You know what frosts my flakes?
Companies insisting I store my files on their servers.
It seems like every website and software program these days wants me to save everything in its own little corner of the internet.
They don’t just suggest it anymore. They practically guilt-trip you into doing it.
Microsoft wants every Word document, Excel spreadsheet and PowerPoint presentation saved to OneDrive. In fact, they even make it difficult to automatically save drafts on your own computer.
Apparently, storing your own files on your own hard drive is considered old-fashioned.
Video editors want projects on their servers. Audio programs want them on their servers. Photo editors have their own cloud. Before long, every company has its own little digital storage locker with my name on it.
They all tell you the same thing. “It’s safer.” “It’s more convenient.” “You can access your files anywhere.”
Sure you can. As long as you remember which company is holding your files hostage this week. That’s the part nobody talks about.
One project is on OneDrive. Another is in Dropbox. Photos are somewhere else. Videos are on another service. Audio files are on yet another account. Pretty soon, finding one document becomes a scavenger hunt across half the internet.
Then comes the sales pitch.
“We’ve noticed you’re almost out of storage.”
Of course I am. With your default settings, you forced me to save everything on your servers in the first place.
When the free storage disappears, then comes the monthly or annual subscription. It’s like getting free samples at the grocery store until they know you’re hooked.
That’s why I keep most of my files in Dropbox. I pay one company for plenty of storage, everything backs up automatically and I know exactly where to look when I need something.
Call me old-fashioned, but I still think I should be the one deciding where my own files live.
I’m Grandpa Grumpy, and if this keeps up, I’ll need AI just to remember which company’s cloud is holding all the pictures of my grandkids.