Dropbox – Keep Sync
Posted by Shiv on June 26th, 2009After fishing projects, I find myself with a cluttered desktop. Usually I would be too tired to clean things up and properly store files. But now that I have found Dropbox, I able to dump all my files into one folder and not have to worry about anything else! My files are uploaded online so I don’t have to get a flash drive or external hard drive to use my files on another computer. I guess you can say Dropbox is a mini version of Mobile Me, except it works on Windows!
Getting Started…
After downloading and install Dropbox from getdropbox.com, you will be asked to register for a new account. Standard accounts are currently free and offer a total of 2GB online storage. You can always upgrade your account later with any of the following plans:
- Pro 50GB – $9.99 per month / $99.00 per 1 year
- Pro 100GB – $19.99 per month / $199.00 per year
After a quick and simple registration, you are welcomed to the Dropbox window. You will notice that there is no application for Dropbox. Instead it uses the common, Windows Explorer. This is what makes Dropbox quick, easy, and learn-free! By default Dropbox makes 2 folder for you: Public and Photos. You can easily customize the folders or add your own like you would on your computers hard drive.
To add files simply drag-and-drop, cut and paste, or even copy and paste. It’s that easy.
Now you do have to wait for your files to upload. The icons will automatically appear in the folder, but remember that Dropbox is uploading the files in the background. To see if a file is uploaded, check for a green check mark or blue refresh icon in the bottom right corner of the file’s icon. To see if all your files are uploaded, check the Dropbox icon found in your Windows tray.
Dropbox will automatically start during your system’s startup and doesn’t need a lot of RAM or processing power to run in the background. If you ever need to access the Dropbox folder, simply click on the box icon in your tray. You can also change setting for Dropbox by right-clicking on the icon.
That isn’t all…
Probably the most important feature of Dropbox is being able to access your file across today’s most popular operating systems and the web.
Overall: It’s Great!
I am pretty sure there is no other program out there like Dropbox that is… FREE.
