Some time ago I was telling you about Cloud Computing, Cloud Computing 2, providing you with some basic information to enter a little into the world of online data storage.
Today I decided to continue the previous article, presenting to you the most used Clouds available in our country. Some of these are already used by many users, perhaps without knowing exactly that it is about cloud or something else.
Google Drive. Launched in 2012, this service offers storage space on its servers, within certain limits, imposed by paid subscription plans. Online storage at Google is shared between Drive, Gmail, and Google+ Photos services. It can also be accessed from any iDevices through a universally available app in the App Store.
The strengths of Google Drive (as it appears in Romania) are represented by: integration with Google Docs, Google+, the extremely advanced search system, with a high search speed.
Optical Character Recognition is another asset of Google Drive, being a technology that allows text recognition from scanned documents, as well as automatic photo identification.
DropBox. offers synchronized virtual storage space, which keeps everything in folders for easy sharing and retrieval from any device. A bonus is the upload via Dropbox Camera, which automatically syncs photos from the camera, phone, or tablet through the Dropbox App, PC, or Mac.
OneDrive. Previously known as SkyDrive, the solution offered by Microsoft is very similar to Google Drive, allowing editing in the Office suite, data synchronization, and sharing editing with another user. Through the integration of OneDrive in Windows 8, users also have exclusive access to features such as smart synchronization, creating a backup of the computer, and Windows Store integration. Now, Microsoft offers 15GB for free when registering in the Cloud.
iCloud. The current services offered by iCloud include content and photo sharing, Find My iPhone, iWork integration, as well as the ability to back up email, calendar, contacts, and storage. More features will be available this fall, when a new, more comprehensive version will be launched.
Currently, the most used solution is Google Drive, especially since it is integrated with Gmail, and most internet users also have an account and an email address on Gmail. The advantage of OneDrive is given by the ease of use of the Office package in the Cloud, and those at DropBox pride themselves on the simplicity they offer.
From a financial point of view, Google reduced prices considerably this spring, which means that for 100GB on Google you pay almost as much as for 50GB on OneDrive ($1.99 vs. $2.08 /month). By comparison, the rate for 100GB on DropBox is $9.99/month.
