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Comparing Cloud Storage

8/14/2014

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What is cloud storage?  It is a type of data storage where the digital data is stored in logical reserves. The physical storage spans across multiple servers (and often locations), and the physical environment is typically owned and managed by a hosting company.

The ability to back up files, store them in the cloud, and automatically sync all that data across multiple devices has radically changed the way we use computers, mobile phones, and other Internet-connected devices.  Backing up your data could save your personal music and photo collections, important work files, and documents should your device ever lose them one day.  No matter what you put into a cloud storage and syncing solution, the ability to access it anywhere and anytime is very beneficial.

If you don't have a service for storing and syncing your data in the cloud, you may need one. You might even need more than one.  
This raises the question of, which is the best cloud service?  Let's take a closer look at three of the most popular cloud storage services:  Microsoft OneDrive, Dropbox, and Google Drive.
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The following information is taken from a review created by www.cnet.com.
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OneDrive (formerly SkyDrive)

First up is OneDrive, Microsoft's storage option. Those who use Windows 8 and 8.1 have OneDrive built into their operating system, where it shows up in the file explorer next to all of the files on your computer's hard drive. However, anyone can use it on the Web, by downloading a desktop app for Mac and earlier versions of Windows, or the OneDrive Android, iOS, Windows Phone, and Xbox apps.

You can store any kind of file in the service, including photos, video, and documents, and then access them from any of your Windows PCs or mobile devices. The service organizes your files by type for you, so it's easy to find what you need.

Microsoft is hoping that OneDrive will be the place where you store your photos, and the company is working on technology that will eventually sort all of the photos you take based on how important and meaningful they are. For instance, if you take a photo of your kids, a picture of a special meal, and a shot of your parking space so you can find your car later, OneDrive would be able to understand the importance of each picture, save the ones it thinks are the most useful, and trash the rest. That's still big-picture stuff for OneDrive, but it gives you an idea of the direction Microsoft is moving in.

Where it excels:  OneDrive works seamlessly with Windows devices because it's baked into the Windows operating systems running on PCs, tablets, and Windows Phone. It's easy to open and edit files from OneDrive in Microsoft's other applications, such as Word or the Photos app. Since OneDrive is closely tied with Office, it's a good choice for anyone who uses Office frequently.

Where it falls flat:  If you don't have all Windows devices, OneDrive doesn't have as much appeal. There are apps for other devices, but it's clear that OneDrive is really meant for the Windows set.  In order to use OneDrive, you must sign up for a Microsoft account, which gives you access to Outlook, Xbox Live, and other Microsoft services. Whether or not you want all those extras is up to you.

Best for:  If you have a Windows PC, tablet, and phone, and need to get to your files from any device with little effort.


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Dropbox

Dropbox is a favorite in the cloud storage world because it's reliable, easy to use, and a breeze to set up. Your files live in the cloud and you can get to them at any time from Dropbox's Web site, desktop applications for Mac, Windows, and Linux, or the iOS, Android, BlackBerry, and Kindle Fire mobile apps.

You can store any kind of file in Dropbox, by either uploading to the Web site or adding it with the desktop apps. Those apps live in your file system so that you can easily move files from your computer to the cloud and vice versa by dragging and dropping them into your Dropbox folder. The service automatically and quickly syncs your files across all of your devices, so you can access everything, everywhere. There is no size limit on files you upload to Dropbox with the desktop or mobile apps, but larger files can take several hours to upload, depending on your connection speed.

Dropbox's greatest strength is that it works equally well on PCs and Macs, Android and iOS. The service is so simple and elegantly designed, that it's easy for anyone to master. Its desktop applications seamlessly blend with your computer's file system.

Where it falls flat:  In my experience, Dropbox's Web site design is one of the weakest of the cloud storage services. It's simple and clean, but you can't control the way your files are displayed. However, you do get many more sharing options on the Dropbox Web site, which almost makes up for the bare bones design.

Best for:  Simple sharing when you use tons of different kinds of devices.


