Would you like to grab 5GB of free file hosting space from Microsoft? Last week Microsoft publicly launched their Windows Live SkyDrive service which will give you that 5GB of storage at no cost at all. This is a ‘bit of a surprise because during the test period they were only providing 1GB of space and it was only expected to increase to 2GB of space after it was launched.

To grab you free space, you must have a Hotmail or Live address, then login to the SkyDrive web site.

The file size limit per file you upload is 50MB so that still gives you a lot of room to work with. Internet Explorer users can install an upload tool to make working with the service a little easier. You will be able to upload right from the browser. For us Firefox users, we will just have to hope somebody develops an extension that will do the same.

For Microsoft, here is what I need to use this service on a day to day basis:

• Give me a upload/download tool that is not just for Internet Explorer
• Drop the plug for all the other “Live” services at the top

Go give SkyDrive a test drive for yourself at skydrive.live.com.

Looking to put up a simple site for free? One new service that caught my attention is Webnode. They promise that you can use your own domain, create an awesome personal page or blog, and that you can do this from anywhere.

In their pitch from the front page, that do make it sound worth looking into deeper for sure:

Webnode brings you a brand new innovative way of creating and editing advanced websites by just using a web browser. The system is very easy to use and is fully interactive. Real-time fast editing as you see it in the browser. By using Drag-and-Drop from the toolbar you can add new content such as polls, forums, articles, catalogues, widgets such as PayPal and much more.

Here are only a few of the many features they provide:

• Real Time Editing
• Drag and Drop Technology
• Gadgets and Widgets
• 40+ Design Templates
• Polls, FAQ’s, RSS, and Webmail

So where is the catch? I have yet to find one yet - but to monitize the service, I can bet they will be adding down the road higher disk space and bandwidth limits for a fee or other services to get you to fork over your cash. If your low on cash and want to build yourself a simple/yet pretty web site, Webnode is worth checking into.

From free file hosting to images and even video, in 2007 we saw a lot of new an innovative ways of sharing your information. So since this is the first year we have seen so many different players in the free hosting game I thought I would divide things up by category and pass out some awards to the best of the best.

Best Free Image or Graphic Host?

Winner! Photobucket - This service isn’t just for the MySpace crowd anymore. Although that is still a main audience of theirs, there is no doubt that Photobucket is gaining major ground when it comes to free image hosting. I would consider it an alternative to Flickr, would you?

Runners up: Flickr, Zooomr, & ImageShack

Best Free File Host?

Winner! Box.net - There are tons of file hosts out there, so what makes Box.net the best? They have the most respectable name in my opinion, and they have been around a while so I do trust them as well. They also have the easiest upgrade path if you want to move beyond your free file hosting space.

Runners up: Megaupload, Rapidshare, & MediaFire

Best Free Video Host?

Winner! YouTube - Google’s powerhouse video sharing service has left just about all the others in the dust. Just like Google is looked at in the search engine world, when it comes to free video hosting or sharing it is hard to compete with YouTube.

Runners up: Revver, Dailymotion, & Veoh

Who are your picks for these categories? If you feel like your favorite was overlooked be sure to let me know about it by leaving a comment or dropping me an e-mail.

With a whopping 50GB of free storage space, ADrive.com claims to be the world’s biggest free online data storage solution. I have to say, with that disk space limit they will be getting a lot of eyeballs headed over to them, that much is for sure.

All you have to do to get started is register for your free account, upload your content and then you can gain access to these files anywhere you have an Internet connection. You can avoid the hassle and trouble of running out of disk space on your hard drive - and eliminate the external storage devices.

You can stop worrying about your files being lost because of computer issues such as it kicking the bucket or being infected by something nasty. The ability to access any file at anytime, anywhere is also a perk that can not be overlooked.

Some of their insight on the technology they are using is pretty interesting too. ADrive operates using industry-leading enterprise level data storage, networking and server technology to safely store and access your files.

They promise in the future to have bigger plans with more than 50GB - that will also come with a price tag. A desktop client and file sharing is also “in the works”. One future feature that looks promising is the personalized snapshots. They promise to retrieve older versions of your files using snapshot technology. You’ll be able to schedule your own snapshots to backup and protect your stored data.

DivShare might be slowly becoming the best option out there for free file hosting. I know, with the slew of choices out there - nobody should be in a hurry to be named king.

With some of their most recent upgrades and changes though it is hard to find somebody else that matches up.

Even Tech Crunch is starting to stand up and take notice of them. This is what they had to say after DivShare’s recent additions and changes.

Honestly it is really hard to find out your way in the jungle. But if you are a heavy user or are only interested in hosting and controlling sharing options you might want to consider a one-Stop shop like DivShare that has been here a for few months. They are starting to release today a series of innovations that will make the service more unique and attractive.

You can upload photos, images, documents, movies, music and more. Each thing has it’s own special player too - which is a nice addition. The web site is a little slow right now - probably because of the mention on Tech Crunch.

With the DivShare Direct service you can also now have customized, embeddable players for video, audio and sideshows. So if your looking for branding options, there they are. The lowest upgrade option you have is for 5 GB of space and 50 GB of traffic for just $4.95 a month.

All in all I would say DivShare is setting the bar a little higher for the other free file hosts to get up to. So then the question is - is DivShare really the web host, redefined?

I would argue with the fact that the best things in life are free - but free things are pretty good, got to give them that. If your low on cash or your not ready if you want to start paying for web hosting yet I have two great ways you can get your foot in the door without any cost at all to you.

Freewebs.com - Free Web Site Hosting

Freewebs.com if probably my top choice for people looking for free web hosting. It is what Angelfire and Geocities were many years ago. They actually also offer much more than these previous titans ever did. You get 40MB of disk space with their free option and 500Mb of bandwidth. That might not be enough to launch the next great Web 2.0 application but it is big enough to do a web site for your friends and family to enjoy.

One thing I was really surprised to see was that they allow you to point a domain name at your account too. So your not stuck with the freeweb.com/myname domain path. If you want to upgrade instead of moving to a traditional web host there are options to do that too.

Sign up for Freewebs.com!

WordPress.com - Free Blog Hosting

Now what are you to do if you need a place to write about your current passion? There are a million and one different blogging services out there, but the most impressive of the bunch is WordPress.com. You get stats, pretty themes, and almost everything you’d get when installing WordPress on a standard hosting account.

Upgrades (if your ready to move past the free service) works on credits. Each credit costs $1 and then the services you wish to upgrade cost a certain number of credits. For example, the 1GB space upgrade is 20 credits for a year. You can also put your own domain on the blog too.

Sign up for WordPress.com!

So lets go back to that whole “the best things in life are free” saying. If I were to rewrite that old phrase now, it might be worth saying, “The best free things are the ones you can upgrade later on if and when needed”. For some reason though I don’t think that would look as great on a coffee cup.

Who ever said nothing good has come out of AOL? Xdrive is a service I’ve known about for some time - but never really gave a fair look at it till now. It is yet another of a long lists of free hosting options for your files.

You do have a desktop client which is handy, and hopefully does not get in the way. In most cases I want the complete package. I want hosting, an easy way to get my files to the hosting and I want it to be pretty reliable as well. Xdrive is able to deliver in all of those camps. Read more »