Dropbox
I don’t remember how I found out about this application but its pretty cool and I use it a lot. Dropbox allows you to share a folder across different computers. The way it works is very simple, you install the software at home and it will create a folder on your desktop called Dropbox. You then install the software at work and it will create a folder on that desktop also called Dropbox. Now whatever you dump into that Dropbox folder at home will show up on the same folder at work and whatever you drump into that Dropbox at work will show up at home. I even have the iPhone app so I can view the contents of that folder on my phone. It works on Macs, WIndows and Linux computers. Here is the [Link]
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Oct 28, 2009
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33 Comments, add your own...
1. Bu Yousef | October 28th, 2009 at 10:25 pm
Thank you!
2. Capricorn | October 28th, 2009 at 10:53 pm
OMG i love the idea of it ! Sounds very useful.
3. Mark | October 28th, 2009 at 10:56 pm
It also remembers what you did for the last 20 days or so. basically if you deleted a file 5 days ago from that folder you could retrieve it.
4. Capricorn | October 28th, 2009 at 11:00 pm
Now that would have been handy back in the days when i was at college :( I wish i knew about it back then!
5. بلوق حصيصه عمتي | October 28th, 2009 at 11:24 pm
try TeamViewer much better :)
6. Mark | October 28th, 2009 at 11:25 pm
TeamViewer is like VNC. This is completely different, its about have one folder that you can access from any computer.
7. Hi kuwait Blog | October 28th, 2009 at 11:26 pm
I use teamviewer .. it’s really good for remote desktop
but not fore file transfare!
8. Name is Bond | October 28th, 2009 at 11:29 pm
There is a small utility for adding a drive to your pc, which maps it with your gmail account. Its pretty cool as well.
http://www.softpedia.com/progDownload/GMail-Drive-shell-extension-Download-15944.html
9. Ahmed G. | October 29th, 2009 at 12:08 am
By far, this was the simplest way for me to keep certain documents in sync on multiple computers…
10. gilly | October 29th, 2009 at 12:18 am
I’ve been using Dropbox for well over a year now and it’s simply amazing. Long gone are the days of worrying about files getting corrupt or lost on my USB. Plus, the web interface = access anywhere without having to install anything. Has really made my life easier many times.
Also, if you want 250 MB extra when you sign up, use my referral link:
https://www.getdropbox.com/referrals/NTUxNjc2Nzk
Yes I also get 250 MB extra, but remember, so do you :)
11. Conrad | October 29th, 2009 at 1:52 am
Thanks Mark….Brilliantly useful
12. SWAiN | October 29th, 2009 at 2:33 am
I have been using Dropbox app since late 2008 and it works so great even the on iPhones!
today, one of my friends sent me some new songs through Dropbox, I really enjoyed listening to the songs while I was driving from my iphone, that was so sweet :)
13. Explorer | October 29th, 2009 at 3:42 am
How about data privacy.. Any concerns?
14. TATA | October 29th, 2009 at 5:37 am
I used to goto Google Docs and my Gmail inbox for that.
Does it take long to transfer data into and out of the Box?
15. mentabolism | October 29th, 2009 at 7:14 am
does this mean the other machine also has to stay on …
16. TanGo | October 29th, 2009 at 7:47 am
From Dropbox website:
Security & Privacy
Dropbox takes the security and privacy of your files very seriously.
Shared folders are viewable only by people you invite.
All transmission of file data and metadata occurs over an encrypted channel (SSL).
All files stored on Dropbox servers are encrypted (AES-256) and are inaccessible without your account password.
Dropbox website and client software have been hardened against attacks from hackers.
Dropbox employees are not able to view any user’s files.
Online access to your files requires your username and password.
Public files are only viewable by people who have a link to the file(s). Public folders are not browsable or searchable.
Mobile Device Access
17. Mark | October 29th, 2009 at 7:53 am
metabolism: no, when u switch the machine on it syncs with the server and updates the folder
18. Kaushik Gopal | October 29th, 2009 at 7:57 am
Dropbox is pretty swell with features. I personally feel though that the storage space they give is too small. 2GB just doesn’t cut it these days(for a free account). Besides I don’t like the concept of installing software onto the pc etc etc.
