'Cloud' storage using your home PC

[lucasbuck]

I was wondering if there's a way to setup a shared drive on your home computer, and access it while out of town like a cloud service though an Android device? To be able to access files while away. If there are apps like that, can any of them be accessed through another PC also, to access files at home from work? Sorry if that's a broad question but appreciate any suggestions!

 

[Aquila]

Google Drive (obviously Google), One Drive (Microsoft), DropBox and many others have that functionality.

 

[lucasbuck]

Thanks for the reply. I use Dropbox occasionally, and had been considering Google Drive. But after reading all the concerns over privacy and such, I started thinking about issues with my work files. And for personal use, I started thinking about my library of media that would be nice to have on the go, and the size of it. I thought how it would be much nicer just to be able to have a shared folder on my PC at home (which is always on) that I could connect to in the same way.

 

[xchange]

I think that you can do it with Owncloud but I'm not sure. There's a few software vendors that do this if you look around but I think they all require some adjustments to your router settings

 

[Aquila]

Yeah drive has a desktop app that automatically syncs

XTNiT-1060 through spacetime.

 

[xchange]

I think he's looking for software that only uses your PC as the cloud instead of a cloud server like drop box, drive, etc that also store files on their cloud servers

 

[lucasbuck]

I think he's looking for software that only uses your PC as the cloud instead of a cloud server like drop box, drive, etc that also store files on their cloud servers

Correct! Thanks for clarifying, I probably didn't do a good job. I don't really want it to sync, because I don't want all those files on my tablet. For example, I have a lot of books and manuals in pdf format. If I need to read one for work, or am on vacation and want to read something, it would be nice to access my drive at home and pick one to move over to the tablet. But I don't want them all synced. Surely there has to be an app to do this. I'm sure I would have to do some setup with my router.

 

[hallux]

The biggest concern I'd have is the limitation of your upload speed on your home internet connection. Most home internet connections are asynchronous, meaning they're faster in one direction than the other and often (or always) the faster connection is the download. If you're remote and pulling "media" from your home computer, unless it's just music or low-resolution video it won't be a fun experience as most home connections are capped at 1-2 Mb upload. Mine is 5 Mb but I also get 30 Mb download.

Remember, if you're connecting from a remote location, the data you receive from your home computer is going through the upload part of your home internet connection.

 

[lucasbuck]

I'm not really looking to stream media. I'm thinking more along the lines of all the books and such that I have on PDF. I could always just throw a few on before a trip, but I thought it would be more convenient to get what I need on the fly.

 

[Aquila]

And you don't want it to use the cloud?

XTNiT-1060 through spacetime.

 

[Vsweety]

I was wondering if there's a way to setup a shared drive on your home computer, and access it while out of town like a cloud service though an Android device? To be able to access files while away. If there are apps like that, can any of them be accessed through another PC also, to access files at home from work? Sorry if that's a broad question but appreciate any suggestions!

Have you tried the free app mydlink Access-NAS?

 

[lucasbuck]

No, but I'll look into it, thank you!

 

[makaka]

Check out Bittorrent Sync and Chrome remote desktop for android.

 

[paracas]

I use Copy, which gives a generous free online storage and works across multiple platforms (Windows, Mac, Linux, Android and iOS) seamlessly. You get (15 + 5) GB free storage when you sign up using this link.

 

[raptir]

Check out Bittorrent Sync and Chrome remote desktop for android.

Yeah, for smaller files I typically use a remote desktop option. I use TeamViewer, which even has a section for file transfers so that you don't need to initiate a remote control session to pull the files across.