Storage in the Cloud – OneDrive

One of the services of Office365 I use the most is OneDrive (it is also available through live.com). Through it I have all my documents and pictures and data files available on the computer on my desk as well as anywhere else I happen to be, as long as I can use a computer, the library, campus, my laptop, or my Mom’s

OneDrive creates a folder on your computer that contains an up-to-date copy of all the files on your OneDrive in the cloud and vice versa. Once I have moved all my documents to that folder on my computer it syncs those files up to the cloud and keeps them synced up as I use and change them.

When I go to the library or anywhere else I sign on to my account through my browser (Chrome, Edge, IE, Safari, Firefox, Opera, etc) and I will see my folders and files and I can view and edit them even if I don’t have Word, Excel, PowerPoint, or OneNote installed on the computer I am using. Microsoft has created online versions of it’s flagship programs so you can view and edit anywhere you can access the internet.

Why do I want to do that?

First and foremost, I am tired of losing stuff. I have dropped a laptop before. I have had a hard drive go south on me. It doesn’t take long to get to the point where your files and photos are frankly more valuable than the computer they are stored on. What if I was to lose that report? How about those photos from my vacation? Lightning just struck, now my machine won’t boot. All these can be pretty devastating. Yes, I will have to buy a new computer (I probably needed one anyway). Yes, it is going to take some time to reinstall all my favorite programs and stuff. But, to get the important stuff back, the pictures, the projects I’ve been working on, the proposals, all that stuff, I just need to install OneDrive and log in. Like magic everything that I’ve been saving to my OneDrive will start reappearing on my new computer. Depending on how much stuff, in an hour, or by tomorrow morning, I can pick up where I left off.

And, if I have a subscription that includes desktop versions of Microsoft Office Apps, I can quickly download the newest version and install them on the new machine as well.

That’s good for now. I only want to give you bite size stuff to read. I’ll go into a little more detail in later posts. I plan to include more tips and features and competing products.