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Dropbox 1.0 Finally Released
Zack writes "Dropbox has finally released version 1.0. The new version comes with hundreds of bug fixes, including invalid file names on Windows, weird Unicode normalizations, Word and Excel file locking, abnormal symlinks hierarchies, and case sensitive file systems on Mac. It also adds TrueCrypt support, a Rainbow Shell that offers support for extended attributes, selective sync, a new installation wizard, and reduces resource usage."
This isn't how Dropbox is really intended to function. The idea is that you keep a file structure as child to the drop box directory. Therefore, whenever you modify files within that hierarchy, they are automatically updated. I have my school and research directory as child to my dropbox directory and find it to be a god send.
Dropbox is a file synch program. Install dropbox, it creates a directory on your hard drive somewhere. All files stored in that directory are auto-synched to the server. If you install it on another computer (or phone, or whatever it supports) you can use it to transfer files, create persistent storage, etc.
Not a sentence!
You can symlink instead of copying, no duplicate files and keeps your directory structure. I also set dropbox' folder to a hidden path: ~/.dropbox-sync, so it wont clutter my home.
Dropbox is several things at once, so I forgive your confusion :)
First, it's a cloudbased fileserver. You can upload your files and it will keep 2GB or more of them on the cloud (S3) for you to access. Not a big deal so far. If you pay money, you get much more space.
However, you can also give other people access to your files. And it will keep all the versions of your files. This is a bit more interesting.
THe real winner for me is that it's also a tool that you install on your PC or Mac or Linux machine. It will then use one folder (located under My Documents) and everything you store in there will be synced to the cloud. Version control and all. The tool will also inform you of any changes and if youre on a LAN with someone else whos syncing files, it will be synced to your PC directly.
Currently Im using DropBox to sync music files to a group of friends, and software updates to my customers who all have a link to a directory in the Dropbox directory.
However, the main thing I use it for is to sync ALL of my projectfiles with several other co-workers who only work on my project for a few days a week. One of them introduced me to DropBox. If anyone changes anything, I get a notification. Anyone makes an update you don't like, you can restore any previous version to any location you like. And it works without intruding, logs you on automatically and generally you don't even see it's there.
The onliest gripe I have is that you can't use TWO accounts, one for personal and another for business use, to link with the tool. And that all of the folders that you have a right to, are counted towards your total. So if a friend grants you access to his account and he stores 60 GB, you can still read but not upload anything else. Apart from that, it's a great utility.
Therefore, by the (faulty) logic you're using, you're just a cow with a keyboard - osu-neko (2604)
THe real winner for me is that it's also a tool that you install on your PC or Mac or Linux machine.
Plus, clients for iPad/iPod, Android and Blackberry (along with basic access from anything that can download from the web).
Its about the easiest way to get files on and off an iPad - its a crying shame that Apple don't add "export to DropBox" to the mobile iWork Apps. Its very easy to use by (e.g.) people who would run a mile from rsync.
I've hit a few headaches when trying to use it for collaborative work - some may be addressed by the new file locking fixes, others have really been PEBKAC which can't really be blamed on the software - e.g. person puts latest file in dropbox folder, emails everybody to say latest file is in dropbox, doesn't check that dropbox is actually connected and syncing...
There's a related issue for Macs in that, as far the Mac is concerned, the dropbox is a folder on your hard drive, so when you drag files in and out of there the default is to move, not copy - which is not usually what you want (especially when dragging files out).
An option to share "read only" would be nice...
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