To many people, the DropBox file storage service was just another step in the evolution of technology. It was only a matter of time before it found its own competition. The new question being asked is: “Why get DropBox when your very own cloud is available to you?” OwnCloud offers users something more than DropBox, but is it really worth the switch? OwnCloud hasn’t been knighted by the cellular world yet, since cell phone apps are pending on both the iOS and Android platforms, but it is being touted as the latest to give DropBox a run for its money.

OwnCloud has the better Cloud

With DropBox you get 2 GB of free space to store your data, and if you manage to get others to join in the fun, then you get another 50 MB of space for each person. In that sense, OwnCloud beats DropBox, since it’s not just storage space, it’s a more complete service. Your cloud on the OwnCloud is going to be supported on a server, and there’s
no restriction in terms of space. The user gets to decide how much space he’s going to need and takes control from there.

OwnCloud offers a much larger experience to Cloud users than DropBox does. In addition to storage, you can also add in your contact details, update a calendar to keep track
of your appointments and engagements. You can even listen to all your music with the OwnCloud music player. If you ever got sick of adding bookmarks to site only to have them disappear in a pile you don’t have to worry, OwnCloud lets you add bookmarks too.

DropBox takes the Cloud cake

OwnCloud may talk a big game but the very fact that it’s still not available for smart phones will set it back a notch. There’s still a small wait in the future for OwnCloud as neither Android nor Apple have approved the app yet. Cloud technology is most often accessed by people for the storage of their pictures – pictures taken through their cell phones. DropBox is already offering these services, and OwnCloud has not yet even put them on the table. This gives DropBox somewhat of an edge for the time being.

DropBox is also fairly user friendly. It doesn’t take you for a loop or leave you wondering what’s going on when you’re trying to setup your Cloud space. OwnCloud, however, is complicated, but just about anyone can’t get their hands on it. You’d need some geekiness in your system to get around the installation.  Both the OwnCloud and DropBox are services which take Cloud technology another step forward into the future. However, they both suit a certain specific type of audience. People should take a close look at the features and their own needs before choosing. At this point, removing the technical hurdle of the installation process, OwnCloud seems like a clear choice for many, because it offers a larger and less restrictive experience to the user.

==== About the Author ====

Chris Allen has been working on cell phone security, cell phone privacy, cell phone data backup and a whole host of other things that leave many users baffled. Readers flock to his articles for the latest scoops on news, tips, tricks, and reviews of cell phone tracking software.

Dropbox is no doubt one of the most popular file synching software for PCs and mobile phones alike. To start out, Dropbox gives users 2GB of free space (and an additional 250MB) and then allows users to earn additional space by referring friends. However, you can earn 5GB of free space by downloading the beta version of Dropbox.

Users who download the beta version of Dropbox and help the developers fix the bugs will get up-to 5GB of space for uploading photos and videos from their mobile phone, camera or SD card. You will receive 500MB of space when you first import your photos or videos to Dropbox and continue earning additional 500MB of data for every 500MB of photos or videos you upload to the cloud.

Also Read:

• A Guide to Using Symbolic Links With Dropbox
• Backup WordPress Database, Themes, Plugins & Uploads To Dropbox, Amazon S3
• How to Sync Your Game Saves Between Computers for Free
• How to Send Email Attachments to Dropbox Automatically
• How To Run Multiple Instances Of Dropbox

Dropbox has been growing rapidly and there were some hints that they might also integrate with Google Docs soon, however, nothing has come of it yet.

Beta software can often be buggy and sometimes crash your system. However, if you are willing to take the risk, you can download the beta version of Dropbox from here. Also, don’t forget to check our Online Storage section to find free online storage for your files.

[via Engadget]

The folks over at Fusible tipped us that Dropbox might finally be bringing much requested feature of integrating Google Docs to their service after they purchased few domains including DropboxDocs.com, DropboxDocs.net and DropboxDocs.org.

The request for Dropbox integration with Google Docs was first requested on their forums in February 2010 (forum post). However, despite rumors that made rounds in early 2011, there were no signs of the integration. Dropbox has definitely been one of the most popular file synching services in the market and was recently valued at $5 billion. They have also shown exponential growth growing from 4 million users to 25 million users in under a year.

However, unlike other services like Box.net, Dropbox does not allow users to store or backup their Google documents in the cloud. However, this might change considering that Dropbox purchased DropboxDocs.com, DropboxDocs.net and DropboxDocs.org on August 29th according to Whois records.

