so I'm sticking with them for the time being.

 

[simple_gifts]

I use Ubuntu One, 5gb free. I drop non identifiable data in there I don't want to hunt around for again. Exploded view of rear drums on a 2002 Tundra, manual for my oil furnace for example.

 

[SrDriver]

Having an off site backup is a good idea.

Having a local server, backup is great too until the building burns up some night or you get a hit from a Hurricane, Tornado, etc., and all is lost.

Several years ago we were in that situation and had an off site backup which saved us.

I am now retired but keep some important stuff on Skydrive and burned DVDs of pictures, etc., and keep them in the safety deposit box at the bank.

Do regular backups too to an external hard drive at home.

It is not a question of if but when.

 

[rg200amp]

Originally Posted By: SrDriver
Having an off site backup is a good idea.

Having a local server, backup is great too until the building burns up some night or you get a hit from a Hurricane, Tornado, etc., and all is lost.

Several years ago we were in that situation and had an off site backup which saved us.

I am now retired but keep some important stuff on Skydrive and burned DVDs of pictures, etc., and keep them in the safety deposit box at the bank.

Do regular backups too to an external hard drive at home.

It is not a question of if but when.


+1

I only shoot 4gb cards on my Nikon's (besides not having all your eggs in on basket) so I can easily back up an entire card to one DVD so I have a quick and cheap 1st back up.

 

[donz26]

No "cloud" for me. I'm not giving a company access to my personal files. Google is already intrusive enough as it is.

 

[buickman50401]

Originally Posted By: donz26
No "cloud" for me. I'm not giving a company access to my personal files. Google is already intrusive enough as it is.

Same here. Unless its some sort of technical document I want to be able to access from different locations like a PDF manuals for different models of routers or motherboard diagrams.

Even then, I have a local copy stored on my A500 tablet which I usually have with me.

 

[demarpaint]

Originally Posted By: donz26
No "cloud" for me. I'm not giving a company access to my personal files. Google is already intrusive enough as it is.


Same here!