Dropbox

[tango42]

Looking at Dropbox to synch files across devices and make them available anytime anywhere. Questions for those that use it.

- Dropbox wants me to download and install onto my computer (Macbook). Does that mean any computer or device must have Dropbox installed? For example, can I just walk into any internet cafe or use any smartphone and reach Dropbox even if Dropbox is not installed?
- Do I have to duplicate files on my computer? For example, do I have to move and drop anything I want in Dropbox into the Dropbox folder? And does it stay synched with the original file that might be located somewhere else in another folder on my computer? (<<I am guessing the answer is no)

Thanks.

[Mick]

Looking at Dropbox to synch files across devices and make them available anytime anywhere. Questions for those that use it.

- Dropbox wants me to download and install onto my computer (Macbook). Does that mean any computer or device must have Dropbox installed? For example, can I just walk into any internet cafe or use any smartphone and reach Dropbox even if Dropbox is not installed?

Pretty sure that's no problem. The installation just allows for files to download in the background to your dropbox folder in the computer. Which, seems pretty slow, and I tend to log in to their site and download manually anyway.

- Do I have to duplicate files on my computer? For example, do I have to move and drop anything I want in Dropbox into the Dropbox folder? And does it stay synched with the original file that might be located somewhere else in another folder on my computer? (<<I am guessing the answer is no)

Right, what you put in there is a copy, no syncing with files on your computer.

[Jaboney]

Looking at Dropbox to synch files across devices and make them available anytime anywhere. Questions for those that use it.

- Dropbox wants me to download and install onto my computer (Macbook). Does that mean any computer or device must have Dropbox installed? For example, can I just walk into any internet cafe or use any smartphone and reach Dropbox even if Dropbox is not installed?

No, the computer need not have Dropbox installed. You can access your files via the browser.

[mabagal]

- Do I have to duplicate files on my computer? For example, do I have to move and drop anything I want in Dropbox into the Dropbox folder? And does it stay synched with the original file that might be located somewhere else in another folder on my computer? (<<I am guessing the answer is no)

Their decision on this was to keep it simple. Anything in the Dropbox folder auto-synch across all of your computers/tablets/phones. Everything else on the computer doesn't.

You can also partition that down further if you are sharing documents with other people. The whole of the Dropbox is only visible to you and your machines, but you can choose to have a folder inside of Dropbox that other people's machines can also see. When people update or upload documents here, they get updated on all the machines for all of the users that opted-in on that shared folder.

[lostinasia]

Do I have to duplicate files on my computer? For example, do I have to move and drop anything I want in Dropbox into the Dropbox folder? And does it stay synched with the original file that might be located somewhere else in another folder on my computer? (<<I am guessing the answer is no)

You may also want to look into SugarSync, which is quite similar to Dropbox. With SugarSync, you can label specific folders and files to sync, and keep your own computer's directory structure unchanged. (This is the reason I use SugarSync rather than Dropbox.) So with SugarSync, you don't have to move anything; it IS the original file, so they remain synced (and also backed up online in a way that I haven't really investigated).

Of course, that doesn't help you if you WANT to keep the original separate and unsynced.

I can't speak to the browser issue: I've never tried accessing files that way.

[Steviebike]

Can't speak for sugarsync but, I've been using dropbox for about 2 years now and love it.

I've had files deleted (once by me and once by someone else) and the back-up worked each time which is great for a free service - if you need more than the free space you can pay.

It also works on iOS, Windows and Andriod. You can share folders with anyone!

[PapaAzucar]

Getting off topic a little, has anyone tried to use Dropbox to share files with someone in mainland China?
I heard that China blocked Dropbox, and I'm trying to verify.
Thanks.

[mabagal]

Getting off topic a little, has anyone tried to use Dropbox to share files with someone in mainland China?
I heard that China blocked Dropbox, and I'm trying to verify.
Thanks.

It's flaky when it actually even works there.

[Jaboney]

Dropbox went and retroactively boosted its reference bonus from 250 mb to 500 mb. Nice!

There's a Camera Upload feature that's been in beta testing for a while. May be nearly done, but, if you install the beta and upload a few pics, you can get another 3 gb in free storage.