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My experience using applications built around the FUSE stack or the File Provider API suggest to me that while your take is generally true, it’s a “grass is alw
by TheNewsIsHere 3y ago
My experience using applications built around the FUSE stack or the File Provider API suggest to me that while your take is generally true, it’s a “grass is always greener” problem.
The File Provider API provides a much better admin and user experience, but the storage providers tend to really easily make a confusing mess of it. OneDrive took the time to figure out how to use sync roots in a way that enables you to store your actual data-containing files to an external drive. Dropbox didn’t care about supporting that use case on Macs, so what was once possible with both is now just possible with one. That has been a source of problems for many.
On the other hand the migration to OneDrive’s File Provider implementation was a data-thrashing horror show for many.
And iCloud Drive doesn’t truly let you decide a persistent sync state for everything.
The security implications are better but it’s just the same old mess file syncing has been for a long time :)
- xp84 3y agoRe: External drive with OneDrive. Can you share details? In my experimentation I found it would refuse to place my OneDrive root on any disk marked as removable. Since I don’t own a $6000 computer, with actual drive bays or nVme slots, that limits me to keeping it on my anemic internal drive. I’d love to find out I’m wrong. (I keep several SSDs connected via USB through a USB-C dock, if that matters to the answer)
- TheNewsIsHere 3y agoHey! I didn’t see this before today, sorry :) macOS enforces that the sync root remain local, but OneDrive does a little bit of slight of hand to be able to store files on an external drive. There is a write-up from the OneDrive team at [0] that details some caveats on how this works. OneDrive technical documentation can be difficult to follow since they like to disclose version/dated changes as blogs instead of something more formal and managed. I believe this is still possible, but experimentation with non-critical data might be advisable. [0] https://techcommunity.microsoft.com/t5/microsoft-onedrive-blog/inside-the-new-files-on-demand-experience-on-macos/ba-p/3058922 https://techcommunity.microsoft.com/t5/microsoft-onedrive-bl...