Cloud Storage Services. Keep In Mind

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1 Cloud Storage Services The term the cloud is a buzzword thrown around by many, as something new and wonderful, but is never fully explained. As far as any explanation goes, it s usually no more than a vague storage somewhere on the internet. Using cloud storage can address some of the issues of student collaboration on group projects, homework document access anytime/anywhere, and file sharing for editing and additions. This alleviates the need to actually anyone and bypasses limits on file size. Files stored in the cloud negate issues with lost or stolen flash drives since nothing is physical. Anything shared by a student with other students in a group solves the problem of absences. Also, files stored online don t get erased if a computer crashes at home or at college. Cloud storage isn t a single entity. Each time cloud storage is bantered about it is truly only referring to a company s Internet storage capabilities. Those capabilities offered can vary drastically. The honest bottom line, as far as which service is best, boils down to personal preference as relatively few people are ever going to fill up their selected storage. Keep In Mind There are several things that everyone should keep in mind as they look into these sites on their own: Storage How much initial space is offered? 5GB is the most common storage size. 1000MB = 1GB. 1GB = 250 songs (on average). Are there free upgrades to the space, and if so, is it easy to do so? Many sites only offer upgrades if you lure a friend into using the service and if the friend signs up for it. Ease of signing up / logging in Is it easy to spot where to sign up on the site? Products being featured should always be easy to identify. Is the free option easy to spot and pick? Some sites attempt to sign you up for a paid plan unless you specifically designate otherwise. Can you finish the signup process without being forced or coerced into downloading software? Typically, the user never should need to proceed to do any installation of software in order to use the service. Is the web site easy to remember in that the site name matches the name of the storage service? Some companies are based outside of the US and so the.com is not 1

2 used. Also, a few require the user to enter something besides www in the address in order to correctly navigate to their service. Ease of use Is the navigation of the features self- evident? How easy is it to share content with others? How easy is it to upload content? Are there additional features above and beyond simple online storage and sharing? The List There are in fact dozens of companies that offer Internet cloud storage. Many of these companies offer significant free storage space. Here is a curated list that might be worth your attention; Dropbox, Box, Google Drive, Microsoft s SkyDrive, and Yandex s Disk. Dropbox ( Dropbox averages out to be one of the one of the most limited online storage services. In and of itself it s not a bad service but rather is limited in comparison to other companies. Though it is one of the most popular and used extensively by students and educators. Storage: Initially only 2GB of storage is available to the user. This is lower than most every other storage company. The user can get an additional 250MB of space by following tutorials on how to use it and up to 500 MB by connecting the account with various social media. Ease of signing up/logging in: The signup process is very straightforward and easy to follow. The major problem with the process though is that the website automatically forces the download of its desktop app and attempts to trick the user into thinking that it is mandatory to proceed with the signup process. Ease of use: The interface is very simple to use and all options are laid out clearly for the user. Files can be previewed without needing to download them first. The user can share a file via link or . A file or folder of files can be set to be edited by others as well. The tutorials that reward the user cover all the basics of how to use its service. Box ( Box appears to be the best basic online storage option for personal use. It was the simplest to use and there are options to add additional functionalities like editing documents. The user has free reign to pick and choose which options to add. The huge drawback to using the site is a relatively small 2

