Tech Shout!

A few days ago, AOL announced that it would begin offering all Web users 5GB of online storage through its Xdrive product. The Xdrive product is part of AOL’s new initiative to make its services available free of cost.

Individuals can back up files like photos, documents, music, videos and much more through Xdrive. Users can access uploaded content through any PC or mobile with a Web connection. Users can even share files with others and can even automatically upload e-mail attachments.

AOL does not plan to charge any fee for this service. The free Xdrive will be made available to anyone with an AOL or AIM screen name starting next month in September. A premium offering with 50GB of storage will be available to those users who need more space. But a fee will be charged that has yet to be announced.

“People are accumulating personal digital assets at a fast pace, especially in areas like digital photos and videos,” said AOL Digital Services president John McKinley. “Yet our in-home research shows that few people are taking steps to protect their digital memories from accidental loss or destruction.”

Xdrive will soon join other AOL services that the company plans to make available o non-subscribers in September. AOL plans to continue offering its subscription dial-up service, but will no longer market it aggressively to consumers.