Cloud data storage is undoubtedly one of the most interesting and relevant areas in IT. Suffice it to say that for leadership there is an active struggle between such giants as Microsoft, Google, Amazon. Interest in this is also actively fueled by third-party developments that actively use these services. For example, the Dropbox manager, which, as it now seems, has always been. It's hard to believe that two years ago he was almost unknown.
Over time, I "overgrown" with various repositories, the repositories, in turn, were overgrown with services. And a recent googling for the name Gladinet while reading the comments here on Habré (sorry, I couldn't find a comment) led to the site of the developers of the Gladinet desktop application, which is quite worthy of close attention.
Having installed the free version of the application, I discovered that I can connect almost all the clouds that I used to use to the newly created device. All data at the first start are connected as links. Loading occurs already when the files are actually accessed.
The application is built into Explorer and other file managers (in my case, Total Commander) as an additional disk in which all virtual devices are collected.
Google Services
Personal Google account. Connection happens on GMail+Password.
GDocs and Picasa connected perfectly. They do look a little different though. Picasa shows image sizes, but GDocs doesn't. What will happen in GDocs when one document is in several collections - has not yet been tested. There is hope that it will be synchronized.
Google Storage for Developers. Finally got a full-fledged client for Google Storage for Developers!
Here, the connection is not made to the storage root, but to a separate bucket. This requires a pair of keys to be entered. If the bucket does not exist, then it is created. Tested the storage for storing raster tiles - KML2KML tiles and Google Storage and simultaneous display in OSM, GMaps, GEarth from one set of tiles. Everything worked well as a system, only it took a little tambourine research to include data in the public domain. If I get together, I will describe the intricacies of creating such systems in another publication.
Google Apps. In addition to personal accounts, you can connect to GDocs for domains. In Gladinet it's called Converted Google Apps account. An additional device is created that is completely similar to personal GDocs.
Amazon Services
Amazon CloudDrive. Another free 5Gb of additional space. Amazon Cloud Drive is connected in the same way as GDocs, only with an AWS account.
Amazon S3. Connects similarly to Google Storage for Developers. The connection is made to the bucket using a pair of keys Access Key ID Secret Access Key . Sharing the console and virtual device allows you to solve a lot of tasks when managing file data on the Web. For testing, as well as in Google Storage for Developers, I posted a set of raster tiles for sharing from several applications. Data access is controlled from the console, so dancing with a tambourine of additional utilities, as in Google Storage for Developers, was not required. In this regard, Amazon S3 is still more convenient than a competitor.
Microsoft SkyDrive. Connected Skydrive without problems. It connects entirely by login similar to GDocs. Another additional 25Gb of data storage.
Box.net. Another cloud storage with 5Gb of free space. Connected similarly to GDocs.
It doesn’t hook on to Dropbox yet, I keep both applications running.
The list left untested local and network devices, MS Azure, FTP, and a number of virtual devices that I have not encountered. If you share your experience with these devices in the comments, I will be very grateful. I would like to add to the list.
It seemed to me that the hype around various cloud storages is slowly declining. And the question "Where to grab more gigabytes" before us is no longer so acute. For example, there are already so many gigabytes in my personal collection of clouds that I will fill them up until my retirement.
I have over 36 terabytes on Yunpan360, over 200 GB on Yandex Disk, 100 GB on Shared.com, 50 GB on Box.com, 1 TB on Mail.ru cloud. Well, little things - on GoogleDrive, Bitcasa, 4Sync and OneDrive.
I have no doubt that you, friends, have accounts in several cloud storages at once. But don't you think that you are already confused about what and where you store? Don't you think it's time to clean up your clouds? If you answered yes to these two questions now, then I can tell you how to move files between different clouds.
Mover.io
Initially, when the idea of writing this article was only in my mind, I planned to tell you about two services for moving files. The first in line was the Mover.io Web service, and the second was MultCloud.com. The first one is not bad - it supports a large number of clouds. And even YandexDisk. However, its disadvantage is that only 10 gigabytes can be moved for free. Everything else is for money. And the cheapest plan is 10 GB per month for $15.
