Dropbox

In mid-September the file sync-and-store service Dropbox came out of private beta, boasting smooth file synchronization between computers and across platforms. I gave it a try on Windows and Ubuntu Linux, and I was quite impressed by what I found.

Dropbox is part online storage, part data back-up, part file-sharing, and part data synchronization. After you install the free program, the Dropbox icon appears in your system tray. Click on the icon to open the “My Dropbox” folder. All the contents of this folder are automatically synchronized with the Dropbox servers and any other computer you have Dropbox installed. The files in that folder are then available on your other computers or through the Dropbox website. The folder acts like any other folder on your computer, and it also shows up in your My Documents or Home folder.

As soon as you drag and drop a file to the Dropbox folder, it will show up on your other computer or online with a loading icon next to it, indicating that the sync is in process. As soon as the green check mark appears beside the file, it is all synchronized. I tried this syncing process out with a few dozen files, both small and big, and it worked seamlessly. Even very large files transferred quickly and smoothly, both on my Windows machine and on my Linux computer.

The free Dropbox service syncs up to 2GB of data, and the company plans on offering larger storage for a fee. There is no limit to file size in the Dropbox client, although files transferred through the web are capped at 350MB.

Dropbox supports version history

Dropbox is more than simple online storage, however. If you accidentally alter or delete a file, you can recover previous versions because it tracks all the changes made to the files. Dropbox also has some file-sharing capabilities: if you create a folder and share it with another Dropbox user, all the files in that folder are synced to all the users. You determine which files stay private and which can be shared. You can also make files publicly available by putting them in the public folder in My Dropbox. There is also a special Photos folder in My Dropbox that displays photos in a gallery. You can send a link to anyone so they can see that gallery on the Dropbox website.

Overall, I am quite impressed with Dropbox. It might not be the best data back-up solution for everyone because you have to keep all the files in the My Dropbox folder. But it has some great sharing features, and being able to sync files across Windows, Mac, and Linux is huge. For people who have multiple computers with different operating system, Dropbox might be just the thing for you.