Unless they plan to spinoff their own document service in the cloud, I am pretty convinced that Dropbox might soon rollout integration for storage with Google Docs in collaboration with Google itself. Integration with Dropbox would help Google stave off some tough competition from Microsoft’s Office 365 and get more users to their service.

We are not sure about a formal announcement yet, but expect that it might be made in the next few days . This would definitely be a good addition to an already excellent service. Do you use Dropbox? Do you think it’s integration with Google Docs might be useful to you? Do let us know through your comments.

The Online file storage  battle seems to be heating up. After Box.net increased their free storage space to 5GB, another sync service, SugarSync, has increased their free online storage  space to 5GB.

SugarSync syncs your files across multiple platforms like Windows,  Mac OS X, iPhone, Android and BlackBerry. The service provides users with a desktop client which can then be used to sync files to the SugarSync servers.

The new 5GB free accounts will be available to both old and new users. SugarSync also provides a business account which provides users with 30GB space for $4.99 a month. If you do not have a SugarSync account, you can sign up for a free account to get 5GB storage space.

Also Read: 5 Services to Backup and Sync your Files

The other day, I wrote about a free note taking application called Tomboy. As I mentioned there, Tomboy is now available for Linux, Mac and Windows. Since I frequently move between machines and jump in and out of Linux and Windows, I wanted to have the same notes in all places.

After some research, I found out that I could set Tomboy to use a local folder to synchronize notes. I am an enthusiastic Dropbox user and I have it installed on every PC that I use. To me, the next logical step was to point my Tomboy sync at Dropbox so that I was getting the same notes on all my PCs, no matter what system was running.

Here’s how it’s done.

If Tomboy is running, you can access the preferences by a right click to it’s system tray, or from the Search All Noteswindows under Edit – Preferences.

Make sure the pull-down menu is showing Local Folder, then hit the Browsebutton to choose a folder on your PC. Naturally, in this case, we will choose a folder inside of the Dropbox folder so that the files will get synchronized by Dropbox.

Once you have the folder selected, be sure to hit the Savebutton to save the folder path.

Now you only need to do this on every PC that you have Tomboy installed on and you’re ready to go. Whenever you need to update your notes, you can find the Synchronize Notescommand in the systray icon right click or in any note window under Tools.

That’s it. Have fun taking notes in Tomboy.

Note: Contest has been officially closed and the winners have been declared.

Ok it’s finally time to kick of the Birthday Bash where we will be giving away prizes worth $4500, the first thing we would like to giveaway to our readers is free 50GB accounts of Syncplicity the best backup and sync service, worth $99 each, valid for 1 year. Please read the rules before you participate.

Syncplicity is a service that makes everyday sync, backup and sharing as simple as can be, the all-in-one services makes sure your files are everywhere you need them.

Syncplicity offers to store your data online, in a secure way, so that you can access from any computer which has a internet connection, in addition to that you can download all your data to any computer you would want to, making a move to a newer computer or laptop or reformatting your computer as hassle-free as it could get.

Syncplicity provides both PC and Mac users with a small software that users can download to their computers, this software in turns runs silently in the background, backup up your precious data, you can select as many folders you want to backup with your syncplicity account.

Adding folders to your syncplicity backup profile is simple, either use the manage and share folders option provided with the desktop application, or use the right click context menu to add folders to Syncplicity without opening the application.

What’s more you can also easily share your data with your friends and family without having to upload the files again, just choose the files you want to share and your family and friends can download them to their computers, no more sending emails with huge attachments, sharing your photos, videos and music could not get simpler that this.

You can also browse the files in your Syncplicity account by using any web browser, just go to http://my.syncplicity.com, login using your email address and password and get access to all your files.

Syncplicity also allows users to link their accounts with several applications including Facebook, Google Docs, Picnik, Scribd and Zoho. This in turn allows users to easily edit their files or open it using one of the applications.

There are several more things which make Syncplicity the best backup and sync software out there, you can watch a instructive video that explorers all the features provided by Syncplicity.

Contest Rules & Regulations

To participate in the competition and be eligible for winning one of the 5 50GB Syncplicity accounts worth $99 each for a year, you will have to use one of the following ways.

