Currently, i'm on DSL which according to the brochure offers 512Kbps uploads. Allowing for the same sorts of uplink issues as downlink figure about 434kbps optimal upload speeds. That means that a 100MB file will take (1024*100)/434 ~= 236 seconds ~= 4 minutes to upload.
That's noteworthy because according to various bits of backup software, my main PC is using about 33% of it's drive capacity and is clocking in around 50GB. i can squeeze things down about 20% by using aggressive compression and get the data to about 40GB. So, doing the math, it's (40*(1024*1024))/434 =~ 96643 seconds =~ 27 hours to push that much content out of my machine and into the network. And again, that's on a perfect net where there's no trunk congestion.
For those not necessarily up on their chronograph skills, that kinda precludes doing a daily backup.
For those of you on Cable, your uplink datarates are around 1.1mbps, effectively doubling upload times. Hooray, it'll take you about 13 hours to push 40GBs.
Mind you, even pushing a 2GB truecrypt file through the intertubes can take more than a bit of time and my experiences there range from 2 to 8 hours to do it, even on the very high speed link we have at work.
Balance that against having a 120GB, self contained USB drive i can pick up for about $90 from Fry's and can push data through the cable at about 4-10X what i can push through the broadband link. The drive is small enough that i can literally carry it with me wherever i go (and thus solving the dual location / what to do when your house burns down problem).
So, short of having a bunch of files i want to distribute to friends, family, or the world, why, exactly, would i be interested in a set of 1GB online storage facilities? Considering the vast majority of shared files my friends and family tend to shuffle about are photos attached to emails, i get the feeling they're not really thinking in terms of efficient bandwidth usage.
There must be some sort of appeal that i'm missing somewhere. i swear that this is the same thinking that had people buying kitty litter on-line.
yah mon, it's nice to have a backup elsewhere in case the mafia explodes your apartment's computer, SD cards, backup CDs, etc.
Your DSL offers 512 Kilobytes per second?!? Mine is 512 Kilobits per second and I only get an actual transfer rate of 50 kilobytes per second if I'm lucky but more like 37~. Transferring a 100 megabyte file takes me around 45 minutes. I wouldn't even think of using off-site backup given running it would clog my upstream pipe for at least a full day every time it runs.
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rsync.
Right now I use Microsoft's free FolderShare service to keep a few files synced between my three main, web-connected machines. It offers no storage at all, just a mirrored directory between the three of them. And it freakin' rocks.
Total file size that's synced between them? 224KB. It's my Tiddlywiki file that I use as an information repository/planner.
Even a few megabytes of WebDAV storage would be very useful to me, though. And kitty litter? Sign me up!