ElephantDrive

D. Frankel over at paidContent links to a new story out from PriceWaterhouseCoopers taking a look at consumer attitudes toward cloud-based digital storage. He sees the survey’s results as sort of “glass 30 percent full, 70 percent empty,” but that’s just, like, his opinion, man.

Here’s the long and short of it: PriceWaterHouseCoopers conducted a survey of 502 consumers of varying ages across the country. The survey found that nine out of ten consumers say they’re inclined to use cloud-based storage, but seven out of ten also say they’d be less likely to use such a service if charged for it.

Looking at the results one way, it looks like cloud service providers might be in trouble: people want their services, but they don’t want to pay for it. That would be bad news for the industry, if the survey’s other findings weren’t so encouraging. For instance, consumers aged 50-59 were more likely to show interest in cloud storage. The survey’s internals also showed increasing awareness among consumers of their options with regard to cloud storage.

So why is all this a good thing? It shows undeniable growth in the industry over the past few years. Whereas the cloud was formerly the province of early adopters and IT professionals, we’re seeing now that more people are aware of the efficiencies the cloud can introduce into their lives. That means more people are likely to use the cloud. The more people you get using a product, even if you’re offering it for free, the more likely you are to attract paying customers. More customers is almost always a good thing. What’s an even better thing is if those customers get a cloud solution that gives them access to all their data without breaking the bank.

It’s important to know what you should be looking for in a service, especially so with cloud storage. There are a ton of review sites out there, each with its own list of best providers; but really there are only a few things you really need to take into consideration when you’re looking for a cloud provider. An article from ADI News takes a look at the things that should factor into your cloud decision.

First off, you’re going to want to take a look at your bandwidth and storage options. You’ll want to pick a provider that allows you to store everything you need on the cloud, with no hidden bandwidth caps to keep you from accessing your data if you need it. And, of course, all of this will have to come at a price you or your organization can live with. Assuming you’ve found a provider like that, you’ll want to take a hard look at what additional services they offer beyond simple storage. Do you get automatic backups? Can you specify to backup your whole system, or are you limited to a single folder?

Beyond those, your biggest concerns are support and accessibility. A good provider is going to allow you to access your data from anywhere you can connect to the Internet, and on any device you choose to do so - desktop, laptop, tablet, or mobile. And, when you are occasionally unable to connect, you should be able to get in contact with someone quickly to resolve the problem.

Then, of course, you’ve got to look at security. We talk about security a lot on this blog, as you may have noticed, but that’s not just because we like to brag about ourselves: It’s actually really important. Whether it’s your precious memories or business documents you’re storing, there’s no need for prying eyes to have access, no? Best then to go with a provider that gives you world-class security: the type of encryption banks and intelligence agencies use, you know?

There’s no way one can overstate the reasons why every computer user (read: everyone) should have online backup, and we’re going to completely ignore two of the most commonly mentioned: convenience and accessibility.  That’s because these speak for themselves; convenience in that – wait a minute – we’re going to ignore these, aren’t we?

Okay, fair enough, we’ll address them briefly because they’re too important to ignore.  Convenience because your important files, photos, music, movies, everything can be backed up automatically; accessibility because you can get to your stuff from any computer anywhere on earth that there happens to be a high-speed Internet connection, which would seem to be anywhere on earth. But let’s get to the three reasons we simply can’t reiterate enough, shall we?

1.     You might just forget to back your stuff up by the old-fashioned methods, such as to a thumb drive or a CD Rom. And, you might back them up carelessly, randomly and in an unorganized manner, making them hard to retrieve and use.  And, if you’re not careful, you might end up backing stuff up multiple times on the same device, a complete waste of time.  And speaking of a waste of time isn’t dragging and dropping your documents onto an external disk or CD Rom a total drag?

2.     While you mean to take good care of your hardware, you just might fry your hard drive by spilling coffee on it or even dropping it, the dog might eat your thumb drive or use your CD Rom for a rawhide, or it might get stolen.  For that matter, if your house gets burglarized, even your various backup devices might get stolen. Bummer. There was even a case wherein a writer purportedly sold his old computer on eBay and forgot to copy all of his manuscripts.  Ouch!

3.             Just as our dependence on computers has changed, so has the threat from things like viruses and malware and ransomware. And the threats are likely to get more and more, well, threatening.  And more creative. The predators who make an illegitimate living seem to get smarter and smarter.  You need to stay one step ahead of them, and the best way to do that is to utilize online backup.  And, when you add up all of the features and benefits and value; for the lay person, the small business and even the large enterprise, ElephantDrive fits the bill.

Don’t fall victim to carelessness or complacency.  You now have access to the most sophisticated data and multimedia backup the consumer tech world has ever known.  Go for it!