1. Use the exact tweet as given below, or click on this tweet link to tweet about this contest. Once you have tweeted about it, leave a comment with a link to your status.Tweet Message (use exact phrase): Syncplicity http://u.nu/7na6 is the best backup and sync software, win 50GB sync accounts worth $99 http://go.techie-buzz.com/sync
2. Write a blog post linking to both Syncplicity.com and this contest in your blog post. Once you have written the blog post, leave a comment here with a link to the post.
3. If you do not have a twitter account, or a blog, leave a comment on why you would want to win a syncplicity account, and why you think it is the best.
4. This contest will end on 20th May at 12PM EST, no entries will be accepted after this point, we will announce the winners in a blog post shortly after the contest closes.
5. The more you participate the more you win, we have bonus cash prizes of $100 and $50 to be given out as bonus cash prizes at the end of all the competitions, for rules about bonus cash prizes please visit Techie Buzz Birthday Bash announcement post.

So go ahead and start participating, we hope that the 50GB accounts will take care of your backup needs, thanks to Syncplicity for sponsoring the prizes in this competition.

Backing up files has now become a regular part of many users daily computing lives, but not many users are aware of the different services available for backing up and synching files.

There are in-fact tons of such services available, which offer free sync/backup accounts to keep your files safe and secure in the cloud. The best part of having your files in the cloud is that you can access them from practically anywhere with a basic internet connection.

However we sifted through them all and will talk about only the best services to backup and sync your files.

Syncplicity

Other than being a sponsor of our 3rd Birthday Bash, Syncplicity is one of the best sync softwares available today, to put things into perspective, with the help of syncplicity I was able to format my entire system without having to copy a single file to a external drive.

After I reinstalled the OS, I just used Syncplicity to get the files back, simplicity at it’s best here. Syncplicity also allows users to sync your Google Docs documents with your local PC. Syncplicity is available for both Windows and Mac. Once you have installed syncplicity it will run in the background and automatically backup/sync files.

At present Syncplicity offers 2GB of free space to backup and sync your files, however you can go premium with a 50GB account, that will cost you $99 a year. We will also be giving away 5 50GB premium accounts as a part of the Birthday Bash, so stay tuned for that.

Docstoc Sync

Docstoc Sync (our review) is another interesting sync service which will let your sync your My Documents folder and more with a online account.

Sharing files is easy with Docstoc Sync, just drop the files into the Docstoc Public Documentsfolder on the desktop, and it will automatically be available in your public documents.

There is not hard limit on the amount of files you can store online in Docstoc, you can also earn cash by sharing your documents using Docstoc.

SugarSync

SugarSync (read review) is another service that allows you to backup, sync and share files in the cloud.

Once installed SugarSync performs automatic online backups of your files while running in the background. You can sync files from one PC on multiple ones by installing the software and logging into your account.

For starters SugarSync provides users with 2GB free accounts, with premium plans available if you need more storage space.

SpiderOak

SpiderOak is another interesting backup and sync service which allows you to securely backup all your files. The folks at SpiderOak take their security pretty seriously and claim that no one other than you will have access to your files.

SpiderOak also keeps a historical backup of your files, so if you have edited one of them you can still get the previous versions of the files from earlier revisions.

SpiderOak provides users with 2GB of free space to start of with, with more space available at a premium. SpiderOak is available for Windows, Mac and Linux.

Windows Live Sync

Not all Microsoft products are paid, and the Windows Live Sync is a example of that, with the help of Windows Live Sync, you can access the files and folders of one PC on a different one, even if it is not in the same network.

In addition to keeping two or more computers in the sync, you can also share your Windows Live Gallery and sync them up between computers. You can also share files between computers securely.

Windows Live Sync is available for both Windows and Mac.

Which softwares do you use to backup and sync your files, do let us know about them.

Syncplicity is a popular file synching service which allows users to sync files between multiple computers, providing users with a real-time backup solution. Syncplicity also provides users with a option to backup/sync their Google Docs account.

Also Read: Free Services to Sync Your Mobile Phone

Once you have synced your documents from one computer to the online storage provided by Syncplicity, you can easily access the files from any computer, by either downloading the sync application or using the online web interface.

Syncplicity also provides support for integration with several applications such as Facebook, Google Docs, Zoho Notebook, Picnik Image Editor and Scribd.

Earlier Syncplicity only offered users with a Windows client, that users could use to sync files among multiple computers, however the developers at Syncplicity have worked hard to come up with a software that will work on a Mac.

The Mac software is still in beta and not yet available to general users, however readers of Techie Buzz can grab 100 early invites for their Mac, grab your invite to run Syncplicity on your Mac.

