Dropbox was first. It was not Google this time which spearheaded the ‘sync your files on the cloud’ industry though they are one of the best in the field. But they, by no single inch are behind in popularity or functionality. But is cloud behaving the way we want it to?
Cloud storage – the problem
Ever since we had Drive, we have always wanted a Drive client for Linux. There are costlier products like InSync and then there are hack-together products like Grive. InSync is paid and it seems no one is in mood to get that running on their systems just for syncing files. Grive has to be run manually and that is not how cloud needs to work for us. Let us first see the limitations of Google Drive or Dropbox; the pioneer first:
- Dropbox:
- Smaller storage space (up to 5 GB on free accounts)
- Multiple accounts not supported by client.
- Cannot edit documents and spreadsheets in the web interface.
- Control over sharing is broken in certain ways
- Google Drive:
- No Linux client
- Multiple accounts not supported by client.
- Sharing can be done only with those who have a Google account and the control is not granular enough.
In addition, all these storage solutions are controlled by third parties. While Google and Dropbox will swear to protect your data, we have heard enough about NSA, haven’t we? So the one weak point about them is – they both belong to a country where the government is voracious for all kinds of data. Do we have a solution, if at all? Yes, and the answer is – have a cloud storage of your own.
Your very ownCloud
So what is so great about this thing anyway, you might enquire!We’ve got a lot to tell and don’t know where to begin. Let us begin with the first word ‘own’.
Ownership: So, ownCloud runs on your hardware, which means that if you want ownCloud, you have to have your own web server. That said, if you host any site, ownCloud can run on that. Now, it will not run via your blogger or wordpress account; you do need your own server. That also means – your privacy depends on your hosting provider’s terms. If you have a server which you completely own, ownCloud will make it yours! Combined with a service like that of DynDNS, you can host your ownCloud instance even on your laptop!
Space restrictions: You are limited by space only by choice. If you install ownCloud on a hard disk with 2 TB of free space – that is the storage space you get. If you want ‘a hell lot more’, well, there are a lot of techniques to combine hard disks and mount the cumulative storage as one mountpoint (LVM?) so your space limitations are determined by your choices. Your choices and no one is there to impose anything on you.
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