Dropbox-Web File Storage and Sharing

[Bruce551]

I've been using Dropbox for about month and really like it. I send a lot of attachments in my e-mails, with my Dropbox I can paste links for attachments to my e-mail so that recipients download the attachments.

Saves a lot of time compared to posting attachments in e-mails. This online service works with Windoz, Linus, and Mac.

See article below:

Dropbox takes all the fuss out of file-sharing

By Glenn Fleishman

Special to The Times

I spend too much time making sure I have the right file in the right place, or ensuring that a colleague has the latest version of something we're collaborating on. Dropbox, a Web and desktop file repository, has eliminated those problems for me and workmates (www.getdropbox.com).

Dropbox's idea isn't new. There have been and still are plenty of multicomputer synchronization systems. But Dropbox seems to have pulled all the fuss out of the process.

After installing a small program in Mac OS X, Windows, or several flavors of Unix and Linux, a Dropbox folder appears on your desktop. Anything you put into that folder is copied to Dropbox's Internet repository. Changes to files, their removal or change in location are tracked and changed in all other locations.

No other steps are required. You can store up to 2 gigabytes in the folder at no cost, or pay $9.99 per month or $99 per year for 50 GB of storage. Larger stores will be available in the future.

You can drag files from elsewhere on your hard drive into the Dropbox folder and they simply move; the synchronization happens in the background, shown with a tiny icon change. Likewise, you can create new folders, delete files or folders, or move files out of Dropbox to stop their synchronization.

To keep bandwidth transfers low, Dropbox doesn't upload or download entire changed files, but examines chunks of files and only uploads sections that contain changes.

Dropbox uses strong encryption for synchronization, too.

If you're off the Internet, you still have access to all the files in your sync folder, because they're stored locally. Changes are distributed when you're next back online.

Dropbox also includes "versioning," a technical term for keeping each revision to a given file. Select a file in the Dropbox folder, and right- or Control-click it, then select Revisions from the Dropbox menu that was installed along with the software. This takes you to your account on the Web site where you can download earlier versions of a document.

If you want to share a Dropbox folder with one or more people, you also visit the Web site, select the folder, and issue an invitation, which goes out over e-mail. When a recipient receives and accepts the invitation, the folder is replicated inside his or her Dropbox; all recipients must have Dropbox accounts and have the software installed, of course.

Public folder

The folder also contains a Public folder into which you can place any item you want anyone to have access to. Control-click an item, and use the Copy Public URL command from the Dropbox menu; or the URL can be retrieved from your Web-based account, too.

Creating a photo gallery often requires some fuss; it's kept me from building many online in recent years as I just stuff pictures into Flickr, sometimes creating sets.

With Dropbox, you can create folders within its Photos folder; each folder is turned into a Web gallery. For now, these galleries are always public. Dropbox can't yet share any folder on your computer, an option with Mac OS X-based file sharing that was reintroduced in Leopard.

Minor quibbles

You also can't create a literal drop box, a term often used for a write-only or upload-only folder into which someone can place files for you, but the uploader can't see what's in the folder. Neither can you have group accounts, or set per-file permissions, or single-use file download URLs.

These are relatively minor quibbles relative to Dropbox's straightforward functionality.

The two biggest competitors on the Mac for Dropbox are Apple's MobileMe service, specifically its iDisk feature; and Microsoft's Windows Live Sync.

MobileMe ($99/year, www.apple.com/mobileme/pricing/) offers 20 GB of storage, which can be divided in any fashion between e-mail and disk access.

Bumping to 40 GB and 60 GB storage total adds $49 or $99 per year, respectively. MobileMe also includes e-mail service, Web applications for calendars and contacts, secured instant messaging, and remote secure file and screen sharing (Back to My Mac).

Unlike Dropbox, iDisk lives in Apple's "cloud," but you can use the MobileMe system preference pane via the iDisk tab to turn on synchronization with each computer to which you're logged in using a MobileMe account. This creates a local copy of the iDisk that looks just like any other mounted drive or disk.

Apple just added a feature to e-mail a link to a recipient to download a file.

For an individual with multiple Macs who already has a MobileMe account, iDisk may be the way to go.

Windows Live Sync comes in Mac OS X and Windows client flavors, despite its name, and requires the creation of a free Microsoft Live ID (https://sync.live.com/home.aspx). After installing the client, a menu bar icon shows sync status and provides a few controls.

Live Sync is a peer-to-peer technology. Dropbox stores files centrally and monitors folders for changes, which are copied and then distributed. Live Sync copies among all computers sharing the same folder using strong encryption.

Live Sync has no size limit because it's facilitating peer-to-peer connections. Up to 20 folders, 20,000 files in each, and files up to 4 GB can be synchronized.

Like Dropbox, you can invite others to share a folder on your computer. Live Sync is more dependent on Web tools to configure, but you can choose any folder (existing or new) on computers where Live Sync is installed.

For the least fuss, I recommend Dropbox. It's clear that Dropbox and its competitors will expand and change to respond to features exclusive to each.

So far, Dropbox requires the least amount of monkeying about to get precisely what you want.

Glenn Fleishman writes the Practical Mac column for Personal Technology and about technology in general for The Seattle Times and other publications. Send questions to [email protected].

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