DropBoxI'll let the TidBITS article do the selling for me...
Dropbox: A Collaborator's Dream
-------------------------------
by David Weintraub <qazwart@gmail.com>
article link: <http://db.tidbits.com/article/10048>
I am in love. Well, maybe not love. After all, I don't want my wife
to get jealous of a computer application, but I've found that in the
few weeks since I've downloaded it, Dropbox has become an important
part of my computing environment.
<http://www.getdropbox.com/>
Dropbox is similar to another tool called SugarSync. They both back
up select folders on your Mac or Windows PC to a remote server. Both
can also synchronize those folders across a variety of other
computers. (See "SugarSync Sweetens Online Syncing," 2008-08-30.)
<http://db.tidbits.com/article/9751>
On the surface, SugarSync seems more sophisticated. For instance, it
has an actual iPhone app as well as a Windows Mobile phone
application, whereas Dropbox offers only a Web interface for the
iPhone and other smartphones. With SugarSync you can select which
folders to monitor, while Dropbox synchronizes only a single folder
called "Dropbox." Yet while SugarSync focuses solely on backup and
synchronization, Dropbox also keeps collaboration in mind.
When you install Dropbox, it creates a special Dropbox folder in
your home directory. You have the option of locating it elsewhere on
your computer, and you can move it later if you choose. Dropbox also
adds a special Dropbox icon in the menu bar (or in the System Tray
in Windows), offering easy access to the Dropbox folder, the Web
interface, and several Dropbox commands. Plus, it adds a special
Dropbox menu item to the Finder's contextual menu.
Aside from those minimal interface items, Dropbox is almost
invisible. The Dropbox folder operates like any other folder in the
Finder, with a significant twist: When you put a file in your
Dropbox folder, it is automatically synchronized with the Dropbox
server.
Dropbox also provides a Web interface that enables you to download
files, delete them, update them, or even upload newer files using
any modern Web browser. Changes are reflected in your Dropbox
folder.
You can subscribe to this folder and download it to any other Mac,
Windows, or Linux machine. Any changes you make on a subscribed
computer are automatically synchronized with the server and,
accordingly, to any other computer subscribed to the Dropbox. So
far, this doesn't seem to do anything that SugarSync doesn't already
do. However, in the immortal words of Ron Popeil, "But wait! There's
more!"
Like Time Machine, Dropbox doesn't simply synchronize your files, it
versions them. Did you make a bunch of changes you now regret? Don't
worry; Dropbox enables you to revert to an older revision. What if
you accidentally delete a document? No problem, Dropbox keeps a
backup of deleted documents.
**Enabling Collaborators to Drop In** -- However, the feature that
really won me over was the capability to allow other Dropbox users
to share folders inside my Dropbox. Simply select any folder in your
Dropbox and invite the Dropbox users with whom you want to share it.
When these users accept your invitation, they will see your shared
folder in their own Dropbox. Like any other folder in their Dropbox,
they have full rights to view, modify, delete, or add any files to
this shared folder. You see any change they make immediately.
If granting other people the power to modify your documents sounds a
bit scary, don't forget that Dropbox versions everything. If you
don't like the changes your collaborators make, you can always
revert to a previous version. Dropbox acts like your own private
wiki, enabling multiple users to contribute changes. However, unlike
a wiki, you aren't limited to a text-based environment. You can
collaborate on spreadsheets, images, and even entire Web sites.
Before Dropbox, I would mail documents back and forth between
people. There would often be confusion as to who had the latest
revision of a document. We'd have to make changes gingerly to ensure
everyone agreed on them, and it would sometimes take a few weeks to
make even minor modifications. It was a confusing and messy process.
But now with Dropbox, everyone on the team automatically has the
latest version of any given document. We also no longer worry about
making changes without first getting everyone else's approval. We
now plow on ahead. If someone makes a change that others don't like,
we can always revert the document back to the previous version.
Collaboration is much faster, and we can now accomplish in days what
it used to take weeks to finish.
**Other Collaborative Capabilities** -- A few other features in
Dropbox enhance the collaborative process. Sometimes I need to share
a document that is too large to send via instant messaging, or even
email. Your Dropbox folder contains a special folder called Public.
Any file placed in this Public folder gets its own URL. (You can get
this URL via the Dropbox item in the contextual menu). Now, all you
have to do is send this URL (via instant messaging or email), and
the receiver can retrieve the document through a Web browser. They
don't even need a Dropbox account. For example, here's a picture of
my kitty. (Aww... isn't he cute?)
<http://dl.getdropbox.com/u/433257/100_0251.JPG>
And what would a piece of Web 2.0 software be without the capability
to share photos? Inside your Dropbox is another special folder
called Photos. All folders you place inside this Photos folder get
their own URLs and become their own Web-based photo gallery. You can
have an unlimited number of these Web-based galleries. Place photos
inside your gallery folders, and share them with your friends. For
example, here are some snapshots from my trip to Austin. Flickr it
isn't, but it's simple to use.
<http://www.getdropbox.com/gallery/433257/1/Austin?h=3cec8f>
Dropbox, like SugarSync, enables you to synchronize your files
between multiple computers. However, Dropbox goes farther with its
collaborative features. By sharing a folder inside your Dropbox, you
create your own wiki-like area with your fellow Dropbox users. Also,
unlike SugarSync, Dropbox also works on Linux and integrates with
the Gnome Desktop and the Nautilus file browser just like it does
with the Mac OS X Finder.
Dropbox is currently available as a free beta, which gives you up to
2 GB of storage. You can upgrade the capacity to 50 GB for either
$9.99 per month or $99 per year.
