Best Way to Utilize iCloud Drive? (200GB a month)

[kliq]

Hey guys,

So I'm in my first month of the 200GB a month iCloud Drive plan.

Now seeing as there's no iCloud Drive app for the iOS 8 as of now, I'm kind of bummed and trying to figure out the best way to take advantage of this space (or else downgrade back to free).

Now, I have Yosemite beta on my Macbook Pro. I have an iCloud Drive folder in Finder. One thing I did learn recently is that any file that is placed in that folder will ALSO take up space locally on my hard drive. So for example, if I dump a 30GB file in my iCloud Drive folder, it will also take up 30GB on my Macbook Pro's drive.

Well, I have an SSD drive, and managing my storage is a daily task for me.

So, since I can't just dump extra files in this folder without it taking up space on my local drive - what is the best way to take advantage of this extra 200GB of "CLOUD" data?

Cloud stressed, because it's not really cloud data if it's also going to take up space on my local drive (i know this is how dropbox works too .... but atleast you can upload files straight to dropbox.com and then choose not to also download it to your local drive). Can iCloud do this as well?

I have 256gb of local storage, and between my pretty large iTunes library and other random files, I'm constantly trying to find a portable way to store my data (I don't want to have to depend on an external drive that I have to plug in all the time).

Lastly, if iCloud ISN'T the right solution for someone like me, what would you recommend instead?

EDIT: Also, no one else is using this iCloud Drive, aka this is not a family shared account or anything. The space was meant for personal use. On top of this, I have iTunes Match - so I'm definitely wondering if iCloud Drive is the correct solution for me. Additional note, I WANT to find a useful reason for the iCloud drive - but if I can't I am also willing to ditch it.


EDIT 2: i just dumped a bunch of PDF files into my iCloud Drive folder, but they don't show up in iCloud.com - strange.

 

[Rigby]

So, since I can't just dump extra files in this folder without it taking up space on my local drive - what is the best way to take advantage of this extra 200GB of "CLOUD" data?

I think most people right now use it to store photos or multiple device backups, which can be several GB each.

However, the first iOS apps that allow storing and accessing arbitrary files on iCloud Drive directly are now becoming available, e.g. Documents 5 or Goodreader, and even the Dropbox app.

Cloud stressed, because it's not really cloud data if it's also going to take up space on my local drive (i know this is how dropbox works too .... but atleast you can upload files straight to dropbox.com and then choose not to also download it to your local drive). Can iCloud do this as well?

Are you talking about something like Dropbox's selective sync? I'm not running Yosemite on my Macs yet and can only speak for the Windows iCloud app, but that doesn't have an option for selective sync. I agree this would be useful for computers with smaller HDDs/SSDs.

Lastly, if iCloud ISN'T the right solution for someone like me, what would you recommend instead?

I'd recommend to look into Dropbox and Onedrive. iCloud has of course the advantage of being well-integrated with Mac OS and iOS, but it is also less flexible at this point. That might change though, and the price for bigger storage volumes is good.

EDIT 2: i just dumped a bunch of PDF files into my iCloud Drive folder, but they don't show up in iCloud.com - strange.

Works for me using the Windows iCloud app.

 

[reese2147]

I am also running the Yosemite beta. For the time being, I am solely using my iCloud storage for my photos within the photo app. When the new OS X photo app is launched, I may change my tune some depending on its functionality. Unless a dedicated document viewer for iOS is developed, I will not use iCloud storage for anything else. The "work around" apps are not for me.

I love OneDrive and use it for all of my non-photo storage. You can select which folders (if any) to store locally. The upload/download is a tad slower than other services, but a minor inconvenience for the amount of free space given and the 10GB file upload limit.