I haven’t really reviewed anything in a while, mostly because I’ve been spending my time writing (when I have time) about Facebook and Twitter. The other day though, when I was using my Dropbox, it occured to me that I need to talk about this…since I use it so much.
I work at home a lot and often times I’ll need to transfer files from home to my work computer. In the past I’ve used several different ways to do this: Email the files to myself, put them up on an FTP site, put them on a thumb drive…you name it I’ve probably tried it.
Lately though I’ve been using this service called Dropbox and I love the flexibality and ease of use. Dropbox lets you sync your files online and across computers
(public or private) so that you can access them from anywhere. The beauty is in its ease of use though.
Their web interface is pretty sweet letting you upload files in a batch process or one at a time if you want. Browsing files is easy too with file type icons and uploaded date information for easily locating your files.
I love the desktop interface though. After installing a small program on your computer, Dropbox puts a shortcut to its folder on your task bar. If I want to share a file all I do is drop it in that folder and Dropbox does the rest. Really, it couldn’t be easier. Here’s the kicker though, it AUTOMATICALLY updates the other computers that I have Dropbox installed and configured for my account. How cool is that?
For example, I work on two computers here at home. My desktop and my laptop. Sometimes I need to move files from one to the other. All I do is drag the file into my Dropbox folder and I’m done. By the time I get up and move to the other computer, the file is already there waiting for me. That right there is worth it for me. Oh, and it’s also there on my work computer too. Like I said, it updates ALL the computers you have configured for the same account.
There have been a few times where I’m working on a project that has multiple files…and these can be rather large files like audio clips for podcasts or video clips. I can drag all the files into my Dropbox, drive to work, and there they are. I don’t need to log on to an FTP site and download them or open my email and save them someplace…they’re already downloaded to that computer and ready to go.
Also, I can send large files to clients instantly. And they don’t need to sign up for Dropbox to get the files either, which is huge. I can’t tell you how many times a client has been impressed with the fact I can send them files that other people would have to FedEx to them on CD.
So if you’re looking for a kick ass app that will allow you to share anything from a text document to very large files I suggest you check out Dropbox. If you’re like me and you need to share files across multiple computers, or maybe you need to send large files to clients you definately need to check this out. It will make your life so much easier.
Have you tried Dropbox? Post a comment here and let me know your thoughts! Try Dropbox