Yandex disk support in MultCloud
The second service (MultCloud.com) was less interesting for me. Because I keep the most important documents on Yadisk, and Cartooncloud just didn’t support it as an evil. Until recently! Today I go to this same MultCloud and, what a miracle, YandexDisk support has appeared! Cheers cheers! And this means only one thing - Mover.io goodbye! :) That is, today you will find a big review of MultCloud!
MultCloud Limitations
What pleases me the most is that this service is absolutely free, both for personal use and for business. There is also no traffic limit. That is, you can exchange files between your cloud accounts even around the clock. However, unfortunately, the size of one transmitted file cannot exceed 200 megabytes. But maybe something will change soon, because in the FAQ section I read that "currently you can upload a file up to 200 MB in size" And what will happen in the future - let's see!
Data transfer technologies
MultCloud supports all the most (and even not the most) popular cloud services. And not only them, but also WebDav and FTP technologies. You probably already know a thing or two about FTP.
If you use several accounts at once in one of the clouds, then consider yourself lucky. Because in MultCloud you can combine them. And in any quantity. I have two DropBox accounts connected at once.
File Preview
Another undoubted plus of MultCloud for me personally is the fact that there is a preview of some types of files. DOC, PDF and XLS files are supported accurately. This means that you can open and view your documents directly in the browser.
True, I have one bug. MultCloud does not want to open and display large PDF files. Writes that, they say, at the moment it is not possible to open the document, please try again later. Well, okay, later so later. Let's wait, maybe this problem will be solved soon. You can also view photos in jpg and png formats. Gif-animation is still in the span.
How to register on MultiCloud?
The registration process here is not something that is not complicated, but not even mandatory. Of course, you can register with your desired username, email address and password. But it is much easier to immediately click the Sign In link and enter the site using your Google+ or Facebook account.
Now it's time to put the loot in one pile. Well, that is, connect all the clouds you have available. Out of greed, you can even register where you have never been before. I've never heard of clouds like CloudMe or Cubby. While you are connecting everything here, I will go and register in them :)
Well? Have you already connected ten Dropboxes and fifteen YandexDisks?
So now I would like to get down to business and finally tell you about how to share and move files.
How to share files via MultCloud?
To do this is very, very simple. Just right-click on any file and select Share from the drop-down menu.
And now the most important thing!
To move or copy a file or folder from one cloud storage to another, you again need to right-click on the file / folder and select Copy (Copy), Copy to (Copy to) or Cut (Cut).
That seems to be all the main features of MultCloud. Well, the fact that you can create new folders, upload, upload and delete files is clear to everyone.
Once upon a time, all our files fit on a computer hard drive and several floppy disks. Today, we are increasingly using cloud storage, and more and more services are appearing on the market that provide very impressive disk capacities for free. And very soon, many may encounter an unexpected situation when it will not be easy to find the desired file stored on one of several cloud drives. Already today we can not always remember where we uploaded the worksheet - to Google Drive or to Dropbox? Or where is the final version of the presentation stored - in OneDrive or in SugarSync? And where did we save those same vacation photos - to Flickr or, maybe, to Yandex.Disk?
It is best to use file managers in such a situation, which allow you to work with different cloud services in the same way as if they were hard drives on your computer. There are two options. Firstly, you can use the usual desktop file managers like the popular Total Commander, which automatically integrate applications from various cloud services in the form of separate folders or disks. The mobile version of Total Commander for Android has built-in plugins for accessing Google Drive, Microsoft Live and Dropbox, while installing additional plugins such as TotalBox or Google Drive is also supported.
The second option is to use specialized online services available from any computer with Internet access. This option, in our opinion, is certainly preferable, since we just place our files in the "clouds" for this, so that they are always, so to speak, at arm's length. Here are a few such online services that can work with many popular cloud storages.
1. Primadesk
Primadesk is not only an online service, it is also a mobile application available in versions for Android and iOS.
The main idea of Primadesk is that by opening the "desktop" of this service, you immediately get information about everything that happened to your accounts in the last 24 hours, which makes it especially useful if you use many different cloud services. You can connect several email accounts from the same provider to Primadesk at once (for example, several Gmail accounts) and manage them all from one window. Additionally, you can install a browser extension for quick access to connected repositories without the need to enter passwords.
