Get over 100GB of Free Storage! Dropbox, OneDrive, and More!

Added on by Tony Magliulo.

Want to get over 100GB of cloud storage, all in one place, for free? Read on.

Install odrive

It's free! With it you will be able to link all of the storage services below, and more, into a single folder. Get  full progressive sync, placeholder files, and advanced sharing capabilities for all of your storage. Did we mention it is also completely free? :)

Link it Up!

Linking to odrive is simple, and can be done from the web client or the desktop client.

From the web client:

  • Click on the “+” on the right side of the link listing and select the source you want to link.
  • Login to that source.

From the desktop client:

  • Select “Add link” from the odrive tray menu and select the source you want to link.
  • Login to that source.

odrive natively supports Dropbox, Amazon Cloud Drive, Box, OneDrive, Copy, and Google Drive (Facebook and Instagram too!). Linking one account in each of these services will get you a minimum of 62GB of free storage. Just sign-up and link:

But wait, there's more!

odrive is continually working on adding more native integrations, but our robust WebDAV capability already allows linking several other services. With it, you can easily add another 40GB to your odrive, netting you over 100GB of free cloud storage! Again, you only need to sign-up for the service and then link it into odrive.

To link these services you can follow the same instructions detailed in Step Two above, but select “WebDAV” as the source. Enter the WebDAV URL and your login information to link it up.

*These services have all been tested for basic functionality in odrive, but please use them at your own discretion

There you have it. 102GB of cloud storage, all in one folder, for free!

Do you have any tips or tricks to get even more free storage with odrive? Let us know in the comments.


Your files, your way: See what you want. Sync what you need.

Added on by Tony Magliulo.

The attraction to cloud storage is undeniable. A near-infinite resource at our fingertips to store the mountains of personal and professional data that we humans have become extremely adept at creating. As users gleefully rush headlong into the cloud storage era, pushing up anything and everything they can, new challenges are being encountered. How can the vast cloud be effectively utilized within the finite medium of a local computer?

File Virtualization with sync

File Virtualization is the method of representing a file system structure without needing to have everything exist locally on your computer. When you add sync to the equation this solution becomes a compelling means of working with structures that cannot exist locally. Browse everything, but have nothing cached locally until you need it.  Microsoft’s changes to OneDrive on Windows 8.1 showed users the power of this type of solution, until they took it away in Windows 10 … :(

File Virtualization with sync is extremely useful, but it is a solution that will start to break down at scale. Tracking changes across a vast structure, even without local caching, can render this solution unusable or so delayed and out of sync that its utility is severely reduced. As your dataset expands, the percentage of data that you actually need to focus on shrinks. Why spend cycles monitoring and tracking storage structures that you don’t care about, especially when there is a good chance that nothing is happening there?

Progressive Sync

Progressive Sync is the evolution of file virtualization. The premise behind progressive sync is that you do not need to have visibility into every nook and cranny of your storage at all times. Instead, you need visibility into specific areas of your data. These areas can change dynamically, depending on your immediate need, so on-demand collapsing and expanding of the visible structure needs to be available.

Not using progressive sync is a bit like trying to engage in conversation with your best friend by talking to everyone you know, simultaneously. It is going to be very slow, utterly confusing, and ultimately result in a big a waste of time and energy. Focusing on that single conversation with your best friend removes the confusion and irrelevant information and allows you to prioritize for the task at hand. Communication is quick, precise, and meaningful. This is what progressive sync does for you and your files. Engage (sync folder), discuss (sync files), disengage (unsync folder), repeat.

Progressive sync is the only solution available that can allow you to efficiently use near-infinite cloud storage within the constraints imposed by today’s devices.

Sync, the way you need it.

odrive offers progressive sync for all of your storage. You choose what you need to see. You choose what you want to sync. The ability to effectively map the vastness of cloud storage to your tiny local device is available to every odrive user, for free.

