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12/16/2011 06:58:18 AM · #1 |
With broadband speeds being pretty good, online storage cheap, and loads of companies out there offering 'seamless' online backup apps, is anyone using online as their main/sole storage medium for photos and videos?
Rather than worrying about disk space and backups and external drives, just store everything in something like dropbox. It's encrypted, and they look after the backups 'professionally' - So you don't have time machine nagging you that it hasn't backed-up for 224 days... :)
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12/16/2011 09:32:17 AM · #2 |
Online storage for serious stuff is still.. well... I have several words but none of them good.
Most peoples UPLOAD speed is poor even those on "highspeed" or "broadband" (90% plus are on async speeds where down is faster then up). Compared to what that fiber in my garage COULD deliver I am serious throtteled at 25Mbit down and 7MBit up and I am on the fastest I can get here (even then a lot of the time that is false advertising and it's slower).
I use it for some critical files.... It took several months to even get a few hundred Gb uploaded.... hardly useful for everyday use. My backup is :-
* Internal and eSATA driver array.
* RAID5 NAS boxes in different parts of the house.
* Sporadic offsite copies on bare drives.
* Online storage for finance type file (encrypted before they see it) and images marked with some stars (which are kicked out as DNG files to a location the online back client can touch.
Not the best in the world... but okay. |
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12/16/2011 09:43:24 AM · #3 |
agree with  robs. my 8TB Raid5 is my primary. other external HDs off-site. gave up on maintaining dvds and cds as too time-consuming and most likely to become outmoded.
i don't think i could ever trust the cloud that much, especially with the size of my archives :) |
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12/16/2011 09:48:26 AM · #4 |
| I have multiple on-site and off-site backups including a huge 17TB storage array at my disposal. I do also use and recommend a Dropbox like utility. Not only are all of my sensitive files synced on every computer I use, my files (and their revisions) are stored on dropbox's servers in case I cant access my local machine. |
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12/16/2011 10:42:58 AM · #5 |
I'm trending towards complete cloud storage. Dropbox is very good. Carbonite is okay, but somewhat suspect. iCloud has potential. I am lucky to have a relatively fast Internet connection with 1 M upload and 11 M download. The iPhone apps are getting much better. I can access files from anywhere from the clouds (as long as I have an Internet connection). Of course, the key limiting factor is the Internet availability itself.
So, the switch for me is that I consider my cloud storage as my primary, with my physical hard drives as redundant backups to the cloud storage. |
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12/16/2011 11:28:52 AM · #6 |
I have drop box, and iCloud. Both work well. They are convenient beyond words for synchronizing my files between computers. That being said, I would never, ever, store critical confidential files on any such service.
I realize that my computer can be hacked. However a file storage service is a much more lucrative target, with all those files in one nice spot.
For routine stuff, I do use the net for storage. For very personal or financial info, I am very careful where it goes.
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12/16/2011 04:32:16 PM · #7 |
I find it extremely interesting how little resistance is being shown to this undo-ing of the whole purpose of the personal computer revolution, namely to be able to use a computer and store data without depending on the whim and will of huge private corporations or the government for access to mainframes under their control.
Even without considering the privacy implications, if AT&T or the Feds or whoever said "Nope -- you can't access your photos anymore," what could you really do about it ...
I have my prints "stored" at online printing sites, but other than that I'm still keeping my data on hard drives and optical media backups. |
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12/16/2011 05:06:27 PM · #8 |
Originally posted by GeneralE:
I find it extremely interesting how little resistance is being shown to this undo-ing of the whole purpose of the personal computer revolution, namely to be able to use a computer and store data without depending on the whim and will of huge private corporations or the government for access to mainframes under their control.
Even without considering the privacy implications, if AT&T or the Feds or whoever said "Nope -- you can't access your photos anymore," what could you really do about it ...
I have my prints "stored" at online printing sites, but other than that I'm still keeping my data on hard drives and optical media backups. |
A big +1 on this thought. The cloud is a great way to have an off-site backup, if you can satisfy yourself that your data is private. It also can provide an easy, flexible way to access your data from anywhere. It should be viewed as a belt and suspenders to good data management, not as a way to offload responsibility for data management.