After registering with the Primadesk web service, you will be prompted to connect the accounts of 39 different online services to it - from Dropbox and Google Drive to Facebook and Twitter. Within a few hours, the application will scan these accounts, after which you can search among the files hosted there, including by keyword, date range, and content.
You can move files between different services with a simple drag and drop, while 256-bit encryption and HTTPS access keep your data safe. By the way, since the founders of Primadesk are the same people who developed the famous ZoneAlarm firewall, you can count on the fact that they take security quite seriously.
For free, any Primadesk user can connect up to 5 accounts of network services and gigabytes of disk space for data backup, and for an additional fee, you can get support for an unlimited number of accounts and 10 or 30 GB of storage for backup. A noticeable and for some, a significant drawback of Primadesk is the lack of the ability to view and edit Evernote notes. And, alas, Primadesk does not know how to work with any domestic cloud storage.
2. Cloud Cafe
In terms of the number of cloud services supported, CloudKafé is a solid mid-ranger - there are 18 of them - but at the same time it is completely free. And, lo and behold, it has support for Yandex.Disk! But, unlike Primadesk, this service does not have mobile applications and works exclusively through a web interface.
At the same time, CloudKafé boasts a beautiful, concise design and a unique Baskets feature. Its meaning is that you can collect files from different cloud storages into such baskets and share them with friends or colleagues by simply entering their email addresses.
Another unusual feature implemented in CloudKafé is a single address book for Google, Yahoo and LinkedIn accounts, and you can use multiple accounts for each service.
All files stored in connected clouds are sorted into large understandable groups - Documents, Photos, Videos, Notes, Contacts and the already mentioned Baskets. This is very practical, because it is not uncommon for, for example, photos or videos to accidentally end up in document folders in cloud storage, where they remain forgotten forever.
At the same time, CloudKafé supports viewing and editing Evernote notes, which is a big plus for a free service. There is a function to search for files in all connected clouds with the subsequent distribution of the results by the above groups-categories.
CloudKafé has only two noticeable drawbacks - the inability to move files between different cloud storages and the lack of a backup function, which is excusable for a free service. In general, this is a very convenient and easy to use web application.
3.JoliCloud
JoliCloud, like Primadesk, is available as an online service through a web interface, as well as a mobile application, but only for devices running iOS.
By registering and connecting the necessary accounts to JoliCloud, you get a large desktop where you can manage all your cloud services - there are 13 of them in total. JoliCloud does not have a built-in email client, instead it offers a single "social stream" that includes Facebook, Google+ . Feedly, Tumblr and other similar services. JoliCloud has a built-in feature to view your Evernote notes.
All cloud storages are available in the Drive section, where you can view and delete files. Thanks to the pie chart on the right side of the page, you can clearly see how much space is occupied on a particular cloud drive. Unfortunately, JoliCloud does not have the ability to move files between different accounts, there is no single search function across all clouds, and there is no backup. In addition, JoliCloud is still in beta, which may hint at the doubts of the authors themselves about the stability of the service.
It is curious that the creators of JoliCloud simultaneously offer on their website a completely free operating system Joli OS based on Ubuntu Linux, which is a typical web OS and is designed for outdated and low-powered machines. The kit offers about one and a half thousand applications and, of course, a JoliCloud account.
4.ZeroPC
This is probably the most unusual online file manager: when you log into ZeroPC, you do not get into a boring table view window with file lists, but to a desktop worthy of a full-fledged operating system, where you can find shortcuts to various applications, including a web browser and text editor. All these applications are extremely simple, but the idea itself is certainly curious.
ZeroPC is available both through the web interface and through mobile applications for Android and iOS. In fact, this is a "micro operating system" in which there is a gigabyte of data storage space (for an additional fee, you can increase it to 5 or 50 GB), support for the free movement of files between different clouds, which appear here as ordinary drives, SSL encryption, support for multiple email accounts, as well as quick searches by keyword, provider, file type, and date range. The original Cloud Attach feature allows you to attach any file from the connected clouds directly to an email in the Gmail service.
Despite the rich functionality, the ZeroPC web interface is still overloaded with unnecessary applications, it is difficult to navigate in it. Mobile applications are much simpler, but they just do not have the features that you might like in ZeroPC. In general, this is an original, multifunctional, but controversial solution for an amateur in terms of usability.