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Google Drive

What started as just a handful of helpful online office tools called Google Docs, has transformed into Google Drive, a complete office suite with cloud storage. You get a little bit of everything with this service, including a word processor, spreadsheet application, and presentation builder, plus 15GB of free storage space.

If you already have a Google account, you can already access Google Drive. You just have to head to drive.google.com and enable the service. You get 15GB of storage for anything you upload to Drive, including photos, videos, documents, Photoshop files and more. However, you have to share that 15GB with your Gmail account, photos you upload to Google+, and any documents you create in Google Drive.

While you can access any of your files from the Drive Web site, you can also download the Drive desktop app for Mac and PC to manage your files from your computer. You can organize all of your files in the desktop app, and they'll sync with the cloud so you can get to them anywhere.

Drive is built into Google's Web-based operating system Chromium, so if you have a Chromebook, Google Drive is your best cloud storage option. Like other cloud storage services, Drive has apps for iOS and Android, so you can manage your files from your phone.

Google Drive has the benefit of a built-in office suite, where you can edit documents, spreadsheets, and presentations, even if you created the document in another program. The service also a large collection of extras, such as third-party apps that can send faxes or sign documents.

What I like most about Google Drive is that you can drag and drop files into the Drive Web site and they'll be uploaded automatically. You can also preview attachments from Gmail in Google Drive, and save those files to your cloud.

Where it excels:  Google Drive requires very little setup if you already have a Google account. What's more, if you use Gmail, it's easy to save attachments from your e-mail directly to Drive with just a few clicks.

Where it falls flat:  While you can organize your files and photos in Google Drive, there's no way to automatically upload photos from your phone directly to the service. Instead, Google has an Auto Backup feature in the Google+ mobile apps, which sends your photos to your Google+ profile. I'd like for Google to create a central space where I can store and upload all of my files that combines the best of Google+'s photo editing features and Google Drive's document editing tools.

Best for: Google diehards, or anyone who wants a few office tools with their cloud storage.


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Internet Explorer Security Issue

5/22/2014

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Do you, your family and friends, or people who work at your company click on the iconic big, blue  e  to access the internet?  If so, everyone who uses this Internet Explorer may be putting their privacy at risk.

Last April, a security glitch that allowed data thieves using a network computer to get around security protections and access personal information was discovered 
within Internet Explorer 6 through Internet Explorer 11.  This issue
 caused the Department of Homeland Security to advise users not to use the browser until the problem was resolved.

Microsoft has fixed this security glitch in Internet Explorer.

Most users will not have to take any action as the fix will be downloaded automatically, but customers who haven’t enabled automatic updates are encouraged to apply the update manually as quickly as possible.


To manually install an update, you must access your computer's control panel and choose the System & Security option.  Click on Windows Update and follow the instructions to install any new updates.  It is highly reccommended that you turn automatic updates back on, so future issues are addressed as quickly as possible.

The security glitch potentially gave data thieves using a networked computer the same level of access to personal information as the legitimate user.

Web users who are still using Windows XP were especially vulnerable.  Even though this IE security issue has been taken care of, Microsoft is encouraging Windows XP users to upgrade to Windows 7 or Windows 8.1, as they are no longer supporting or updating the system.  


Microsoft says, “Just because this update is out now doesn’t mean you should stop thinking about getting off Windows XP and moving to a newer version of Windows and the latest version of Internet Explorer.  Our modern operating systems provide more safety and security than ever before.  The latest version of Internet Explorer has increased support for modern web standards, better performance, and expanded the ability to deliver an immersive experience from within the browser. In other words, cool stuff that you need even if you didn’t know you need it. And when you turn on auto update, we make sure your computer and your browser get better all the time.”

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Windows 8.1 Update - A How-To Guide & Feature List

3/13/2014

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Many Windows users were intimidated by the newest operating system, Windows 8.  It seemed as though everyone could find new features in which they were not comfortable with.  Thankfully, Microsoft listened to their consumers’ critiques, which resulted in the new Windows 8.1 update that was released last fall.

