Google Drive, Dropbox, Microsoft SkyDrive compared - which one is better?

Moving digital files between your work and home computers can be a pain.
The idea is to leave your files on their computers, so that you can access them from any Internet-connected device, wherever you are. That means you can stop emailing big files to yourself, and you can stop carrying those USB thumb drives that fill up quickly, especially when transferring photos and video. These services also make it easier to share documents with others.

Google Drive, Dropbox and Microsoft's SkyDrive share some core features.

·         You can store just about any type of file - photos, videos, songs, spreadsheets and more - on distant servers operated by those companies. All you need is a Web browser and an Internet connection. To upload a file to the online storage service, you simply move the file's icon to the browser window. The original file remains on your computer.

·         To access a file from another computer, you simply go to the service's website and log in. You can make changes on that computer and move the file back online. You can create Web links to entire folders or specific files for sharing.

·         You can install free software to simplify these transfers. The software creates a special folder on your computer for that particular service. Anything you add to it will automatically get transferred to your online storage. If you or colleagues make changes from another computer, the original version gets automatically updated.

STORAGE

·         2 GB for free on Dropbox

·         5 GB on Google Drive

·         7 GB  on SkyDrive.

Winner: SkyDrive, with the most free storage and cheapest upgrade plans.

SHARING
Dropbox and SkyDrive can automatically turn the photos you share into galleries, so that friends can view them through an interface that resembles what you'd get on Facebook or a photo-sharing site.

Winner: SkyDrive, with the most options for sharing.

SEARCH
Not surprisingly, the best search options come from Google, the Internet search leader.

Searching on Google Drive is fast and versatile. You can search not just by file name, but also the contents of documents in a variety of popular formats. It uses an optical-character reader to pull out text from newspaper clippings and brochures you scanned. Dropbox searches based on file names only. SkyDrive searches contents of documents in Microsoft formats - Word, PowerPoint and Excel - but it won't even index the file names for other types, including photos.

Winner: Google Drive

SPECIAL FEATURES
Dropbox has a handy feature for restoring files you accidentally deleted or overwrote. SkyDrive will automatically shrink larger photos to save space if you use its Web interface. Google Drive offers to convert files to Google's online documents format. That makes it easier for multiple people to collaborate

Conclusion

SkyDrive wins on storage and sharing, but it ought to be more forthcoming about shrinking originals .Google's nifty search features make it the best choice overall. After all, storage does little good if you can't find what you need. Google Drive is the service you'll want. Otherwise, Dropbox is a fine alternative, especially if you expect to use it a lot on a variety of phones or an iPad. One drawback with all three services is that you can lose metadata associated with these files. Attributes such as the file's creation date can change in transfer. The contents aren't affected.