Gone are the days when all of our data could fit on a hard drive. And even CDs, DVDs and HD discs cannot always fit all the amount of information that each of us uses all the time. Yes, and storing information on removable drives is not always convenient, because you can forget it somewhere and that's it - the files you need will no longer be available. And here various cloud storages come to our aid, which allow you to access any files and folders from any device, the main thing is that there is access to the Internet.
But the more cloud storage appeared, the more we added our folders and files there, the more difficult it was to find the right file quickly. After all, it is really very difficult to remember where exactly you uploaded your vacation photos - to Yandex.Disk or to DropBox? And where did the reports on the work of the financial department go? Are they on OneDrive or MediaFile? In order to prevent this from happening to you, a program such as Air Explorer Pro, which is an excellent file manager for cloud storage.
Download Air Explorer Pro for cloud storage
You can download Air Explorer Pro for free via torrent from the link at the end of the article. Thanks to this program, you can manage files directly in the cloud, perform manipulations such as "Copy / Paste" between different clouds, use a centralized search for files and folders in various storages, set up multiple accounts from one server, and much, much more! With Air Explorer Pro it is very convenient, in addition, the program takes up a minimum of space and allows you to combine several cloud storages into one to increase the storage capacity!
A characteristic feature of the modern style of working with cloud services is the simultaneous use of several resources, both universal and specialized. The inevitable consequence is that your data is spread across multiple "clouds". The heroes of our review will help to put them together. There is no shortage of file managers on the Android platform, there are dozens of programs. At the same time, there are not so many solutions that can adequately solve our problem. They can be roughly divided into two large groups.
The first group of services and applications is a kind of file boxes, containers that combine access to several services without big claims en advanced additional features. This is a fairly large group, but in terms of their capabilities, such programs are very, very similar. Therefore, here, perhaps, it will suffice to name only a truly non-standard application - an aggregator service called Primadesk (www.primadesk.com). "Give me pills for greed, but more, more!" - this is the phrase that comes to mind when you first get acquainted with the list of supported services.
The fact is that by their number he is the undisputed champion. The list includes 39 resources, including social networks, media hosting and cloud file storage, email services. All added content is indexed, which allows you to later conduct an end-to-end search through the materials of your cloud services. The initial indexing may take several hours, updating the index, of course, is not so long. I must say that the search really works, although it does not break speed records. In the list of search results, in addition to basic information about the file, the designation of the resource on which it was found is also displayed.
For ease of browsing, Primadesk categorizes content from various sources: documents, photos, and messages. Unfortunately, the second key function of the manager is with files on the cards of a mobile device, then everything here is very modest. Essentially, we can only sort files and apply type filters to them. There is no choice of view mode, nor any tools that simplify navigation here.
At the same time, the program has a built-in photo editor, with which you can correct image parameters, crop, apply effects, add text and free drawings. It was built on the basis of the well-known network project Aviary. As a result, this application is hardly capable of replacing a full-fledged local file manager and is only good as a container for cloud services. Alas, cloudless happiness did not happen, we take note of the program and move on.
The second group of applications in its development came from a different point of growth, increasing the functionality of classic local managers. Indeed: if there is a file manager that is well-established, including in matters of design and ergonomics, all that remains is to supplement it with the ability to connect to the "clouds"! It would seem that everything is simple, but there are pitfalls and alternative approaches here.
Let's start with the ES Explorer app. The whole gentleman's set is present here: a connection to the clouds, a standard local manager and a selection of additional utilities. The program is very well done. In addition to quick access to individual media and clouds, there are also libraries that are automatically generated from files of various types.
Supports interaction with the most popular storages Google Drive, Box, Dropbox, SkyDrive. In addition, Amazon's S3 service, Yandex.Disk, the Ubuntu cloud, and the ShugarSync service are available. The search system does not claim to be a universal search across all available storages and is valid only for a currently open location: a memory card or a connected cloud account. This is definitely a disadvantage. Otherwise, the program is quite convenient, primarily as a file management tool.
