Drop Box and Google Drive
Dropbox is a file hosting service operated by Dropbox, Inc., headquartered in San Francisco, California, that offers cloud storage, file synchronization, and client software. Dropbox allows users to create a special folder on each of their computers, which Dropbox then synchronizes so that it appears to be the same folder (with the same contents) regardless of which computer is used to view it. Files placed in this folder also are accessible through a website and mobile phone applications.Dropbox, Inc., was founded in 2007.
Google DRIVE can contain:
Google Docs, Google Sheets, and Google Slides
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Dropbox vs SkyDrive vs Google Drive vs iCloud vs Amazon Cloud Drive: the key info.
Dropbox
Free space: 2GB (plus up to 16GB for referrals)
· Premium space: US$99 per year for 100GB
· File size limit: Unlimited (via desktop app)
· Platforms: Windows, Mac, Linux, iOS, Android, BlackBerry
· Best for: Seamless document syncing
Microsoft SkyDrive
· Free space: 7GB
· Premium space: £32/US$50 per year for 100GB
· File size limit: 2GB
· Platforms: Windows, Mac, iOS, Android, Windows Phone
· Best for: Windows/MS Office integration
Google Drive
· Free space: 15GB
· Premium space: $59.88 per year for 100GB
· File size limit: 10GB
· Platforms: Windows, Mac, iOS, Android
· Best for: Storage space and web apps
Apple iCloud
· Free space: 5GB
· Premium space: £70/US$100 per year for 50GB
· File size limit: 25MB free/250MB paid
· Platforms: Mac, iOS, Windows
· Best for: Heavy iTunes/Mac users
Amazon Cloud Drive
· Free space: 5GB
· Premium space: £32 per year for 100GB
· File size limit: 2GB per file
· Platforms: Mac, iOS, Android, Windows
Samples of use: see Below
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Where is ‘THE CLOUD’
In common usage, the term "the cloud" is essentially a metaphor for the Internet. Marketers have further popularized the phrase "in the cloud" to refer to software, platforms and infrastructure that are
sold "as a service", i.e. remotely through the Internet. Typically, the seller has actual energy-consuming servers which host products and services from a remote location, so end-users don't have to; they can simply log on to the network without installing anything.
Dropbox is a file hosting service operated by Dropbox, Inc., headquartered in San Francisco, California, that offers cloud storage, file synchronization, and client software. Dropbox allows users to create a special folder on each of their computers, which Dropbox then synchronizes so that it appears to be the same folder (with the same contents) regardless of which computer is used to view it. Files placed in this folder also are accessible through a website and mobile phone applications.Dropbox, Inc., was founded in 2007.
Google DRIVE can contain:
Google Docs, Google Sheets, and Google Slides
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Dropbox vs SkyDrive vs Google Drive vs iCloud vs Amazon Cloud Drive: the key info.
Dropbox
Free space: 2GB (plus up to 16GB for referrals)
· Premium space: US$99 per year for 100GB
· File size limit: Unlimited (via desktop app)
· Platforms: Windows, Mac, Linux, iOS, Android, BlackBerry
· Best for: Seamless document syncing
Microsoft SkyDrive
· Free space: 7GB
· Premium space: £32/US$50 per year for 100GB
· File size limit: 2GB
· Platforms: Windows, Mac, iOS, Android, Windows Phone
· Best for: Windows/MS Office integration
Google Drive
· Free space: 15GB
· Premium space: $59.88 per year for 100GB
· File size limit: 10GB
· Platforms: Windows, Mac, iOS, Android
· Best for: Storage space and web apps
Apple iCloud
· Free space: 5GB
· Premium space: £70/US$100 per year for 50GB
· File size limit: 25MB free/250MB paid
· Platforms: Mac, iOS, Windows
· Best for: Heavy iTunes/Mac users
Amazon Cloud Drive
· Free space: 5GB
· Premium space: £32 per year for 100GB
· File size limit: 2GB per file
· Platforms: Mac, iOS, Android, Windows
Samples of use: see Below
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~`~~~
Where is ‘THE CLOUD’
In common usage, the term "the cloud" is essentially a metaphor for the Internet. Marketers have further popularized the phrase "in the cloud" to refer to software, platforms and infrastructure that are
sold "as a service", i.e. remotely through the Internet. Typically, the seller has actual energy-consuming servers which host products and services from a remote location, so end-users don't have to; they can simply log on to the network without installing anything.
Microsoft launches Office Online in battle with Google DriveThe Verge-Feb 20, 2014
Microsoft is also competing heavily against Google Drive and the simple cloud-based variants its rival provides. All of the changes can be found at Office.com.
Google Drive for desktop allegedly getting voice-to-text dictation soon Mar 4, 2014Share
According to a post by Marques Brownlee on Google+, Google has started rolling out the voice to text dictation feature on Google Drive.
EXAMPLES OF USES OF DROPBOX
<-This is our ward DropBox Index
BISHOPRIC INTERVIEWS
HOW TO DO IT:
1- Someone acts as Focal Point.
2- He/she signs up with DropBox OR Google Drive.
3- He/she sends out Invitations to DropBox OR Google Drive to those people that you want in your group. (i.e. the Ward Clerk would send out invitations to the Ward Council)
4- Then as each member of the group accomplishes there task, they log in and update the record.
5- If this is a genealogy group, they log in and paste stories and/or photos for others to see and take if they desire.
1- Someone acts as Focal Point.
2- He/she signs up with DropBox OR Google Drive.
3- He/she sends out Invitations to DropBox OR Google Drive to those people that you want in your group. (i.e. the Ward Clerk would send out invitations to the Ward Council)
4- Then as each member of the group accomplishes there task, they log in and update the record.
