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> The ugly fact is the Unlimited Amazon Drive has been abused by media pirates and data-hoarders to store up to 20TB Somebody on reddit bragged about reaching

> The ugly fact is the Unlimited Amazon Drive has been abused by media pirates and data-hoarders to store up to 20TB Somebody on reddit bragged about reaching more than 1PB [0] > Of course, I agree that you shouldn't call something "Unlimited" if it isn't. I am maybe nitpicking, but it really was unlimited. Nobody is being billed for exceeding a given threshold or stopped from using it. The service is being discontinued and people will not be able to renew it. They never said "forever" :-). It's like I got a special deal from my gym for unlimited access. If next year they won't offer it anymore I cannot say "it was not unlimited". > As far as I can tell, Prime Photos will remain unlimited. I wonder how long it'll be before media hoarders hide their content in Google/Prime Photos with a convenient CLI tool? In another thread on reddit somebody was already talking about that, so I guess it won't be long. [0] https://www.reddit.com/r/DataHoarder/comments/5s7q04/i_hit_a_bit_of_a_milestone_today/ https://www.reddit.com/r/DataHoarder/comments/5s7q04/i_hit_a...

BinaryIdiot 9y ago
> It's like I got a special deal from my gym for unlimited access. If next year they won't offer it anymore I cannot say "it was not unlimited". I don't think this analogy works. If you used a lot of space, or really any space over the amount that they change to as the upper limit, that data is now at risk. Some places will make it read only until you move it off (up to a certain amount). Most will simply delete it after a certain amount of time if you don't move it. Your gym can't really take back an amount of your previous, unlimited usage of the gym. If you have legit uses where you're way over the limit this can pose a real issue. I ran into this when storing photos and videos on Microsoft's OneDrive after they lowered the crazy high amount they were given...I eventually decided to pay the higher fees to cover my data so I wouldn't lose it until I had more time to move it all off. I no longer use OneDrive.
csdreamer7 9y ago
> It's like I got a special deal from my gym for unlimited access. If next year they won't offer it anymore I cannot say "it was not unlimited". That is a very anti-consumer way of looking at it. Storage, especially for businesses, is not like a gym membership. These bait and switch tactics are harmful for the consumer as well as the industry itself. You place a certain trust with data storage companies. Alot of media companies can easily have 30 terabytes of data to backup or share. They kill the unlimited plan with essentially a price hike. Now I am wondering "when is the next price hike coming"? Amazon has already cut their CLI interface and their web interface is terrible. I would rather just keep it on a NAS with NextCloud.
- dhimes 9y ago
  You place a certain trust with data storage companies. I think the point is that now we know not to.
  - csdreamer7 9y ago
    Noah has been ranting about this long before Amazon and Onedrive did this.
- PretzelFisch 9y ago
  I don't think you can call it bait and switch. That would imply that they offered you unlimited but only gave you a limited amount. They did allow unlimited storage, they have now decided to remove this product and offer something else in it's place. The consumer can choose to stay or leave. It's difficult to leave, but it's the same kind of deal when your apartment's lease is not renewed. I can't really see this as anti-consumer
  - csdreamer7 9y ago
    I assumed bait and switch now encompassed this marketing tactic. If you know the exact term this tactic is called please let me know. > The consumer can choose to stay or leave. . It's difficult to leave, but it's the same kind of deal when your apartment's lease is not renewed. I can't really see this as anti-consumer Your argument is simply: consumers deal with something like this for an unrelated industry so it is not anti-consumer. That is not a good argument. edit: also, renting is a very poor example. There are laws that govern how much rent can be raised that vary based on jurisdiction. If renting wasn't anti-consumer why would such laws exist? No such laws against gouging against for data storage which undermines your argument.
- mrighele 9y ago
  > That is a very anti-consumer way of looking at it. Storage, especially for businesses, is not like a gym membership. > These bait and switch tactics are harmful for the consumer as well as the industry itself. The point of the comparison was to stress the fact that unlimited amount of space doesn't necessarily mean for an unlimited amount of time. > Storage, especially for businesses, is not like a gym membership. I though that the unlimited plan was only for personal use. If it was open to businesses I understand why it became so quickly a money sink for Amazon.

BinaryIdiot 9y ago

> It's like I got a special deal from my gym for unlimited access. If next year they won't offer it anymore I cannot say "it was not unlimited". I don't think this analogy works. If you used a lot of space, or really any space over the amount that they change to as the upper limit, that data is now at risk. Some places will make it read only until you move it off (up to a certain amount). Most will simply delete it after a certain amount of time if you don't move it. Your gym can't really take back an amount of your previous, unlimited usage of the gym. If you have legit uses where you're way over the limit this can pose a real issue. I ran into this when storing photos and videos on Microsoft's OneDrive after they lowered the crazy high amount they were given...I eventually decided to pay the higher fees to cover my data so I wouldn't lose it until I had more time to move it all off. I no longer use OneDrive.

csdreamer7 9y ago

> It's like I got a special deal from my gym for unlimited access. If next year they won't offer it anymore I cannot say "it was not unlimited". That is a very anti-consumer way of looking at it. Storage, especially for businesses, is not like a gym membership. These bait and switch tactics are harmful for the consumer as well as the industry itself. You place a certain trust with data storage companies. Alot of media companies can easily have 30 terabytes of data to backup or share. They kill the unlimited plan with essentially a price hike. Now I am wondering "when is the next price hike coming"? Amazon has already cut their CLI interface and their web interface is terrible. I would rather just keep it on a NAS with NextCloud.

dhimes 9y ago
You place a certain trust with data storage companies. I think the point is that now we know not to.
- csdreamer7 9y ago
  Noah has been ranting about this long before Amazon and Onedrive did this.
PretzelFisch 9y ago
I don't think you can call it bait and switch. That would imply that they offered you unlimited but only gave you a limited amount. They did allow unlimited storage, they have now decided to remove this product and offer something else in it's place. The consumer can choose to stay or leave. It's difficult to leave, but it's the same kind of deal when your apartment's lease is not renewed. I can't really see this as anti-consumer
- csdreamer7 9y ago
  I assumed bait and switch now encompassed this marketing tactic. If you know the exact term this tactic is called please let me know. > The consumer can choose to stay or leave. . It's difficult to leave, but it's the same kind of deal when your apartment's lease is not renewed. I can't really see this as anti-consumer Your argument is simply: consumers deal with something like this for an unrelated industry so it is not anti-consumer. That is not a good argument. edit: also, renting is a very poor example. There are laws that govern how much rent can be raised that vary based on jurisdiction. If renting wasn't anti-consumer why would such laws exist? No such laws against gouging against for data storage which undermines your argument.
mrighele 9y ago
> That is a very anti-consumer way of looking at it. Storage, especially for businesses, is not like a gym membership. > These bait and switch tactics are harmful for the consumer as well as the industry itself. The point of the comparison was to stress the fact that unlimited amount of space doesn't necessarily mean for an unlimited amount of time. > Storage, especially for businesses, is not like a gym membership. I though that the unlimited plan was only for personal use. If it was open to businesses I understand why it became so quickly a money sink for Amazon.