There are various options for displaying the list of files - from large icons to a detailed list. The disadvantage, more precisely, the inconvenience of ES Explorer is the lack of generation of graphic thumbnails for many image formats, as well as video files. Still, they are very conducive to quick identification of the desired file compared to simple typical icons. It offers a choice of options for sorting the list of files by name, size and date.
In addition to the file manager itself, ES Explorer is equipped with several additional tools. So, for example, he knows how to calculate the space occupied on the SD card by individual directories. I must say that this tool works smartly and displays the results in the form of nice informative graphics. In addition, ES Explorer is equipped with its own application manager, in which you can not only remove unnecessary programs, but also make backup copies of them, as well as a process manager with the ability to kill unnecessary ones. Of course, this is not God knows what space technology, but it's really convenient when everything is at hand in one application.
The X-File Manager application has similar features and contains a couple of highlights. First, X-File Manager offers a wonderful selection of supported cloud servers. The list includes a good dozen and a half options, and not only standard foreign offers, but also, for example, Yandex.Disk. The second feature of the program is the original interface, made in the form of a combination of two panels and a tree structure of directories.
On the one hand, this allows you to use the strengths of each of the solutions, it is convenient for quickly moving to the desired directory and copying files between panels. On the other hand, the interface is overloaded, and its individual elements are small. It's not so easy to hit on the go, for example, on the miniature branch icon, especially on the go. But in addition to the actual panels with a list of files on the screen, there are also toolbars for operations on files. On a tablet, of course, it’s easier, but on a smartphone, you need downright musical fingers to manage all this wealth.
Added cloud resources are included in the tree of available resources on a general basis. All this is very similar to the style of the usual Windows Explorer, with the exception, perhaps, of the two-pane structure. The functionality of the manager is on top. There are built-in image viewers and even a video player. True, they understand far from all types of files, so I will almost immediately set up the application for them open in familiar programs.
The big minus is that there is no common search system. Whatever the case, it's a pleasure to work here. The program is completely free and does not bother with any advertising. There is only a modest button for collecting voluntary donations to the author for beer, which I personally did not fail to use - an intelligent approach to the consumer should be encouraged.
The ASTRO File Manager application turned out to be quite balanced. Immediately during the first launch, the program offers to connect cloud accounts. This is done conveniently, in the form of a master and does not take much time. A trifle, but nice: no need to look for settings, you can immediately go to the numbers. A set of the most popular hostings is supported: Google Drive, SkyDrive, Box, Dropbox, it is possible to connect to Facebook multimedia folders. Available to work with FTP, SFTP and SMB servers. The set is not a record, but quite worthy, claims to it will not go beyond subjective preferences.
One of the most useful features of ASTRO File Manager is a unified search across all available locations. Already for this function alone, you can shake hands with the developer in absentia. To speed up the search, the program builds its own index of files in online storages. Like other aggregation managers, the program will take some time to index all connected resources. So don't get annoyed if the search results immediately after installation turn out to be unsatisfactory - just give the application some time to look around and everything will return to normal soon. Search results are grouped by content type: folders, files, multimedia resources.
As for viewing files, everything is in order here. There are various viewing options: from a tile to a list, a variety of sorting options, filters by file types. All this allows you to quickly navigate in any directory. The sidebar of locations is a kind of “favorites”: you can add any folder from any source to it, just put an “asterisk” in this folder. There is a quick search bar for certain types of files, for example, you can find all videos or images in all available archives.
For file operations in ASTRO File Manager, a single-pane scheme is adopted - we see only one folder. To copy or move files, you need to select the necessary ones in the source, and then go to the new directory and give the paste command there. Perhaps I'm a retarded grumbler, but the two-pane layout, when both the source and target folders are visible, still seems more convenient to me. ASTRO File Manager has its own image viewer, and it's quite smart: the tool is fast and has a handy thumbnail ribbon that allows you to quickly take a look at the contents of the currently active directory.
Additional programs are represented by an analyzer of space usage on memory cards and an application manager that can delete and archive programs. Its presence in the file manager is quite logical: here, too, we are talking about the efficient use of available space, which is never too much on mobile devices. The disadvantages of ASTRO File Manager include not always clear translation of interface elements into Russian, certain brakes when searching through network sources, as well as an annoying advertising banner in the free version.