No, not higher taxes.  No online backup provider, not even ElephantDrive, can help you with that, unfortunately.  We’re talking about data security and recovery here, and the fact that a recent survey by a major software company revealed that 57% of all small businesses have no disaster recovery plan.  57%!!! Yikes! That means, in simple terms, in case of a catastrophe (natural or otherwise), 57% of all small business are at high risk to go out of business. If you don’t have a disaster plan, you’re vulnerable.

And, if you own a small business, there is simply no excuse for you to be in this position. You’ve put your blood, sweat and tears into your business.  It’s your life, and very likely represents the future welfare of both you and your family. Not being prepared for the worst-case scenario leaves you vulnerable.

Would you be so cavalier if we were talking about actual matters of life or death?  Think about it in these terms:

1.      You would never eat tuna salad that’s been left out in the sun, would you?
2.      If you have a young child, you wouldn’t drive at high speeds with him or her jumping up and down in the back seat, would you?
3.      Would you go without car insurance or health insurance?
4.      Do you like to engage in dangerous behavior?

So why be nonchalant about the risks you face with your small business?  There are no excuses anymore.  Online data storage and backup for small businesses from ElephantDrive is inexpensive, requires no hardware investment, is versatile enough to store more than just documents, and can make your small business not only more secure, but more efficient.  That’s because with the universal accessibility offered by the best online backup providers (did we mention ElephantDrive?), you don’t have to lug documents around to work from home or remote locations.  Such a deal. Security, accessibility, flexibility, versatility, affordability – more “ities” than you would have ever thought possible.

Your small business may be small, but whether you want to keep it small or grow it big, there’s no reason not to be big time when it comes to safety.  There’s no reason not to consider online backup and disaster recovery from ElephantDrive.

It’s not that online or cloud backup providers necessarily mean to be sneaky, or evil.  It’s just that sometimes the consumer can sign up for a “great” deal without getting all the facts.  There are a couple of selling points that online backup companies use that, when examined under the microscope, might not be so attractive.

For example, almost all of the online or cloud backup vendors offer a “free” model.  This is great.  Everyone loves free. However, here’s the sneaky part.  It’s only free for a limited period of time.  Then they start charging you or they delete your data.  “Real” free means that it’s free and it’s forever.  Now, obviously, free unlimited capacity would be a rip-off for the provider, so there has to be a storage limit, meaning you might have to be selective about what you store online, but you don’t have to worry about an invoice showing up unexpectedly.  But be aware.  With free may come a lot of advertising.  That’s what makes the free part possible. So if you can’t live with the vendor having a profit motive, don’t go for a free plan.

Another thing to be wary of is automatic syncing.  While this sounds like a convenient feature, it has one major drawback; when you delete something on your home computer, the automatic sync will trigger a deletion online.  That’s just the opposite of why you have online backup in the first place.  Imagine deleting something very important because you’re positive that your online backup service has a copy, and then finding out that when the backup synced with your computer, your file was deleted. So, look for a vendor that does not delete anything unless you initiate the deletion. Like its trained namesake, ElephantDrive knows how to follow your instructions, and won’t delete anything until you tell it to.

Finally, there’s the issue of access.  All companies claim universal access, but the question you want to ask yourself is “Can I access my files from any computer anywhere in the world?”  This is critical.  You might be working on your Master’s thesis when your neighborhood is hit with a massive power outage.  Or, it might be something as simple as going on an overnight trip and forgetting your power supply. The thesis is due in five days, so you have no time to waste. The right online storage option will allow you to go anywhere that there is a broadband Internet connection (can you say, “Library”?), log onto a website and access and work on your scholarly masterpiece.  When you need it, your work will be waiting for you, ready to download onto your new computer.  And remember- not all online backup providers are hardware or operating system agnostic.  You need to be able to work cross-platform for true universal access.

So, reading between the lines is essential.  Don’t just pick the first online backup provider you hear about, and don’t necessarily just pick the one that’s the most well-known.  Do your research and don’t be fooled by features that are not all that they’re cracked up to be.

While babysitting my 2-year-old niece I learned something that I don’t think anyone in my family knew – she loves bunnies. Apparently she loves everything about them. Whether we’re watching a TV show, online video, or looking at bunny pictures, she starts laughing at an uncontrollable rate – and I love it. In my short time dealing with my niece I’ve learned that I’d rather have children doing anything that isn’t crying, and currently this obsession with bunnies is saving my ears.

