Though you want to keep most of your files on your computer, and then back them up with a zip drive or by copying your information to a CD, you may also want to think about online storage. The most commonly used type of storage online would be for photos, but there are other places you can use to store data for a multitude of reasons. You should always have a back up when you do this, but using such a service can save you time and money in some cases.
Online photo storage is common for photos, and you can find this service on many different sites. Though you will have to pay for larger amounts of photo storage, you can usually find the price to be rather reasonable. You can not only store your photos, as these types of online storage also allows you to link to them. That means you can share your photos in a blog or on various message boards of which you may be a member. This is much easier than emailing photos and can save you a lot of grief.
There are some online storage sites that allow you to store things other than photos. You will find some that will save all types of documents, and others that will even allow you to save video or DVD footage. Most use these for business reasons, but some are personal. The biggest advantage of this type of online storage is that you can send things online that would normally be too big to send via email to others . If you are working on the road and have to send work back to the office, this is one of the fastest and easiest ways to do just that.
When you send things to someone directing them to an online storage site, you have usually done them a favor. You will normally only use this for large files. If you attempt to send something large to them attached to an email, it might fill up their inbox, as some providers only allow so much to go in at once. That means they may not get emails from others. This gives them some time to go download what you have sent them without worrying about stuffing their inbox full with something that is not really urgent or might not be opened right away. Online storage is a great idea, and will probably become more common in the future.