Windows’ Skydrive offers 25gb! for free (Yeah you heard me right). The sync options are majorly crappy though and not to Dropbox’s standards. But it’s perfect for larger storage space and considering it’s microsoft, they will bring in the features.
19. Holla | October 29th, 2009 at 9:49 am
sounds cool now I don’t have worry about losing my USB when i am transporting files from home to work.
20. cajie | October 29th, 2009 at 11:25 am
I use my USB drive as a dropbox. lol.
No worries about security. And no need to install anything on the computer.
21. Undefined | October 29th, 2009 at 11:30 am
Its nice application, but I think there is similar to this in different way like Mobileme iDisk. you can access your files anywhere
22. gunsmoke | October 29th, 2009 at 1:13 pm
Sounds like Groove Folder Syncrhonizaiton from Microsoft but I don’t know if it works over the internet.
23. wi-fi | October 29th, 2009 at 2:54 pm
Its amazing that its free ..
this is defently the next youtube .
24. boo | October 29th, 2009 at 3:01 pm
it works well, uploading is really fast
25. IThink | October 29th, 2009 at 3:12 pm
Nice program. But do I have to keep both the computers on simultaneously or does it work even if one of the two computers is switched off.
26. Don | October 29th, 2009 at 6:49 pm
DropBox has some great features but I needed more space. I just found Nomadesk which has all the features of DropBox plus even more file sharing options and unlimited storage space. It works great with my iPhone, too.
27. gilly | October 29th, 2009 at 8:56 pm
When you turn on the other computer and Dropbox connects, it starts synching. So yes, it works if one of the two computers is off.
28. gilly | October 29th, 2009 at 9:04 pm
I’ll explain more now:
http://www.getdropbox.com
That’s where all your files are eventually stored.
You can install the Dropbox program on PC1 and PC2 or not. Let’s say you did and both PCs are on, you put hello.txt in the Dropbox folder on PC1, it gets uploaded to the web interface (www.getdropbox.com).
Now if you have the Dropbox program running on PC2, it senses the change in files in your Dropbox and downloads hello.txt from the web interface, basically synching the contents of PC1 and PC2 from the web interface.
Now let’s say you log into http://www.getdropbox.com from your mobile phone and delete hello.txt. Now it will get deleted from PC1 and PC2 as well if the Dropbox program is running.
Watch the videos and tutorials on the site, I bet they’ll explain this a lot better than I did anyways :P
29. Ugly Kid | October 30th, 2009 at 1:30 am
Thanks Mark, very nice, came in handy when I wanted to leave home and at the same time wanted to get a song onto my iPhone.
What I hated was That the mp3 file was not working, I think it was file size limitation. But I just emailed the link to myself and downloaded the mp3 right onto my iPhone. There is always a way around things ;)
30. M3T4L | October 30th, 2009 at 10:02 am
This is exactly the same idea as ubuntu One, which is heavily introduced in the new upcoming 9.10 Karmic Koala OS (still in beta), and it works great for me, with no extra software installation (installed by default, all you have to do is create a user name at launchpad) and works seamlessly :)
default is 2 GB for free and I think u can go as high as 50 or more if you would like to pay.
31. jnkz | October 30th, 2009 at 1:18 pm
i’ve been using this application for a month already. and u can get more spaceby inviting people…..
32. R. Halamer | October 30th, 2009 at 4:36 pm
Nice find. Thanks for sharing Mark.
33. KG | October 30th, 2009 at 9:32 pm
In addition to my previous comment: (don’t want to get into those long winding comparisons).
For simple online storage: choose skydrive (25GB Free as against all the 2GB alternatives)
http://skydrive.live.com/
For Syncing like Dropbox: Syncplicity https://my.syncplicity.com/Signup/?token=IWWMNHXD
(..yes using this link gives me additional space :) )
Advantage of Syncplicity over Dropbox is that you’re not restricted with just one folder for sharing. You can share any folder from your pc. Works like a charm.
Problem with both though, is you need to install the software.
Cheers
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