For those of you looking for cloud storage, I can HIGHLY suggest Google Drive. In you're not familiar with their pricing, I was paying a modest $5/month for 50GB of storage. I then upgraded to the 200GB for only $9.99/month. Well, tonight, I just found out they have once again outdone themselves as they have increased my account to a whopping 1TB of storage at no additional cost! That's right! You can get a full Terabyte of cloud storage with Google for only ten bucks a month

Oh...and have you guys heard of Google Fiber?! Not available in al, cities just yet but it too has me super stoked!

That's okay, not great. Just buy yourself an external hard drive! You won't have people snooping on it, you can access it from anywhere in the world (with an internet connection), and you'll pay less than $10/month.

I suppose it also depends on what you're using it for.

For example, I love that fact that if I design something for a client or am working on a project, I have the ability to share a file with a collaborator. I have had MANY instances where I'm on the road and a client asks to see a proof or wants a progress report and I can simply access the Google Drive app on my phone and all I have to do is type in his email and he receives an instant notification that allows him access to the folder or file. So in that sense, I see MORE value in a cloud storage system like Drive rather than an external drive.

Also, I haven't even mentioned all the other apps that Google allow you to sync up with your Drive account. I can install chart systems, whiteboard apps (for real time collaboration projects), video editing systems, and even create a folder to have faxes directly go into. There are literally HUNDREDS of different affiliates that work with Google. So yes, for $10/month, I think I'll go this route.

You can do all of that with your own external hard drive. Check out drives like Western Digital's My Cloud, or things like that. "The cloud" is just another name for an external hard drive housed somewhere else. All I'm saying is you can house it at your place, have physical access to it, allow others to access it wirelessy, install apps, download torrent files (automatically, even when your computer is off!) and create folders, all without having to pay a monthly fee. I've been doing that for about two years. In fact, many of my product files are housed on my own "cloud." All of the files are automatically backed up to a second location via Norton Ghost.

I access my files when I'm away from home, with a FREE wireless app, and my computer doesn't even have to be on!

I just don't like monthly fees! Plus, when you use a cloud service, you agree to allow the company to use your information, scan it, copy it, and look through it. Googles terms and conditions are ridiculous. At home, I don't have to do that.

I'm just providing an alternative. It is harder, requires knowledge of setup, etc. Plus, it's a larger up front investment, so there are downsides to it.

To each his own, it's just another option!

Hope that helps,
Kevin