In my last post, I talked about the cloud. And I also talked about iTunes and Google play as a way to access the cloud. For the most part, android users will be on Google play, and apple users will be on iTunes. But there are some differences in the two. Here's why.
For those who don't know, Google play is a streaming music service that allows you to access your music in the cloud. The difference between it, and other's like spotify or rhapsody, is that play let's you store 20,000 of your own songs on their servers for free. Just load them in your iTunes library or other media player on windows or Mac, and the Google play music manager will automatically match them with a high quality song on their server. If the can't find a match, it'll upload your version. This becomes very nice for people who have stacks of CD's lying around from another time. You can now have all those songs in the cloud.
ITunes is different in two ways:
1. They do charge for music streaming where you add your own music. However, at $20 a year, it won't set you back too much. The actual service is called iTunes match, and operates through iCloud.
1. They do charge for music streaming where you add your own music. However, at $20 a year, it won't set you back too much. The actual service is called iTunes match, and operates through iCloud.
2. They have a little wider of a selection of movies that you can purchase
Besides those two differences, iTunes and Google Play have no differences in content available, or ability. The biggest factor you'll face in deciding which one to use, is your primary devices.
Another service that's gaining major popularity, especially among writers who use Microsoft products, is Skydrive. When you set up an outlook.com account (formerly hotmail) or if you've already got one, you get 7 GB of free storage on Skydrive. Of course, that space can be expanded at a monthly rate, but for free that's the default storage size. What makes this service different from others, is that you can access your things streaming through the website. I usually write on Microsoft Office 2013. One of the new features that I love, is the ability to save documents to the cloud automatically. I can then pull that same document up on my tablet (through a third party app) and edit the document without having to download it first, as long as I have a WiFi connection. Currently, skydrive is the only automatic service I know of that has this feature.
Amongst skydrive, there are even several other services that let you store and access your files in the cloud, with a little bit of setup. Dropbox, and Box.com to name a few. Here are 15 websites that offer some of the best in cloud storage, for either free, or for competitive prices.
http://www.practicalecommerce.com/articles/2969-15-Cloud-Storage-Sites
Whatever site you choose, just remember this. The cloud is not a file storage website. The cloud is there to allow you to access the files that you store, either through their website, or through an app on your tablet, smartphone, or computer.
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