Computersight -

 Ok this week I’m going to talk about a program called Dropbox. To put it simply you can share your files among your home or work computers very easily instead of carrying a usb drive with you. Keep in mind though that you will need to have internet access to get at your files from another location! This program is available for Windows, Mac, Linux and Iphone (with Android and Windows Mobile apps planned).

 The first thing you will need to do is go to www.getdropbox.com to get the program. (*note, if you click on the link it will bring you to a page that gives you the ability to create the account first (it’s free, read below) and watch the video, from there you can download after you have created account!) The benefit to clicking on the link is it will give you an extra 250mb of space to start, which would mean that you get 2.25 GB space immediately to start using. If you just type in address you will see a big blue button with the words…are you ready for this. “Download Dropbox”. There is also a video you can watch that gives you some idea of what you can do with this product and you will not get the extra 250mb to start. I will provide the video below:

Installation of Dropbox is a snap, just follow the basic steps and within a minute or so your done. After the installation Dropbox should run automatically (if not try restarting computer and it should load then) and this is where you will configure it. The first step will be to either sign into your already created account or create a new account with them which is completely FREE for their basic account but more on this later, this allows you to link all your computers together and access the online aspect. You will also be asked where you would like your “Dropbox folder” to be located; you can either accept the default location or choose your own. Keep in mind that you will have to install on any other computer you want to sync with but when you install on those computers just click the “already have an account” and sign in. Once completed it will automatically start syncing anything that may be in the folder!

 Now that it is installed you might ask: How do I do this? Well in your task manager (area near clock) you will see a new symbol called Dropbox. Single left click and right click have the same function it opens up the menu which allows you to do some basic configuration, access help, go to your online Dropbox, see how much space you have used, etc. If you double click it will open up your Dropbox folder, now all you have to do is drag and drop (or cut/copy and paste, whatever your preferred method of moving files) to your Dropbox and the syncing process will begin. If you have installed this on any other computer in your home or maybe your work computer (heck there’s even an Iphone app) the files will be syncing to them as well, all this happens in real-time (as long as computers are on of course) and it doesn’t matter if it’s a PC, Mac or Linux machine. The iphone app works a bit differently as it only keeps a reference to the file and you have to mark the file as favorite to download it and of course if you don’t have the space it won’t download.

The next time you go to your other computers the files will be there waiting for you. One feature that is sorely missing is the ability to log out and somehow secure the folder; this would be particularly useful if you share a work computer. This feature is in the “Coming Eventually” phase as users are able to vote (conveniently called Votebox) on the most wanted features and now that they have release their next big feature (lan sync) the next one they going to concentrate on is Selective Sync (along with couple others), which would give the user the choice as to which files/folders are synced to which computer. This could alleviate part of the problem but if you would like to be able to be the only one to access your files then this still proves a problem and brings it back to carrying a USB drive with you.

 When you sign up for Dropbox you are given a 2 GB storage limit (basic account) which can be increased by an additional 3 GB through multiple ways. One is to refer people to Dropbox and when they sign up and create the account, both of you will get an extra 250mb, that’s right this also benefits the person signing up. If you complete all the amount of steps required (I did 5 of 6) in their getting started area on the website you will get another 250mb. This just gives you some more info on the product. Steps are as follows:

1.  
   1. Take the Dropbox tour
   2. Install Dropbox on your computer
   3. Put files in your Dropbox folder
   4. Install Dropbox on other computers you use
   5. Share a folder with friends or colleagues
   6. Invite some friends to join Dropbox

As you can see they are all very basic steps and just by installing on two computers and putting a file in your Dropbox you already have 3 steps done. The tour only takes moments to finish and from there it’s up to you to invite friends or share a folder!

If you click on the links provided (www.getdropbox.com) you can download, install and sign up in a few minutes you can have an extra 250mb to start, complete the steps above and then just refer your friends and get them started as well. I am providing you the link so you can get the extra 250mb to start. You do have the opportunity to upgrade from the Basic account if you need more space, these options are the Pro 50 ($9.99/month) and the Pro 100 ($19.99/month) as the numbers suggest that would be 50 GB and 100 GB storage.

One thing I would keep in mind is the “instantly syncs” is obviously more for smaller files, you can definitely put any size file (within your file limit) but the larger the file the longer it will take to sync (I know duh). One way to combat this though is in their next version .7.79 (which just released December 11, 2009) they have included a feature called LAN Sync which should sync your computers on your network faster. Here is a better explanation on the feature directly from the Dropbox site: https://www.dropbox.com/help/137

“LAN sync is a Dropbox feature that speeds syncing dramatically when the file exists on your Local Area Network (LAN).

What does that mean exactly? Well, when you add a file to your computer’s Dropbox, the file is then synced with Dropbox servers. Dropbox will then initiate the syncing process as soon as it determines a change has been made to the file. All linked computers and shared folders will then download any new version of the file. With LAN syncing, Dropbox will look for the new file on your Local Area Network first, bypassing the need to download the file from Dropbox servers, thus speeding up the syncing process considerably.

LAN sync is an extra advantage for use in locations where computers are networked together over the same router or other local area network.”