My niece and I were playing around on the Internet, and any time I clicked on a bunny picture she’d laugh, I’d save the picture, and we’d move on. I was holding this nugget of information because I wanted to surprise her mother (my sister).  I proceeded to set my sister’s home computer up with an ElephantDrive account so we were both synced. Once I installed the software, things were simple: any time I would save a picture on my computer it saved to the cloud, ultimately saving to my sister’s computer.

Over the next hour, I was in bunny mode, saving anything and everything to the large storage of the cloud. I think it’s safe to say that my niece and I exhausted the bunny world on the Internet. When my sister proceeded to come home I didn’t say anything, just said goodbye and went on my way.

A day later while on the phone with my sister, I heard my niece crying in the background. I told my sister to walk over to her computer and open the cloud. She did. I told her to start pulling up the bunny pictures, and then suddenly I heard my niece laughing.

The cloud is perfect for my niece. Any time I find something of bunny importance I just drop it in the cloud, and vice versa with my sister. Any time they come over to my house we just pull up the pictures and save ourselves from any amount of crying… I just hope she continues to like bunnies.

I was heading into work early because I had to finish a project that was due later in the day. As I pulled from my driveway, what I consider to be the worst-case scenario happened – my car stopped working. I did the typical man things by looking under the hood and hoping something would magically come to me and I’d know how to fix it. But I got nothing. I called a repairman and had him diagnose the problem. He told me it was something with the water pipe and he needed to tow it to the shop. All I really heard him say was, “You’re going to be late for work.”

I went into mild panic mode because I’m now not only going to arrive to work later than I wanted but I’m going to arrive late in general. I called a few friends to get a ride – nothing. I decided I had to take the bus; it wasn’t ideal because it takes so long, but it was my only option.

I hopped on the bus, more frustration and panic taking over, wondering how I’m going to finish all of my work on time. As options were running through my mind I saw the best possible sign I could have ever seen: Free WiFi available on bus. I love technology! The moment I saw the sign I whipped out my laptop, connected to the Internet, and headed to my ElephantDrive, which is where all of my work files have been backed up.

It wasn’t until this moment that I truly appreciated the cloud. I proceeded to work for the next hour and a half in my own zone, sifting through the cloud and not missing a beat, as though I was already at the office. I was so into “work mode” I almost missed my stop.

As I was packing my things, I realized how much I got done. My normal commute takes about 45 minutes with traffic, but I didn’t care this was double the time – it flew. I was able to catch up on my work and somehow the cloud relieved my stress. It’s good to know how accessible things are; I’m actually contemplating the option of the bus/cloud combo as a permanent alternative.

There’s a fantastic sub shop right next to my office here in downtown Boston called Al’s. Here, go ahead and check out the website (http://www.alscafes.com/; it’s the one on South Street, right by South Station, if anyone’s familiar with Boston). It’s delicious. Amazing ingredients wrapped in fresh-baked French bread … I have to stop myself from getting up from my desk and getting a sandwich right now.
Al’s is also one of those great places where the “small” size could easily fill up any mortal human being, and where the “large” size could conceivably be a challenge on a Food Network show. So, every time I go in there, I do have to make a choice. What size do I need? Do I want to just feel satisfied, or do I need that extra kind of full that requires a post-lunchtime nap at the desk? Would there be another person at the office that could use that extra sandwich?

Just like I do every time I go to Al’s, you’ve got to make the choice of what size plan you’re going to need when you get ready to back up your  stuff with ElephantDrive. We’ve already established the benefits of using the service – the added safety, security and accessibility you get with the cloud – but the next step after you decide to use the service is to decide how much space your stuff will take up.

If you’re a personal user – someone who wants to just back up their home files or only a certain number of work files – we have our different accounts listed here (http://home.elephantdrive.com/plans-and-pricing/personal-plans/). These accounts start at 100 gigabytes (that’s about the size of the average hard drive) and go all the way up to a 2-terabyte plan. Now, if you’re just storing the average stuff most users have (pictures, videos, audio files, word documents), you will probably be okay with 100-500 GB of storage, depending on how much stuff you have. If you’re someone that does a lot of heavy file work at home – a graphic designer, let’s say, or another type of freelancer – a plan in the TB range might be better.

Now, if you’re a business user, you’re better off checking out our business plans, which can be found here. (http://home.elephantdrive.com/plans-and-pricing/business-plans) These are broken down into four different categories – small, medium, large, or Terabyte+. Small businesses should be okay with the 50-250 GB “small” storage range; companies in the 50/100 employee range can use the “medium” 300-500 GB of storage cluster; and any larger companies (or ones with intense file space demands) should be looking at the “large” or Terabyte+ group.

So be sure to think carefully about these options and select the best one for your business or personal use. And if anyone happens to travel to Boston anytime soon, stop off at Al’s? Steak Pizzaola. Trust me.