When you first start using odrive you will see all of the storage you have linked available as .cloudfx stubs in the root of your odrive folder. A double-click will expand that folder, browse you into it, and sync all the the files at that level according to global auto download limit you have set.

Simply browse through the file system to expose the directories you want to see. Tweak the auto download limit to fine tune what you need synced. Utilize the “sync all” feature to bring into view an entire directory structure. Use “unsync” to collapse a specified structure, removing it from view and allowing you to focus on your next priority.

Using all of these features together gives you ultimate flexibility for utilizing and managing your storage. See what you want and sync what you need with odrive.

To read more about odrive sync:

https://medium.odrive.com/sync-differently-b993694e1544#.y8823rsvw

https://medium.odrive.com/unsync-is-the-missing-link-to-cloud-storage-539493c384c1#.egwnn2gpq

The best way to access your OneDrive just got easier

Added on by odrive.

With the significant changes to OneDrive in Windows 10, thousands of users have been scrambling to find a way to regain the experience they previously enjoyed with placeholder/smart files. Many of these users have turned to odrive for the answer, and rightly so. odrive provides OneDrive users with the flexibility, control, and seamless integration that they need. Our previous blog post digs into how we accomplish this.

This recent influx has prompted us to make things even easier for OneDrive users. Today we added the ability to utilize your existing Microsoft credentials for signing up and linking your OneDrive storage to odrive. It really doesn’t get much easier than that folks!

Try it!

If you haven’t already tried odrive, give it a shot. It’s free and we know you will love the experience.

 

Get OneDrive placeholder files on Windows 10 & OSX

Added on by Tony Magliulo.

Windows 10 was released last week and the general consensus is that Microsoft managed to get a lot of things right, blending the better parts of Windows 7 and 8 into a worthy successor. Even though Windows 10 is better than its predecessors in many ways, a staggering number of users have noted the significant step backwards with OneDrive functionality.

Windows 8.x introduced a much lauded feature for OneDrive users with “placeholder” or “smart” files. This feature allowed OneDrive users to visualize all of their OneDrive files without needing them to be physically cached on the system. Unfortunately for loyal OneDrive users, this feature has been taken away in Windows 10.

We have the solution you need

If you are reading this, chances are good that you are one of the unfortunate Windows 10 users that has been impacted by this change (or an OS X user that has been left out in the cold since the beginning). The good news is that odrive has you covered. One of the core features of odrive is the ability to virtualize your files.

Progressive sync

From the start, odrive has employed what is called “progressive sync”. This is the ability to instantly choose what you want to sync locally, at both the folder and file level. With odrive you get the flexibility and control you need, with all of your files.

 
 

How it works

odrive has a powerful, always-on sync engine at its core. If any local file system modifications or additions are detected, odrive will automatically and instantly begin syncing those changes to your OneDrive account. This same sync engine is what allows odrive to represent both files and folders, virtually, as “stub” files on your local system.

To ensure that you always know what is virtual and what isn’t, odrive distinguishes between virtual and physical files in a number of ways.

  • Cloud files and folders are given unique icons to set them apart from cached files and expanded folders
  • Locally cached files are given a checkmark overlay to indicate that they are in sync and physically available on the local file system.
  • A cloud file carries the extension .cloudx
  • A cloud folder carries the extension of .cloudfx.
 
howvirtualfolderswork.png
 

With odrive, interaction with virtualized files and folders is extremely intuitive. A simple double-click or right-click sync action will expand cloud folders or locally cache cloud files. Decide in-line and on-the-fly what you need, instead of being forced to preemptively choose what you want synced from a separate, cumbersome UI. With the option to set an automatic download threshold and the ability to recursively sync the folder structures of your choice, odrive gives you the power and flexibility you are looking for, for all of your storage.

A few examples of the control you will gain with odrive's progressive sync:

  • Do you want to see all of the files and folders available but have no files cached? No problem. Set the auto-download limit to “never download” and right-click “sync all” on your OneDrive folder.
  • Do you want to only cache one file out of thousands to focus your efforts? You can with odrive. Just drill directly to the file you need and sync it.
  • Do you need to save some space on that tiny laptop SSD? It is easy with odrive. A right-click “unsync” action is all that it takes to free up that valuable space.

