monoceroset (![[info]](http://l-stat.livejournal.com/img/userinfo.gif){kind=small} monoceroset) wrote,@ 2009-01-08 21:55:00 |
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Lab notes online, in a way
In line with sentiments I put across in my previous post, I've been wasting some time on investigating online storage methods for keeping documents about my amateur projects in a permanent fashion. I've settled for the moment on Windows Live Skydrive, a Microsoft service. It has its problems--more on that below--but so far it comes closer to satisfying my requirements than the other services I've tried. Here's the stuff I have up so far, covering only the work I've done today:
http://cid-2c07675c825f849a.skydrive.li
The criteria:
1. I wish to be able to store any kind of file in any hierarchy I choose. Articles I wish to save for future reference, for example, may be PDF files. Saving not merely photos but audio and video files may be an option in the future. Above all I need more than a top-level hierarchy. This immediately forbids the use of Google Notebook and Evernote.
2. I would like access to the online storage through the Windows file browser as though it were just another remote drive. This eliminates Box.net and others as a possibility.
3. I wish for the service to be provided by a reasonably trustworthy company who isn't going to disappear soon. Google and Microsoft, for example, I can trust, others less so.
4. I want a free service with sufficient storage space for the near future at least but with an upgrade path. Dropbox, for example, provides insufficient capacity for free users while giving them only a single, expensive paid option, so it's not a good choice.
5. I wish to be able to "publish" my notes by providing a URL anyone can view. This is not a strict criterion but, if I want to show someone exactly how I've been going about my experiments without having to write up a precis first, it'd be nice just to provide a URL. This eliminates Windows Live Mesh, which has a lot of good points but only allows sharing between individual Windows Live users.
Windows Live Skydrive provides a 25 GB quota without charge and is organized as a standard hierarchical file system. It's not likely to disappear, particularly because Microsoft has been working more Windows Live integration into Windows 7, which I will probably adopt sooner than later. It allows public sharing of folders. The one thing it does not do, for some reason, is provide integration with the Windows XP or Vista desktop. For this I must turn to a third-party application, Gladinet. I don't quite like that. It's a better option than my second choice, using Windows Live Mesh, which is well-integrated with the file browser but allows for no public sharing.
Get a load of that URL up top, though. Why they don't provide a sub-subdomain name or something else that yields a legible URL is beyond me. I trust they'll fix it eventually.
In line with sentiments I put across in my previous post, I've been wasting some time on investigating online storage methods for keeping documents about my amateur projects in a permanent fashion. I've settled for the moment on Windows Live Skydrive, a Microsoft service. It has its problems--more on that below--but so far it comes closer to satisfying my requirements than the other services I've tried. Here's the stuff I have up so far, covering only the work I've done today:
http://cid-2c07675c825f849a.skydrive.li
The criteria:
1. I wish to be able to store any kind of file in any hierarchy I choose. Articles I wish to save for future reference, for example, may be PDF files. Saving not merely photos but audio and video files may be an option in the future. Above all I need more than a top-level hierarchy. This immediately forbids the use of Google Notebook and Evernote.
2. I would like access to the online storage through the Windows file browser as though it were just another remote drive. This eliminates Box.net and others as a possibility.
3. I wish for the service to be provided by a reasonably trustworthy company who isn't going to disappear soon. Google and Microsoft, for example, I can trust, others less so.
4. I want a free service with sufficient storage space for the near future at least but with an upgrade path. Dropbox, for example, provides insufficient capacity for free users while giving them only a single, expensive paid option, so it's not a good choice.
5. I wish to be able to "publish" my notes by providing a URL anyone can view. This is not a strict criterion but, if I want to show someone exactly how I've been going about my experiments without having to write up a precis first, it'd be nice just to provide a URL. This eliminates Windows Live Mesh, which has a lot of good points but only allows sharing between individual Windows Live users.
Windows Live Skydrive provides a 25 GB quota without charge and is organized as a standard hierarchical file system. It's not likely to disappear, particularly because Microsoft has been working more Windows Live integration into Windows 7, which I will probably adopt sooner than later. It allows public sharing of folders. The one thing it does not do, for some reason, is provide integration with the Windows XP or Vista desktop. For this I must turn to a third-party application, Gladinet. I don't quite like that. It's a better option than my second choice, using Windows Live Mesh, which is well-integrated with the file browser but allows for no public sharing.
Get a load of that URL up top, though. Why they don't provide a sub-subdomain name or something else that yields a legible URL is beyond me. I trust they'll fix it eventually.
