Warning

 

Close

Confirm Action

Are you sure you wish to do this?

Confirm Cancel
BCM
User Panel

Posted: 10/28/2014 4:08:52 AM EDT
Just an FYI... Microsoft announced yesterday that all Office 365 subscribers will now get unlimited OneDrive storage.



So for around $100/year, you get Word, Excel, Access, PowerPoint, Publisher, Outlook and OneNote, plus unlimited online storage.  Not a bad deal.

I'm not a big Microsoft fan (UNIX admin for 25 years), but I do have to use Word, etc. for compatibility with work documents.  The 1 TB of OneDrive storage that my 365 subscription was kind of cool... turned out to be a good place to put backup copies of years worth of digital pics, music, etc.  Not sure what I'll do with 10 TB, much less 'unlmiited', but I'm sure I'll think of something.  
Link Posted: 10/28/2014 4:14:41 AM EDT
[#1]
Wow.  I need to seriously look into that.
Link Posted: 10/28/2014 6:25:46 AM EDT
[#2]
Any restrictions on pron?
Link Posted: 10/28/2014 1:22:08 PM EDT
[#3]
Discussion ForumsJump to Quoted PostQuote History
Quoted:
Any restrictions on pron?
View Quote

Dunno, not an area I've researched.  
Theoretically though, you can encrypt anything you put out there.  Microsoft, or anybody else, shouldn't be able to tell what you've got if it's all in encrypted archives.
Link Posted: 10/28/2014 1:25:19 PM EDT
[#4]
It's hard to visualize how much storage they're actually talking about.

For a frame of reference, "unlimited" storage is enough to store:

- ripped copies of every movie DVD and audio CD ever released
- a digital archive of the entire contents of the Library of Congress
- every embarrassing Jennifer Lawrence selfie leaked by reddit
- every post with the word "Ebola" in the title posted to Arfcom in the last 90 days.


Link Posted: 10/28/2014 1:56:16 PM EDT
[#5]
Discussion ForumsJump to Quoted PostQuote History
Quoted:

- every post with the word "Ebola" in the title posted to Arfcom in the last 90 days.


View Quote



Whoah!  That is a lot!

I can't fathom filling even a terabyte, but can't help but wonder about this going the same way was those unlimited wireless data plans, where something like less than one percentage of users will use over 99% of the resources, until the providers decide to alter the conditions a bit.
Link Posted: 10/28/2014 2:10:11 PM EDT
[#6]
Discussion ForumsJump to Quoted PostQuote History
Quoted:



Whoah!  That is a lot!

I can't fathom filling even a terabyte, but can't help but wonder about this going the same way was those unlimited wireless data plans, where something like less than one percentage of users will use over 99% of the resources, until the providers decide to alter the conditions a bit.
View Quote View All Quotes
View All Quotes
Discussion ForumsJump to Quoted PostQuote History
Quoted:
Quoted:

- every post with the word "Ebola" in the title posted to Arfcom in the last 90 days.





Whoah!  That is a lot!

I can't fathom filling even a terabyte, but can't help but wonder about this going the same way was those unlimited wireless data plans, where something like less than one percentage of users will use over 99% of the resources, until the providers decide to alter the conditions a bit.

MS obviously knows that most of the users aren't going to use more that a few hundred GB.. after all, the backend storage may be huge, but there are only so many hard drives in the world at any given point.  It's all about marketing.  Throw a deal out there that's too attractive to pass up, and a lot of folks are going to jump on it.  Once they're there, people are generally reluctant to switch to another provider or technology, so they've basically reeled in a customer for life.  Cloud storage is in its baby days, and it's really a brilliant marketing move by Microsoft.  When, in the future, cloud becomes THE storage technology, they already have their customer base in the bag.

All while increasing penetration of MS Office into the business app world (like they need it), and helping to move the existing user base from buy-it-once CD/DVD software distribution over to 365's subscription model.

Clever folks.

One thing that stuff like this does, though, is drive innovation.  You can bet that after the announcement yesterday, bright young minds all over the country are sitting around today wondering to themselves "hmmm, how can I take advantage of unlimited online storage?".  It'll be interesting to see where it all leads.
Link Posted: 10/28/2014 2:48:19 PM EDT
[#7]
Discussion ForumsJump to Quoted PostQuote History
Quoted:


...helping to move the existing user base from buy-it-once CD/DVD software distribution over to 365's subscription model.



View Quote


I don't think that one can be overstated.

The subscription model has got to be better for their bottom line.  This storage thing is helping push me that way, now.  I like their family offers as well.  I'm still running a copy of Office 2011 on this particular machine - one I was "supposed" to stop using when I left Grad School.  It will probably go a long way towards more consumers having legitimate copies - like what iTunes did for digital music.
Link Posted: 10/28/2014 2:57:30 PM EDT
[#8]
Discussion ForumsJump to Quoted PostQuote History
Quoted:


I don't think that one can be overstated.

