1:00 AM
El DiPablo
A few years back when Bauer-Power was still pretty new, I was approached by SugarSync to write up a review about their product. In return I was going to get a free account with them. Me being the lazy slacker that I am never got around to writing said review. Mainly because, at the time, I didn't have a need for that sort of product. I feel kind of bad now because i could have gotten in on the ground floor of a pretty awesome product of the type that I now have a need for.
A few weeks back, Google Drive came out, and I decided to try it. Although I pretty much like most of Google's products, Google Drive just wasn't blowing my skirt up. Maybe I was doing it wrong, but I placed files in my Google Drive folder, and it synced to the cloud, but it didn't sync to any of my computers. If I was doing it wrong, please let me know in the comments. Also, another thing I didn't like was when I deleted files, they stayed in the cloud in a recylce bin, which took up space. I placed a 5GB Truecrypt volume in it, and it wasn't long before Google started squaking at me for not having space, and how I needed to purchase more. When I removed that volume, and tried to replace it with a 2GB Truecrypt volume, it said I didn't have enough space. I had to login to the web interface and delete my recycle bin. Too much of a pain in my opinion.
I hear tech shows like Tekzilla talking up another one of these tools called DropBox a lot. I looked at it, but their free version only gives you 2GB of space. How are they staying competitive when all the other services of this type are giving out 5GB of space free? Needless to say, I skipped them.
Right now I am using Windows Live Mesh. So far I really like it. The interface is simple, and it's syncing my files and folders seamlessly. Plus it comes as a part of the other Windows Live Programs I use regularly like Windows Live Writer and Windows Live Movie Maker. It syncs any folder I choose between any computer I choose, and to Skydrive if I want. Skydrive is limited to 5GB of free storage, but there are no limits to sync between my own computers. If I want to share a 1TB external drive to my parents house, I can. I just would leave Skydrive unchecked in the settings for that particular folder. Interesting enough, you can get Windows Live Mesh for Mac, but there doesn't appear to be a client for Linux. Also, according to ZDNet, Live Mesh might be getting phased out, so there is another draw back.
I want to know what you prefer. Do you like one of the programs mentioned above? Is there another one that I didn't mention that you like the best? Let me know your favorite in the comments.
del.icio.us tags: free, file, sync, cloud, storage, service, comparison, sugarsync, dropbox, live mesh, google drive
