Has anyone tried this yet? I just got an invitation to the beta program, and I haven't had the opportunity to install it on more than one computer yet. I've got it installed on my laptop, and so far it looks like a pretty slick program.

Basically it acts as a remotely-stored shared drive that can span across multiple computers. It constantly syncs the most recent version of the file to all of the computers you have it installed on, and also keeps a copy online so you can access it on a computer the client isn't installed on.

http://getdropbox.com/

6/1/2008 4:01:45 PM

Looks pretty cool... I'd like to be part of the beta

6/1/2008 4:55:38 PM

bttt

i tried installing it on my work computer, and it had some real troubles synchronizing files greater than 1MB in size. i hope they can fix this, its a slick product

6/4/2008 10:16:42 PM

anyone got invites?

6/4/2008 10:30:20 PM

Just watched the intro video on the site, and I gotta say this is a really nice implementation and interface for rsync-like behavior across multiple computers, with an included share ability between friends ... love it.

But the privacy implications, ugh.

6/4/2008 10:39:22 PM

So far it's working quite well from my playing around with it, and I haven't seen the problem with files greater than 1MB. I wouldn't trust this really for personal data, but for sharing pictures, etc., with friends and family would be great.

I also have 7 invites left if you want one. Just PM me your email address. I'm going to be in and out of the office today so it might be later this afternoon before you get the invitation.

- Will

6/5/2008 8:03:25 AM

I'll take an invite, I was working on fleshing out something similar to this but way more privacy/security minded

6/5/2008 6:02:13 PM

^ PM me your email address, and I'll send you one.

6/6/2008 8:18:37 AM

bump

4/10/2009 3:21:52 PM

Anyone still use this? I love it. Been getting an extra 250mB with every new referral. Let me know if anyone wants to get it. We've been using it for our senior design project. All 6 of us have dropbox and a senior design folder and it works great for sharing solid works files.

Some really cool stuff you can do with dropbox:
http://wiki.getdropbox.com/TipsAndTricks

Quote :

"Sync other folders outside the Dropbox folder Sync save games across multiple computer (Games for Windows) Sync your Safari bookmarks between OSX machines (for OSX) Sync Your Firefox Bookmarks Sync Your USB Flash Drive Install Dropbox in an entirely text-based Linux environment (experimental) Install Dropbox in an almost text-based Linux environment Run multiple instances of Dropbox simultaneously (using a single account) on Linux or Mac OS X Remote control a PC using Bash scripts Use Dropbox to host a website Use Jing for screencasts and screenshots How to increase the privacy and the safety of your data Using Dropbox as a free and automatic web publishing solution Monitor for conflicted files using GeekTool (Mac OS X) Allow Dropbox to authenticate with an NTLM proxy server"

[Edited on April 10, 2009 at 3:41 PM. Reason : .]

4/10/2009 3:36:57 PM

I've been considering using it. It seems more adaptable than Mozy for some reason.

4/10/2009 4:09:10 PM

Mozy is $5/month? Dropbox can be used for online backup but it's also great for sharing files in shared folders. One of the best things is it syncs an actual folder on your computer, so you don't have to open a browser to do anything. Obviously if you're on a computer where drop box isn't installed you can log onto getdropbox.com and see the same directory structure.

If you want to try it out PM me your email and i'll refer you. It's great for transferring files. If you drop something in a shared folder, it's instantly on every computer that has that folder shared (obviously based upon bandwidth). Another cool feature is the server does some type of checksum on the file and if someone in the world has already uploaded that file then it won't re-upload it. So it's instant.

-oh it's 2 gigs for free, and 250mBs added each time you refer someone up to 5 gigs i believe.

[Edited on April 10, 2009 at 4:28 PM. Reason : .]

4/10/2009 4:22:56 PM

Anyone else wanna try it out? You get an extra 250MB if i refer you!

4/20/2009 5:44:39 PM

Is this a windows capable mobileme? Or at least some of the features of mobileme?

4/20/2009 5:55:13 PM

^I really don't know about mobile me. But dropbox works great for OSX too. It's basically 2GB of online storage (expandable to 5 with referrals) for free. But the awesome part is it syncs a folder on your computer with dropbox so you never have to open a browser.

You can also share folders with friends. Does mobileme sync any file with a folder on your computer? Or does it just sync contacts/calendar, etc.