All of your bases are covered

With odrive, the “placeholder” functionality that users fell in love with in Windows 8.x is available in Windows 10…. and Windows 7, and OS X. Not only is progressive sync available for OneDrive, but it is also available for all of your other storage. Dropbox, Box, Google Drive, Amazon Cloud Drive, file servers, you name it, odrive has you covered, for free.

To read more about odrive sync:

https://medium.odrive.com/sync-differently-b993694e1544#.y8823rsvw

https://medium.odrive.com/unsync-is-the-missing-link-to-cloud-storage-539493c384c1#.egwnn2gpq

You're now free to choose between all storage

Added on by Jeff Lin.

This past weekend, I replaced a fan on my Drobo FS, a NAS unit that has been part of my digital life for over four years.  As I waded through tiny screws and cramped steel casing to get to the internals, I kept thinking to myself "why am I wasting my time with this?" And "why haven't I moved everything (mostly photos) to one of those recent free unlimited storage providers like Google Photos or Amazon Cloud Drive?"

 Attribution: Sergiodlarosa | Wikimedia Commons

 Attribution: Sergiodlarosa | Wikimedia Commons

My NAS, My Mastodon

For years, I've been lovingly referring to my NAS as a mastodon.  A powerful, strong, useful beast... that will eventually become extinct.  Cloud storage would surely win.  No hardware to personally maintain.  Ultimate elasticity and redundancy.  Much lower total cost of ownership.  A NAS with disks could cost upwards of $600 or $700, which could instead be user to pay for many years of unlimited cloud storage.  The cost of cloud storage has essentially been a big fat race to zero.  So what's my problem, and why am I living in the past?

Ultimately, I'm still anxious about privacy and skeptical about some of the true costs of free storage.  For example, Google Photos has a powerful search feature for my uploaded photos where I was able to enter a search for "watermelon" and find a picture from last year of my little girl wearing a watermelon dress.  While this is a killer feature for end-users, I also find it to be a bit unnerving.

Projecting into the future, Google will have yet an even better idea of where I've been and what I've been doing.  Demographic and psychographic marketing will be considered child's play compared to having total individual information about me.  If I upload camping pictures every month of me in an Arcteryx jacket, sipping on a can of Pepsi, then I'm probably going to be served Pepsi ads all day until my laptop gets diabetes.  I won't be able to go a day without seeing jackets, tents, and other gear from REI, The North Face, and Patagonia on sale. I won't be able to escape my consumer self.

Not everybody is squeamish about these kinds of things.  Today, for much of my data, it doesn't really matter.  But tomorrow may be a different story--when is too much information too much power?  I'm very interested in seeing how cloud storage and privacy evolve over the next decade.  There may be paid services that grow out of backlash against information harvesting.  Encryption, security, and two-factor authentication may quickly become more of a concern in the near future, at least for certain personal files and work files.

When it comes to storage, I am Pro-choice

Fortunately, in a multiverse of both storage options and user needs, a product like odrive can level the playing field and facilitate choices.  Without odrive, it would be painful to use multiple storage sources for content with different needs and contexts (e.g. OneDrive for my documents, Amazon Cloud Drive for my photos, a Google Drive account for work files, a personal Google Drive account, etc.).  With odrive it's simple... you can tailor a blended storage strategy according to the specific needs of your data--be it privacy, security, cost, accessibility features, reliability, compliance, or anything else.

So for now, I will keep my mastodon and move my photo archive to Amazon Cloud Drive (sorry, Google).  Fortunately, I have odrive File Server running on another computer at home so I can conveniently access my Drobo's contents as well.  Will there ever be a one-size-fits-all solution for all of my data?  I don't think so.  And with odrive, it doesn't matter.  Every provider can be a winner by providing the best solution for a particular use case, and every user can be a winner by using a combination of the best tools available.