5- If this is a genealogy group, they log in and paste stories and/or photos for others to see and take if they desire.
How to use Dropbox
Mar 7 2014
Just like closets, computers can accumulate old stuff. Whether it's clothes your kids have outgrown or documents you haven't opened in years. I can tell you how to use Dropbox, a free online storage and sharing service for documents, photos and video.
Dropbox also offers an easy solution to sending documents that are too big for email. Gmail, Hotmail, AOL and Yahoo limit attachments to 25 megabytes. PDF files can easily exceed this size. With Dropbox, you can share a secure link to the file the recipient can then download.
Your Dropbox account is associated with an email account. Once you've created your account, you will have 2 gigabytes of free space. You can access Dropbox in 2 ways: from your desktop or through your browser. You can open Dropbox in your browser and drag files into your account. I recommend this. Signing into Dropbox is the same process as signing into an email account. You can opt to have Dropbox "remember" you, which bypasses keying in your email address and password.
As you add files, think about a naming convention. The Dropbox search function is only as good as your file names. When I recently took over the web operations of a company, I found hundreds of old files identified only by strings of numbers. That meant I had to open each one to see the contents and then rename it. You'll want to keep your file names as short as possible, but don't go overboard. Include at least a subject and date. You can put similar documents into folders just as you would on your computer.
To create a new folder, look at the top of your Dropbox window for a file folder with a plus sign. To move a document, right click on its icon or name. Here, you'll also be able to rename, download, copy, delete and share the file.
Sharing files and folders in Dropbox is easy. Right click and select "Share Link." A window will open with several options. You can type in a recipient's email and Dropbox will send an email with a link to the file. This may be fine, but you may prefer to send the email yourself, so your recipient can respond to you and eliminate the chance the Dropbox email lands in a spam folder. Choose "Get Link" and the link to the file will be pasted in your clipboard. Go back to your email and paste it (Control+V) into your message. Your recipient can click on it and then download the file. This is a particularly efficient process to send large files.
Sharing and privacy
It's important to note when you share a file link with someone, only that particular file or folder is available -- the person does not have access to your Dropbox. You can also share folders, which lets you collaborate with others on documents in a particular folder. The process is similar to sharing a link.
Right click on the folder and select "Invite to folder." Add the email addresses of your collaborators and click "Share folder." Dropbox will send the message on your behalf. Once recipients accept your invitation, you'll see a two-person icon on the shared folder. Anyone who has access to the shared folders can make changes to documents, as well as add new documents and delete files.
This can be a great time saver if you're working on a project in which members of the team are making separate contributions. Dropbox is a leader in respecting user privacy. Dropbox does not sell information to third parties. It also ad-free.
Dropbox apps are available for iPhone, iPad and Android devices, which offer the same features as those available online. Leslie Meredith has been writing about and reviewing technology for the past 6 years. Email Leslie at [email protected].
Mar 7 2014
Just like closets, computers can accumulate old stuff. Whether it's clothes your kids have outgrown or documents you haven't opened in years. I can tell you how to use Dropbox, a free online storage and sharing service for documents, photos and video.
Dropbox also offers an easy solution to sending documents that are too big for email. Gmail, Hotmail, AOL and Yahoo limit attachments to 25 megabytes. PDF files can easily exceed this size. With Dropbox, you can share a secure link to the file the recipient can then download.
Your Dropbox account is associated with an email account. Once you've created your account, you will have 2 gigabytes of free space. You can access Dropbox in 2 ways: from your desktop or through your browser. You can open Dropbox in your browser and drag files into your account. I recommend this. Signing into Dropbox is the same process as signing into an email account. You can opt to have Dropbox "remember" you, which bypasses keying in your email address and password.
As you add files, think about a naming convention. The Dropbox search function is only as good as your file names. When I recently took over the web operations of a company, I found hundreds of old files identified only by strings of numbers. That meant I had to open each one to see the contents and then rename it. You'll want to keep your file names as short as possible, but don't go overboard. Include at least a subject and date. You can put similar documents into folders just as you would on your computer.
To create a new folder, look at the top of your Dropbox window for a file folder with a plus sign. To move a document, right click on its icon or name. Here, you'll also be able to rename, download, copy, delete and share the file.
Sharing files and folders in Dropbox is easy. Right click and select "Share Link." A window will open with several options. You can type in a recipient's email and Dropbox will send an email with a link to the file. This may be fine, but you may prefer to send the email yourself, so your recipient can respond to you and eliminate the chance the Dropbox email lands in a spam folder. Choose "Get Link" and the link to the file will be pasted in your clipboard. Go back to your email and paste it (Control+V) into your message. Your recipient can click on it and then download the file. This is a particularly efficient process to send large files.
Sharing and privacy
It's important to note when you share a file link with someone, only that particular file or folder is available -- the person does not have access to your Dropbox. You can also share folders, which lets you collaborate with others on documents in a particular folder. The process is similar to sharing a link.
Right click on the folder and select "Invite to folder." Add the email addresses of your collaborators and click "Share folder." Dropbox will send the message on your behalf. Once recipients accept your invitation, you'll see a two-person icon on the shared folder. Anyone who has access to the shared folders can make changes to documents, as well as add new documents and delete files.
This can be a great time saver if you're working on a project in which members of the team are making separate contributions. Dropbox is a leader in respecting user privacy. Dropbox does not sell information to third parties. It also ad-free.
Dropbox apps are available for iPhone, iPad and Android devices, which offer the same features as those available online. Leslie Meredith has been writing about and reviewing technology for the past 6 years. Email Leslie at [email protected].