Both services offer basic in-browser editing for documents, spreadsheets, slide shows, and more, and users can collaborate with others to tinker with files in real time. The superb feature sets SkyDrive and Google Drive apart from their competitors.
Giving others permission to read or edit files is a snap in both services, and each gives you the ability to email direct links to specific files. SkyDrive goes the extra mile and includes a Public folder that anybody can access, as well as support for sending links to over 30 social networks (but not Google+).
Once you’re actually collaboratively editing a document, though, Google Docs presents changes in real time, while SkyDrive’s Office Web Apps forces all users to save and refresh documents before showing others’ edits. Google’s approach is vastly superior.
Winner: Google Drive
SkyDrive’s Office Web Apps mimic the look and feel of the stand-alone Microsoft Office productivity programs—right down to the controversial Ribbon interface…
… while Google Docs lovers will feel right at home in Google Drive’s stark, black-and-white digs. The two services’ PC clients, on the other hand, look virtually identical.
What if, in the midst of a hot-and-heavy collaborative editing session, a clueless co-worker accidentally deletes an important chunk of text and saves the change? Fear not: Both Google Drive and SkyDrive contain handy-dandy version history tools that can restore files to previous iterations. SkyDrive tracks the last 25 versions of a file, while Google Drive maintains file histories for 30 days or up to 100 revisions.
The big difference lies in what happens when you accidentally delete a file completely. In SkyDrive, deleted files are simply gone, never to be seen again. (See note at end - Brad) Google Drive, however, moves deleted files into a Trash folder, where you can then choose to delete the file permanently or restore it to its original location, complete with its version history intact if it’s a document.
Winner: Google Drive
Sigh. Ties satisfy no one, but individual needs really do determine which of these closely matched cloud-based services is right for you. Google Drive, basically being Google Docs on steroids, holds the slight edge in productivity tasks; SkyDrive is slightly cheaper, offers slightly more free storage, and is available on more mobile platforms. Sign up for the service that supports your mobile platform of choice, or heck, give ’em each a whirl if you’re on the fence. Yay freemium!
Author's note: This article first appeared in the August issue of the magazine, and it was actually written shortly after the launch of Google Drive, all the way back on May 8th. Both services have seen a bunch of changes since then; SkyDrive now supports file recovery, while both services offer apps for Android and iOS. If anything, the recent alterations to the services only serve to cement the fact that this is a closely fought battle with no clear winner.
To manage all of your different online drives, check out our handy-dandy cloud storage backup guide.
Comments are closed on this article
bezerkus
October 16, 2012 at 9:01am
No syncing of large directories between devices without storage (Live Mesh)= no go for both.
zepolnavi
October 10, 2012 at 9:34am
I use both....but if you want something more private and safer then definitely skydrive........google Drve is very good that's for sure, but read the contract first and you will realize that all your data is not as private as you think.
chart2006
October 10, 2012 at 7:34am
My cloud service wins hands down. I have a Synology DS212 setup in a raid-1 configuration for backup with a total of 5TB of storage. Through numerous apps such as Synology's Cloud Station app I can backup all my computers either locally on the LAN or remotely through the internet. It also allows me to create multiple users if I desire with shared or personal storage for each user. There are streaming apps to allow you to "stream" as apposed to download your music and/or videos such as the digital copy of many of my movies.
You can create a mail server, directory server, DHCP server, media server, surveillance station, syslog server, VPN server, iTunes server, Logitech Media server, and many more. You can customize your access screen whether you'll be accessing your cloud via HTML, FTP, or any other file sharing protocol. As for HTML you can either use Synology's standard portal or you can publish your site by enabling Web Station and create/host your own website/virtual host. You can also enable or disable HTTPS connections which will protect it via SSL/TLS connections depending on the level of security.
The only unfortunate thing about the setup is reliability as it is at the mercy of both the power company and ISP as both go down a couple times a month. Fortunately a majority of the time it is in the middle of the night and not during the day when I need it most. The point is the level of customization far exceeds any suggested cloud service and the best thing about it is that there is no service or subscription fees. Of course there is a start-up cost which is the cost of the hard drives and the DS212 but it was well worth the investment. My internet speed is 50Mbps/5Mbps so that helps quite a bit and of course with slower connections it does make hosting your own cloud difficult but again at least you know your data is in your own home and not on someones server elsewhere.
I love my NAS and wouldn't trade it for any other service...
Roll Tide
October 09, 2012 at 9:27pm
Use both in a virtual online RAID configuration.. ;-) snarky snark snark
don2041
October 09, 2012 at 2:59pm
What happens to all of your 16 terabytes of data when Skynets drives fail.
Brad Chacos
October 09, 2012 at 2:46pm
Author here! Yeah, there are some inconsistencies now: this appeared in the August issue of the magazine, but it was actually written shortly after the launch of Google Drive -- I turned the final copy in all the way back on May 8th. Both services have seen a bunch of changes, all of which have only served to make them even more similar, which only adds to the tie-ed-ness of it all. Me? I use SkyDrive, mostly because I'm grandfathered in with 25GB of free data.
xRadeon
October 09, 2012 at 2:04pm
Unless my Skydrive account is different than yours (I just have the standard free account), I have an option to recover files. Its the recycle bin on the bottom left.
For this battle, I actually really like Skydrive because I can browse files on my computer remotely using Skydrive. But that's just me, Google Drive is still pretty good stuff.
Trooper_One
October 09, 2012 at 12:26pm
"... right down to the controversial Ribbon interface"
What's so controversial about the Ribbon interface? It's been out for awhile. I find it quite convenient and easy to use and even office newbs could navigate around it with easy.
Honestly, when I go back to the ugly icons (e.g. on OpenOffice), it just feels weird.
m-p-3
October 09, 2012 at 11:51am
Google Drive is also on iOS
http://itunes.apple.com/app/id507874739
HiGHRoLLeR038
October 09, 2012 at 11:49am
...There is a recycle bin feature in SkyDrive. Do your research.
jtrpop
October 09, 2012 at 11:48am
Might want to update the article, as Skydrive does have a recycle bin for deleted files.
praetor_alpha
October 09, 2012 at 1:03pm
It's a new feature (from September), and this article was written in August.
http://news.softpedia.com/news/Microsoft-SkyDrive-Updated-with-Recycle-Bin-293272.shtml
Print
