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SkyDrive: Apple iCloud : Google Drive: Dropbox - comparison (FREE versions)

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IainB:
Looks like a handy comparison tool from Microsoft: http://windows.microsoft.com/en-US/skydrive/compare
It also shows you price differentials for additional storage.

I came across the above whilst doing some research on the Microsoft Windows Essentials 2012.

I also found some other, potentially useful info.:
It appears as though MS are phasing out Live Mesh, by homogenizing/"upgrading" it to SkyDrive in Windows Essentials 2012, per:What is included in Windows Essentials 2012?
- but you can still install/reinstall (revert to) Windows Essentials 2011 if you want.

Note:

* The Windows Essentials 2011 and 2012 versions are apparently mutually exclusive and cannot both be installed on the same PC.
* The Windows Essentials 2012 version's features (e.g., the handy MovieMaker anti-shake/smoothing feature) are not all enabled unless you have MS Windows 8.
See also these posts and embedded hyperlinks for more info which helps to explain changes/differences to the sometimes confusing MS product range:

* SkyDrive for Mesh users


* Windows Essentials 2012 arrives and adds features to Windows Movie Maker and Photo Gallery
If you have Windows Live Mesh from Windows Live Essentials 2011, installing Windows Essentials 2012 will uninstall Live Mesh and replace it with SkyDrive. You cannot have both Live Mesh and Windows Essentials 2012 installed on the same PC. You can see the differences between each application in this article.

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kunkel321:
If you use Vista, you must have your User Account Control (UAC; that annoying thing that pops up everytime you try to do the slightest thing, asking you if you approve or deny it) turned on.  The only way you can avoiding the constant pop up is to turn it off.  For some godawful reason, though, they made Skydrive such that it won't run on Vista if the UAC is off/disabled.  

Unfortunately this was a deal-breaker for me.  Unfortunate because I do like the SkyDrive service and the Webapps.

Edit:  I see that the comparison chart indicates GoogleDrive does not provide "Remote Access."   That's not correct is it?  I think GoogleDrive is the same thing as GoogleDocs, which you CAN access from any computer (by signing in).  Or am I wrong?

IainB:
...I see that the comparison chart indicates GoogleDrive does not provide "Remote Access."   That's not correct is it?  I think GoogleDrive is the same thing as GoogleDocs, which you CAN access from any computer (by signing in).  Or am I wrong?
-kunkel321 (August 15, 2012, 05:21 PM)
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I'm not sure, but I had assumed that "Remote Access" probably referred to "access  by any device".
For example, as the 2012-08-14 post, here: A new modern SkyDrive.com, updated apps, and Outlook.com at 10 million users
SkyDrive for more mobile devices
Back in December 2011 we released the original versions of our SkyDrive apps for Windows Phone and iPhone. Since December, almost 4 million people have used our mobile apps to access their SkyDrive from their mobile phone—and we’ve released a number of feature updates as well as fixes and improvements over that time.

Today, as part of making sure SkyDrive is available to all Windows customers, we’re excited to announce that an official SkyDrive app for Android phones will be available in just a few weeks. The Android app is similar to our mobile apps for Windows Phone and iOS and allows you to browse your SkyDrive, upload files to SkyDrive, as well as share SkyDrive files with “Send a link.” You'll also be able to open SkyDrive files from other apps, as well as upload, save, and share to SkyDrive from other apps.

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In any event, I didn't gain the impression that Microsoft were making any unfair claims in their comparison. (It looked reasonable to me.)

IainB:
Just when I was beginning to think that maybe Google had run out of improvement/innovation ideas, there is a highly informative post quietly made on the Google Drive Blog (they don't use the cliché "exciting" at all!), and I have copied it below, sans embedded hyperlinks.

Note especially (as emphasised in the post):

* 1. the introduction of OCR recognition of text in saved images, and used in searches.
* 2. the introduction of new technology for image recognition, and used in searches.
* 3. the simple structure of pricing for different size storage-paid accounts.
I wondered when Google were going to introduce the new features. I think this may be disruptive in the Cloud market - e.g., as it probably easily leapfrogs services such as Evernote. It will be interesting to see how the Cloud marketing and pricing for such services unfolds now.

Introducing Google Drive... yes, really
(Cross posted from the Official Google Blog)

Just like the Loch Ness Monster, you may have heard the rumors about Google Drive. It turns out, one of the two actually does exist. Today, we’re introducing Google Drive—a place where you can create, share, collaborate, and keep all of your stuff. Whether you’re working with a friend on a joint research project, planning a wedding with your fiancé or tracking a budget with roommates, you can do it in Drive. You can upload and access all of your files, including videos, photos, Google Docs, PDFs and beyond.
With Google Drive, you can:


* Create and collaborate. Google Docs is built right into Google Drive, so you can work with others in real time on documents, spreadsheets and presentations. Once you choose to share content with others, you can add and reply to comments on anything (PDF, image, video file, etc.) and receive notifications when other people comment on shared items.


* Store everything safely and access it anywhere (especially while on the go). All your stuff is just... there. You can access your stuff from anywhere—on the web, in your home, at the office, while running errands and from all of your devices. You can install Drive on your Mac or PC and can download the Drive app to your Android phone or tablet. We’re also working hard on a Drive app for your iOS devices. And regardless of platform, blind users can access Drive with a screen reader.


* Search everything. Search by keyword and filter by file type, owner and more. Drive can even recognize text in scanned documents using Optical Character Recognition (OCR) technology. Let’s say you upload a scanned image of an old newspaper clipping. You can search for a word from the text of the actual article. We also use image recognition so that if you drag and drop photos from your Grand Canyon trip into Drive, you can later search for [grand canyon] and photos of its gorges should pop up. This technology is still in its early stages, and we expect it to get better over time.
You can get started with 5GB of storage for free—that’s enough to store the high-res photos of your trip to the Mt. Everest, scanned copies of your grandparents’ love letters or a career’s worth of business proposals, and still have space for the novel you’re working on. You can choose to upgrade to 25GB for $2.49/month, 100GB for $4.99/month or even 1TB for $49.99/month. When you upgrade to a paid account, your Gmail account storage will also expand to 25GB. Drive is built to work seamlessly with your overall Google experience. You can attach photos from Drive to posts in Google+, and soon you’ll be able to attach stuff from Drive directly to emails in Gmail. Drive is also an open platform, so we’re working with many third-party developers so you can do things like send faxes, edit videos and create website mockups directly from Drive. To install these apps, visit the Chrome Web Store—and look out for even more useful apps in the future. This is just the beginning for Google Drive; there’s a lot more to come. Get started with Drive today at drive.google.com/start—and keep looking for Nessie...

Posted by Sundar Pichai, SVP, Chrome & Apps
Posted 25th April by A Googler

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Google also refer to this in a separate post - here:
...Last month, we launched a feature to let you search for text inside the PDFs in your documents list. Now, using the same optical character recognition technology, you can search for and copy highlighted text when you open a scanned PDF, like a fax or hotel receipt.
It’s not just stuff in your documents list: we’ve also made text in PDFs and images uploaded to Google Sites searchable...

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barney:
Have you actually tried the Google Drive yet?  I'm still exploring it, but kinda time-limited right now, so haven't done a lot with it yet.  Even though I'm not, to date, a strong user of Google Apps, the integration/collaboration aspect looks promising.  A friend of mine, a sailing instructor, is using Google for payment processing, so that integration could be quite convenient (since I'm currently his ad. hoc. admin  :o).

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