BBMINI
New member
To me, even their decision to reduce max storage to 1TB is very shortsighted and works strongly against their stated desire for OneDrive to be the place for (almost) everything in our lives (as Kavu2 reminded us of above). Part of the beauty and attraction of the "unlimited" OD offer for me was that I simply didn't have to worry about space anymore and so by default I could just put "everything" there. I wasn't planning to abuse it or upload 75TB to it, but it was great knowing that all my files, all my camera photos and videos, my music collection (which they ENCOURAGED us to do), and whatever else I wanted could readily go into my OneDrive and stay there. It would truly become my default hard drive for everything -- and that would apply now and into the future. So maybe I wouldn't hit the 1TB limit this year, but if OneDrive usage was supposed to be a long term proposition and new core plan for how people use their technology then it seems pretty reasonable to expect that a LOT of paying users (not abusers) would hit 1TB pretty quickly (and then what happens?). So now that there?s a limit, even a relatively large limit, it means I again have to start deciding what to place into OD and what to keep on other hard drives, which for me really reduces the functionality and appeal of OneDrive and cloud storage overall. If some of my files are in OneDrive and others are stuck on my laptop, and others on my tablet, then I?m forced to prioritize what I?ll actually need access to from all my devices, and I return to the relative confusion and frustration of operating within limits and needing a file but realizing it?s elsewhere and inaccessible. Seems like a real step back to me.I can understand their decision to switch to 1 TB, but the reasoning and execution is horrible.
I suspect that for me and most others, a 5TB limit, or possibly even 2TBs, would effectively be ?unlimited? for years or decades to come. But to force loyal MS customers and enthusiasts to abruptly shift their thinking from unlimited to undeniably limited is a terrible move for Microsoft goodwill and how people perceive the value that MS is providing and the mobile lifestyle strategy they?ve been championing. Users and prospective users are now forced to change their mindset from ?this is awesome and easy and refreshing because I have all the cloud space I could ever need; I don?t have to wonder or worry about where I store my files and I appreciate Microsoft for being forward-thinking and providing this kind of unmatched solution and value to users of its ecosystem? to ?what should I put in the cloud and what should I store elsewhere? what files are in OneDrive and what?s on my laptop? how often will I have to purge my photos so I don?t hit my limit? is it really worth moving music to the cloud since it?ll take up more space? I wonder what Google Drive is like? would Amazon?s unlimited plan be a better option since MS isn?t actually committed to the Cloud/Mobile strategy they bragged about?? The ?limited? aspect of the new proposition, even though the limits are generous, simply introduces questions and hesitancy about how well all the MS ecosystem parts will work together and how enthusiastically we as users should and will be able to use all those aspects of a mobile, multi-device lifestyle into the foreseeable future.
It might seem like 1TB is plenty, and it?s definitely a lot, but unfortunately it still means moving everyone?s mindset from unlimited and the all-encompassing ease that comes with that to real limitations on what you can do ? and I think that?s a huge blow to the badly needed foothold MS seemed to be barely gaining in the cloud, ecosystem and public perception competitions.