Dropbox - amazing little app

Artashes

Artashes

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Staff member
Just a few days ago I discovered a tiny new application called Dropbox. Dropbox is a document backup solution for your PC, Mac or iPhone. It resides in your taskbar and does the job well. It syncs all your data you want to upload and is accessible via any PC/Mac you have it installed on or via web.

In my basic testing Dropbox proved to be fast, accurate on data saving and CPU resource-friendly.

Currently I am on a free 2 GB plan, which is not enough for me (I need their premium 50 GB plan, but so far I am liking it a lot! It might just be the perfect solution for me as I move around and not having to be dependent on a computer can be fantastic!

Previously I would record a few files I needed for work on a small USB stick, then I have been considering just getting a large portable USB drive and work directly from it, but then I would have to carry it around... Dropbox eliminates that problem.

Give it a try and tell me how you like it. It is free for 2 GB and if you can earn up to 1 GB in additional space if you refer friends (250 MB for each new account).

www.getdropbox.com
 
Just viewed their demo video...how often does it sync multiple devices? Can it handle collaboratation?
 
Steve-Hostirian said:
Just viewed their demo video...how often does it sync multiple devices? Can it handle collaboration?
Click to expand...

I fixed the typo above not to shame you one extra time. (I mean, how could you!!) :devil:

What Dropbox does, is syncs the file you are currently working on when you hit "save". In fact, what I like about it, it would only sync a certain piece of information that was edited and not the whole file, so if a file is a 200 KB Excel spreadsheet, it would only sync part of it (ex: 20 KB) if you modified only a part of it.

As far as multiple devices... not sure I follow you. Dropbox works like your regular "Documents" OS folder. And because data is located on a Dropbox server, you can stop working on your PC, take your laptop out, and the latest files will be available on it as well, as long as you have the Dropbox client installed. Same with an iPhone. You modify something while on the box - you can be sure the same modification will be on your PC/laptop when you are there.

They say collaboration is possible, but I haven't figured it out yet!
 
cyberworldhost said:
I use dropbox and love it. It great if you have employees/friends who help you design websites. Great application.
Click to expand...

How do you use it for collaboration? I am trying to figure out a way to share a few Word/Excel documents so that other people can modify and edit them. Does it necessarily have to be in the "public" folder?

Also, I've heard you can actually enable simultaneous working environment and see edits made by others live... but I cannot find anything concrete.
 
Very interesting. Came across www.sugarsync.com and it looks cool for half the price. It is also a more established

Will be testing tonight. Seems like the service is having some issues with fast connectivity. BUT it allows you to check folders you want synced and not move files to be synced in a single location.
 
Artashes said:
How do you use it for collaboration? I am trying to figure out a way to share a few Word/Excel documents so that other people can modify and edit them. Does it necessarily have to be in the "public" folder?

Also, I've heard you can actually enable simultaneous working environment and see edits made by others live... but I cannot find anything concrete.
Click to expand...

You can make a folder for excel stuff etc and then invite the people to that folder using there emails. You can then see when they edit on the right side. It will updated at this time. Hope that helps.
 
cyberworldhost said:
You can make a folder for excel stuff etc and then invite the people to that folder using there emails. You can then see when they edit on the right side. It will updated at this time. Hope that helps.
Click to expand...

I makes sense. But they would be required to sign up for a Dropbox account if they want to take part in the editing process.

I eventually stabbed Dropbox in the back and signed up today with www.SugarSync.com. Apart that it is half the price of Dropbox (just $5/mo for 30GB), I read through their documentation extensively and realized just how much more advanced their software is. Dropbox, while looking more pleasant perhaps, still lacks a lot of the great features that SugarSync already has as part of the deal. The biggest differences between the two apps are:

Dropbox:
- ability to transfer just part of the file that was modified instead of the whole file (SugarSync transfers the whole file) here is more info on that technology: https://www.getdropbox.com/help/8
Eventually, most documents are not large to begin with, so it doesn't create a problem.
- support of all file types
- Dropbox keeps snapshots of every saved change in your Dropbox folder over the last 30 days (up to unlimited for extra yearly fee). SugarSync keeps the last 5 file versions as history, which should be sufficient for anyone really.

SugarSync:
- at this time, SugarSync does not sync Outlook data (*.pst, *.ost) files (but they say its coming)
- choose ANY folder to sync either locally or between other PCs as well! Huge advantage as Dropbox requires these folders/files to be in their parent folder
- edit documents via web-based java app on sugarsync website- without having to download the file (good for public PC, cafes, etc)
- advanced sharing capabilities
- get up to 5 GB of space free by referring friends). Dropbox gives only an additional 1 GB of free storage if you refer friends.


Pretty much the main results of my research into both. Might help someone else. :)
 
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