The subscription model has got to be better for their bottom line.  This storage thing is helping push me that way, now.  I like their family offers as well.  I'm still running a copy of Office 2011 on this particular machine - one I was "supposed" to stop using when I left Grad School.  It will probably go a long way towards more consumers having legitimate copies - like what iTunes did for digital music.
View Quote View All Quotes
View All Quotes
Discussion ForumsJump to Quoted PostQuote History
Quoted:
Quoted:


...helping to move the existing user base from buy-it-once CD/DVD software distribution over to 365's subscription model.





I don't think that one can be overstated.

The subscription model has got to be better for their bottom line.  This storage thing is helping push me that way, now.  I like their family offers as well.  I'm still running a copy of Office 2011 on this particular machine - one I was "supposed" to stop using when I left Grad School.  It will probably go a long way towards more consumers having legitimate copies - like what iTunes did for digital music.


I'm kinda liking the subscription thing.  I forgot to mention in the OP that my $100/year subscription is for five PC's/people (I think there's a $70 version for one installation).  Looks like the download version (non-365) of Office Home & Business for one PC runs $189 on newegg.com.  The math looks pretty good to me!
Link Posted: 10/28/2014 4:29:37 PM EDT
[#9]
Microsoft offering unlimited cloud storage — and a free copy of Office — for $7 a month

I'm about 30 seconds away from pulling the trigger on this, but I have to clear it with my wife.

I wonder if they (Microsoft) know what they are in for.

I'm sitting on almost 6TB of movies, music, pictures, documents, data, Windows applications, security gate logs and security videos. It's only 6TB because I'm limiting the security camera videos at home and the shooting range to 30 days and I'm not ripping any more movies or CDs.

If there was no storage limit I'd be tempted to keep a couple of year's worth of security videos.
Link Posted: 10/28/2014 4:40:34 PM EDT
[#10]
Discussion ForumsJump to Quoted PostQuote History
Quoted:
Microsoft offering unlimited cloud storage — and a free copy of Office — for $7 a month

I'm about 30 seconds away from pulling the trigger on this, but I have to clear it with my wife.

I wonder if they (Microsoft) know what they are in for.

I'm sitting on almost 6TB of movies, music, pictures, documents, data, Windows applications, security gate logs and security videos. It's only 6TB because I'm limiting the security camera videos at home and the shooting range to 30 days and I'm not ripping any more movies or CDs.

If there was no storage limit I'd be tempted to keep a couple of year's worth of security videos.
View Quote


Note that they haven't fully implemented the unlimited storage yet.  If you sign up today, I'd expect to see 1 TB... maybe 10 TB.  I was at 1 yesterday before the announcement, then I noticed they'd bumped it up to 10 until they get everything set up to open the floodgates.

Storing my older home security video is one of the things I've thought about using my space for.  I'm running four HD cameras at the house and can only keep about three days' worth of footage on the machine's internal drive.
Link Posted: 10/28/2014 5:02:06 PM EDT
[#11]
Discussion ForumsJump to Quoted PostQuote History
Quoted:


Note that they haven't fully implemented the unlimited storage yet.  If you sign up today, I'd expect to see 1 TB... maybe 10 TB.  I was at 1 yesterday before the announcement, then I noticed they'd bumped it up to 10 until they get everything set up to open the floodgates.

Storing my older home security video is one of the things I've thought about using my space for.  I'm running four HD cameras at the house and can only keep about three days' worth of footage on the machine's internal drive.
View Quote View All Quotes
View All Quotes
Discussion ForumsJump to Quoted PostQuote History
Quoted:
Quoted:
Microsoft offering unlimited cloud storage — and a free copy of Office — for $7 a month

I'm about 30 seconds away from pulling the trigger on this, but I have to clear it with my wife.

I wonder if they (Microsoft) know what they are in for.

I'm sitting on almost 6TB of movies, music, pictures, documents, data, Windows applications, security gate logs and security videos. It's only 6TB because I'm limiting the security camera videos at home and the shooting range to 30 days and I'm not ripping any more movies or CDs.

If there was no storage limit I'd be tempted to keep a couple of year's worth of security videos.


Note that they haven't fully implemented the unlimited storage yet.  If you sign up today, I'd expect to see 1 TB... maybe 10 TB.  I was at 1 yesterday before the announcement, then I noticed they'd bumped it up to 10 until they get everything set up to open the floodgates.

Storing my older home security video is one of the things I've thought about using my space for.  I'm running four HD cameras at the house and can only keep about three days' worth of footage on the machine's internal drive.


Yes, HD will just eat storage space, I cranked all mine down to VGA 10fps. With unlimited storage I can see 4K rez cams in my future -
Link Posted: 10/28/2014 7:42:19 PM EDT
[#12]
Check that EULA very carefully.
I suspect they are getting permission to scan your space and use it to accumulate marketing data.


(Now, pardon me while I get another layer of tin foil on my hat.)
Link Posted: 10/28/2014 9:53:38 PM EDT
[#13]
They had limits to file sizes.  300mb if I remember correctly.  You wouldn't be able to store ripped DVDs or other large file types.

