Saturday, December 11, 2010

ZumoDrive

The other day I was checking my email in Yahoo and saw under the applications MyDrive.  

This is the layout from the new Yahoo Mail BETA - but they are all located on the left hand side towards the bottom.
This is for ZumoDrive.


What is ZumoDrive?

ZumoDrive is online storage that gives you space to store your files, music, pictures and more and allows access to it from many other devices. Syncing and backups are unnecessary with ZumoDrive.  You can link folders where any changes you make inside the folder will stay automatically synced and up-to-date, no manual syncing required.  ZumoDrive can be great for those with Netbooks that have smaller hard drives and you want to free up some space on it.  You can upload files where they will be safe and secure. 

You can get up to 2GB of free space with ZumoDrive.  They offer paid packages as well for those who need more storage for accessing files at any time and from any where that has an internet connection.  
Packages are as follows:






  • $2.99/mo for 10GB









  • $6.99/mo for 25GB









  • $9.99/mo for 50GB









  • $19.99/mo for 100GB









  • $37.99/mo for 200GB









  • and $79.99/mo for 500GB






  • How to access ZumoDrive

    You can access ZumoDrive by going through the MyDrive link on Yahoo Mail or by going to ZumoDrive.com.

    Get started using ZumoDrive

    When you first click on MyDrive, it will ask you to confirm to allow access to your account.  Click ALLOW.  You will then be shown a new screen. Click on Sign Up to create your ZumoDrive account.



    A new window will pop up for you to input for information to sign up.


    Once you get signed up, go back to your Yahoo Mail (or get signed in on the website if you do not have a Yahoo Mail account) and click on the Finish button in the middle of the screen (if one appeared).  You will then see this under the MyDrive tab:


    This is the exact same layout on ZumoDrive.com (when logged in).  You can do all the same things on the website as in your Yahoo Mail and other device application/programs.
    If you click on upload, it will pull up a window that lets you pick files from your computer.  It will then list them here for you to view.  You have a few choices on the right hand side you can do with each file.  


    SEND option lets you then send them in an email to people.  This allows others to view and edit and each revision is kept.  
    DOWNLOAD is great if you uploaded a file from one computer and end up needing it put on another computer, you can choose this option.  
    REVISIONS shows you the history of use of this file by you and others with access.  
    LINKS is for embedding into a website or using as a link.

    You can now go to ZumoDrive.com and see that what you uploaded through your Yahoo Mail MyDrive is synced up with the website.  If you uploaded it through the website, you can go onto your phones app to see the automatic syncing. 

    How to get the FULL 2 GB of FREE space

    Your ZumoDrive account willl hold up to 2GB of storage for FREE.  At first though, you will only get 1GB.  The way to get the second is by completeing the "Dojo" belts.  There are 3 tabs at the top of the website screen (when signed in) - Dojo, Files and Photos.


    Click on the Dojo tab where you will be able to go through each belt to get your extra GB of space.


    When you click on each belt, to the right will be links to click on for what needs to be done to earn each belt.  Here is what each belt consists of needing to earn them:
    • White Belt - All you have to do for this one is click on Getting Started and it will take you to the Yellow Belt.
    • Yellow Belt - You will have to Install ZumoDrive on your computer.  (I eventually uninstalled this from my computer as I saw no reason to really have it...I just installed it for getting the additional GB of space).  You also have to Take A Tour, which just takes you through step by step on the things you can do with ZumoDrive.
    • Blue Belt - You will have to Upload A File and View Your Files On The Web.
    • Brown Belt - You will have to Link A Folder and View A Linked Folder.
    • Black Belt - You will have to Share A Folder With Others (which can be yourself at another email address you may have access to) and Install On Another Device (which can be another computer or your cell phone.

    Download ZumoDrive

    ZumoDrive can be downloaded on many devices.  I have made them available for you here (same as what you will find on the ZumoDrive website.

    Windows_logoWindowsMac_logoMac OS XLinux_logoLinux


    Iphone_logoZumoDrive for iPhone
    iPhone/iPod Touch

    Ipad_logoZumoDrive for iPad
    iPad 3.2+

    Android_logoZumoDrive for Android
    Android 1.6+

    Palm_logoZumoDrive for WebOS
    Palm Pre/Pixi


    One thing I really like about having it available on my phone is that I can upload music from my computer onto ZumoDrive then play them on my phones music player.  This does not install it on your phone either, it just allows access for playing.

    One thing I did notice about having this installed on my computer is that it creates another drive like area on your computer - a Z: drive.  You can access it by going to START -> MY COMPUTER -> and you will then see a Z drive under Devices With Removable Storage.  This shows you everything you have uploaded to ZumoDrive, which this is offline viewing.  You can also access it by going to START -> ALL PROGRAMS -> then selecting ZumoDrive from the list of programs.  This opens it as a Windows Explorer like view where you can browse through all of your files on your computer. 

    Another thing I noticed after UNinstalling this from my computer is, when you have it installed, it adds a feature in the right-click feature.  If you right-click on a folder, you will see Link Folder to ZumoDrive. 


    This will then keep everything you do inside this folder synced up on ZumoDrive automatically.  Once you have selected to link the folder, when you right-click on it again, you will then see a few more options in the menu you can now do.


    ZumoDrive - Share will let you pick who you want to share the folder with and send them an invitation to the email address you type in. They will then have access to this always synced and up-to-date folder.  ZumoDrive - More gives you the option of unlinking, Sync policy (Automatic) "means we'll fetch content when it's accessed and keep it local automatically. If you select Always keep local, ZumoDrive will download a copy of the content in the folder into the cache.", and View Online will take you to the website.

    So if you uninstall from your computer - you will no longer have these options available to you when you right-click.  I could not find how to link files and folders after uninstalling.  There is no option from the website to do this.  I had linked a music folder while it was still installed and noticed it is STILL showing as linked under the Linked Folders option on the website.  So I am thinking it will stay linked until I reinstall and unlink it.  I am now thinking I may go ahead and reinstall it back onto my computer.  It may come in more useful later on than I realize now.

    After reinstalling - another thing good about having it installed on your computer is when you create a file for the first time you can go ahead and save it to ZumoDrive - rather than saving it then going to ZumoDrive and having to upload it.  This saves a few steps in the middle and time overall!!

    For Windows downloads:

    CLICK ON RUN

    Click on I AGREE
     Check the location and click on INSTALL

    A new window will appear asking if you want to upload music from your iTunes.  Sign in (or sign up if you have not already done so.)


    The next will show you at the bottom the number of songs it found from your iTunes (IF you have iTunes installed on your computer)  As a rule of thumb - approximately 250 songs equals 1 GB.


    The next screen will scan the rest of your computer for more media files not already in iTunes.  This will take some time so I went ahead and just clicked next - not waiting until it finished.


    This window will add music you may have on ZumoDrive that is NOT already in your iTunes and make it to where it will stream when you play it through iTunes.   You can always go back and add music at a later time via your settings console.

    .
    Well now you know all about ZumoDrive and hope you enjoy using it as much as I do.

    ENJOY!