posted Wed 19 Jan 2011 11:28 PM  

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Product: Dropbox.com
Price: Free!
From: www.dropbox.com

Verdict: HIGHLY recommended
Why: it revolutionizes transferring of files. It is a one-stop backup, thumb-drive substitute, and mass sharing device

Main Review:

Alright people, I am not exactly a tech savvy guy, and neither am I someone to get excited about any tech-related stuff, but this website is about to change your desktop life.



When dropbox.com was recommended to me, it was said in no less than these words: 'dropbox changed my life'. Alright that is probably setting up your expectations too much, but seriously, try it.

Let me try and explain what it does, and simultaneously express how much I love dropbox:

Basically, dropbox creates a folder on your desktop. By syncing it with an online database, this folder can be opened by you on ANY computer. This creates a whole array of conveniences for a user.



First of all, you can back up all your important documents. If your computer crashes, no biggie. Alright it will still suck, but it makes recovering important stuff that much easier. I'm talking notes, CVs, photographs, contacts, music, and any illegal stuff you might be harbouring.

How does it replace the thumbdrive you might ask. That leads to two important features of dropbox. 1) the files update universally once you update it in the folder. This makes backing up so much easier because you only need to do it once, and your file will forever be backed up to its latest edition.

2) You can share files without having to make any physical transaction. There is no more 'hey can I meet you later to pass you my thumbdrive'. Now it is a simple mouseclick away.

What do I not like about dropbox? Close to nothing.

One thing would be how they cleverly limit free usage to 2 gigabytes. Once you want to exceed that limit they will start charging. The cheapest being $9.99. Which is fair. I feel that definitely beats ads and pop-ups.

Another thing would be that dropbox might not have enough security setting flexibility. What I mean is that the file-sharing capacity does not seem to be fully exploited to me. For example, you only have that one folder. They could easily have let you make a dozen folders, each which you share with a different person. I mean you would not want naked pictures of yourself shared with everyone, but you could very well want it shared with one person. Alright naked pictures is a bad example.

Last but not least, you would always require an internet connection. I know we take that for granted nowadays, but a thumbdrive still saves the day when the internet is down.