personal cloud computing - SkyDrive, OneNote, iCloud, DropBox

see also:

• Windows 8 slate tablet devices for hospital use

• now that internet access is possible almost everywhere we go and the fact that most of us use multiple devices to manage our lives such as a smartphone (eg. iPhone, Samsung Galaxy or perhaps even a Windows phone), plus a tablet (eg. iPad or Windows slate device, plus a laptop (eg. Mac Air or Windows Ultrabook), plus a desktop computer, it makes sense to store common files and data on the net (the “cloud”) and synchronise them between each device so you will always have the latest version no matter which device you are using.
• most major players are courting you to use THEIR cloud data storage solution as they hope once you commit, you will want to pay for more storage and the amount of time configuring your life to it, will mean you will not be wanting to change anytime soon.
• if you have a Windows 8 device, then Microsoft's SkyDrive makes sense as it will be best integrated with Microsoft's OneNote and Office 2013 suite.
• if you primarily use Apple gear, then Apple's iCloud will be critical for your iPhone/iPad backup and so can also be leveraged, even if you have Windows devices.
• if you just want to store files and synchronise them between multiple devices, services such as DropBox makes great sense.

• requires a Microsoft LiveID account (eg. a hotmail.com or outlook.com email account)
• note that in Win8, Microsoft by default wants to tie your Windows logon to your LiveID account so that you log onto windows with your LiveID account name and password (although you can also assign a 4 digit PIN to log onto Win8)
• you can use either or both types of Win8 SkyDrive and OneNote apps - the “metro” one for touch screen and the “desktop” one
  • the desktop SkyDrive app will install the “SkyDrive” folder onto your My Computer Favorites folder and allow you to see your synched folders there - but opening a file will result in the OneNote web app being opened in your default browser
• Microsoft's OneNote is supplied for free as a “metro” app, but the more fully featured desktop version is available with MS Office products, although you will want the Office 2013 version for best use with SkyDrive and also for Win8 touch devices.
• their are Apple iPhone apps for both SkyDrive and OneNote HOWEVER these have limited functionality - see below.

• embedded files such as an Excel spreadsheet can only be opened in READ ONLY mode which really limits this usage
  • opening such a file on a Windows device then choosing Save As will result in it being saved by default in a potentially obscure location OUTSIDE of OneNote
  • if you want to sync spreadsheet files - consider DropBox instead
• major issues with the iPhone OneNote app:
  • the current OneNote app (May 2013) does not display embedded files nor does it correctly display or allow clicking on, embedded URL links on a OneNote page which really limits its utility

• 5Gb storage for free
  • ie. do NOT set your photostream to be backed up on an iCloud free account!
• your 1st priority should be the backup of your iPhone and iPad devices
  • consider a different iCloud account for each (you can still share an Apple iTubes store account to share apps, etc) !!
• iCloud for Windows Control Panel allows:
  • synchronising iCloud contacts, calendars with Microsoft Outlook on the Window's device
  • synchronising iCloud photostream with a “photostream folder” on the Window's device
  • synchronising iCloud IE bookmarks with IE bookmarks on the Window's device
  • iCloud storage space utilisation

• see http://www.dropbox.com
• 2Gb storage for free
• very easy to use just sign up and install the app on each device
• on Windows, the app will create a folder called MyDropBox - either on My Computer Favorites (in Win8) or under My Documents in earlier versions
• any files added to that folder will be automatically synched to the cloud and other devices when they connect to the net and dropbox is running
• the iOS/iPhone Dropbox app only displays spreadsheets in a read only manner, but you can choose to then open it in other apps which may or more likely than not, may not allow an editable view, particularly if it is password protected (in which case few will open it at all) or has unsupported Excel functions being used such as loan repayments.