Storing your data on the web, not your PC

May 16, 2008

There is a trend to store your data on the web, rather than your PC, so that if your computer crashes and you haven’t backed up (and how many of us do this regularly enough), you will still have access to your data.

1. All data related to your own web sites and blogs are generally on your host’s servers.

2. If you use web mail, like gmail, your emails are on the web. I advise forwarding many of your important emails to gmail. There’s certainly enough space for them.

3. Google has begun the process of allowing free storage of spreadsheets, word processing, maps and videos.

4. Images, videos and podcasts can be stored on web pages.

5. I have heard of places where you can store data for a fee.

Now Microsoft, in its eternal competition with google, is using a beta form of this, called Live Mesh, but it will cost. It is currently offering 5GB of online storage to 10,000 people in this beta form.

Facebook and My Space are joining the race also. They allow third party developers to write applications for them.

Google is rumoured to be developing a web based operating system that ties all of it’s online applications together. It already has Google Gears which allows access to Google applications while offline.

Amazon too allows huge storage on its servers.

To see the video which Microsoft has developed for it’s Live Mesh you can visit it at Live Mesh

Who would use these storage spaces for a fee though, when so much is free on Google? We’ll have to wait and see. I’d certainly spend time moving most of my stuff over to a storage space on-line. This seems to be the trend, so get going folks! No more worrying about PCs crashing.

Posted in computers, podcasting, social networking, software, videos