New tools to eliminate data clutter: 3 large cloud storage comparisons

Transferring digital files between a working computer and a home computer can be painful. Putting together digital files in smartphones and tablets can put you in a serious headache.

Google unveiled its solution to the problem, while another two companies: Dropbox and Microsoft have also improved their existing offerings. The solution is to leave the files on the computer, wherever you are, and you can access them through the Internet.

This means you don't have to mail yourself huge files, and you don't have to carry devices that use USB Jacks--especially when you're moving photos and video files, they're easy to fill. These services also make it easier for you to share files with others.

All three of my trial services are free, but if you need more storage space, you have to pay.

Google's Drive,dropbox company and Microsoft's SkyDrive have many of the same core features.

You can store almost any type of file--photos, videos, songs, spreadsheets, and everything else--on remote servers controlled by these companies. All you need is a Web browser and an Internet interface. To upload files to an online storage server, you can simply move the folder's icon to the browser window. The original file will remain on your computer.

To access a file from another computer, you simply log on to the storage server's Web page. You can change files online from that computer and then transfer the files back. You can also create an entire folder or a shared link to a specific file.

You can install free software to simplify these transfer operations. This software creates a dedicated folder for the cloud storage service on your computer. Everything you add to this folder will automatically be transferred to your online storage. If you or a colleague changes from another computer, the original version will be updated automatically.

Some properties can also be used by mobile device applications. You can drag pictures and other files on the road, but you can't make any more changes.

But these three services also have a flaw: the metadata associated with these files is likely to be lost. In a transfer, properties such as the date the file was created may be changed. The contents of the file will not be affected, but with one important exception, I will discuss an important exception when comparing the three services.

Storage

Three cloud storage services provide enough free space for your word processing, spreadsheets, and other basic tasks, but not enough to store lots of photos and videos.

Dropbox provides you with free space size of 2GB, Google Drive offers 5GB, while SkyDrive is 7GB. People who started using SkyDrive before April 23 can claim GB free space, although others may qualify. Dropbox allows you to earn more free space by touting friends or accomplishing tasks such as installing Dropbox software.

Registering for an extra free account is a hassle, so if you need more space, paying is worth it. Plus 100GB each year to pay the cost, in SkyDrive is 50 dollars, Google Drive for 59.88 U.S. dollars, and 100GB (including free space) to pay Dropbox 199 dollars. You can also use less money to buy smaller storage space.

Winner: SkyDrive offers maximum free storage space, as well as the cheapest upgrade plan.

Shared

Three service providers allow you to share content by creating links.

On Dropbox, friends can view content through this connection, but you will have to create "Shared Folders" with additional steps to get others to edit the document.

And on the SkyDrive, with this link, you can give someone permission to edit. In fact, you can give some people a "read-only" link and give others a link to edit permissions. You can share them by email and decide whether the recipient can edit the document. You can also post content directly from SkyDrive on Facebook, Twitter and other social media.

Google Drive also allows you to choose whether the link has the ability to edit. But unlike SkyDrive, you can't create a read-only link for someone else. For a file or folder, it can be one or another link. You can also send items in an email attachment or post a link to Google Drive account.

Dropbox and SkyDrive can automatically put the photos you share into the gallery so that your friends can browse them by integrating them into Facebook or a section of a picture-sharing site.

Winner: SkyDrive, providing the most shared channels

Search

Unsurprisingly, the best search option comes from Google, the leader of the Internet search engine.

Google Drive search speed, and powerful. Not only can you search by file name, you can also search the contents of various popular format documents. It uses visual feature readers to extract text from news clippings and brochures you browse. To my great impression, it found many references to the word "parrot" in some of the scanned pamphlets.

dropbox can only be searched based on file name. SkyDrive can search for content in Microsoft-formatted documents--WORD,POWERPPOINT and excel--but cannot even index other types, including photos.

Winner: Google Drive

Software

Dropbox is the most available software to choose from.

For desktops, Dropbox offers Linux systems as well as windows and Apple operating systems. Microsoft and Google only support Windows and Apple's Mac operating system. Microsoft's software cannot be run on the Windows XP system, an old, but still widely used system, and not in an earlier version of XP's upgraded version of Vista. So many SkyDrive users can only be tied to this web-based interface.

Dropbox is also the only provider of apps for Apple and Android handsets. It is also the only vendor that supports BlackBerry. Google Drive has not yet provided a version available for iphones or ipads, and its apps can only run under Google's Android system. Microsoft SkyDrive has not developed a version available for Android, although it provides a version of the iphone that uses its own Windows Phone system.

Winner: Dropbox

The rest of the ...

Dropbox has a handy feature to restore files you accidentally deleted or overwritten. This means that if you change your mind, you can trace the early version of the manuscript--30 days, and if you are a paid account, you can track down all previous versions. For truly sensitive files, special steps are required to permanently delete them.

Under the Web interface, SkyDrive automatically shrinks oversized images to conserve storage space unless you notice and remove the check box for automatic check size. Someone will like this because it can improve file transfer speed. But if I had deleted the manuscript before I noticed it, I might lose them forever. I can't get a warning beforehand. For me, this is enough to lose my trust in this service provider.

Google Drive allows you to convert files to Google's online document format. This makes it more convenient for many people to collaborate. When you change the spreadsheet on your PC or mobile phone, a few seconds later pops up on the other screen that opens the document. It's cumbersome to work through Dropbox and SkyDrive. As a bonus, files in google format will not be counted as a storage quota.

Google Drive has an annoying thing: under Standard settings, if you upload the same file three times, it will store three separate files in Google Drive-and with the same name. It should have just replaced the previous document--of course, after the inquiry--and in Dropbox, the past version was probably hidden.

SkyDrive wins with storage capacity and sharing convenience, but it should have been notified in advance before compressing the manuscript.

Google's excellent search capabilities make it the best choice in the overall. After all, if you can't find what you need, storage capacity isn't much good.

At the same time, if my online life is too reliant on Google, it makes me feel uncomfortable. Google Drive currently does not have any ads, and the company has stated that it has no plans to use your documents, such as your personal diary, to locate advertisements elsewhere. But Google has recently changed its privacy policy, and if the company changes its mind, the policy will allow the company to do so.

If you're not bothered, Google Drive will be the service provider you need. Otherwise, Dropbox will be a good alternative, especially if you want to use it on a variety of mobile phones or ipads.

Whichever you choose, I suggest you save the original file somewhere, even if you have to buy an external storage. These service providers are good at backing up and contributing, but the way SkyDrive treats my photos makes me realize that they are too "new" and it's hard to trust me completely.