We recently downloaded and installed the update and decided to create a how-to guide for those who may not be as computer savvy.  We have also included a list of the latest features integrated in the update, as well as an account of our own personal experience while downloading and installing it.


How to Install the Windows 8.1 Update

The first thing you will need to do is make sure your system is completely up to date.  Windows 8 does a pretty good job of forcing updates on you or installing them when you aren’t busy, but if you’re coming from a clean install or you haven’t had your machine on in a while you’ll need the latest updates before the Microsoft Store will show you the path to 8.1.

Head to your Control Panel and go to Windows Updates.  Install updates if you have them waiting to be installed.  Your PC will likely reboot if you have updates waiting. If you don’t have anything waiting, just close this window.

Now, head to the start page and open the Microsoft Store.  In the Featured Apps spot you should now see a big icon that is prompting you to upgrade to Windows 8.1.  This is a free upgrade.

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Microsoft’s information page for Windows 8.1 should now appear.  It will explain that the system update will download in the background, and that you can keep working while the upgrade downloads.  This file is 3.63GB, so how fast it downloads will depend on your internet connection.  We let our laptop download the update overnight.

If you’re ready to go, click the download button in the top right and you’ll be taken to the download page.  If you’re on a portable device, now is a great time to make sure you are connected to power.  Finally, if you have some things you need to finish up on your computer, you can close this and go back to what you were doing during the download process.
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Once the file has downloaded, the PC will reboot and start the update process. Depending on your setup, the PC may reboot more than once as the upgrade is applied.  You’ll see the same full screen messages in plain white text with a rotating color background that happened when you first installed Windows 8 when the process reaches completion.

When our update was finished installing, the screen of our laptop went black.  We had to manually shut off and restart our computer.

You may be asked to sign back in to your Microsoft account or to select your color preferences again, but these are signs that Windows 8.1 has been successfully installed.  When the Start Page reappears, you have reached the end of the download with your documents and applications intact.

New Features in Windows 8.1

• The Start Button Returns - One of the most confusing changes in Windows 8 was the removal of the Start menu. In fact, the Start button was completely gone, although there was an invisible clickable area where it used to be. Windows 8.1 brings back the Start button, but stops short of resurrecting the menu. Clicking on the button opens the Windows 8.1 Start screen, but a right click does give you access to some common functions like the control panel, task manager and the ability to shut down or restart the computer.
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• Boot to Desktop - Users that don’t use touch screens with Windows weren’t too pleased with Windows 8’s insistence on booting into the revamped, tile-based Start screen UI. In 8.1 Microsoft has offered a compromise of sorts.  You will have the option to boot directly to the desktop.

• More Lock Screen and Start Screen Options - Microsoft already had picture passwords, but now that feature has been expanded to allow multiple images to be pulled from the local storage.  This effectively makes the Lock screen into a digital photo frame.  You’ll also be able to capture pictures with the device’s camera, or answer Skype calls, without unlocking first.  The Start screen now has more tile sizes and background colors, as well.

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• The Windows Store - The new Windows Store UI is cleaner and has larger images of the apps.  Currently installed apps can also auto-update in the background. Hopefully this gets developers more excited about making things for Windows 8.

• Extensive SkyDrive Integration - Perhaps the biggest and best change in Windows 8.1 is extensive, all-inclusive SkyDrive integration.  SkyDrive is a personal cloud storage service from Microsoft that enables customers to store, synchronize and access their files across Windows PC and Mac OS X computers and laptops as well as mobile devices like smartphones and tablets, including Windows Phone 7 and 8 devices and Apple iOS-powered iPhones and iPads.  Now, when you set up Windows 8.1, you will be prompted to turn on SkyDrive — and by doing so, SkyDrive will be integrated right into Explorer.

• Better Search - For whatever reason, Microsoft didn’t include true universal search in Windows 8.  In Windows 8.1, searching the device will pull up apps, local and SkyDrive files, and settings.  There is also a Bing Internet Search integration.  All you have to do to search is simply start typing while on the Start screen.  Overall, the entire search and All Apps view experience has been significantly rearranged to help out mouse-and-keyboard users.

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