What's the best free method for storing/sharing large files online? (1 Viewer)

[Scientician 0.8]

The title says it all. I gotta send some wavs to a dude.

 

[ann post]

i use dropbox free service. both folks need to have it. think it does a few gb free.

 

[7 - No tomorrow]

Doesn't hotmail come with some ridiculously huge storage now?

 

[7 - No tomorrow]

Sorry it's called Windows Sky Drive
25G free storage.

From Mr. Pogue

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/03/04/technology/personaltech/04pogue-email.html

It's a free, 25-gigabyte virtual hard drive on the Internet, accessible from any computer. It's a perfect intermediate parking place for files you want to shuttle from one computer to another. You can also use it for offsite backup of your most important files, or as a handy intermediary for sharing big folders with other people far away.

The key point is that you can pull the SkyDrive onto any computer's screen--Mac, Windows, whatever--at your office, at your home, at your friend's house, so you don't need to carry around a physical disk to transport files.

Yes, of course, this is the same idea as Apple's iDisk or dozens of other online storage services--but there are two big differences. First, this one is free. Second, it's many times larger than the other free services, which usually offer something like 2 gigabytes. (But see below for my note on Adrive.com.)

A quick tutorial. First, you need to sign up for a free Windows Live account (http://home.live.com). Once you're there, choose More SkyDrive. (You can also go directly to the SkyDrive by logging into http://skydrive.live.com.)

Microsoft starts you off with folders like Public (everyone in the world can see the contents), Documents; Favorites (only you can see them), and "Shared favorites" (only people in your address book can see them).

You can create your own folders, too. Click "Create folder." You're asked to name the new folder, but also to specify who has access to it: Everyone, My Network, Just Me, or Select People.

When you click Next, you're shown the "Add files" screen, where five Choose File buttons await. That's a slow, horrible way to upload files to the SkyDrive--so accept the invitation to install Microsoft's Upload Tool, which lets you drag files en masse from the desktop into the SkyDrive.

Of course, what you really want is to have your SkyDrive show up on your Windows desktop, just like a real hard drive, so you can simply drag files in and out of its folders.

Fortunately, that's exactly what the free SDExplorer program does. You can download it from http://www.cloudstorageexplorer.com.

Once you've got some files and folders on your SkyDrive, the fun begins.

You can retrieve the files yourself, from any Internet-connected computer. Just log into Windows Live, click SkyDrive, open the folder, click the file, and then click Download.

Or you can send friends and colleagues to retrieve the files themselves. To use this feature, open the SkyDrive folder that contains what you want to give your pals--it has to be a folder you've actually made public, or at least available to your lucky recipient.

Open the folder, then click "Send a link." Click the To button to choose recipients, or categories of them, from your address book. Add a message, if you like. Be sure to turn on "Don't require recipients to sign in with Windows Live ID," unless you want to fill their lives with red tape. Click Send.

Once your colleagues receive your e-mail, they have but to click the link in the message to visit your folder and download the huge file immediately. They can do it even if they don't have Windows Live accounts and even if they're on a Mac or whatever.

 

[ann post]

skyboys

 

[7 - No tomorrow]

i use dropbox free service. both folks need to have it. think it does a few gb free.

Sorry it's called Windows Sky Drive
25G free storage.

From Mr. Pogue

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/03/04/technology/personaltech/04pogue-email.html

Before the dark times, posters got rep for stuff like this.

Not anymore.

 

[Scientician 0.8]

Thanks you guys, I'm trying out skydrive right now.

 

[Goodbye]

i use dropbox free service. both folks need to have it. think it does a few gb free.

Not true. Pop it in the public folder & right click for a download link.

 

[ann post]

Not true. Pop it in the public folder & right click for a download link.

ah cool.

 

[Anthony]

what Ian said. 'tis deadly.

 

[ann post]

ian said pop it in the folder and right click.

 

[Goodbye]

indeedineyedid