Storage providers will come and go, but with odrive you can fluidly combine and organize your files so you're never forced to choose just one.

- Jeff

Save more time and disk space with new sync controls

Added on by Aric Johnson.

Where did all the Hard Drives go?

Some claimed cloud storage was the answer to longer disk life. Save your money, buy a small HD, and just store the rest in the cloud, they said. Free up space on your computer, they said. That is until you need to actually use that stuff, then you have to download everything in your cloud just to get to the one thing you want. What's the point of using cloud storage if you still need to take up tons of space on your computer and network bandwidth just to make it useful?

If you've ever run out of space on your computer's hard drive, we feel your pain. If you've ever received an error telling you that you can't sync items from the cloud to your computer because you lack sufficient hard drive space, your day is about to get a lot better.

Control what you sync with the new "Auto download limit"

With the addition of our new "Auto download limit" option you have full control over exactly what files are downloaded (if any at all). When you set the auto download limit then open a folder, you'll notice that only files under the limit you set fully sync automatically. Everything else will appear as a file or folder stub (.cloudx / .cloudfx).

 
 

 

Optimize your sync experience with the "Never download" option

My personal preference is to set my auto download limit to “Never Download”. I work on a lot of media files – videos, large photos, Photoshop, etc. I've got folders with tons of copies and tons of versions of each photo or video. As you can imagine, downloading larger video or Photoshop files can take a while if I have several in a single folder. With the limit set as "Never download", I can quickly browse through all the folders becauseall my files are presented as stubs. That way I can then find the file(s) I need and choose which ones to sync. 

(Pro Tip: If you set "Never Download" as your limit, you can right-click "Sync All" on any folder, which would expand the entire directory so everything in that folder is searchable with Explorer or Finder. Preview, however, is disabled until you sync the file down.)

Select "Always download" to make sure you have everything

If you want all your stuff in your cloud on your computer, you can simply set your auto download limit to “Always Download”. Selecting 10MB, 100MB, or 500MB tells odrive to automatically download all files that are under the size you specify. You can always change your Auto Download Limit anytime depending on the kind of files you are working on. 

Pause sync if you're in a bandwidth pinch

Maybe you travel a lot and rely on crumby internet connections. Maybe you are syncing a ton of HD photos to your Amazon Cloud Drive but want to watch the latest episode of Brooklyn Nine Nine on Hulu. The "Pause Sync" feature is another new addition you'll love. Pausing sync will temporarily stop everything that's uploading and downloading in odrive which will maximize your bandwidth for the other things you're doing. odrive will still track any changes or updates in the background, but will only sync those changes once you allow it to resume by clicking "Start sync" from the menu. 

 
odrive-pausesync.png
 

Try it now!

Both the Auto download limit and Pause sync features have been released to both Mac and Windows, so give them a try and let us know what you think. Better yet, let us know how it makes your life better and easier!

- Aric Johnson

To read more about odrive sync:

https://medium.odrive.com/sync-differently-b993694e1544#.y8823rsvw

https://medium.odrive.com/unsync-is-the-missing-link-to-cloud-storage-539493c384c1#.egwnn2gpq

Top 5 Free Apps To Organize Your Daily Life

Added on by Aric Johnson.

If your New Year's resolution is to be more organized, then you've come to the right place. Even if it's not, it’s safe to say we all could be a little bit more organized at times. From work to personal matters, it’s easy for things to get chaotic quickly. That’s why I’ve created this list to help you get off on the right foot this new year. Let the organization transformation begin!