4/20/2009 6:08:25 PM

yeah i have a friend who is looking for referrals too - PM me if you want an invite and wanna help him out

you get extra space, he gets extra space - everyone is happy.

4/20/2009 6:29:46 PM

dupe post

[Edited on April 20, 2009 at 6:44 PM. Reason : .]

4/20/2009 6:30:14 PM

been using it, I love it and now most of my family and friends use it too

4/20/2009 6:41:47 PM

i'm playing with this too. pretty cool.

So how do you?

Quote :

"Sync other folders outside the Dropbox folder"

?

4/20/2009 11:26:42 PM

http://wiki.getdropbox.com/TipsAndTricks

First one on the list. Works great for my documents folders or save game folders. You basically create a junction link in windows so there's a reference to the outside folder within the dropbox folder.

You can even host a website from within the public dropbox folder. Kinda cool.

http://wiki.getdropbox.com/DropboxAddons

Can use it with a USB flash drive too.

[Edited on April 20, 2009 at 11:44 PM. Reason : .]

4/20/2009 11:33:37 PM

i'd like a referral

4/21/2009 9:35:46 AM

pm your email address

[Edited on April 21, 2009 at 9:40 AM. Reason : to me]

4/21/2009 9:40:34 AM

or me

4/21/2009 12:21:42 PM

meeeeeee

anyone figure out the linking folder thing?

4/21/2009 12:31:39 PM

I'm using Dropbox to sync my Outlook PST file between my work computer and home computer, so I always have all of my messages, contacts, and calendars, and can check it at home and have it autosync.

4/21/2009 12:41:55 PM

anyone figure out how to sync more than one dropbox account on the same computer?

maybe have 2 instances of dropbox running or something?

4/22/2009 1:30:33 AM

hah well it's a bit buggy on linux, if you 'sudo nautilus' suddenly a root version or dropbox pops up in the tray alongside the regular one you already have, never tried 'starting' it to see if it would just be a duplicate account or not though

4/22/2009 1:50:15 AM

Just installed portable dropbox on my 4GB flash drive. works great. runs dropbox on any computer from the flash drive. kinda physical/virtual flash drive all in one.

4/22/2009 1:56:47 PM

How secure is dropbox? I don't see a lot of emphasis on security like i do with Mozy, etc.

It would theoretically be cool to have say a shared music library among friends.

4/22/2009 2:47:15 PM

Quote :

"Just installed portable dropbox on my 4GB flash drive. works great. runs dropbox on any computer from the flash drive. kinda physical/virtual flash drive all in one."

think i could install multiple versions of the portable dropbox on one PC?

Quote :

"How secure is dropbox?"

https://www.getdropbox.com/help/27
We take utmost care to ensure Dropbox is secure and take security very seriously. All transport of file data and file metadata occurs over SSL. All files are encrypted with AES-256 before being stored on our backend.

[Edited on April 22, 2009 at 2:56 PM. Reason : .]

4/22/2009 2:55:04 PM

^
yeah. i accidentally installed it from the folder on my computer (supposed to install it while on a flashdrive) and it started another instance of dropbox. i'm sure you can install as many as you want.

^^
Security is mentioned a few times in the forums:
http://forums.getdropbox.com/

One interesting thing is how the dropbox server checks each file so if you stick a file that someone in the world has already uploaded to dropbox, it doesn't re-upload it.

I had an iso of Word 2007 (legit of course), that i put in a shared folder to install on my other computer in Charlotte and it was instantly synced without uploading.

[Edited on April 22, 2009 at 2:58 PM. Reason : .]

4/22/2009 2:56:57 PM

i know what the FAQ says, but i'm wondering about the general implications of my idea.

I mean whats to stop everyone from sharing their 50gigs of music with 10 of their friends. They could have 500gigs of sync'ed music at their disposal for $99/year each. thats not too bad really.

[Edited on April 22, 2009 at 3:02 PM. Reason : fdf]

4/22/2009 3:00:52 PM

^it's 50GB for $99/year right?

ah i see what he's saying. yeah for example i'm using it in my senior design group and there's 6 members. our shared folder has 1GB of files so every persons dropbox is 50% full with the free account.

[Edited on April 22, 2009 at 3:32 PM. Reason : .]