The other feature that is available is the website. You simply go to www.dropbox.com and login to your account, from there you will see all your files that are currently synced, and you can access other areas like the Getting Started tab, see what has happened recently with your files in the Recent Events tab, you can also create a shared folder and access help. They have a full forum for you to ask questions or find out more about next beta/rc/release, etc.

Under the Files area you have a few options like uploading files, creating/sharing folder, checking recently deleted files (just in case you deleted something or made a change you actually did not want, you can access previous version), downloading files and folders, just to name a few. You are not limited to just downloading one file (or first compressing it and putting it into your Dropbox) at a time, you can select a folder and download it which is a really nice feature.

If you log into your Dropbox website you will be able access any deleted files and restore them if necessary, also if you make a change to a file Dropbox will save each version of the file so you can go back if you made some mistakes or whatever happened. Now keep in mind though this is only kept for 30 days unless you subscribe to a pro account and have the Pack-Rat feature on, which as the name suggests keeps your files indefinitely.

Dropbox also gives you the ability to share/sync files/folders with other Dropbox users and this will automatically sync inside their Dropbox folder whenever a change is made by either side. First you will have to choose to share an existing folder or create a new one, send the invitation out through email with a personalized message if you want, then you just have to put the file you want to share inside that folder.  Once they accept the invitation they will have access to that file/folder!

This works EXTREMELY well, I have talked with friends as they dropped something into our shared folder and I immediately got notified that there were new files in my Dropbox and a few seconds later the folder was done. I was extremely impressed by the speed as was my friends.

You may also share files with non Dropbox people, just go to your Dropbox and put the file you want to share into your public folder and when you right click on the item within the public folder you will see Dropbox option and just go to “copy public link” and from there you can paste it into an email, IM or whatever and they will be able to download the file/folder. Now this is not the same as sharing with other Dropbox users but it is still a nice added touch that has come in handy on few occasions with friends and family.

Speaking of right clicking in public folder, you may do this anywhere within your Dropbox folder. Depending on where you click you will be given different options, if you click on a file you will be able to go to “View Previous Versions” and see all the changes that have been made in last 30 days. If you do this on a folder you will be able to go to “Share This Folder” which I explained above. Other options include, “Browse on Dropbox Website” and “Show Deleted Files”.

Some of you may be wondering how secure Dropbox is exactly, well here is what they have to say about it from the following link: https://www.dropbox.com/help/27

“How secure is Dropbox?

Your files are actually safer while stored in your Dropbox than on your computer in some cases. We use the same secure methods as banks and the military to send and store your data.

Dropbox takes the security of your files and of our software very seriously. We use the best tools and engineering practices available to build our software, and we have smart people making sure that Dropbox remains secure. Your files are backed-up, stored securely, and password-protected.

Nobody can see your private files in Dropbox unless you deliberately invite them or put them in your Public folder. Everything in your Public folder is, by definition, accessible to anyone. Otherwise, the only way to access the files in your Dropbox online is with your username and password.

For Our Advanced Users

Dropbox uses modern encryption methods to both transfer and store your data.

• Shared folders are viewable only by people you invite
• All transmission of file data and metadata occurs over an encrypted channel (SSL).
• All files stored on Dropbox servers are encrypted (AES-256) and are inaccessible without your account password
• Dropbox website and client software have been hardened against attacks from hackers
• Online access to your files require your username and password
• Public files are only viewable by people who have a link to the file(s). Public folders are not browsable or searchable
• Dropbox employees aren’t able to access user files, and when troubleshooting an account they only have access to file metadata (filenames, file sizes, etc., not the file contents)

Dropbox uses Amazon’s Simple Storage Service (S3) for storage, which has a robust security policy of its own. You can find more information on Amazon’s data security from the S3 site or, read more about how Dropbox and Amazon securely stores data.”

I feel particularly safe storing my files within my Dropbox, I use it mainly for documents (like this one for example), favorites, my World of Warcraft Addon folder and some tools I frequently use which I can send the public link to a friend instead of directing them to multiple websites.

There is also multiple “plugins” available if you ever are looking for something “extra”. I won’t go into much detail as I have not used these plugins and it would not be fair to properly talk about them without actual experience. The link is here http://wiki.dropbox.com/DropboxAddons. The one that could be of particular use is DropboxPortable, that way you could also sync  your usb drive as well, although I guess this kind of defeats the purpose of the program but I will be looking into this as a possible addition to my portableappscollection on my usb drives.

What makes Dropbox better than other similar programs? This is actually frequently discussed in the forums. Ultimately only YOU can decide whether another program is better than this one! This is not something I will go into as that would warrant another article to properly compare.

In conclusion, Dropbox is a great program but some may argue that it may have a ways to go in terms of features that other similar programs may already have, like editing files without downloading and then uploading again if you do not have or cannot install Dropbox (say on a public computer or work computer with restrictions on software). What features are worked on next is actually completely up to the Dropboxers as we can vote on what feature to implement next and that is what the programmers will tackle for their next update! If you have multiple computers or just want to backup your data this is a great tool to have, it is easy to use and setup is a snap and there are some very nice features coming down the line. Give it a try and if you do not like it try another, but I would not dismiss this completely as feature that was missing when you tried it may now be available or coming soon. Enjoy!

Check out the next article in this series about PortableApps.