Dropbox vs iCloud

[max2]

Looking at doing the 3 2 1 backup but really do not like cloud to be honest. Just storing photos though.

Which one is better?

I know iCloud works best for iOS and Mac because it is built in basically.

Though I am using Windows and iOS right now.

Which is faster?

 

[wonderings]

Looking at doing the 3 2 1 backup but really do not like cloud to be honest. Just storing photos though.

Which one is better?

I know iCloud works best for iOS and Mac because it is built in basically.

Though I am using Windows and iOS right now.

Which is faster?

I like Dropbox, though I have not tried to use iCloud in the same way I use Dropbox. I like how Dropbox is integrated in one specific place on my computer, so I go to my Dropbox folder and then I have all my synced folders in there, no need or desire on my end to have the entire computer backed up in dropbox. For just backing up everything I do like Backblaze. It is a cloud back up system that just runs in the background. It is cheap, and offsite so if your business or house goes up in flames you are protected. You can select just specific folders with Backblace to backup as well if you don't want everything.

 

[max2]

I like Dropbox, though I have not tried to use iCloud in the same way I use Dropbox. I like how Dropbox is integrated in one specific place on my computer, so I go to my Dropbox folder and then I have all my synced folders in there, no need or desire on my end to have the entire computer backed up in dropbox. For just backing up everything I do like Backblaze. It is a cloud back up system that just runs in the background. It is cheap, and offsite so if your business or house goes up in flames you are protected. You can select just specific folders with Backblace to backup as well if you don't want everything.

Thanks.

Yeah plus with a certain program you can sync multiple folders on your PC with Dropbox but sadly it is really expensive now

I know you can change the folder you can sync with dropbox but only one folder.

 

[max2]

To be honest I prefer my own cloud but it is easier said then done.

 

[eyoungren]

…but sadly it is really expensive now

Define expensive. I pay ~$28 for 4.1TB of Dropbox storage a month. As near as I can tell that's the maximum storage I can get without having to go to a business plan.

I don't consider that expensive.

 

[BLtheP]

iCloud used to be super unreliable for me on Windows, so I bought a year of DropBox. What bothered me about DB is how it forces you to get 2TB and it was like $120 a year. That is excessive for almost everyone. So it killed me to pay that. The latest iCloud update for Windows seems revamped and so far (knock on wood) has been flawless for me. So I am back to using iCloud.

I used iCloud for many years before the switch last year, but I didn't always have a Windows laptop in that time. Once I relied on Windows more, iCloud made a lot less sense because it sucked on Windows, but now it seems to be fixed, and I really hope it stays that way.

 

[BLtheP]

Define expensive. I pay ~$28 for 4.1TB of Dropbox storage a month. As near as I can tell that's the maximum storage I can get without having to go to a business plan.

I don't consider that expensive.

It's expensive to have to buy a minimum of 2TB for $120 a year when you only need something like 100GB. For your situation I'd say it's very fair, but many don't need that much. Since I don't, I prefer the $3 a month for iCloud.

 

[eyoungren]

It's expensive to have to buy a minimum of 2TB for $120 a year when you only need something like 100GB. For your situation I'd say it's very fair, but many don't need that much. Since I don't, I prefer the $3 a month for iCloud.

I pay Apple for their 2TB storage option as well. That's mainly for convenience as there is nothing on my phone that is not backed up, stored elsewhere, or is otherwise of no value to me. I just, if I need to restore, would prefer everything restoring at once rather than having to manually drop everything I need back into iCloud (mainly photos).

As for Dropbox, that's mainly because I want it. I don't actually need it. I got started with Dropbox in 2011 and the basic free part of my storage is 10GB. I jumped through the hoops they had over the years to increase free storage.

I'm primarily using Dropbox to house drive images that Carbon Copy Cloner on all my Macs backs up to weekly. But there is also a bunch of other files there I do not want to lose and Dropbox also serves as my camera roll backup (automatic photo upload). None of that I need, but I do want it.

I'm not rich, but I don't have a problem with spending for what I want and this does seem affordable to me (Dropbox and iCloud).

 

[HobeSoundDarryl]

Dropbox is broadly compatible. iCloud is Apple-centric. Both can be easily used to put photos in the cloud. If you want to use the space for some other things, the much bigger world beyond the wall will be more likely to already use Dropbox than iCloud EXCEPT on iPhones in that world.

If you can refer some new customers to Dropbox, they will give you free added space. I have about 12GB of free Dropbox space. That's more than I ever need for anything I want to transfer or store in the cloud.

If me, I would NOT store photos in the cloud. They will hog a lot of space to mostly just sit there. Instead, I'd purchase a couple of big drives to get a couple of recent backups of all photos (and my Macs) on them with tools like TM, CCC or SuperDuper. Store one such drive offsite and regularly rotate it with the onsite one to keep the offsite "last resort" pretty up-to-date for a worst-case recovery scenario.

I MIGHT store latest photos temporarily in the cloud if I couldn't back them up to 2 places locally until I could get them on the offsite drive. But as soon as I have them in at least 2 places- including the offsite- I'd purge them from the cloud to free up that space.

If I really need photos in a cloud for some reason, I'd spend some money on a Synology NAS or similar, use its "my own cloud" setup wizards to then own and run my own personal cloud... and store my photos in MY cloud there. That would cost more than short-term rent for Dropbox or iCloud space... UNTIL the rents eventually exceed what it costs. I would NOT do this solely for photos but to take advantage of many benefits of a Synology NAS which includes photos and personal cloud, PLUS many other useful capabilities.

