If you have ever experienced a hard drive failure you have probably lost photos, videos and other important files. Or, if you have owned your computer for a while, you’ll probably find you’re running out of space on your hard drive, slowing everything down. Luckily, cloud storage can help you protect your files or free up space on your computer, usually automatically.

However, it can be challenging when trying to choose an online backup and storage service. To make it a little easier, we have described a few of the leading providers, with some pros and cons for each you should be aware of.

Dropbox

Dropbox is one of the most well-known online backup services there is. The free version gives you 2GB of storage to start out, and Dropbox is designed to be installed on your desktop computer in order to sync files with the cloud. You can then share these files with anyone with a link.

Many people use Dropbox as an alternative to Facebook to share family photos. Dropbox also offers a smartphone app that backs up your photos online automatically. The service is also used by businesses to easily share and collaborate on documents.

Dropbox Pros

• If you’re looking for a place to backup your photos and other files, Dropbox is great because its interface mimics the Windows folder interface.
• It’s easy to share files and folders just using a link.
• It’s not actually necessary to download the client to use Dropbox.

Dropbox Cons

• While you start out with 2GB of free storage, getting more storage either costs an annual recurring subscription fee, or is the result of referring friends and family to Dropbox.
• Dropbox sometimes changes its terms on the drop of a dime, meaning you may lose access to your online backup files unless you pay a fee.
• If you already have a Microsoft or Google Account, Dropbox may be redundant.

Google Drive

Google Drive is Google’s comprehensive tool for online backup and storage. In fact, Google Drive is much more than cloud storage—it offers free productivity software similar to Microsoft Word, Excel, Powerpoint and more.

Like Dropbox, Google Drive features a sync client you install on your computer that performs automatic backups. And, like Dropbox, Google Drive features a smartphone app so that you can access your photos and files anywhere. It’s also integrated with Google’s free and generally well-regarded online photo manager.

Google Drive works best for anyone with a Gmail account and an Android phone.

Google Drive Pros

• Google Drive offers 15GB of free storage to start, which is more than Dropbox; you can get more storage by installing the Drive app on your iPhone or Android smartphone, or by buying a yearly subscription for a nominal fee.
• Drive is integrated with Google’s free email service Gmail; this makes sharing photos by email easy.

Google Drive Cons

• If you’re not used to it, the user interface can be somewhat confusing.
• If you want to share documents, sometimes whoever you’re sharing them with may be prompted to sign into Gmail.
• Drive’s word processing and spreadsheet programs are not nearly as powerful as their Microsoft counterparts.

OneDrive

OneDrive is Microsoft’s take on online back and storage. In many ways it’s one of the more powerful and versatile cloud storage options available. Like Google Drive and Dropbox, OneDrive uses a sync client you download onto your computer (Windows 10 comes with this utility preinstalled) to automatically backup your important files. And, like Google Drive, OneDrive features its own online suite of productivity applications so you can edit wherever you have an internet connection.

OneDrive starts out at 5GB of free online storage, although anyone with an annual subscription to Office 365 (what used to be called ‘Microsoft Office’) receives  1TB of free storage.

OneDrive Pros

• If you have an Office 365 subscription, that 1TB of online storage is usually more than enough to backup your most important files.
• You don’t need to purchase a subscription to access the free, online version of Word and Excel.
• If you’re a Windows users, the OneDrive user interface is probably the easiest to use.

OneDrive Cons

• For whatever reason, the OneDrive sync client can take up a lot of system resources, slowing down your computer.

iCloud

It may come as a surprise, but Apple’s iCloud online backup and sync service can be used on Windows computers. So, if you have an iPhone and perhaps a Windows laptop this makes it easier to backup and access your files.

Of course, you will need to have purchased an Apple product such as an iPod, iPad, iPhone or Macbook in order to use iCloud.

USB Drives Provide an Extra Layer of Protection

The one drawback to all of these services is that they may all end one day, leaving you with no access to your files in the cloud. So, it’s a good idea to hedge your bets and, while using online storage, take the extra step of backing up your files locally. USB thumb drives are ideal for this task. Inexpensive and capable of storing a lot, USB drives can serve as a “backup of your backup.”

Are you using USB 3.0?

Read our recent article on local storage to learn more more about USB thumb drives.