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12/16/2011 06:00:02 PM · #9 |
Originally posted by GeneralE:
I find it extremely interesting how little resistance is being shown to this undo-ing of the whole purpose of the personal computer revolution, namely to be able to use a computer and store data without depending on the whim and will of huge private corporations or the government for access to mainframes under their control. |
Not sure what you men but all my stuff IS local at least. Anything on the cloud that I want protected is encrypted BEFORE the cloud sees it... so while they also encrypt they cannot read the source files :-)
As for the rest... yeah as a computer programmer I so of agree. People have little idea what is really available on them in various places. The thing I find sad is that the main 3 credit "reporting" companies are the biggest problem and yet they sell themselves as "protecting" if you buy a monitor service..... In my work life I see what they will sell companies.... it ain't pretty :-/ |
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12/16/2011 06:12:54 PM · #10 |
Originally posted by GeneralE:
Even without considering the privacy implications, if AT&T or the Feds or whoever said "Nope -- you can't access your photos anymore," what could you really do about it ... |
Two points here; privacy and losing access to your data.
The cloud companies go to great pains to ensure your data is secure and backed-up. Look at how much money Sony lost when their gaming network was hacked. A smaller company like dropbox can't afford to slip-up like that. All it takes is one mistake, word-of-mouth, and they're out of business.
For this reason I think that dropbox et. al are more concerned about keeping users data private, secured, and backed-up than the users themselves.
With local storage you're susceptible to physical theft, hardware failure, viruses/malware or disaster (fire, flooding) As well as remembering to do regular backups and upgrading storage as required - Exactly the sorts of scenarios cloud storage companies specialise in, and spend all their time and resources working on. It's not perfect yet, but they are learning because they know once they've established user trust and confidence, they need to keep it.
Not to mention the convenience factor. When broadband and 4G achieve speeds and coverage where it becomes almost transparent then the convenience of cloud storage starts to become a big selling point (accessing your data from anywhere on any device)
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12/16/2011 07:35:51 PM · #11 |
Originally posted by JH:
The cloud companies go to great pains to ensure your data is secure and backed-up. Look at how much money Sony lost when their gaming network was hacked. A smaller company like dropbox can't afford to slip-up like that. All it takes is one mistake, word-of-mouth, and they're out of business.
For this reason I think that dropbox et. al are more concerned about keeping users data private, secured, and backed-up than the users themselves. |
Yep, I agree. But part of the risk is, what happens if your data storage provider does go under?
Originally posted by JH:
With local storage you're susceptible to physical theft, hardware failure, viruses/malware or disaster (fire, flooding) As well as remembering to do regular backups and upgrading storage as required - Exactly the sorts of scenarios cloud storage companies specialise in, and spend all their time and resources working on. It's not perfect yet, but they are learning because they know once they've established user trust and confidence, they need to keep it.
Not to mention the convenience factor. When broadband and 4G achieve speeds and coverage where it becomes almost transparent then the convenience of cloud storage starts to become a big selling point (accessing your data from anywhere on any device) |
Cloud storage is definitely a great convenience when you need that file and you are not at home. It's not as convenient as it will be once upload speeds get to reasonable levels. It's also a great belt and suspenders, but it is not, and never should be a substitute for good data management practices at home.
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12/16/2011 08:13:38 PM · #12 |
Originally posted by kirbic:
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Cloud storage is definitely a great convenience when you need that file and you are not at home. It's not as convenient as it will be once upload speeds get to reasonable levels. It's also a great belt and suspenders, but it is not, and never should be a substitute for good data management practices at home. |
Agreed. But, in my limited experience (I'll be 60 next month!), I've experienced a few hard disk drive complete failures and zero collapse of the clouds. |
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12/16/2011 08:20:43 PM · #13 |
Originally posted by hahn23:
Originally posted by kirbic:
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Cloud storage is definitely a great convenience when you need that file and you are not at home. It's not as convenient as it will be once upload speeds get to reasonable levels. It's also a great belt and suspenders, but it is not, and never should be a substitute for good data management practices at home. |
Agreed. But, in my limited experience (I'll be 60 next month!), I've experienced a few hard disk drive complete failures and zero collapse of the clouds. |
60??!! Dang, you are an old fart ;-) I'm not far behind you, LOL. Yep, I had two HDD failures within three months last year :-P
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12/16/2011 08:25:16 PM · #14 |
Originally posted by hahn23:
Originally posted by kirbic:
...
