Mirror

Free cloud storage in the sky

In the coming weeks, Google Docs users will be able to store more of their important files online, where they can access them easily and share them with others.

Users will be able to upload a file as large as 250MB to Google Docs. They’ll also get 1GB of free storage for files that aren’t in one of the Google Docs formats, such as documents, spreadsheets, and presentations. Additional storage will cost 25 cents per GB per year. Quite an attractive offer isn’t it ?

The cloud-storage feature is certainly good news for Google Docs fans, but it’s not the only free service in the sky. Here are four alternatives worth a closer look.

Dropbox

Dropbox offers 2GB of free online storage. Other options include 50GB for $9.99 per month, or 100GB for $19.99 per month. When put your files in a Dropbox folder in one computer, they’re uploaded to the site’s secure servers. Google Docs has a 250MB file size limit, but Dropbox has no such limitation. You can access your files from other computers (Windows, Mac, or Linux) or mobile devices that run Dropbox too.

Box.Net

Targeted at the corporate crowd, Box.Net is a little less generous in the storage department. The site’s free option provides 1GB of online storage with a 25MB file-size limit. For $10 per month, you get 5GB of storage and a 1GB file size limit. The $15 per month plan includes 10GB of storage, with the same 1-gig file cutoff. Pricier plans for enterprise customers (with unlimited storage) are available too.

Microsoft Live Mesh

Live Mesh is another cloud service that lets you sync files across multiple computers (Windows and Mac), smartphones, and other mobile devices. You get 5GB of free storage, but Live Mesh won’t share or sync files and folders stored on removable media, including USB, flash, or external hard drives. Live Mesh offers a lot of synchronization options, and supports remote control of any PC in your mesh.

Windows Live SkyDrive

Microsoft’s SkyDrive may lack the sophisticated sync-and-share features of its Live Mesh sibling, but it compensates for it by offering a whopping 25GB of free online storage. SkyDrive supports public, private, and shared folders. Until recently, SkyDrive didn’t integrate well with other Microsoft apps, but that’s changing. For instance, the new Office 2010 beta lets you save a document on your PC directly to your SkyDrive online account.

Will Google Docs, or the long-rumored but unannounced Google Gdrive online storage service, someday match or surpass SkyDrive’s generous 25-gig offering? Clearly lot is happening in this space. There is fierce competition and as we all know that brings about the best of each of these vendor. Exciting times !

Top to the page  |  E-mail  |  views[1]
SocialTwist Tell-a-Friend
 
Other Magazine Articles
Rassagala: Scenic beauty that prompted a hike
Making waves in the ocean
The songs they sang
It’s showtime with the Revelations Academy
Shadow puppetry across three continents
Spice up your plants
magazine -- Cover of the week
Mirror Magazine Articles
Debate and dialogue
Inspiring to achieve
Setting the stage stable
The journey of growing old
Book wire
Boogie down to the flashback sounds
Free cloud storage in the sky
Under the Sea
Things I wish I knew back then
In a different league
Night of a thousand stars
‘Strange Tales’ at the Punchi Theatre
TV Times Articles
Bonjour Cinema at BCIS
A real woman and a real triumph
Wing with King Khan
A Hunt for a husband
Teacher-pupil brings Kathak dance
‘Gladiator Premaya’ at Punchi Theatre
Taste of India at Amrith
‘Elephant Reach’ celebrates four years of success
Go Indian at Galadari
New Website for Harpo’s Café & Restaurants
Soul Funk Sunday @ Park Sreet Mews
Jazz at Dusk at Cinnamon Lakeside

 

 
Reproduction of articles permitted when used without any alterations to contents and a link to the source page.
© Copyright 2010 | Wijeya Newspapers Ltd.Colombo. Sri Lanka. All Rights Reserved.| Site best viewed in IE ver 6.0 @ 1024 x 768 resolution