Tuesday, July 1, 2008

DropBox: Syncing files & folders between multiple computers

DropBox came out with a new file/folder syncing service that simply trumps any of the competition. Over the past six years I have tried many different syncing services, as many of my clients have desired to easily share files between multiple computers. However, in my pursuits I have never found a service that was really easy to use, for both myself and the potential client.
Finally, about 6 months ago I heard about DropBox, which at the time was still in Beta--and actually still is. (UPDATE: It is out of Beta) However, after watching the demonstration video on the website, I instantly fell in love.

Basically, DropBox creates a new folder in your MY DOCUMENTS directory, which acts like any other folder. Except, anything you do inside of that directory, also occurs on every other computer you've synced DropBox with. For example, if you throw some music in the DropBox folder, instantly the music appears on all the other machines. If you rename a file, instantly the file is renamed on all the other computers. Another cool feature of DropBox is its recovery tool. Basically, if you ever delete or overwrite something, with just a few clicks of the mouse DropBox allows you to go back to any previous version--Beautiful!
I have about 2-3GB worth of data on my Dropbox account and am currently syncing that folder between 3 Mac's and 2 PC's, one running XP and the other running Vista. It works flawlessly. Many times have I been working on a document at work, closed out of it early, then picked up from where I left off at home or on my laptop. The syncing occurs instantaneously and doesn't require any extra effort from the user.
As of today the service is still in Beta and is "Invite Only". If you want access to the service, post a comment and I will get back to you with an invite.

UPDATE: The service is out of Beta and can be joined by anyone.

6 comments:

ajay said...

As an on the go guy, being able to grab media from my home PC would allow me to entertain and showcase others as I move. I used to host my files on a FTP server through my website, but that eats at my bandwidth and limits my ability to properly serve my fanbase.

I love the ideas, what are the draw backs. I know Geoff would be pissed if I was streaming some music off my PC and it was killing the net latency at home while he was in the Call of Duty killing frenzy. I'm willing to test it. Sign me up!

Unknown said...

This would be a great programme for me. I'm currently competing in a web programming competition together with two others. We're having problems keeping all the file versions the same. At one time others might have made changes while i dont have those files. If you could send me an invite at dutchworld[at]gmail.com , that would be great!

G-off said...

done and done.

:)

Anonymous said...

any chance of a beta account? thanks
Will

G-off said...

i need your email.

dvanderspek said...
This comment has been removed by the author.

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