Here at Techie Buzz we have always talked about the different ways to backup your important files and blogs, we have also talked about some important steps you should do before throwing away your Old PC earlier and ten things you should do after re-installing your OS.

To sum it up we are actually very paranoid about losing our files and always ensure we have regular backups. That said it is not always a joy to backup files manually and having a system where our files would automatically sync up with a online storage place is a joy to have.

SugarSync brings a huge relief to us with regards to backing up and syncing our files with a online storage. With a small piece of software running in the background you can easily sync up your files with SugarSync online storage without having to do it manually.

What Is SugarSync?

SugarSync is a multi platform computer syncing software that will allow you to sync your files to a remote server and access it from any web browser or even your phone.

SugarSync performs automatic online backups of your files while running in the background.

What Devices Can be Used with SugarSync?

The one feature I liked with SugarSync is the availability to sync between different platforms. So it does not matter if you are using Windows or Mac, with SugarSync you can easily sync up files between both the operating systems.

In addition to that you can also access your backed up files from anywhere in the world using a web browser.

And if you are on the move you can connect to your files using your mobile device.

How Does SugarSync Work For Windows and Mac?

In order to use SugarSync you need to first signup for a free trial of 45 days which will give you access to 10GB of online space. The email you signup with is important for our giveaway so stay tuned on how you can get free 30GB subscription for a year which costs you $49.99 yearly.

After you have signed up and confirmed your account you will need to download the appropriate software for you operating system.

• Download SugarSync for Windows
• Download SugarSync for Mac

After downloading you will need to install the software before being able to use it, you can follow some handy instructions for that.

Once everything is setup login to SugarSync using the email you registered with. After successful login you should be able to choose files to sync up with your SugarSync account.

You can of course choose which files and folders you want to sync up with SugarSync and add additional folders from your drive to be synced up.

Once you have selected the files and folders SugarSync will automatically start syncing them up with your online storage space. Closing the main window will not stop the synching process, it will continue running in the background.

You may need to wait for the some time before you can start accessing your files in your online storage the first time.

Accessing your Backed up Files in SugarSync

Accessing your files is a piece of cake, you can either use the software itself or use other ways we had discussed earlier.

Accessing Using Web Browsers and Phones

With SugarSync you can easily access your backed up files using any modern web browser.

To access you files visit the SugarSync website and login with your credentials and you should be able to access your files from anywhere.

SugarSync also automatically detects you images and makes it available to you in a Photo Gallery from where you can easily share it with your friends and family.

You can also upload a file right from the web interface and have it synced up with your PC later. If you want to send multiple files at once you can use the Zip feature which will create archives from the files you select.

You can also access your files using your mobile device and view and share photos with friends and family. In addition to that you can also sync up your digital photos from your camera phone with you PC.

Price Plans

SugarSync has different price plans which can suit your needs. You can choose for different plans starting with a basic 10GB to 250GB for business needs.

Here are the cost of different plans SugarSync offers

• Starter Plan with 10GB space costs $2.49 monthly and $24.99 yearly.
• Basic Plan with 30GB space costs $4.99 monthly and $49.99 yearly.
• Premium Plan with 60GB space costs $9.99 monthly and $99.99 yearly.
• Professional Plan with 100GB space costs $14.99 monthly and $149.99 yearly.
• Business Plan with 250GB space costs $24.99 monthly and $249.99 yearly.

The cost per GB on the higher side comes up to 2.49 per GB per year and on the lower side it is 0.99$ per GB per year which is not bad considering the features SugarSync provides you with.

Free 30GB Account Giveaways

Well as a reader of Techie Buzz you have a great opportunity to 30GB plan for a year absolutely free.

To earn a free account you need to follow the following steps.

• Signup with SugarSync for the free 45 days trial
• Come back to this post and leave a comment with the email address you signed up with for SugarSync as to how you will be using your SugarSync subscription.

That’s it and you have a valid entry to win one of 3 30GB plans we have to give away for free. The winners of the free 30GB SugarSync accounts will be randomly chosen and announced on June 20th.

Each winner will have their free accounts upgraded to 30GB accounts for a year.

Summarizing

SugarSync is great way to automatically backup and synchronize your important files. The fact that you can sync up your files between different platforms is a added benefit. We would definitely recommend you to start using SugarSync and backup all your important files.

Also don’t forget we have three premium 30GB accounts to give away so signup for SugarSync now and leave a comment here to be eligible for the giveaways.