I still may look in to this.
Link Posted: 10/28/2014 10:17:12 PM EDT
[#14]

Discussion ForumsJump to Quoted PostQuote History
Quoted:


They had limits to file sizes.  300mb if I remember correctly.  You wouldn't be able to store ripped DVDs or other large file types.



I still may look in to this.
View Quote




 
I know have one video file from my daughter's last swim meet that won't sync up to my onedrive account.
Link Posted: 10/29/2014 3:36:31 AM EDT
[#15]
The current file size limit is 10GB. Changed a few months ago.
Link Posted: 10/29/2014 3:56:53 AM EDT
[#16]
http://www.microsoft.com/privacystatement/en-us/windowsservices/default.aspx

Read it carefully and skeptically.

For example, there is the vague description of what they collect (pretty much anything).   They say they won't USE emails, text messages, that sort of thing to target advertising.   They do not say they won't collect it.  Or that they won't give it to the government.   That part says they will share it "to protect our customers; to protect lives; and to maintain the security of our services.  We may also disclose information and content to protect the rights or property of Microsoft"

So virtually unlimited collection of information, and highly nonspecific and amorphous limits on what they'll share.

Its a brave new world.
Link Posted: 10/29/2014 5:16:54 AM EDT
[#17]
Discussion ForumsJump to Quoted PostQuote History
Quoted:
http://www.microsoft.com/privacystatement/en-us/windowsservices/default.aspx

Read it carefully and skeptically.

For example, there is the vague description of what they collect (pretty much anything).   They say they won't USE emails, text messages, that sort of thing to target advertising.   They do not say they won't collect it.  Or that they won't give it to the government.   That part says they will share it "to protect our customers; to protect lives; and to maintain the security of our services.  We may also disclose information and content to protect the rights or property of Microsoft"

So virtually unlimited collection of information, and highly nonspecific and amorphous limits on what they'll share.

Its a brave new world.
View Quote


That's definitely a concern, and not unique to Microsoft.  Security of information stored on the cloud is probably the #1 concern of anybody who's even halfway tech-savvy.

Personally, I just don't store anything truly sensitive on the cloud, either on OneDrive or on space I also manage on Amazon's S3 service.  While it's definitely irritating, at the end of the day I've decided that I'm just not going to get that worked up about a service provider perusing 1500 images of barn cats that my daughters have collected or a couple weeks worth of security footage of my driveway.

If there is legitimate concern about the security of something to be stored out there, encrypt it first.

The more dangerous flip side of all of this is the belief that anything you have stored on a local drive is that much more secure.  Home networks are compromised easily enough - probably easier than breaking in to OneDrive, DropBox, or Amazon - and unless you put your sensitive info on a removable drive and disconnect it from your machine once the files are copied, there is still a security risk.
Link Posted: 10/29/2014 10:46:38 PM EDT
[#18]
Discussion ForumsJump to Quoted PostQuote History
Quoted:
Microsoft offering unlimited cloud storage — and a free copy of Office — for $7 a month

I'm about 30 seconds away from pulling the trigger on this, but I have to clear it with my wife.

I wonder if they (Microsoft) know what they are in for.

I'm sitting on almost 6TB of movies, music, pictures, documents, data, Windows applications, security gate logs and security videos. It's only 6TB because I'm limiting the security camera videos at home and the shooting range to 30 days and I'm not ripping any more movies or CDs.

If there was no storage limit I'd be tempted to keep a couple of year's worth of security videos.
View Quote



I have 40TB of various data.

No way in hell any of it is going on anyone else's hard drives except mine.

"Cloud" storage scares the hell out of me, encrypted or not.  I want my most important data on hard disks that I can physically see.  

And until ISP's nuke the monthly quota for personal users (not business), transferring huge amounts of data to a "cloud" would kill my 400gb/mo quota in short order.

And I am using Office 2010, have plenty of install media and keys around for it (purchased several copies at $10/ea through a govt purchase program at work).  No need to upgrade, ever.
Link Posted: 10/29/2014 11:25:31 PM EDT
[#19]
Discussion ForumsJump to Quoted PostQuote History
Quoted:
Check that EULA very carefully.
I suspect they are getting permission to scan your space and use it to accumulate marketing data.


(Now, pardon me while I get another layer of tin foil on my hat.)
View Quote


Whenever I hear of a service provider using customer information for market profiling, I think it would be funny to provide them with the most diverse collection of weird stuff possible.  It's fun to do that with Amazon.  Search for a bunch of weird stuff, then see what it recommends for you.
Close Join Our Mail List to Stay Up To Date! Win a FREE Membership!

Sign up for the ARFCOM weekly newsletter and be entered to win a free ARFCOM membership. One new winner* is announced every week!

You will receive an email every Friday morning featuring the latest chatter from the hottest topics, breaking news surrounding legislation, as well as exclusive deals only available to ARFCOM email subscribers.


By signing up you agree to our User Agreement. *Must have a registered ARFCOM account to win.
Top Top