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Dropbox – Online Backup and File Sync
While this is not a “repair tool”, I have seen many technicians making use of this application and service. The Dropbox service provides you with 2GB of free online storage and has a great syncing application to go with it. Once the syncing application is installed, it creates a “My Dropbox” folder in your My Documents and all you have to do is drop a file in that folder and it will sync to the Dropbox service.
Some computer technicians are using this as a free way for their clients to backup their data, other technicians are using it to store a copy of their computer repair tools and other information.
This sort of service is not a new idea, but Dropbox just does it really well. Dropbox works on Windows, Mac and Linux. There is also an unofficial portable version for the PC and an official version for the iPhone, iPad and Android phones. They also have a version for the Blackberry coming soon.
An example of me using it with my phone would be uploading my copy of the Computer Technicians Quick Reference Guide PDF to my Dropbox account, then read it on my iPhone which has the Dropbox application. No need to power up my Netbook, its right there on my phone.
You dont even need to have the application installed to access your Dropbox files. You can also log into the site and access your files via a web browser. If you want to share files in your Dropbox account with the public, you can upload files to the public part of your Dropbox account and give people the download link.
The functionality doesn’t end there, people are creating new ways to use their Dropbox accounts such as controlling their computer remotely, syncing application profiles and more.
Link: Dropbox
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I’ve setup dropbox for a few clients, and they’ve all been happy with it. 2GB is a awesome amount of free space.
I’ve been using Dropbox for a long time and I love it. Its fast, easy and incredibly useful.
It’s a marvel for keeping my files synchronized between multiple desktops & laptops, automatically works anywhere I can snag an internet connection, requires no user intervention at all, allows me to share files (on a controlled basis) and provides online access to my files when I’m not using one of my own computers.
Even if you have only one computer and therefore think synchronization isn’t important, it’s at least 2gb of free and very easy automatic online backup.
By the way, there are easy steps to increase the FREE storage beyond the initial 2gb limit. Just check out their website.
I like Dropbox, however I like Windows Live Mesh better, it’s easy to use, 5 GB of free storage, it integrates in the shell (right click any folder you have and adds it to the sync list) and it offers a Remote Desktop service for clients running the lower versions of Windows XP/Vista/7 that don’t have RDP built-in.
I like using my DropBox to keep my utilities in.
I keep them updated with Ketarin. I just log-in and all my tools are fresh and right there in one place.
Another use I’ve found is allowing a friend or two to use my collection of utilities from my DropBox.
I don’t keep anything in there of a private nature, so they can have at it.
Dropbox is a fabulous service, esp. for the price. The free iPhone app is a killer app, too, for its ability to view files of various types on the iPhone.
If you use the following referrer code, you’ll get an extra 250 Mb on your initial sign-up. (and BTW, I’ll get an addition 250 Mb too, so thank you!)
https://www.dropbox.com/referrals/NTMzNTExOQ
It’s Win-Win!
Use it all the time… have a dropbox linked to each of my emails and then share with myself for a mesh to keep files available and separated.
The ability to share a folder with anyone, and platform, is a strong point.
nrk
I am big fan of drop box. What I like more about it is it’s compatibility with different OS.And they provide excellent service in such less money. I set up drop box for my new clients and they love it as well.
I like the idea of free storage but for 2gb I would carry a usb drive, itls practical. I purchase a NAS drive with 1tb hd, and use it to backup customer files, because not all customers have only 2gb of data.
It works for me…
I use drop box but also skydrive which is free and gives 25gig free storage
I suggest to all my clients, especially students working on large research papers, to sign up for Mozy.com another free service that provides 2GB of storage. It requires no credit card at sign up so that appeals to many people concerned about privacy issues.
I have just switched from DropBox to SugarSync. SugarSync has a 30GB plan for roughly $5/month. This is about half the price of DropBox’s 50gb for $10/month.
DropBox is much faster than SugarSync… however, this is not a huge concern of mine, having DSL at home. There’s a good comparison of DropBox and SugarSync on sugarsync.com.
Dropbox works great for me. For most clients, I suggest Carbonite, but Dropbox is a bit more advanced. I used to recommend Mozy before deciding that Carbonite was a better value.
Dropbox is great and I couldn’t do without it. I’ve installed it for a few clients but also use Carbonite as an option.
A handy little app.. http://www.ghacks.net/2010/05/07/dropbox-folder-sync-lets-you-sync-any-folder-with-dropbox/
I was very skeptical about cloud computing in general, but as I warmed to gmail, so I warmed to google docs and so I am currently enthusiastically embracing Dropbox.
When you work from several terminals it just becomes insane trying to sync between all of them. Dropbox helps me to access my stuff I work with on a regular basis, from anywhere.
All of the customers I have set this up for were thrilled to be able to access their computer files without having to carry an external hard disk or USB flash drive. This is an ideal service for people that want to be able to use their files from anywhere that they need.
@Bob T you should try out the latest version of Air Share Pro (or HD if you use an iPad). It has Dropbox support and you can move it to internal storage on the iPad as well as set up an network share to get the files on to a persons computer. I carry an Asus travel router so I can always get connected and transfer files around.
2 GB is huge amount of space for Web, it been greatly helpful to create online backup with such amount of space.
There is a new software that has a free version for consumers (not free for business use) which
automatically synchronizes with Google Docs and documents can be edited offline with MS Office or Open Office. It is also a complete document management tool for the PC.
Take a look at http://www.busydocs.com