Continuing their new Live platform push, Microsoft has announced an iDisk-like service dubbed Live Drive. This bagillionth addition to the Live product family will boast 2GB of online storage, accessibly via any computer with a web browser (read: IE or possibly Firefox - if enough people bug them for it), which can also live on a Windows Vista computer as a virtual drive.MacNN, where we found this, didn't have many more details as to whether Live Drive will mimic any other .Mac functionality, such as application and data syncing, and we can't seem to get in with Firefox or Safari so that's all you get for now. Ultimately, with services like Live Drive and AOL's upcoming 5GB of free online storage via Xdrive, the virtual storage market is definitely heating up. Let's just hope it hasn't gotten too hot in the kitchen for .Mac.
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
8-30-2006 @ 6:31PM
ultim8Fury said...
Or you could carry a 2GB flash drive which works in any computer and doesn't even require a network connection let alone a browser.
I don't get the point of it.
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8-30-2006 @ 6:37PM
Coooly said...
Wrong Link : live.drive.com --> drive.live.com
It's strange... live drive seems down... TUAW effect ? :D
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8-30-2006 @ 7:00PM
Nick said...
This is off topic, but can we find out what is going on with Crossover for OS X? They have 1 day, according to their site:
When Will CrossOver Mac Ship?
We will ship a BETA of CrossOver Mac in August 2006.
http://www.codeweavers.com/products/cxmac/
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8-30-2006 @ 8:26PM
David Chartier said...
#1: Flash drives are great, and I own one myself. However, there's definitely the 'what if it gets lost/stolen/broken' factor with these physical drives.
I've lost one in my time, and Ive worked for a few support departments and seen plenty of similar cases.
The idea with online storage is that it doesn't matter whether you have the drive, or whether it got lost/stolen/broken - online access is becoming pretty ubiquitous in many parts of the wired world, and companies who offer these services typically utilize redundant backup systems to ensure your data stays put. I think anyone would be hard pressed to argue that the greater majority of computer users can claim the use of any kind of backup system whatsoever.
So all things considered, for many users who typically have access to the internet wherever they work and play, a ubiquitous online storage system that doesn't need to be plugged in and can't be forgotten when running out the door works out better than a physical flash drive.
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8-30-2006 @ 8:28PM
David Chartier said...
#2: Woops! Thanks, fixed.
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8-31-2006 @ 12:16AM
Tek said...
If the 5GB stays free, I'll drink the KoolAid willingly. The features sound like something I've always wanted. (Though without syncing bookmarks or contacts, it doesn't seem like it'll handle everything I throw at it, but close!)
According to the website, you can also choose to make certain folders public for linking in blogs/websites/etc. This eliminates the need for file hosting sites like Sendspace and others which expire or make people wait. That annoys everyone I know when I send 20-30MB Photoshop or Illustrator files =/. I could really dig this service. It says "automatic backup" but it doesn't really say much about that backup happening from just selecting certain folders to monitor.
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8-31-2006 @ 3:09AM
pete whitfield said...
There are many beautiful things about .mac and backup is just one of them. Even before iWeb, homepage was a little sweetie. Data transfer without the pain of ftp is one of my favorites and another is instant urls - just drag a media file into the sites folder and it has a url - http://homepage.mac.com/[yourname]/mediafile.mov or whatever. If Windows doesn't at least emulate all the current .mac features they will be (once again) shooting themselves in the proverbial foot.
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8-31-2006 @ 5:35AM
Andy said...
All this is really making .Mac look really bad. I've just resubscribed this year for the simple reason that I have nearly a gig of stuff on my iDisk and I can't be bothered to sort it out before expiry, but for a pay service, what you get is rubbish.
For just over £10 I get unlimited storage on Flickr for my photos for a year (2GB upload per month) with unlimited bandwidth. GMail now gives me nearly 3GB just for my emails, and it costs me nowt (although there are text ads). At full price .Mac is nearly £70 a year and gives 1GB split for emails and everything else. Not only that, but access speeds in the UK are appalling - putting the iDisk on your desktop is the equivalent to begging your Mac to hang all the time. Even the WebDAV implementation can be flakey!
Come on Apple, up the game here! With so much good new stuff coming out, .Mac is like the ugly cousin nobody likes to mention.
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8-31-2006 @ 5:43AM
Tijs said...
Let's -do- hope it get's too hot in the kitchen for .Mac. It's about time the service starts offering decent value for money. A power mac is cheaper than a Dell but .Mac is still a ripoff.
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8-31-2006 @ 6:51AM
Ken said...
So, all these services depend on your flash drive being lost/stolen/broken?
My sensitive data are password protected in my flash drive (an iPod shuffle), and I always back up my data in DVDs, too. Portable apps that play from your flash drive (not OS-independant, though) are my favorite.
Online "drives" are slower than physical media and it's most certain to find a USB port than a fast internet connection.
Companies have to come up with new ideas for online services than just competing on space and cost.
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