4/22/2009 3:25:00 PM

the accounts don't work the way you're thinking
it's not 50*10
if i buy an account, that's a 50Gb quota on that account. if i share that 50Gb with another user who has a paid account, his current quota is full too now so he can no longer add any more files either.
you can only share up to 2GB of files with free users - anything more than that won't sync.

but technically you could all run multiple instances of dropbox and get at what you're saying, yes.

[Edited on April 22, 2009 at 3:26 PM. Reason : .]

4/22/2009 3:26:01 PM

i found that link though to run multiple dropboxes: http://wiki.getdropbox.com/DropboxAddons/Dropboxen

so you technically CAN do what he's suggesting

4/22/2009 3:44:20 PM

Heh, boxen ... nice.

4/22/2009 5:29:14 PM

bump

5/4/2010 3:43:42 PM

Thanks!

Dropbox iPad app is out now. Looks really nice.

also, what was the 'dropbox like' service that advertised media streaming (not the one apple shut down)

5/4/2010 3:44:25 PM

Zumodrive https://www.zumodrive.com/

But they don't store the files locally, and I like that for my laptop when I'm not connected.

5/4/2010 3:51:32 PM

thats the one! Thanks.

I need a place that offers more than 100gb and as you say, doesn't store locally. I have too much purchased digital media and I've already had the hassle of a WD external hard drive reach near death before getting all my media off of it. Currently it all resides on a time capsule which I hear is suicide.

Any trouble using iTunes with the service? Is it a mounted drive in Mac OS X? (assuming you use a mac)

5/4/2010 3:56:27 PM

They are expensive compared to buying redundant terabyte hard drives that will last a few years ... but if you're willing to pay that for a backup solution, then ok

Also, there's Mozy, which is $5/mo unlimited personal backup ... yanno, in case that external hard drive full of media fails.

I don't know how it works on Mac, sorry.


[Edited on May 4, 2010 at 4:17 PM. Reason : .]

5/4/2010 4:12:57 PM

I thought about that too.

The problem I've had is iTunes gets messy when you have an external hard drive that houses your video media and you have your music on your local drive. When I purchase more video content I have to manually move it off my laptop and then there is the whole mess of accidentally clicking on a video when my hard drive isn't hooked up and having to manually locate later. One of iTunes flaws.

Also, I've had bad luck with external drives. I've got the 1TB WD My Book which is just about dead and ive already lost years of photos because of it (but managed to salvage 90% of my media). I've also got a 300gb seagate that i've had for 6-7 years at least but its my time machine back up. then there is the 1gb Time Capsule that has everything on it but thats risky since I've read report after report of peoples time capsules dying and apple not replacing them. although getting a replacement isn't even the concern...its the data that I care about.

5/4/2010 4:18:59 PM

^ That seems to be a common problem. It's like most external HDs aren't even worth the money anymore.

5/4/2010 5:00:32 PM

I've read mixed reviews on pretty much the 2 brands I used for internal drives. WD and Seagate.

Also, since I only own a laptop, having redundant back-ups isn't the best solution. I hate clutter and having 2 or 3 external hard drives sitting on my desk isn't my idea of clutter free Plus that just seems like a waste to me.

5/4/2010 5:04:09 PM

i love raid 5 arrays. i hate having to worry about backing up stuff. get a nas w/ raid 5 if you're really worried.

5/4/2010 5:36:11 PM

Any good reliable NAS storage you'd recommend?

5/4/2010 5:39:17 PM

I have a Drobo unit, but that's because I wanted to run it over Firewire800 instead of the network for video work. It's been quick slick. It goes haywire and you usually have to restart your machine when it does firmware updates, but that's a minor quip.

Also have used a ReadyNAS NV+. These things are sweet for networked storage. Fast, very very fast. Web management interface gets the job done, and has room for programs like bittorrent to run right on the box. For me it was great but switched to the Drobo for the extra speed when they went Firewire 800.

5/4/2010 7:41:31 PM

I wish they would hurry up and release the Android app for Dropbox

5/4/2010 8:57:36 PM

spoke too soon:

http://www.androidcentral.com/android-quick-app-dropbox-beta

5/4/2010 10:26:27 PM

^droidbox has been around for months, although 3rd party

5/4/2010 10:48:57 PM