Or, if you’re interested in trying out USB 3.0 — the latest in USB storage technology — for yourself, the Kingston Digital DataTraveler USB 3.0 flash memory drives are on sale right now on our newly launched hardware site CompuCleverGear.com.

The post Which Free Cloud Storage Service Provider Is Right For You? appeared first on CompuClever.

If you have purchased a new Windows computer over the past year or so, you have likely been puzzled when trying to decide which version of Microsoft Office is right for you.

A quick search online for Microsoft Office shows at least three choices: Office 2016, Office 365 and Office Online (sometimes called OneDrive).

What’s the difference, and which version should you get?

First, let’s untangle the differences between these three choices by taking a look at Office Online, the free, basic version of Microsoft’s Office suite.

Office Online is a great place to start since it offers so many of the features that make the current version of Microsoft Office so powerful, including mobile apps, online storage and online editing from any device.

What is Office Online?

Office Online is the completely free, and completely web-based version of Microsoft Office (and, just to confuse things, Microsoft sometimes calls this free service OneDrive—also the name of its cloud storage service).

Just by signing in with your free Microsoft account you can access basic, stripped-down versions of Word, Excel, PowerPoint and several other productivity apps from any Internet browser on any computer.

A main selling point of this free service is that Office Online also saves your documents automatically, as you work on them. So, you won’t lose everything you’ve typed if you lose your internet connection.

Office Online also includes several free web-based services including:

Outlook.com

Office Online is also integrated with Outlook.com. Not to be confused with the more powerful Microsoft Outlook email and calendar software program, Outlook.com is Microsoft’s simple, free web-based email app. It’s the successor to the popular Hotmail and Windows Live Mail webmail services.

As a free service, Outlook.com is simple to use compared to the more complicated Gmail, Google Inbox or the full version of Microsoft Outlook. Outlook.com also features a smartphone app which allows you to send email from any mobile device.

OneDrive

Office Online and Outlook.com are both integrated with OneDrive, Microsoft’s cloud storage service. The free version of OneDrive comes with a somewhat paltry 5GB of online storage, which should be enough to store any Office Online documents you create… but not much else compared to other online services.

You can also easily insert Word or other Office Online documents from OneDrive as attachments to emails sent from Outlook.com—you don’t have to search around for and upload a document from your computer as an attachment.

Smartphone Apps

And, once again, there is a useful, free smartphone app for OneDrive that allows you to easily find and quickly share Office documents. Even as a free software suite, Office Online is a handy tool for quickly getting tasks done.

Office Online: Too Basic?

Despite all its features, if you’re looking for a suite of true productivity applications, the free version of Office Online is probably just not powerful enough. Besides the rather miniscule 5GB of complementary online storage offered by OneDrive, the free versions of Word, Excel and PowerPoint included with Office Online, are, in a word, basic.

These no-cost versions offer none of the powerful features of their paid counterparts. Still, as a free service Office Online does provide a way to create and share basic documents, slide decks and spreadsheets, or edit existing ones… but that’s about it.

If you want to design nice-looking Word documents or use any of Excel’s more sophisticated features, such as macros, Office Online will leave you disappointed.

Instead, you’re going to have to pay for either Office 2016 or Office 365.

So, Which is Better: Office 2016 or Office 365?

This leads to the next question: is it better to pay for Office 2016, or subscribe to Office 365?

While Office Online is free, you will have to pay to purchase both Office 2016 and Office 365. Both Office 2016 and Office 365 include the powerful, fully-featured versions of Word, Excel, PowerPoint and other Office applications.

The main difference between the two is that Office 2016 is a one-time purchase, while Office 365 is a subscription-based service—you must pay every month, or every year, to renew your subscription (this chart explains the differences between the basic versions of Office 2016 and Office 365).

However both Office 2016 and Office 365 must be downloaded and installed on your computer to get them to work—despite its status as a subscription service, Office 365 still resides on your Windows PC or your Mac as a software program.

The Basics of Office 365

Office 365 is the subscription-based version of the full Microsoft Office suite. You can pay a monthly subscription of about US$10, but the annual subscription, at about US$100, is cheaper. While renewing the Office 365 subscription will cost you more from year to year, it also comes with some compelling features that may make it a better choice than Office 2016.

For example, Office 365 subscribers receive 1TB of OneDrive online storage (Office 2016 purchasers generally do not) that can be accessed on any device. Office 365 also comes with monthly recurring Skype minutes.

