Most of Windows users use Dropbox, Sugarsync like services to store and sync your files, photos, videos, music etc. and access them from anywhere. Dropbox offer 2 GB of free storage while Sugarsync allows 5 GB of free storage to its users. Both these services offer loads of other feature which make them the best services available on the web for keeping files on the cloud.
Today we will talk about Ubuntu One service with 5 GB free cloud space to store and sync your files, photos, videos and music. This service was available for Linux users only till now, but Ubuntu have released the installer for Windows too and hence now you can access your files from anywhere whether its a Windows or Linux system or Android or iOS device. Which simply means that now you can access your files on your desktop, on the web or on your mobile, wherever you are.
To start using it, just download the Ubuntu One windows installer and install it on your system. You need to have a Ubuntu one user id to start using it. If you don’t have one, then you can signup for a free account right from the GUI of the Ubuntu one. After you sign in, you can select the folders from your system which you want to sync up with Ubuntu one.
Just select the folder(s) and it will start syncing your folders and files with the server. Syncing of file for the time being takes too much time on Windows and Ubuntu is working on to improve it. Hopefully with future release, we get a faster syncing on Windows.
You can access, share your files and photos from your Android device. It also provides Music Streaming service, so that you can listen to your entire music collection on your Android or iPhone device too.
If you want to share some files over social networks like twitter and Facebook, then you can invite someone to share your files, or create a short link and post it.
Ubuntu One right now supports Windows XP, Windows Vista and Windows 7 apart from existing support for Ubuntu operating system.
Also, by default, the files are not encrypted on your local system or on cloud. Here is a small clarification about encryption from Ubuntu One FAQ.
Are my files stored on the server encrypted?
No. If you are interested in having your files encrypted both on your local machine and in the cloud, you could use something like Ubuntu’s Encrypted Home Directory feature, and only synchronize your $HOME/.Private folder.
Honestly, it is still not a replacement of Dropbox or Sugarsync. They need to work on it more to get it more popular among users.
Babibhutu
December 2, 2011 @ 10:43 PM
Finally a cloud storage service with encryption facility…. unless I have missed some post.