Choose online file storage

I do not know about you, but I occasionally have to demand in the online data storage. There are always files that I may need both at work and at home - documentation, snippets, outline articles, etc. However, other documents, such as maps, descriptions of tourist routes, materials on the history of cities and attractions may be needed away from their homeland. In the first case, you can manage to synchronize the data of home and office computers (which, by the way, does not guarantee you the absence of a “headache”). In the second case, you can use the popular plugin Firefox Gspace. However, you are unlikely to bring much joy to the abundance of messages with scary headers in your Gmail inbox. In addition, when you need to share files with someone, you will have no choice but to send these files to him by mail. Now you can imagine how a blissful smile illuminates the face of your friend, when The Bat hints that he will have to wait for the download of a long letter of 20 MB.


Obviously, it requires a remote file repository, with a web interface and direct links for downloading files. It requires the ability to create your own file structure somewhere on the server, and, if necessary, share the link with your friends. Of course, we need to control access to our files and when to reliably protect them from unauthorized access. Very handy here would be a convenient desktop application for uploading and synchronizing files to the server, as well as the ability to adequately preview different format media files on the Web. And most importantly - all these charms should be free.


4 years ago, when I came to work at Red Graphic Systems, we owned our own hosting company and dreamed about a service oriented future. Over and over again I suggested building an online file storage for further commercial use. But then it was extremely difficult to describe the bright prospects of free service in Runet. Now times have changed and changed dramatically. But I think, if we now had our own decision, it was damn difficult to maintain it at the level of Western analogues. Now, as a user, I have only one problem left - the problem of choice.
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Now on the market as the most notable are the following services:


http://www.esnips.com - 5GB is provided for storing files, recognizes media formats, provides customizable widgets, there is a desktop application for downloading files;





http://www.box.net - a very simple and convenient user interface, provides 1.5GB for storing files, recognizes media formats, provides customizable widgets, is available as an application for netvibes.com;





http://www.omnidrive.com - provides 1GB for storing files, there is an application for synchronizing local computer data with virtual storage;





http://www.mediamax.com - provides 25GB (!) for storing files; MediaMax XL Beta is available for synchronization and backup;


http://skydrive.live.com - Microsoft's answer. I cannot say anything about him, since he tells me the following: “This beta version of the service is not yet available in your region. However, you can use other user's folders with permissions. To find out when the service will be available in your area, visit the developer team blog ;


http://www.pando.com - provides 1GB for storing files, the developers have focused on the convenience of sharing multimedia;


http://www.boxcloud.com - it seems that there are no restrictions on the amount of space provided (which frankly scares). For a free account you can create one workspace for 3 users;


http://www.tubesnow.com - the service is focused mainly on data synchronization and backup, contains an application panel in the style of ICQ;




http://www.megaupload.com - the only service in the review (excluding Microsoft Skydrive) with automatic localization of the interface (Russian), provides 50GB for storing files. There is a desktop application - a file manager and a plug-in panel for easy file uploading. However, do not flatter these opportunities - the service is designed to share files, but not to store them. Those. You can upload your .AVI and tell a friend to hurry to download the file. After a few days, this file will be automatically deleted.


http://xdrive.com/ - provides 5GB for storing files, it is possible to backup. Service developers have managed to stand out against the general background using the Xdrive Shows application. The idea is gorgeous. Users create their really spectacular slideshows in a surprisingly simple way. They simply drag photos to the timeline panel, then assign a sound design file, set video effects from an available library, and as a result receive a Flash microfilm, which they can immediately show off to their friends;






http://openomy.com - provides 1GB file storage. The highlight of the service is its sociality - even the files in it are categorized by tags. There is an API for interacting with the service from the outside;


http://mozy.com - provides 2GB file storage, version control. The project attempted to secure user data as much as possible (448-bit Blowfish encryption, 128-bit SSL encryption);


http://www.4shared.com - provides 1GB for storing files, ample opportunities, which are nullified by the fact that a free account here is more like a trial access.


Of all these services, box.net, esnips.com and omnidrive.com deserve special attention. All three are quite popular. Looks like now omnidrive.com is the perfect solution for remote backup. Work with the service is quite easy. After installing the local application in Windows Explorer, the option to synchronize files with the web server appears. You can specify a schedule by which the program itself will synchronize files. Omnidrive.com also added integration with Zoho's virtual office, an RSS subscription to podcast files, and the www.tangler.com tool.
Box.net has benefited from integration with netvibes.com. It is really convenient to go to your virtual desktop and get a miniature file manager there. In addition, Box.net developers manage very nice widgets and users are happy to place them on their websites. Recently, iPhone owners can use Box.net files storage. Box.net plugin for Microsoft Office is available.



The esnips.com service also allows users to customize widgets, both for individual files and folders. Here you can also restrict access to files and folders for users and groups. There is a complete set of social web: you can create networks of friends, display public folders of other users who are close in content, video / audio / text comments to files, social bookmarks, playlists, communities. The service allows you to record video and audio directly from the web.








Total. If you want to share files with visitors of your blog in a simple and cute way - use box.net. If you are seduced by the idea of ​​automatically backing up critical data for you - use omnidrive.com. And finally, if you would like to find a grateful audience for your media files, try esnips.com.


Successful and comfortable file sharing!