Speaking to @ LACallen and machineage -
Let's not bicker and argue over petty, trivial things. As Apple users, we're more akin to the open minded right? This all could be jarring for a simple user looking for answers here.
That said, this entire thread only shows that there are many users that are still not in the know of Apple's services, why they exist, and how they operate. That's why people like us exist, IMO. EXAMPLE: Nearly 80% or my friends all over the world, have iPhones. 60% of that doesn't even have iCloud turned on, and are always asking me about how to transfer/protect their photos. It's like a tech epidemic lol
Both LACallen and machinage have a point here. iCloud is centered around an ecosystem thats is very beneficial to those that know what it is. And when used properly, it's wonderful and far better than any others that are of similar nature. However, I do understand that people would think of iCloud drive as a storage medium, and I can understand why. BUT, think of this, if Apple did provide a service like this, it would be far far too expensive. Even Dropbox is pretty pricey at higher storage capacities. This leaves you at a crossroad, that you don't actually have to take.
This is what I did. For me, I actually need 200Gb of iCloud storage for my random documents but mostly because my 128Gb iPhone is 70% full. I have over 5000 photos/videos that I want ready access too, but I don't want all that stored on my computer. But I also want it available to me across devices and when I purchase a new phone, I want NO troubles (iCloud backup). So what did I do about all the data being stored on my computer? I turned it off. iCloud is setup on my Mac and PC, but iCloud Drive feature is off. I still have access to the files stored on iCloud Drive from my iPad and iPhone. So basically, I do store files in iCloud Drive, but only random things as the purpose is purely of having my main device (iPhone) covered at all times.
Like my earlier post, I use a Transporter for my personal cloud storage, avoiding fees, but having all the benefits of Dropbox, and some of iCloud as well. It's 2TB large, it backs up all of my photos/videos in case iCloud drops the ball and still I can store things there from my mac or pc, and access it from anywhere at anytime without the files being locally stored on either of my personal computers. I have multiple folders that I created in the device for documents, application files, movies, and professional photos from my camera. Pretty much, any file type you can think of can be saved here, and access or shared from everywhere else. Yea, I paid roughly $260 for the setup, but that was in 2013! It's paid for itself multiple times over in that I have access on literally every platform, and no fees because I own the storage and the device itself. I share files, files are shared with me, I travel but no biggie. It's always online (plugged into modem via ethernet) and available for me to grab a file, send a file, or backup a file. This is my setup tho, so you'd have to figure out a solution that works for you if you want cloud storage.
Personally, I hate paying a bunch of people for my solutions, on a monthly basis. Owning my own seemed to make sense because I can use it the way I want with no parameters. It's secure, because I SECURED IT. Not big on leashes as I sure you can tell.
Point is, people will have to figure out how iCloud Drive works for them, and if no viable application, then it's simple as NOT paying for it. There are other solutions out there. So, we posters will be here to help guide them to the right path for the solution that they need.
