Personal data storage and "clouds"

[Nexutix]

I have seen many services which offer vast range of online Data backup, cloud storage, autosync. Dropbox, sugarsync, Box, Livedrive, Skydrive are to name few. I have also seen some personal cloud creating programs like Cloud Foundry, Eucalyptus, OpenStack etc.

So I (as well as many others on mobileread) have at least 3 options now to access my huge book library on-the-go:

1. Make account for one of these services. (Like dropbox upgrade)

But I am afraid because:

I've seen lots of cloud-storage companies come and go, so there's always a risk that <specific cloud service> will up and vanish.

[SOURCE]

2. I can start my own personal cloud and keep the server running 24/7. (Efficient Example)

But what if my home network gets offline?

3. I can carry an extra storage drive (Like this) in my bag and access content on mobile/iPad over wifi.

But you won't carry your bag everywhere, will you?

What do you prefer? What are other alternatives? What are your genius ideas?

[abookreader]

I'm on Dropbox for our eBook library and really have no reason to change off of that because it works so well with Calibre. With referrals, I've built up about 14GB of free space so far and have more than enough room. My sons are using the Dropbox accounts for their course lwork also.

Over the past 7 months or so I've been slowly organizing our music library, which is in bits and pieces on 3 different iTunes accounts, plus CDs, plus what we've bought from Amazon or wherever, onto a 2TB external drive and then uploading to the Amazon Cloud. It is very slow work though as I often have to convert to MP3 and then fix all the metadata and then upload it.

Eventually I'd like to just network that external disk to new router and let everybody pull the music either from there or from a Cloud. I haven't had time yet to check out iCloud, but we've lost so many iTunes libraries on crashed computers over the years it isn't even funny. It is really nice to have access to all our purchased songs for re-download now. I bet that when I start combing through the iCloud-s I'm going to find a bunch of songs we own that we don't have on any computer here.

[jersysman]

Right now I would have voted for none. I just have no trust of putting my files anywhere that may not be there tomorrow. I'm pretty much set in my ways and just prefer to have my backups where I can touch or see them. This poll really needed a None option as well.

[ghostyjack]

I'm a big SugarSync fan and find it pretty easy to use.

It has a starting amount of 5GB, so initially it has an advantage over Dropbox (can be made up by referrals, but that takes time). I'm now up to 8.5GB with referrals.

I'm slowly moving all my books into SugarSync as I prefer to have them in a readable state first (my library has a huge number of different formats that need converting and tidying up).

I'm also tempted to purchase some online storage, but 100GB or so is not sufficient and I would Ideally like to have around 1TB available. I unfortunatly don't know any one that supplies that amount for a reasonable price.

[Nexutix]

Originally Posted by jersysman

I just have no trust of putting my files anywhere that may not be there tomorrow.

Exactly. Here they are with attractive plans and cheapest prices with best flexibility. But who knows when they go out of business/sold/otherwise closed?

Originally Posted by ghostyjack

I'm also tempted to purchase some online storage, but 100GB or so is not sufficient and I would Ideally like to have around 1TB available.

Uploading libraries upto 100GB takes aenos even on 16MBPS.

Originally Posted by ghostyjack

I unfortunatly don't know any one that supplies that amount for a reasonable price.

There are (like Backify), but how do I trust them?

[abookreader]

Originally Posted by jersysman

Right now I would have voted for none. I just have no trust of putting my files anywhere that may not be there tomorrow. I'm pretty much set in my ways and just prefer to have my backups where I can touch or see them. This poll really needed a None option as well.

I do wonder how long Dropbox will be able to remain viable being a primarily free service. I expect that someday we'll all get notices about their "reasonable" annual fees. But as long as Dropbox isn't the only place I have my files, I don't worry about it. I feel comfortable having my files in more than one location - especially considering the risk of something such as a house fire or disaster destroying all local copies. Redundancy.

[DiapDealer]

I consider Dropbox, Sugarsync, and the like to be "sync services." Yes, your data are backed up to a "cloud" but you're still using a local copy of the files with all of your various programs.

I consider true "Cloud Services" to be programs that can utilize data straight out of the cloud without having to sync a local copy on your device at all.

I use Dropbox a lot... but only because I want to have the same version of some important files to be available (locally) to several different computers in several locations. The cloud backup is a nice benefit, but it's not anything I really "use." I'll use them for convenience, but I'll never trust one exclusively for backup purposes... no way. Also, the amount of data that I would ever need access to from anywhere is infinitesimal. Waaaaay less than 1 Gb—and I prune it constantly.

So my "solution" has been to rid myself of the delusion that there are data important enough for me to need to be in constant contact with it (I'm speaking personally... not from a business POV) .

But in general, I believe that sync, backup, and cloud services are all contributing toward reducing the internet to nothing more than the world's most inefficient switch for the worlds slowest Storage Area Network. Privacy issues not withstanding.

[TFeldt]

Originally Posted by DiapDealer

But in general, I believe that sync, backup, and cloud services are all contributing toward reducing the internet to nothing more than the world's most inefficient switch for the worlds slowest Storage Area Network.

This is pretty much my view on the matter as well. There is one single major benefit to using these syncing services; automatic and fully transparent off-site backup.

I use a 100gb dropbox account for this specific reason, immediate replication of files I drop in it to not just my own backup-server (which runs dropbox) and other workstations but also to the amazon storage which dropbox uses.

Tend to use "the cloud" mostly for vps spawning on demand. Also got a vpn to ensure access to my home+work networks when I need them.

[GeoffC]

Originally Posted by jersysman

Right now I would have voted for none. I just have no trust of putting my files anywhere that may not be there tomorrow. I'm pretty much set in my ways and just prefer to have my backups where I can touch or see them. This poll really needed a None option as well.

[booklover6]

I use Carbonite online backup on my main desktop computer. Its old, has all my files, would rather not lose them. Even though I periodically backup on to an external hard drive, I don't do it often enough. With Carbonite I can go to any of my other computers and log in and search and download to another computer.

[Rich_D]

Originally Posted by jersysman

Right now I would have voted for none. I just have no trust of putting my files anywhere that may not be there tomorrow. I'm pretty much set in my ways and just prefer to have my backups where I can touch or see them. This poll really needed a None option as well.

I would never recommend a cloud service as your only back up, but the free services like Drop-box are a great back up to my back up and do allow me to access things when I am far from home.

[ekster]

I wouldn't depend only on an online backup service... but I do use the Sugarsync as one of my backups. It's handy and easy access.

Of course, I also back everything on an external drive to be safe.

[Tattncat]

I use dropbox as a holding tank for picture/data I want to move from/to other devices and I use a portable drive for auxilliary storage.

[booklover6]

I never even heard of Sugarsync. Going to look it up now.

[CyGuy]

I keep all of my content and data on SDHC cards. This makes it super easy to view/consume content on any device. I can swap the cards around between my tablet, ebook reader, computer, etc. They are inexpensive, high capacity, and small. I can't imagine why I would ever cloud anything...