Dropbox
I have been utilizing Dropbox for some time now. I have to say it has made my life so much easier. Right now I have it installed on my work laptop, my iMac, my Vista/Windows 7 laptop and I use the web interface on my iPhone. Between each of these pieces of hardware I have access to all my files and I can update them in seconds. All this and I don’t have to carry around a USB drive or external hard drive. I don’t have to lug around my laptop. This gives me a central location for all my current work materials and anything else I need access to. I can start writing at work, continue when I am out, and then finish once I get home. It’s really easy to setup as well. After a short install to your Windows, Mac or Linux based computer, you have the ability to drag and drop files into your Dropbox folder. Any files or folders inside Dropbox will get synchronized to Dropbox’s servers and any other computer linked to your account. This data is also accessible by using the web interface at www.getdropbox.com.
Web Interface
All data is transferred over SSL and encrypted with AES-256 before storage if security is your concern. Those of you who currently utilize Apple’s MobileMe you will find that Dropbox is very similar. It has some added functionality for file sharing and includes access for Linux users which is a growing group that Apple has failed to recognize. The cost is perfect for most users. It’s free with 2GB of space. Deleted files and revisions don’t currently count against your quota. If you are looking for more storage, you have the ability to upgrade to 50GB of space for $9.99 per month or $99 per year. Dropbox is also smart with how it tracks changes to files. When a change is made, Dropbox only transfers the piece of the file that changed, making it easy to work with big files like Photoshop or Powerpoint documents. In looking at this site and service it was hard to find any reason not to take advantage of something like this. For a link to download the software and more information, please go to www.getdropbox.com.
