Stay inSync with Dropbox

Scribbled by Lethal Illness @ 10:05 PM on April 1st, 2010.

For the past few months I’ve been hearing a lot of buzz about a website/product named Dropbox. Don’t be confused, I am not talking about Soundcloud’s Dropbox feature. The Dropbox I am talking about is developed and maintained by Evenflow, Inc. Dropbox in a nutshell is this amazing place that not only can you store and share your files, but sync them between multiple platforms. Dropbox also enables you to get your files whether you’re on the go or on any computer other than your own. On their website they state that you can;

Put your files into your Dropbox on one computer, and they’ll be instantly available on any of your other computers that you’ve installed Dropbox on (Windows, Mac, and Linux too!) Because a copy of your files are stored on Dropbox‘s secure servers, you can also access them from any computer or mobile device using the Dropbox website.

Sounds awesome, right? You bet your fucking ass it does! Does this product live up to my expectations? Let’s find out!

Dropbox Home Page/Click for Intro Video

Key Features

The biggest selling point for me is the ability to easily keep your computers (Mac, Windows & Linux), phones (Android & iPhone), and iPods synced with a program and a simple drag & drop. Never again will I have to struggle to send myself a file by running back and forth, sending and accepting file transfers through AIM (yes, I’ve done it many times before) nor will I have to upload to file sharing servers that take forever *cough* rapidshare *cough*.

Dropbox on Mac & Windows

It’s also a great idea to have a Dropbox filled with important and/or useful things you may need to use or show someone at the most unexpected times. For example, if I’m in a studio that’s not computer-based (yes, they’re still around .. rookies) working with a band and one of those so-called “groupies” starts talking about how she needs a website because she does hair, you best bet I’m going to pull out my Android phone and hop on the Dropbox app where I keep screenshots of website I’ve done.

Dropbox Web Interface

Another really dope idea Dropbox possesses is the ability to log in to their website which is a great feature, especially when you’re not home or able to access any of your own devices. When you log in to their website you will see this very simple, easy to use web interface. This interface enables you to upload, download, rename, move, and even restore previous versions of files from your Dropbox. The Dropbox web interface also features a way to check out recent events, share your folders, and a search box to look for files. Additionally, inside the interface there is a “Help” tab which offers tons of knowledge on the product including a screencast/demo of Dropbox which is definitely more then enough information to teach those with only basic computer skills.

Sharing Folders

On Dropbox, you have a choice of two methods for sharing folders with others. The first method to share files/folders with your favorite person is the “Public” method. Sharing things publicly is so easy even a caveman can do it (copyright infringement!!!). When you create your account they will give you a folder named “Public”. If you want to share things publicly you obviously would drag files & folders into the “Public” folder. To send the link to your friends you would simply go to the file you want to share that you already placed in the “Public” folder, right click on it, and under the Dropbox option click “Copy Public Link”. Then you can paste and send the link to anyone, even non-Dropbox members. Pretty simple right?

Recent Events Tab

The second and my favorite of the two, is the “Private” method. To share a folder from your Dropbox with someone you will both need to be members. Sharing is easy as all you have to do is log in to the website, select the folder, and send a request to the email of the other user you’d like to share with. After they accept it’s all magic from there on. One major advantage over publicly sharing a folder is the ability for any user sharing the folder to edit any file inside of it. This could be a great feature for individuals who want their personal space as well as a space to share for team efforts but only requiring one Dropbox account. A awesome feature is under the “Recent Events” tab on the web interface it lists everything that has been uploaded, deleted, and edited and which user made the changes. An equally awesome features is that if two people edit a file at the same time, two copies of the file will be created to ensure one doesn’t overwrite the other. The only downside is obviously you would have to merge the two files together if you wanted to include aspects from both edited files.

Picture Gallery

Personally, I am not one to utilize photo gallery services to their fullest extent. I mean I have them, but I just always have a hard time keeping up with uploading pictures and using their services often. However, after playing with the photo gallery feature I have to admit it is pretty cool. Similar to the “Public” method of folder sharing, you may share albums placed in your “Photos” folder. Using the same right click method to attain links to publicly shared files will give you this unique and unguessable link to your album folder that you can just give to your friends and it will display pictures in a neat online gallery of the album.

The Downsides

Every product has its faults, albeit could be a near-perfect product it still has to have downsides or needs for improvement. That being said, one of the two most disappointing problems with Dropbox is that there currently is no encryption of any kind. Though they say their “servers are secure”, with no encryption who knows if their employees are going to take a look at our accounts (no offense, some people are like that) or what if someone unauthorized accesses their servers. The second of the two most disappointing problems is they have a weird and possibly “temporary” policy. This policy basically means if you privately share folders with other Dropbox members it not only takes the space used from your account but theirs as well. For example, if Chris G and I are privately sharing a folder (which we are), and in the folder is a 145mb .flp (fruity loops project) file, then it not only takes 145mb’s from his Dropbox allotment but mine as well, leaving both of our accounts with 145mb’s less we can use. The reason they give makes sense, although I think there are better ways to solve the problem;

One reason this policy exists is to prevent people from giving themselves unlimited space by stacking free accounts with shared folders. In the future, we hope to add a feature where a finite number of Dropbox accounts can share a single group Dropbox.

Another potential downside is that anything you want to share has to be put into the Dropbox folder. This means you can’t just chose random files, right click, and connect them to Dropbox. You need to make a physical copy into the “Dropbox” folder. Definitely not a deal breaker but I would say it’s a possible disadvantage to some although I don’t see no problem, some might.

This last one is not really a disadvantage but more of a feature on my wishlist for Dropbox to add. Possibly a e-mail, contact, and calendar sync/push similar to Apple’s MobileMe. This would greatly compete against MobileMe and be an excellent opponent being that MobileMe’s Windows and Linux support .. well sucks. Picture it now … lethalillness@dropbox.com. Actually, it kind of sounds like a coke dealers e-mail.

Conclusion

I think Dropbox is a great product despite two major flaws. As a precaution I wouldn’t upload anything too sensitive like passwords or even go as far as using Dropbox as an off-site computer back-up system. As far as pricing, you can get 2gb for free, and up to 3gb for inviting people. 2-3gb will be fine for most basic computer users who just want to sync pictures and documents between their computers. The paid plans are priced at $99/year for 50gb and $199/year for 100gb. The prices are pretty competitive compared to similar services although I still can’t fathom paying $99/year for 50gb when I have plenty more space on my server for a lot less money.

I think if they adjust the prices of their plans a tiny bit, change the private sharing policy, and enable encryption without fucking functionality up this could be one of the best products in this field and would make a full-blown backup solution that I would probably invest in for team efforts and backing up some of my most important private data. Until then, I will definitely be using the free allotment to sync my Mac’s, PC’s, phone and iPod touch. I hope they keep up their excellent work and fix it’s few, but major flaws.