The very first cellphone I ever had was presented to me as a 16th birthday present, in a massive package the size of a cereal box, from parents who gave me that whole “well, you’re driving now, so in case there’s an emergency…” spiel. I was just overjoyed to finally get one.

The cellphone was an old Samsung model – for the life of me, I can’t remember exactly what it was, but I know it looked a lot like this (http://www.prlog.org/10722472-see-which-cell-phones-are-rated-as-best-unbiased-reviews.jpg), a flip-phone designed in drab battleship gray like that vessel from Under Siege (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h9wf-QTEO6Y). It had a flimsy plastic antenna that eventually got bent back into an inefficient “l” shape, and flimsy keys that eventually had to be mashed down like a carnival game. As for features … well, there was room in its contacts database for all of 150 names, a “web browser” that took about three hours to warm up (on its best days), and a Tetris-like knockoff brick-moving game that became tedious after all of five minutes.

As it is with a lot of technologies, it’s fun to think about that ancient behemoth of a cellphone when I look at my current one. I upgraded to an Android smartphone about a year ago, after my reliable old BlackBerry finally crapped out. It’s synced itself with my Facebook and Twitter network, giving me an Orwellian level of details for all 500 of my contacts. It hums along on the 3G network, delivering all the web pages I would ever want to read to me at ludicrously fast speeds, allowing me to read Deadspin and Gawker when I can escape from the office for lunch. Instead of Tetris knockoffs, I can whittle away my idle time smashing a whole bunch of evil pigs with angry birds or go back in time by playing Sonic the Hedgehog.

However, my favorite feature on my Android (by far) is the ElephantDrive application. It’s really the biggest marker of how far cellphone technology has come – from my completely basic, no-frills cellphone model has sprung this modern smartphone, bolstered into an amazing device with the ElephantDrive application. I can upload all the music and video files from my hard drive at home to the cloud and play them straight on my phone – incredibly beneficial while I’m stuck on one of the Boston subway’s epic failures. I put work documents in the cloud, and review and edit them when I’m traveling somewhere. I can even put all the pictures from my current city adventures (minus the embarrassing / incriminating ones) up on the cloud to show my parents when I’m down for a visit. It’s a wondrous tool.

So, if you’ve got an Android, be sure to download the application (it’s simple … just search for ElephantDrive on the Market application) and start to upload your files; you won’t regret it. And if you have a cellphone that looks like this (http://www.prlog.org/10722472-see-which-cell-phones-are-rated-as-best-unbiased-reviews.jpg) … well, it might be time to upgrade.

There aren’t a lot of hobbies I’ve carried over from my college years. I had to stop most of them, but there is one thing that I’m absolutely, 100% sure to keep from my college years. Every Tuesday, at 9:00 P.M., at a little bar in downtown Boston right across the street from my old campus, five of my friends and I gather for our weekly trivia night. It’s been over five years since we all graduated, and we never miss it.

The man who runs the trivia is a garrulous native New Yorker in his early thirties named Jim who has been there for every single Tuesday of those five years – much to his benefit, as he’s now engaged to one of our team members (who he met at the trivia night). He doesn’t create the same sort of stodgy, dry and fifth-grade level trivia questions that poison most other bar trivia evenings. Instead, he makes every question into a multimedia extravaganza, complete with song clues or video clips. For example: the trivia host will give us the real name of a famous person, and then ask us to tell him the more common name we know him or her by. This week he gave us the name “Charles Lutwidge Dodgson,” and then played “Don’t Come Around Here No More” by Tom Petty as a song clue.
Got a clue? Remember the video? The one that creeped us all out way back in the 1980s? (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h0JvF9vpqx8&ob=av3e) Yeah, “Charles Lutwidge Dodgson” was Lewis Carroll, the Alice in Wonderland author. There you go, thank me if you’re ever on Jeopardy and that question comes up.

A few months ago, Jim was frustrated with his trivia setup. He was burning all of the songs and materials he needed for the night to a series of CDs, and he’d always end up leaving a few important discs behind at his Cambridge apartment right before the trivia kicked. Jim would usually have to end up singing the song clues, much to his embarrassment and our scorn. Our ears paid the price.

Not since I showed him ElephantDrive. Now all Jim has to do is upload all of his songs to the ElephantDrive server, and any song or video he needs to play is right there for him. There’s no more waiting, no more scrambling for CDs … and thankfully, no more singing. All thanks to ElephantDrive.

So, I’ll leave you with one of Jim’s all-time greatest questions. Can you name the eight different historical figures Bill and Ted kidnap in Bill and Ted’s Excellent Adventure?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R1AEDwsoCx8