iCloud vs Google Drive; which do you use??

[marc55]

iCloud is convenient, but I hate the the following:

1. Files are no longer on the desktop; they're in the iCloud folder. I like the ability to access files with one click, instead of having to go to the iCloud folder, then click on the file I want

2. I really hate the fact that you cannot share folders, only individual files.

I liked Dropbox, but since they limited it to only 3 devices, it's no longer an option; additionally, the 2GB is no longer useful, as I'm up to 4GB in files. I don't store pictures or music.

So, is Google Drive any easier to use? or can you recommend something else?

Thank you
m

 

[chabig]

You are mistaken about the Desktop. Documents there are in the cloud. I would never use Google Drive, simply because I have privacy concerns with Google. There are many other options. Read about them on Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Comparison_of_file_hosting_services

 

[pshufd]

I use iCloud. I just open the folder if I want to do things with documents. I suppose that it might be nice to add them to the desktop but they are a different directory from the desktop and it might be confusing as to whether or not you're working with desktop files or iCloud files.

 

[mrex]

gdrive

 

[dmk1974]

If you want a 3rd option, I've been using Microsoft OneDrive across my Macs, iPad, and iPhone for a couple years. 365 Family plan can often be found for $50-$60 which covers up to 5 users for 1 year and EACH person gets 1 TB storage. The office apps are good, but mainly pay for the OneDrive backup.

 

[Vlad Soare]

I use both.
As for opening files, nothing beats Spotlight. I rarely bother opening Finder and navigating to the destination folder. Most of the times I just press Ctrl-Space and type a few letters of the file or folder name, and that's it. Works like a charm.

 

[Shanghaichica]

Primarily icloud. I used it to back up all my devices (iPhone, 2 x ipad, MacBook). I also use icloud drive for file management.

I do pay for the lowest google drive plan, simply as a secondary back up for my MacBook, but otherwise I don't use it.

 

[NoBoMac]

All of them.

Short answer, if one service is down, yeah, might be inconvenient, but not totally knocked offline.

iCloud: Contacts, Calendar/Reminders, Keychain, Safari, Notes, Messages, News, the odd app that uses it for syncing across devices.
Google: grandfathered $5/yr plan, so, encrypted file archive for important stuff, photo sharing, email.
Dropbox: day-to-day files (but nothing sensitive: recipe files, odd spreadsheet/word-processing doc, etc), odd app that uses it for syncing across devices.
Box: quarterly rsync of Dropbox.
Amazon: Same encrypted files as in GDrive, plus photo archive
OneDrive: Again, the encrypted files

Add in TimeMachine backups (2x drives), manual copying to external drives once a month, quarterly copy to cloud accounts, clone of the internal drive once a month (across alternating drives), pretty well covered for data loss. And have found that most of my stuff I do not need away from home or need to send to someone NOW, so, not filling up either of the services, can wait until I get home to pull/send from the laptop. Or external drive. Or TimeMachine. Or...

 

[nouveau_redneck]

All of them.

Short answer, if one service is down, yeah, might be inconvenient, but not totally knocked offline.

iCloud: Contacts, Calendar/Reminders, Keychain, Safari, Notes, Messages, News, the odd app that uses it for syncing across devices.
Google: grandfathered $5/yr plan, so, encrypted file archive for important stuff, photo sharing, email.
Dropbox: day-to-day files (but nothing sensitive: recipe files, odd spreadsheet/word-processing doc, etc), odd app that uses it for syncing across devices.
Box: quarterly rsync of Dropbox.
Amazon: Same encrypted files as in GDrive, plus photo archive
OneDrive: Again, the encrypted files

Add in TimeMachine backups (2x drives), manual copying to external drives once a month, quarterly copy to cloud accounts, clone of the internal drive once a month (across alternating drives), pretty well covered for data loss. And have found that most of my stuff I do not need away from home or need to send to someone NOW, so, not filling up either of the services, can wait until I get home to pull/send from the laptop. Or external drive. Or TimeMachine. Or...

I like your backup coverage - thorough.

What method do you use to encrypt files before sending to cloud storage? Something like Arq backup or macOS encrypted images?

 

[Lee_Bo]

I use iCloud for everything.

However, on long photoshoots with little to no cellular service, I have one of these:

SanDisk 256GB iXpand Flash Drive... https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01MUH9BET?ref=ppx_pop_mob_ap_share

 

[NoBoMac]

What method do you use to encrypt files before sending to cloud storage? Something like Arq backup or macOS encrypted images?

Nothing fancy. My important stuff is well organized under a folder, so, just make a .zip file of the sub-folder structure there, then pass that file to a 7z encryption/archiver program (in my case, Keka). 7z and zip being pretty much universal, can relatively easily pull down to most computing platforms and recover info if a major disaster strikes the Mac, external drives, TimeMachine copies, etc.

 

[MisterSavage]

Google: grandfathered $5/yr plan, so, encrypted file archive for important stuff, photo sharing, email.

I'm really careful about keeping my credit card info up to date because I don't want to lose than grandfathered plan!