Most importantly, Office 365 Home can be installed on five different PC’s or Macs as part of the subscription. This feature is ideal if your family has several computers.

There is also a cheaper Office 365 Personal subscription as well that can be installed on just one computer.

Since the Office 365 Home subscription can be shared with other members of your family, or even your friends, each person gets 1TB of storage of their own for as long as you continue to subscribe to Office 365.

That’s not a bad deal for a hundred bucks a year!

What You Get By Purchasing Microsoft Office 2016

The main selling point of Office 2016 seems to be that you only pay once for the software and after that Office is yours to keep.

The basic version, Office Home & Student 2016, costs about US$150 and can be installed on just one PC. This basic version includes Word, Excel, PowerPoint and OneNote, but none of the other Office programs, which must be purchased separately, or as part of a more expensive package.

For example, the more expensive Microsoft Office Home & Business 2016 includes the powerful Microsoft Outlook email and calendar program.

The benefit of purchasing and downloading Office Home & Student 2016 is that you only have to pay for the software once, and after that you own it. With Office 365 you are forced to renew your subscription once a year for around US$100, or risk losing access.

The Downsides of Purchasing Office 2016

So, you’ll have Office as long as you own your computer, and you’ll never have to worry about Microsoft suddenly upping the price of a subscription.

On the downside, Office 365 is regularly updated with new features, while Office 2016 only receives security updates. The subscription service also comes with 1TB of OneDrive storage, while Office 2016 usually does not—OneDrive online storage will cost extra for Office 2016 purchasers.

Besides that, the basic version of Office 2016 can only be installed on just one computer. Office 365 Home, on the other hand, can be installed on at least 5 PC’s.

Still, many computer owners are still getting used to the idea of subscribing to a software program or online service. It’s hard to get used to simply “renting” a software program rather than purchasing it outright.

But the benefits of subscribing to Office 365, especially if you own a number of computers, cannot be underestimated.

Which do you prefer? Paying for a subscription, or paying to actually own your own software? Let us know by emailing info@compuclever.com.

A Simple Cheat Sheet for Understanding the Difference Between Office Live, Office 365 and Office 2016

• Office Live is the free online version of Microsoft Office; Office 365 is an annual subscription service, while Office 2016 is a one-time purchase.
• Both Office 365 and Office 2016 are installed on your computer.
• If you stop subscribing to Office 365 you will no longer be able to use Office on your computer; Office 2016 is forever.
• Office Live offers use of free, simple versions of Word, Excel and PowerPoint.
• Office 365 includes 1TB of online storage, while the basic version of Office 2016 does not.
• Office 365 Home can be installed on 5 computers; Office 2016 can be installed on one computer.

The post Office 365 Versus Office 2016: What’s the Difference? appeared first on CompuClever.

Making a Decision That Works for You:

Before you begin using a cloud storage provider, it is best to consider the determining factors.  Here are a few of the items to consider.

Cost:  Many storage providers will offer an entry level for free.  You can then upgrade to a larger storage package based on various levels of cost.  Some subscription levels will also get you very large amounts of storage or even unlimited storage and perhaps more functionality (as would be the case if you want an enterprise subscription).  For entry level users we suggest free.  When you compare you will want to pay close attention to whether it is a monthly or annual payment plan.

Storage Size:  If you are going to be using cloud storage for the purpose of sharing files and accessing files via mobile devices, you will not likely need a lot of space.  As most providers offer 2 to 5 GB of space for free this will likely work for you.  However, if you are considering backing up all your files or if you have a considerable amount of multi-media files to backup, you will need to take inventory of how much space you are currently using for these files.  If you have little experience about file size, we suggest you see the “Space It Out” section below to get an idea of file space needs.

Access:  Most providers will work if you are using a Windows operating system or Mac.  If you are using Linux then you will want to pay closer attention to what options are available.  This is also true if you want to access your files from a mobile device such as from Android, Blackberry, or iOS.  Dropbox for instance supports all of these platforms.

Sharing, Backup, or Both:  This factor relates to the prime reason for using online storage.  If you want to share files easily then the most basic levels of cloud storage will work for you (that is, something free with 2 to 5 GB of storage).  If you decide that this form of online storage meets your needs, then you would want more storage and begin looking for a payment plan that works for you.