5. Mint - Financial Manager

Managing all of your finances and budgeting your expenses can be a bit of a daunting task. The good news is with Mint, it doesn't have to be. Whether you want insight into your cash flow, investments, bills, or just create a budget that works for you, Mint gives you a comprehensive view of it all. You can even customize alerts, so you can stay up-to-date on what’s happening with your money.

mint.png

4. KeePass - Password Manager

Let’s face it. We all have trouble remembering our passwords for each of the different apps we use online. I know I’ve clicked the “Forgot Password” link more than enough times. To spare yourself from writing down all of your passwords, KeePass allows you to manage them all in a secure way. Your usernames and passwords are safely stored in an encrypted database and can only be decrypted with one master password or key-disk. Now, you only have to remember one password or just insert the key-disk in your computer. Hurray!

3. Trello - Task Manager

If you’re anything like me, you have a hard time remembering each task unless you write it all down somewhere in some type of organized fashion. That’s why I like Trello. Whether you have an immediate set of items to check off, or have ones that need to be completed before the end of the week, Trello helps you stay on top of it all. Also, if you like to create lists, categories, color code, and set due dates for each of your tasks, Trello is the app for you!

trello.png

2. Flipboard - News Manager

It’s easy to get your news fix with so many different sites out there, but who has the time to scroll through each one? For world news, you might go to CNN, but for technology news, you might go to TechCrunch. Flipboard simplifies this process by bringing all of the news you care about to one place. Just pick the topics you’re interested in and related articles in that category are instantly brought to your fingertips. From world politics to fine dining, Flipboard is the perfect app for you to discover new things and share them with others.

Flipboard.png

1. odrive - App & Storage Manager

We all have a lot of data out there and the problem is that it’s scattered everywhere. With photos on Facebook and Instagram, music on Dropbox, personal documents on Google Drive, work files on Box, Salesforce, and company file servers, we’ve created this digital chaos for ourselves. odrive aims to solve this by bringing all of your files from different apps and storage together in a folder. Instead of offering another form of cloud storage, odrive simply provides you a better way to access all of your stuff.

odrive.png

So there you have it. 5 free apps to help you get everything in order this year. If you happen find other apps that work well for you along the way, feel free to tweet me about them. Here’s to an awesome and less chaotic 2015!

- Michelle

Create your own Dropbox to NAS, Mac, Linux, & more in just 2 painless steps

Added on by Tony Magliulo.

Everyone wants the “Dropbox experience”: Native file browsing, offline access, and full bidirectional sync. Dropbox is a great service, but it is also plain to see that users desperately want to extend that experience to their own storage. A simple Google search for “build your own Dropbox” gives pages upon pages of results. Unfortunately, the steps required to pull this off are often time-consuming, complex, and can ultimately result in a lackluster experience.

odrive makes it simple

So simple, in fact, that your storage is very likely ready to go, right now. The key is SFTP. SFTP stands for SSH File Transfer Protocol. This is significant because if your box supports SSH it supports SFTP, and SSH capable systems are literally everywhere.

SFTP.png

odrive now fully supports SFTP linking, giving you the “Dropbox experience” with your own storage…only better. Native file browsing, offline access, full bidirectional sync, conflict handling, granular sync and unsync, multi-link capabilities, and in-line editing are all available through odrive.

Do you have a NAS like Synology, FreeNAS, QNAP, ReadyNAS, Drobo, WD My Cloud, LaCie? Then you are good to go. Linux? Of course. OS X? Yup. Even my little Raspberry Pi? Absolutely. Heck you can even install SSH on Windows with freesshd. odrive will be able to link them all.

2 easy steps to get started

Make sure SSH is enabled on your box. If it is, then the two following steps are all that stands between you and the storage experience you've been waiting for:

1.  Sign up for odrive and install the odrive desktop client.

http://www.odrive.com

2.  Select the SFTP link and enter your server info and credentials. odrive supports both password and private key authentication.

To link SFTP to odrive, just click on the odrive icon in your tray menu, select "Add Link".

To link SFTP to odrive, just click on the odrive icon in your tray menu, select "Add Link".

Once you enter in your server info and credentials, you're all set!

Once you enter in your server info and credentials, you're all set!

That's it!

Simple, free, and immensely powerful. Give it a shot and let us know what you think.

- Tony