Cubby (beta)

Folder-syncing services such as Dropbox, Box, SugarSync, and SkyDrive keep all your files accessible at all times, using cloud storage. Cubby, a new entry in this genre from respected remote-access software maker LogMeIn, adds a twist that makes storage limits a moot point: Its DirectSync feature lets you sync between your own separate computers without taking up space on Cubby's servers. The service, still in beta, does however offer a free 5GB of online storage for syncing with Web access, a standard offer you'll find from comparable services, too. Most important among the new service's claims is that it offers the best middle ground between simplicity and powerful features?"Your digital happy place," is Cubby's motto. Let's see if that holds water and whether this Cubby is somewhere you want to place your data.

Signup and Setup
In addition to the free 5GB storage, Cubby offers a referral program that gets you an extra 1GB for each user you get to sign up, up to a maximum of 25GB. SugarSync actually has a higher cap on referral bonuses, at 32GB and unlimited if your friends sign up for paid accounts. Cubby's final pricing is yet to be determined, and we'll update this review when it's announced.

Cubby has one of the friendliest setup processes I've seen. After you download and run the tiny 4MB installer, you're greeted with an attractively designed box with a single "get started" button. The small box serves as the desktop interface for all Cubby activities, and there's no need for a full-screen app. Now comes signup: All you need is an email address and password (Cubby ensures your password is strong, too). You can't use Cubby without downloading the desktop client, unlike some services such as SkyDrive.

Using Cubby
The desktop program for most syncing services, such as Google Drive, Microsoft SkyDrive, and FileLocker are simply agents that place an icon in your system tray, show you sync status, and link to your synced folders. Cubby's desktop app is a bit richer, offering new folder syncing via drag and drop, sharing, and the creation of Web links to the folder or file.

Like Dropbox, Cubby creates a master folder whose contents are synced across all your devices. Like any subsequent syncing folders you create, this is called a "cubby." To create a new cubby, you drag and drop any folder in your system onto the Cubby desktop app. It will be synced, too?but the folder's original location won't be moved. This is a fantastic solution to the dilemma of syncing services?should there be a single synced folder all of whose subfolders get synced, too, or should you let the user sync any folder wherever it is on the hard drive? Two of our Editors' Choice folder-syncing services, SugarSync and Dropbox, show the extremes of each approach. Dropbox has one box, for the ultimate simplicity. SugarSync has great controls for syncing only what you want, so it's more complicated. But Cubby deftly combines the flexibility of SugarSync with the simplicity of Dropbox.

Cubby helpfully marks any synced folders' icons with its logo green C in Windows Explorer. And right clicking on any folder entry offers a simple single choice: "Make this folder a cubby"?far more straightforward than many other syncing services, such as FileLocker which has four choices, some with subchoices. For already-Cub-ified folders, you get two simple choices: share now and public link. Choosing the first opens the desktop app, and if the folder is non-cloud synced, you'll be asked if you want to turn that on.

Unlike most syncing services, Cubby also has "cloud on" and "cloud off" options for synced folders. The "on" choice means you'll be able to share live Web links to a cubby and get mobile access to it. The other option is DirectSync, which has the advantage of having no storage cap and not counting toward your 5GB cap. New cubbies you create are "cloud on" by default, but the checkbox-and-cloud icon lets you easily change this setting, after a confirmation. You could certainly use this feature as a backup system if you have two machines running Cubby at separate locations. Clicking a cubby opens its Windows Explorer window?just as it should.

One of the very few slightly confusing notes in Cubby appeared after I'd already turned off the cloud for a folder: The tooltip for the X button to the right of the folder read "remove this cubby from the cloud." This really just meant the folder would be removed from any Cubby syncing. I was surprised that the main My Cubby was fair game for this remove?a nice show of flexibility. Another very slightly confusing element was that I couldn't drag a folder onto a cubby, but when I double-clicked on the cubby to open its Windows Explorer window, I could easily drop in a subfolder. A drawback to this method, though, is that the subfolder didn't stay in place on my folder structure but was copied or moved to the Cubby folder. If, however, the Cubby-ized folder already has subfolders, they remain intact in their original locations, and get synced.

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/ziffdavis/pcmag/~3/3LJRDw-4mG4/0,2817,2412716,00.asp

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