Plethora of sharing options leaves Web 'cloudy'

It's getting increasingly "cloudy" in Web land. That's the forecast with Google Drive coming online along with Microsoft's SkyDrive in a nebula already occupied by Dropbox and iCloud. For a innovation that is at heart designed to save your stuff, the overflow of options can easily leave you lost in the clouds.

Google Drive: 5 GB free storage or 25 GB for $30/year. If you already have a Google account and subscribe to the Google theory that all computing should be online, this is for you. This is especially true if you use Google Docs because Drive as a matter of fact replaces Docs and displays in the same environment. If you're not familiar with Docs, just download the Google Drive application and the service will work just like an extra drive on your computer. Either way, just drop your photos, videos, documents and more and retrieve them on any other device. The bonus element here is that Google has opened the service to third-party developers, who have come up with creative apps to help you do more.

Microsoft SkyDrive: 7 GB free storage or 27 GB for $10/year. This service by all means wins the best value award for both free and subscription-based storage. In most regards it competes with Dropbox in that it's as a rule a storage drive in the sky. Microsoft does not have the rack to hang its hat like Google does on the Web, or Apple does with its plethora of devices. What Microsoft does have is millions of people with computers that bare their software, so this move makes a bunch of sense. For you it makes sense because of the value and cross-platform capabilities.

Dropbox: 2 GB free storage or 50 GB for $50/year. Truth is I am rooting for these guys, as I hate to see the big companies gobbling up their own monopolies. I as well like how you can easily share public files or folders with others. During Dropbox did not invent the cloud, it made it useful for the masses. As with others, you have one virtual storage drive in the sky that can be accessed by your smartphone, tablet, laptop, desktop or even food processor. No more emailing files to yourself to get from one device to the other. The marketing genius here is that you start with a small 2 GB free however receive a free 500 MB for every friend you sign up. If you root for the little guy, this might be the service for you.

Apple iCloud: 5 GB free storage or 20GB for $40/year. I have had this service since its inception. The great thing about iCloud is "it just works." During it has the functionality to be a Dropbox-type storage device, it in effect is made to link all of your iDevices into the same so then of music, photos, videos and projects. Buy a song on your iPhone, and it magically appears on other devices. Take a photo on your iPad and find it on your MacBook. The drawback for the masses is that if you're an Android, Google or Windows user, this is not specifically made for you. Clearly, this strategy has never stopped Apple