Recommendations:

We do not have any affiliation to the companies we recommend nor do we benefit from our recommendations. We feel free to pass on our experiences when the use of a given solution is considerably beneficial.  Our recommendations with respect to cloud storage use:

The Solution:

Now that we have made some recommendations on cloud storage use, we can proceed in helping you get started by by answering some basic questions and coming up with a cloud storage provider that is safe and meets the requirements.

Free:  We like free.  However it is best to check out what exactly free is.  Some companies are able to provide free services through the use of advertisements.  Most frequently the provider will charge you once you have exceeded the storage capacity.  These companies also stand to profit by converting you to a paid level of subscription usually through a monthly fee.  As we have stated in our newsletter article, free is not always free.  We see constant prompts to purchase as incurring a cost.  This is called “nagware” and is very annoying to contend with.  We advise looking closely at the storage solution and examining what they consider to be free.  You can check customer reviews for an indication of nagware as you will not see it coming beforehand.  Free should also be without any time restrictions.

Space it Out:  For you to determine how much space you need you will have to assess what kinds of files you want to store in the cloud.  There are several types of file types with varying sizes.  So how many files can you store with 2 Giga Bytes (GB) of space?  The answer… it depends (of course).  Here is a way of thinking about it:

Multi-platform:  We prefer to have a system whereby it does not matter if you access files via your PC, a Mac, or a mobile device.  The other consideration is some providers (like Google Docs), have a web client interface where multiple users can edit a file.  However, once you attempt to use this file with your computer software you have formatting issues.  In effect it becomes only a working file.

The Choice – Dropbox:  Given that the other options are likely similar between these providers (web interfacing and integration with Windows Explorer), we recommend Dropbox.  It offers 2 GB of free space with no time restrictions or nags, you can get more storage for free (as we outline below),  it sets up very well with Windows Explorer, and it has very good cross platform support (for example, Windows, Mac OS X, iOS, and Android) so you can synchronize between computers and devices.

Get Started with DropBox:

We are going to outline how to get started, how to get more storage space while maintain the free entry level, how to interact with Windows Explorer, uploading and downloading via your web browser, and how you can recover files that you accidentally deleted.  To begin, you will need to first set up an account. Instruction 1 – Getting Started: Here are the steps to downloading and creating Dropbox:

When you are done, a Dropbox folder is created on your computer.

Instruction 2 – On Your Computer:
You now have Dropbox on your computer and you will be able to interact with the files there like any other folder with files.  Any time you want to interact with your Dropbox folder we suggest the following:

Right-click the Dropbox icon (the blue box shown below) located in the lower right of your system tray (bottom right area of your taskbar), and select Dropbox Folder.  Or, you can simply double-click the icon.

Your Dropbox folder opens up and you can interact with all the files there as you would if they were stored on your computer.  Simply drag and drop files to upload them.

Instruction 3 – Sharing: To share a file or folder you can simply locate it on your computer hard drive, right-click the item and select “Share Dropbox link”.  Dropbox provides you with two sub-folders to get you started: Public and Photos.  Let’s take a look at instructions on how to share photos as provided by Dropbox.   With the Dropbox photo galleries you can share photos with anyone including non-Dropbox users. These photos are available in a photo gallery that is viewable online.

You can easily share a folder by right-clicking and selecting “Share this folder”.  That’s it!  You can view this photo gallery online by going to: www.dropbox.com/photos.

Instruction 4 – Web Interfacing: You can go to someone else’s computer and access your files.  The way to do this is to open a web browser and go to Dropbox.com .  Log on using your account information.  You can now view your files, share them, or you can download or upload them.

Instruction 5 – Get Space: As mentioned, you begin with 2 GB of free space.  There is an incentive program available to increase your storage up to a maximum of 18 GB.  For example, if you refer a friend to Dropbox you earn 500 MB of space.  Taking a tour is a good idea.  You can learn about Dropbox and earn 250 MB of space.  For more information on this see: Dropbox.com/getspace.

Instruction 6 – Recover a file: Dropbox uses a feature called “Packrat”.  Every change made in your Dropbox folder over a 30 day period is preserved.  If you accidentally delete, lose, or erase a file you can recover it using the Packrat feature.  Here’s how:

For more information on how to use Dropbox, go to: Dropbox.com/help.

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