Which cloud for my needs?

[Macs4u]

Hi,

After using iCloud for what seems like ages, I've got pretty fed up of it being so unreliable and looking for a new way/cloud provider .My situation..

MacBook Pro 15" with 512gb SSD .I have roughly 1tb splashed across iCloud and my external hard drive. I want to simplify it all and have it all in the cloud . Which cloud provider can I have the 1tb of stuff sat up there and showing in finder but not to be downloaded to the MacBook as 1tb is more than my 512gb SSD .BUT I want the flexibility of, if I need something downloaded to use, click on it to download (such as some video files) and use them and when finished be able to click on the file and delete the local version and it instantly give me that storage back .iCloud doesn't do that for me and seems to take bits away that I can't get back without formatting the whole Mac .

Matt

 

[Fishrrman]

My advice is boilerplate:
Don't trust "the cloud" with data that's important to you.

Keep copies of it on physical drives that YOU control.

I'm not saying "don't use the cloud at all".
I AM saying, don't rely on it in lieu of "localized storage".

Folks have done so, and found that "the cloud" they trusted let them down...

 

[dk001]

Hi,

After using iCloud for what seems like ages, I've got pretty fed up of it being so unreliable and looking for a new way/cloud provider .My situation..

MacBook Pro 15" with 512gb SSD .I have roughly 1tb splashed across iCloud and my external hard drive. I want to simplify it all and have it all in the cloud . Which cloud provider can I have the 1tb of stuff sat up there and showing in finder but not to be downloaded to the MacBook as 1tb is more than my 512gb SSD .BUT I want the flexibility of, if I need something downloaded to use, click on it to download (such as some video files) and use them and when finished be able to click on the file and delete the local version and it instantly give me that storage back .iCloud doesn't do that for me and seems to take bits away that I can't get back without formatting the whole Mac .

Matt

Trusting iCloud? Not me - have had too many issues.

I currently us a mix. I have Google Drive for my main storage - it works very well. For my more confidential information / items I have I use Box. In addition, I also have a local external drive for backup or offline access. To date I have had no real issues with either Google Drive or Box.

 

[Macs4u]

Having a good look it seems Google drive is looking good as music and videos stream online without having to download and looks far more reliable than iCloud.

Matt

 

[NoBoMac]

I think the big issue will be Finder integration. Personally, I am not aware of a Finder plugin type thing to show cloud storage and not store locally until file actually accessed.

There is Google's Drive Stream, but, it is part of G Suite (business) solutions.

Personally, I have no issue with using the web interfaces of the various services.

I have my stuff scattered across five cloud accounts (Amazon, One Drive, Google, Dropbox, iCloud; six if you count my Box account to mirror the Dropbox account).

Most are used for archive/backup of files, pictures (Amazon, Google, One Drive), iCloud for Apple specific things (Calendar, Contacts, Keychain, Safari, iTunes Match; no docs).

Dropbox is for the most used cross-device files and for syncing apps' content between devices (checklist program, password vault). Dropbox is the only one I keep on the Mac, and that is only using 3GB (like I mentioned, only the stuff I REALLY need/want between devices).

But even with all that, I keep copies of everything on HDDs: can't have enough backups, imo.