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Lately, there has been a lot of talk about cloud computing, where most of the work is done on the Internet. One of the first uses of cloud computing has been web-based file storage services like Dropbox and FilesAnywhere. There are three main choices, that I know about right now, when it comes to online file storage (if you don’t count typical FTP/SFTP file servers, etc) – Box.net, Dropbox and FilesAnywhere.
Box.net offers 1GB of storage for free with a 25MB file size limit. For $10/month, you can upgrade to 5GB of storage, and a 1GB file size limit. You also have the ability to view the previous five versions of a file, with the paid membership. Right now, unfortunately, Box.net doesn’t have a utility to upload/sync files to their storage from a Windows, Mac or Linux computer, but they do have an iPhone app.
Dropbox offers 2GB of storage for free. Files uploaded to Dropbox via the desktop application have no file size limit. There is, however, a 300MB cap on files transferred via the website. For $10/month, you can upgrade to 50GB of storage; or for $20/month, you can upgrade to 100GB of storage. Dropbox keeps snapshots of every saved change in your Dropbox folder over the last 30 days. If you upgrade to one of their paid versions, they offer a service called Pack-Rat, which keeps an unlimited amount of previous versions and deleted files. Dropbox also offers an iPhone app.
FilesAnywhere offers 1GB of storage for free, and doesn’t appear to have a file size limit for uploading, but free accounts have download limits of 10MB per-file and 25 downloads/day.
I have an account with all three services, but if I had to choose only one, I would choose Dropbox. They even offer a way to get up to 3GB8GB of storage for free by getting other people to sign up. They add an extra 250MB of storage to both my account and the person who signed up, when they use a referral link.

Technorati Tags: box.net, dropbox, filesanywhere

I gave the online file storage service Box.net a try over 2 years ago. Recently, they released an app for the iPhone which allows me to access any files I have saved online and save any photos I’ve taken with my iPhone to their servers. I don’t see the need to save my photos because I typically email them straight to Flickr and Facebook.

Technorati Tags: box.net, iPhone

I was searching the web trying to find directions on how to add more RAM to my eMac and I came across the MacAddict message board. While I was looking for what I came for, I happened across a thread about .Mac. .Mac is a service Apple offers with the following:

Share and access files, photos, movies, and more:

* Host web sites and publish web pages and photo albums from iPhoto.
* Send and receive email with an IMAP/POP .Mac Mail account and use webmail to access it from web browsers.
* Enjoy access to email, contact information, and favorite bookmarks from the web.
* Purchase up to 10 additional email-only accounts.
* Instant message with .Mac member name and iChat.
* Turn photos into slideshow screensavers with .Mac Slides.
* Publish iCal calendars online and share with friends and family.

Store all your important data:

* Back up files to FireWire drives, iDisk, CD, DVD, or other mounted volumes, and use one-step backups for iLife files.
* Store, publish and share files with iDisk, your personal hard drive on the Internet.
* Designate 1 GB of combined storage space between iDisk and email based on your needs.
* Set read/write access to and password protect the iDisk Public folder.

Synchronize your most important information:

* Keep iCal calendars, Address Book contacts, and Safari bookmarks in sync between your Macs and available to you online.
* With Mac OS X v10.4 “Tiger” keep critical Mail information—including Spotlight-driven Smart Mailboxes—as well as stored passwords from your Keychain in sync and access them from multiple Macs.

Create a .Mac space online for groups:

* Use a group email account to send and receive group messages.
* Access group messages, photo albums, movies, and web pages.
* View the group online calendar and subscribe through iCal.
* Share files using the iDisk Groups folder.
* Publish group web pages.

And more:

* Get exclusive tutorials on .Mac, iLife, Mac OS X, and more in the .Mac Learning Center.
* Receive freebies, discounts, and other surprises throughout the year with the .Mac member benefits program.
* Get comprehensive email-based support when you need assistance.

It’s free for the first 60 days and then after that it costs $100 a year. I tried it and the only thing I liked about it was the online storage that came with it. While I was at the message board, I found a thread about a free online file storage service called Box.net which also gives 1GB of online storage. From the thread, supposedly I can set up an iDisk on my Mac which points to my Box.net account.

Technorati Tags: .mac, Apple, box.net