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10/01/2010 01:59:13 PM · #1 |
I recently upgraded to a 50 gig Dropbox account. I started by just keeping files I wanted to share on there... some photos, some personal documents, etc. Then I was looking for a new place to store my music & videos so that a) I could access them from more than one computer & b) to save space on my laptop.
So, I moved all of my music to my music folder in my dropbox account (also stored on an external drive) and everything seemed to be working fine. However, after a few weeks I was looking at my C drive & realized that it was nearly full and that the dropbox files were on both my hard drive & online (and I guess on the hard drive of the other computers I sync with!).
I really like the idea of online storage, especially when I can access & even edit some files on my iphone & ipad. BUT, I really need to free up my laptop, without having to lug around a bunch of external drives.
Any suggestions??? |
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10/01/2010 02:03:23 PM · #2 |
| I also use Dropbox, and I am very pleased with them. But to be sure, I have no idea WHO can guarantee your data, maybe you should use two online storage facilities. I do think, however the new smaller usb hard drives are worth investing in. |
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10/01/2010 02:24:06 PM · #3 |
| I use Dropbox and really like it. Image files are accessible from wifi anywhere and any device. It works well. I use it for a rifle shot approach. For the shotgun approach.... and auto backup of files "in the clouds", I really like Carbonite. The constraint to backup of hundreds of gigabytes of data is the upload speed of most high speed ISPs. |
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10/01/2010 03:03:59 PM · #4 |
Originally posted by hahn23:
I use Dropbox and really like it. Image files are accessible from wifi anywhere and any device. It works well. I use it for a rifle shot approach. For the shotgun approach.... and auto backup of files "in the clouds", I really like Carbonite. The constraint to backup of hundreds of gigabytes of data is the upload speed of most high speed ISPs. |
I used to use Carbonite but then I moved all of my photos to an external drive... I had to move to Mozy since Carbonite doesn't do external.
Having said that, I am looking for a storage place as the primary location for my music files, not as a backup. I want them in two places, on my external drive that I store in my cabinet when I'm not backing up, and online for me to access on a daily basis.
I thought Dropbox was that, but instead it just mirrors my hard drive files. I mean, I really like the service a lot, but for my music I don't want the files ALSO on my hard drive. Does that make sense? |
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10/01/2010 03:12:05 PM · #5 |
Originally posted by Tammster:
So, I moved all of my music to my music folder in my dropbox account (also stored on an external drive) and everything seemed to be working fine. However, after a few weeks I was looking at my C drive & realized that it was nearly full and that the dropbox files were on both my hard drive & online (and I guess on the hard drive of the other computers I sync with!).
I really like the idea of online storage, especially when I can access & even edit some files on my iphone & ipad. BUT, I really need to free up my laptop, without having to lug around a bunch of external drives.
Any suggestions??? |
I'm not trusting anything to "the cloud" I don't also have locally -- it'll only take one time of needing something and
1. not able to access the internet
2. their server's down
3. download takes forever
4. download is interrupted
5. downloaded file is corrupt
for it to be a "disappointing experience."
For stuff like music files I'd just copy them to DVDs -- you should be able to carry around most of what you really need to readily access in your laptop bag.
ETA: If you just want online backup, I'd suggest just looking for an ordinary hosting service and use FTP to upload/download the files you want -- I don't like all those automated programs anyway. You may or may not need to register a domain name (probably only if you want to direct others there), but that's pretty cheap these days.
Message edited by author 2010-10-01 15:15:31. |
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10/01/2010 04:16:24 PM · #6 |
Originally posted by GeneralE:
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I'm not trusting anything to "the cloud" I don't also have locally ... |
It takes a slap against the side of the head to see one's vulnerability to losing all local files. I've done a great job of backing up redundantly on internal and external multi-TB drives. I use Apple's Time Machine and Apple's Aperture Vault system. If a drive fails... no problem. I've got a backup on two other drives. And, I went so far as to take one external drive to my store/gallery... away from home base. I slept well at night until the Four-mile Canyon Wildfire hit NW of Boulder, CO. The wildfire was moving fairly quickly in my direction at one point. The day our visibility fell to 100' from the smoke got my attention. Although the wildfire was 18 miles away, it could have been a disaster for my community, too. A wildfire (or flood, or tornado, or hurricane, or 'name your disaster') can negate the best backup plans. Sure, I could have tried to grab computers and drives and carry them to safety. But, in the case of the Boulder wildfire on Labor Day, many homeowners were blocked from accessing their homes by well-intentioned firefighting teams. It never occurred to me I could lose all my backup files in a worse case scenario. But, it could happen.
Insurance would replace the hardware, but I'd be very sad to lose the archived image files and documents which represent my livelihood. Backing things up to "cloud computing" storage makes a lot of sense to me. I do appreciate the automated feature of Carbonite. It interjects the discipline I need to make sure the cloud backup job gets done. |
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10/01/2010 04:54:21 PM · #7 |
Originally posted by GeneralE:
... I'm not trusting anything to "the cloud" I don't also have locally ... |
I do have everything locally on an external drive, which I keep updated (I don't download music too often). But I like to keep that in a drawer somewhere and not attached to my laptop with everything else.
I think two places (actually four since my music is all also on my iphone & my new nano) is pretty safe. I just want one of those places to be online instead of my hard drive... |
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