What's the best Online storage solution ?

DillonTheCat

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Hi There,

What has everyone found to be the best way to have documents stored and accessed on-line, and sync'd across multiple machines ?

I have a Mac Pro as my main machine (where the master copies of the documents sit), and also a Macbook. I have a Dell laptop at work, running XP.

I have personal documents that I'd like to be able to access anywhere. Obviously I'm fine at home (just connect the MacBook to the Pro and edit them on there). My problem is when I'm out and about, and also when I want to access them at work on my Dell.

I have been using a USB drive, but that's very messy to keep in sync, and I have briefly tried MobileMe, which seemed nice, but was very expensive.

What does everyone else use ?
 
Chronosync is one of the best but it depends on the degree of syncing you need. MobileMe works well for most.

Alternatives that are free are SugarSync and Dropbox both limited to 2GB free, paid beyond. The latter is fairly simple and akin to sharing everything via your Public folder and the former varies in that you can nominate certain folders to be shared eg. your Documents folder. Both have the advantage that your stuff is in the Cloud so that its accessible from anywhere. HTH
 
Dropbox provides free 2GB accounts. They have clients for both mac and pc (they also have a portable version for usb drives and a web interface)

It creates a folder on your harddrive and automatically keeps files in sync.
 
humyo.com will be releasing the mac client within the next couple of weeks. You get 10GB on there Free account but have free trials on all there others to give it a go.
 
I like and use DriveHQ Online Backup Service.
Reasons:
Integrated with Windows file manager.
Reliable and stable software.(Windows only)
Realtime or scheduled backup.
Backup of files in use.
Backup Folders or individual files.
Retention of file versions as changes are made.
Reasonably priced.
1 Gig free.
The Company is focussed on quality.
I believe their product is underrated. Probably one of the very best services available.
[Mod Comment: Please do not promote your own site]
The service is accessible from a mac of Linux through a web browser.
Can be used from multiple machines.
 
Last edited by a moderator:
Another vote for dropbox, excellent company.
 
+1 for dropbox - Dropbox - Home - Secure backup, sync and sharing made easy.

It's easy to set up, you can share folders with other dropbox users, it works across all operating systems and you can access it from the web as well. It sysncs all the folders and files to each computer you install it on to.

It's got an iPhone/Ipod touch application as well if you've got one of those.
 
i use Dropbox and I love it, it's got to be the easiest way to backup and share files in the cloud.

I also have a SugarSync account for my Wife as it automatically backs up her iPhoto files without her having to do anything, they also provide an iPhone app that allows me to access the files/photos wherever I am.

I use ChronoSync for my local backups, I mirror a pair of 1TB external Hard drives and once the initial scan/copying is complete it's really fast at monitoring changes and also provides an archive folder just in case I delete a file by mistake, this is why I purchased chronoSync instead of just using Disk Utility.

Another great free service is box.net, it's great for embedding loads of photos into an ebay listing ( without having to pay for extra images ) and makes sharing photos with family and friends much easier as the recipient just needs to click a link!
 
How do people get on with actually uploading large files?

We have a family pack of MobileMe used for mail & contacts & keychain synchronisation over desktops. laptops & iPhones. I have tried copying files to iDisk but even with our reasonably fast network connection (1Mbps upstream) it seems to take forever if I copy files to iDisk. Is just MobileMe that's slow? The synchronising probably isn't too bad but how do you upload a few hundred GBs of data?
 
The synchronising probably isn't too bad but how do you upload a few hundred GBs of data?
Slowly!

I use Mozy for an online backup and I've uploaded 200+ GB and it's taken a long time, even over my fibre based 5Mbps upstream!

Just checking my history, the biggest single upload I've done was 178.6GB and that took 99 hours!
 
Large uploads: I think S3 have started a service some 6 months ago where you can mail in a HDD and they'll upload for you then return the HDD. It would be the quickest way to get a large amount of data up quickly. Mozy has had some problems since SL but it seems to be sorted out now.
 
I figured I'd resurrect this one as Mozy have recently changed their terms and removed their unlimited plan!

I just renewed for $103 so I am grandfathered in until Jan 2013, but I just checked and to maintain my current backup (~1TB) when I switch to the capped plan will cost roughly $1000/year!

I read an article about Mozy's change and it's because they're data centre is currently running at 60 petabytes, but still, they've gone from encouraging people to backup everything to forcing people to choose what they should backup, unless of course they are prepared to pay vast sums of money!!!!
 
+1 For Dropbox, use it to sync and share files between my mbp, iPad, ip4 and various windows machines.
 
Another +1 for DropBox. Especially if all you're wanting to do is access and edit your own files. Really easy to set up shared folders on it as well. And as has been said, you only really need to set it up on one machine and then just use the web client from others.
 
If you are ready to have your own domain, web hosting is another solution. You can get 100gb worth of storage for less than £50 a year including the domain name. Don't know if this is any safer than any other online backup, but I would be worried about having my personal data elsewhere.

Also consider a nas box. When you hook that up to your network, you can access it from anywhere with an internet connection.

Graham
 
Dropbox gets a thumbs up from me. It's a life saver for me being a trainee teacher, files that I update on my Windows laptop, iMac or PC at school all stay synced and is so much easier that faffing with USB sticks trying to remember which version was the latest.

The best and most useful program I've found in years... and it's free too!
 

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