3 size limit on files that are uploaded. This regulates Box as a fantastic personal solution for online storage, but not one someone should use if they need to collaborate on large presentations. Storage: 5GB is free to the user. There are no free options to increase the storage size. Ease of signing up/logging in: Box has one of the most straightforward sign up processes and clearly lays out comparisons to all its plans side by side. The user is free to pick the free plan without coercion to sign up for a paid plan. They do require the user to enter a phone number and confirm registration via , but there is no verification that the number must be valid. Ease of use: Once the user logs in for the first time the user is greeted by an introductory video. The interface is once of the most straight forward around and even lets the user know how much space has been used already in its main interface screen without needing to hunt for it. Files can be previewed on site, commented upon, and given tags. Files can be shared via link and and be optionally set to be edited by others. The capabilities of the service are enhanced by using add- on apps such as being able to edit files directly using the Google Doc add- on. Google Drive (drive.google.com) Although Box is a great solution to basic online storage needs, Google Drive, formerly Google Docs, is hands down the best storage solution overall. It s an all- in- one package and a solution to online needs with its integration with the rest of Google s services. Storage: 5GB is free to the user. There are no free options to increase the storage size. Ease of signing up/logging in: A user doesn t sign up for Google Drive per se, but signs up for a Google account in general. The process is straightforward but has the most security verification of any service. The user must complete a captcha, the box where the user must decipher the scribbly script and type it in to prove that you are a human, and provide a valid phone number that Google will text or call in order to finish the signup process. This makes signing up the most labor intensive of any service but it is not confusing at any point what the user must do. Ease of use: To the naked eye Google Drive appears to be the least easy to use out of online storage services. This is in part due to its use of icons instead of menu names. Drive definitely requires a little exploration on the part of the user to discover all of its capabilities. Drive has the widest offering of capabilities of any company by far: color code folders, convert documents into a Google file format, edit documents directly on the site, and create a brand new document directly on the site as well. Files and whole folders can be shared via link, , Google+, Facebook, and Twitter. Shared files can be 3

4 set to be viewed only, viewed and commented on, or edited. The fantastic thing about Google Docs on Drive is that it allows for online simultaneous collaboration by multiple users. Microsoft SkyDrive (skydrive.live.com) Trying not to be outdone by Google, Microsoft offers its own all- in- one storage solution as well. Extremely versatile, SkyDrive offers a wide range of services but falls a little short compared to the vast amount of Internet options that Google offers as a whole to users. Storage: 7GB is free to the user. There are no free options to increase the storage size. Ease of signing up/logging in: Although remembering the official site address for SkyDrive is a bit of a hassle, Microsoft has made things easy by letting a user enter to get to its service. Once there, the user creates a general Windows account as opposed to one specifically for SkyDrive. This account can be used across all off Microsoft s services. The signup process is almost as stringent as Google and requires either a phone number or security questions to be created. The phone number will not be contacted, but must be a valid one. Ease of use: SkyDrive's layout is very simple and is easy to use. All in depth features are located in drop down menus that are readily identifiable by the user. Clicking on any file or folder shows a pop- up of detailed information including its sharing status. In addition to basic storage, SkyDrive offers integration with , a calendar, and instant messaging. In addition, users can create Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and OneNote files. Files can be shared via link, , and Facebook. Yandex Disk (disk.yandex.com) If you ve never heard of Yandex you re not alone. Yandex is a Russian company similar to Google in that it is a search engine site that also has and storage services. The and storage are combined into one account when the user signs up. Storage: 3GB is free to the user initially. Although the storage is the second to Dropbox in lowest amount of storage space, it is much easier increase the space to a total of 10GB within a few minutes. Ease of signing up/logging in: Like Google, the service name prefaces the rest of the site name when navigating to the web service. The signup is straight forward, but does not indicate which items are optional and which are mandatory. The user must create a security question and solve a captcha. Since the storage is integrated with Yandex s service the user can get to Disk by going to mail.yandex.com as well. 4

5 Ease of use: Only a tab at the top of the page separates Yandex s Disk and service so the Disk menus are laid out similarly to its services. An icon on top of the file or folder indicates any item that is shared. Clicking on any file displays a pop- up showing general information about that file and also contains a toggle to make it shared or private. Files can be shared via link, , Facebook, Google+, Twitter, and FriendFeed. The user cannot create any files, but Yandex s side- by- side and storage is convenient for anyone who doesn t want to go to different individual websites to manage these. Regardless of what service you choose there is really no reason to pay for any of a site s advertised additional storage. If all the free space is used up just find another site, sign up, and continue to store files on the Internet. 5