I recently made a discovery that has changed the way I do things on my laptop and desktop computer.

It’s a common situation.  You have a desktop computer, the workhorse of the household.  It’s probably shared by several members of the family.  It does everything for everyone… including you.  You also have a laptop for work or maybe one for home use, to ease the demand for the desktop machine.

But you still use the desktop computer sometimes, and a lot of what you do on it is also relevant to your work on the laptop.  So you need to keep your files sync’d, but what do you do?

  • Email attachments to yourself, via a web email account such as Gmail.
  • Share folders between computers and copy stuff in and out of these.
  • Use a NAS server as a master store for the common files, copying to it and retrieving from it, depending on which computer you last got the latest version of XYZ software.
  • Use a USB flash drive.
  • Other variations on this pattern.

I’ve used all of the above.  They all work, but it gets messy.  Directory structures on laptop and PC don’t quite match.  Sometimes I don’t remember (or have time) to copy the latest stuff to the NAS server.  Sometimes I don’t check if the version of XYZ software I have is the latest.  It’s all down to how much you are prepared to interrupt your thought process to do the copying of files to or from the computer.

There is a better way

Dropbox could be the answer to your file sync’ing dreams.

Before getting into any details, let’s ask the number one question: What platforms does it run on?  Answer: Windows, Mac and Linux.  Big tick in that box.

In fact, Dropbox will sync your files between multiple computers running any combination of the supported operating systems.

To use Dropbox, you must create an account.  The file sync goes via a cloud-based storage area.  It’s free for up to 2GB of storage.

The Dropbox web site has full details, but here are some of the good things it does for you:

  • When installed, a “Dropbox” folder is created for your user account.
  • Anything you put in this folder is automatically sync’d to your Dropbox account in the cloud.
  • Other computers on which you have installed Dropbox will automatically sync with your files in the cloud.
  • Lan Sync for computers on the same local network.  This still uses the cloud for notification, but actual sync’ing is peer-to-peer via the faster LAN.
  • You can access your data via a web browser.  For example, you could open one of your files on a computer that does not have Dropbox installed.  Web access includes upload, too.
  • Mobile access.  There’s an iPhone app and, I’m told, an Android version is in the works.  Failing that, the Dropbox web site recognises mobile phone web browsers and provides a nice mobile-friendly version.
  • Version history up to 30 days.  Via the web interface, you can undelete a file or go back to a previous version.
  • The web interface also provides information on the status of your Dropbox account, such as the amount of storage used, and a handy “recent events” list showing additions, deletions, edits and shares.
  • Supports multiple users on a single computer.  I have done this for Windows XP, only, so I can’t vouch for Mac and Linux but have no reason to think it doesn’t work.
  • File and folder sharing with other Dropbox users.  This includes a photo gallery feature.

There’s an active support forum and feature suggestion site, should you feel the urge.

The only down side is the 2GB limit for free usage.  That said, if you can persuade some friends to sign-up and install Dropbox, you can increase your free quota by a further 3GB to a total of 5GB.  You both get 0.25GB per signed-up referral.

Depending on your budget, this may not be a concern.  Current paid monthly usage is $10 for 50GB and $20 for 100GB, but do check the Dropbox web site for current pricing.

How about Google Docs file sharing?

I’ve been a Google Docs user for some time, and the relatively recent feature for upload and sharing any type of file is welcome.  However, sync’ing is not automatic and there’s no concept of a folder structure that is replicated between Google Docs and your computer.

I’ll continue to use Google Docs for the things it’s good at.  Dropbox meets a different need.

Conclusion

So far, I’m really liking Dropbox.

If you can see the possible value of Dropbox for the way you use the computers (and smartphones) in your life, give Dropbox a try.

Take the tour.  Watch the screencast.  Sign up for a free Dropbox account (using this link adds a bonus 250MB to your storage allowance)

You may find yourself wondering how you managed without it.

I’d like to hear from you if you have any thoughts on this topic.  Leave a comment.

Thanks for reading.