Cloud storage is definitely a great convenience when you need that file and you are not at home. It's not as convenient as it will be once upload speeds get to reasonable levels. It's also a great belt and suspenders, but it is not, and never should be a substitute for good data management practices at home. |
Agreed. But, in my limited experience (I'll be 60 next month!), I've experienced a few hard disk drive complete failures and zero collapse of the clouds. |
I'm not so concerned with hardware failure as I am with the loss of control over access. Your data in "the cloud" can only be accessed if the data-storage company, your ISP, and the government all agree to allow you access, and that can be lost at any time due to anything from a failure to pay your bill to the FBI/NSA seizing your data ...
This might be even more of a problem as people migrate to renting cloud-based software. |
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12/16/2011 08:27:08 PM · #15 |
Originally posted by kirbic:
Originally posted by hahn23:
Originally posted by kirbic:
...
Cloud storage is definitely a great convenience when you need that file and you are not at home. It's not as convenient as it will be once upload speeds get to reasonable levels. It's also a great belt and suspenders, but it is not, and never should be a substitute for good data management practices at home. |
Agreed. But, in my limited experience (I'll be 60 next month!), I've experienced a few hard disk drive complete failures and zero collapse of the clouds. |
60??!! Dang, you are an old fart ;-) I'm not far behind you, LOL. Yep, I had two HDD failures within three months last year :-P |
âWe grow too soon old and too late smartâ |
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12/16/2011 08:36:02 PM · #16 |
Originally posted by GeneralE:
...that can be lost at any time due to anything from a failure to pay your bill to the FBI/NSA seizing your data ...
This might be even more of a problem as people migrate to renting cloud-based software. |
I don't have a stand alone computer. It is connected to the Internet. It is all networked. While we may think our data is private, there may be ways to remotely access our private hard drives. If I were a terrorist (I am not!!!!), I'd figure out a way to be off the grid. I think it is really hard to be completely off the grid. I am totally amazed at "Find my iPhone". My wife can track me to within 10 meters at any time I'm carrying the iPhone. |
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12/17/2011 12:12:45 AM · #17 |
| I use a Drobo and I haven't lost sleep since. It's not perfect (could be destroyed in a fire, etc) but I find it is the best compromise between cost, ease-of-use, and paranoia. |
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12/17/2011 05:44:56 AM · #18 |
| Online storage is a great backup solution, so long as you use it for backup and not primary storage. |
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02/13/2012 05:51:13 AM · #19 |
Anyone else have input on this? I've spent much bleary-eyed time researching and all the companies I've looked at so far are less than impressive, either not allowing me to back-up my external as well, or having bad reviews.
I have external hard drives but the thing is I'm going to be traveling soon to some dangerous places. I want to know that even if my computer and external get stolen I won't lose my only copies of the data. I'll be leaving a mirror external at home... but then there are the new files I take abroad to consider. |
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02/13/2012 10:25:14 AM · #20 |
Originally posted by escapetooz:
Anyone else have input on this? I've spent much bleary-eyed time researching and all the companies I've looked at so far are less than impressive, either not allowing me to back-up my external as well, or having bad reviews. |
I don't know if you've come across Backblaze in your research, but they back up external drives too. I have found them to be very good so far. Have been using for a year. Initial backups took a long time but I didn't have a very fast internet connection at the time. Now it just runs in the background. I've been very happy with it so far. They have unlimited storage, for around $50 per year. |
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02/13/2012 01:45:34 PM · #21 |
| Do you have a friend or relative you trust who has a computer and internet? An "offline storage service" is just another computer and hard drive on the internet somewhere, it can easily be at your friend's house. You can either package and send bunches of data using a service like YouSendIt.com, set up an FTP server on the remote machine, or use a direct peer-to-peer connection (I use Timbuktu) installed on both ends; note the first option requires someone at the other end to download the files. Or, just back up your stuff to another hard drive and leave it somewhere else ... |
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02/13/2012 01:54:55 PM · #22 |
Originally posted by GeneralE:
Do you have a friend or relative you trust who has a computer and internet? An "offline storage service" is just another computer and hard drive on the internet somewhere, it can easily be at your friend's house. You can either package and send bunches of data using a service like YouSendIt.com, set up an FTP server on the remote machine, or use a direct peer-to-peer connection (I use Timbuktu) installed on both ends; note the first option requires someone at the other end to download the files. Or, just back up your stuff to another hard drive and leave it somewhere else ... |
if i was a pro this would be my solution, as it stands i only need to back up for personal use so i just use a large external drive that copies my hard drive nightly.
putting a pc with redundant storage at a remote location is actually pretty cheap considering how much you can spend over time on cloud storage, plus you have unlimited access to the files and dont have to worry about anyone seizing your files or having he service go under.
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