| The internet has become irreplaceable in our lives. | | | | crashes. |
| We use net access to shop, perform banking | | | | Pros And Cons Of Online Solutions |
| transactions, read reviews about movies and | | | | Saving your media online offers a few advantages |
| restaurants, and communicate with friends across the | | | | over saving it locally. First, while most online backup |
| globe. We also store more information on our | | | | providers limit the amount of data you can save, you |
| computers today than ever. Documents, photos, | | | | can easily raise the limit by paying a higher monthly or |
| videos, and MP3s are taking an enormous amount of | | | | annual rate. Second, you can save and access your |
| space on our hard drives and external storage | | | | media at any time regardless of your location. For |
| devices. The question is, should we rely upon our | | | | example, suppose that you save a few important |
| computers to safeguard our data? If not, what are | | | | documents from your home PC to an online storage |
| the alternatives? | | | | provider. You can access those documents using |
| There are dozens of backup solutions available on | | | | your laptop from any location with an internet |
| the internet. Some are free while others charge a | | | | connection, including a local coffee shop, library, or |
| small monthly or annual fee. Given how important our | | | | through your home wireless LAN. |
| media is, it's worth considering the value offered by | | | | Identifying Your Needs |
| such services. In this article, we'll discuss the pros and | | | | Deciding which backup solution - local or online - |
| cons of backing up your data on the internet versus | | | | offers the most value requires reviewing how you |
| doing so on your home PC. | | | | use your computer, your data, and the internet. Even |
| Pros And Cons Of Local Solutions | | | | if you rarely use your residential broadband |
| One of the advantages of backing up your media | | | | connection, most home users find enormous value in |
| locally is that it is faster than doing so through a net | | | | saving their documents remotely, or off-site. It's |
| connection. Local storage devices often operate using | | | | convenient, simple, and economical. It also removes |
| USB 2.0. That allows them to copy and transfer files | | | | the hassle of buying an external storage device, |
| more quickly than is possible to upload them through | | | | configuring it, and upgrading the device when its |
| a broadband pipe. The drawback is that these | | | | capacity has been reached. |
| devices have a finite storage capacity. Once you | | | | Millions of people have integrated their broadband |
| reach the limit, you'll need to upgrade. | | | | internet access into their lives. But, most are still using |
| If you're saving everything locally on your hard drive | | | | their online connections merely to consume |
| (as opposed to using an external solution), you'll still | | | | information and entertainment. Over the next few |
| be working with a storage limit. But, you'll also run the | | | | years, there will likely be a surge of interest in using |
| risk of losing your data in the event your computer | | | | the net as a remote storage solution for our data. |