Dropbox - Use It

I've been using Dropbox for about a year and a half now. It is one of those computer add ons that just works, and what it does is great. If you are not familiar with Dropbox, it is basically an online backup tool, but it is much more than that. On the free side, you start out with 2 gb of online storage space. With referrals you can increase that up to 8 gb. If you need more space, they offer more storage for a fee.

So how does Dropbox work? When you open an account with Dropbox and download the application, a Dropbox folder is placed on your hard drive. Any folders or files that you place in that folder will automatically upload to your Dropbox storage space, assuming you are online (if not online, it will automatically upload when you do go online). So now you have that file in two places, on your hard drive and also off site in your Dropbox online space. If something happens to your hard drive, no worry, those Dropbox files are safely stored off site. It is all seamless. You do not need to do a thing. If you are away from your computer, but have access to another, you can access those files by logging on to your Dropbox account.

Now the good part. Let's say you have a second computer. On that computer you would log in to Dropbox and download Dropbox, which creates a Dropbox folder on that hard drive. Now whatever files/folders that were in your online storage will automatically download to that Dropbox folder on that second computer. In other words, whatever you do on one computer will automatically sync with the other computer (again, assuming they are all online). Every time you open a file to do some work, and then save that file, that updated file will upload to your online account. If your second computer is on and open (or the next time it is on and opened), that file will automatically download and replace the older one on the second computer. If this sounds confusing or too cool to be possible, just try it.

Now some more good stuff. Dropbox gives you the option to put files in your private space, or in a public space. With public spaces, your file is given a url address. If you have a large file, let's say a 50 mb movie file, that you want to share with someone, or have them download; put it in your public space, get the url address, and send that link to someone via email. In other words, Dropbox works great for sharing files too large to email. Or if you have a folder of images, you can put that in your private space and then invite someone to share that folder. Dropbox becomes an easy way for sharing files and folders.

There are other ways that I use Dropbox, but the basics cover a lot of ground and make Dropbox well worth using. I have not found one thing to dislike about the program. So give it a try. If you do sign up, please use my email (bobupdegrove@verizon.net) as a referral so I can get some extra space.