Personally, my view is to use any Cloud storage as "extra" vs. any essential part. HDDs of size are dirt cheap. It doesn't take much more to own a little NAS (and thus your own cloud). A good old portable drive/stick could be another way to carry a physical "cloud" in your pocket (which will offer much faster read/write than cloud options).

 

[max2]

Define expensive. I pay ~$28 for 4.1TB of Dropbox storage a month. As near as I can tell that's the maximum storage I can get without having to go to a business plan.

I don't consider that expensive.

$400

 

[max2]

Dropbox is broadly compatible. iCloud is Apple-centric. Both can be easily used to put photos in the cloud. If you want to use the space for some other things, the much bigger world beyond the wall will be more likely to already use Dropbox than iCloud EXCEPT on iPhones in that world.

If you can refer some new customers to Dropbox, they will give you free added space. I have about 12GB of free Dropbox space. That's more than I ever need for anything I want to transfer or store in the cloud.

If me, I would NOT store photos in the cloud. They will hog a lot of space to mostly just sit there. Instead, I'd purchase a couple of big drives to get a couple of recent backups of all photos (and my Macs) on them with tools like TM, CCC or SuperDuper. Store one such drive offsite and regularly rotate it with the onsite one to keep the offsite "last resort" pretty up-to-date for a worst-case recovery scenario.

I MIGHT store latest photos temporarily in the cloud if I couldn't back them up to 2 places locally until I could get them on the offsite drive. But as soon as I have them in at least 2 places- including the offsite- I'd purge them from the cloud to free up that space.

If I really need photos in a cloud for some reason, I'd spend some money on a Synology NAS or similar, use its "my own cloud" setup wizards to then own and run my own personal cloud... and store my photos in MY cloud there. That would cost more than short-term rent for Dropbox or iCloud space... UNTIL the rents eventually exceed what it costs. I would NOT do this solely for photos but to take advantage of many benefits of a Synology NAS which includes photos and personal cloud, PLUS many other useful capabilities.

Personally, my view is to use any Cloud storage as "extra" vs. any essential part. HDDs of size are dirt cheap. It doesn't take much more to own a little NAS (and thus your own cloud). A good old portable drive/stick could be another way to carry a physical "cloud" in your pocket (which will offer much faster read/write than cloud options).

Unless you have 10 Gbps + internet.

 

[max2]

$400

I am not promoting software but this is what I am talking about:

Store | Boxifier

The basic edition of Boxifier is free. For more advanced features and unlimited sync you can upgrade to a premium edition.

www.boxifier.com

 

[HobeSoundDarryl]

No, it's not about broadband speed- its about how fast the servers themselves respond in the cloud.

Case in point, use that 10Gbps to upload a couple of GB files from one Mac or iDevice and download to another. While the road there and back may be super-fast, the time to actually process the write there and then to share it back again will very likely not feel very fast. Take note of how long it takes from when it appears the upload is complete until the download is available. You'll probably be surprised.

Publicly-shared "clouds" tend to be relatively SLOW even if one's links to it are insanely fast. But perhaps the test- just suggested- will prove different for you.

Then, run the same test even to a slow DAS HDD and time that write & read. Dig up an old 5400rpm drive to try to make it slower than "the cloud" (maybe use a USB 2 port too) so the latter has a better chance to win the W/R race. Local DAS will tend to be much faster even with old tech like 5400 HDDs and USB 2... presumably- at least in part- because the old HDD has to serve only your request while "the cloud" is serving countless millions of people's requests at the same time.

 

[max2]

No, it's not about broadband speed- its about how fast the servers themselves respond in the cloud.

Case in point, use that 10Gbps to upload a couple of GB files from one Mac or iDevice and download to another. While the road there and back may be super-fast, the time to actually process the write there and then to share it back again will very likely not feel very fast. Take note of how long it takes from when it appears the upload is complete until the download is available. You'll probably be surprised.

Publicly-shared "clouds" tend to be relatively SLOW even if one's links to it are insanely fast. But perhaps the test- just suggested- will prove different for you.

Then, run the same test even to a slow DAS HDD and time that write & read. Dig up an old 5400rpm drive to try to make it slower than "the cloud" (maybe use a USB 2 port too) so the latter has a better chance to win the W/R race. Local DAS will tend to be much faster even with old tech like 5400 HDDs and USB 2... presumably- at least in part- because the old HDD has to serve only your request while "the cloud" is serving countless millions of people's requests at the same time.

Good point!

 

[LIVEFRMNYC]

Looking at doing the 3 2 1 backup but really do not like cloud to be honest. Just storing photos though.

Which one is better?

I know iCloud works best for iOS and Mac because it is built in basically.

Though I am using Windows and iOS right now.

Which is faster?

In my experience. Microsoft OneDrive is faster than both by a mile. This goes for both photos and video.

The only catch is ... If taking photos from an iOS device, then any 3rd party cloud app needs to be always opened in the background for it to auto sync. iCloud is set it and forget it on iOS devices.

iCloud still sucks on Windows.

I would personally want to deal with keeping a 3rd party app open in the background to sync, vs dealing with iCloud on Windows.

 

[max2]

In my experience. Microsoft OneDrive is faster than both by a mile. This goes for both photos and video.

The only catch is ... If taking photos from an iOS device, then any 3rd party cloud app needs to be always opened in the background for it to auto sync. iCloud is set it and forget it on iOS devices.

iCloud still sucks on Windows.

I would personally want to deal with keeping a 3rd party app open in the background to sync, vs dealing with iCloud on Windows.

Interesting. I will have to try Onedrive too.