I use ExpanDrive as my SFTP client on all boxes that will be accessing the server. Secure, effortless drag-n-drop file transfer over SSH from OS X and Windwoes. Nothing is easier. Yes, it is commercial software. Yes, it is worth the $40 bucks.
The last step is to ensure that port 22 is open on your firewall and you're done. I simply drag files to my home server from anywhere. It's comforting knowing they are your files in your your home, not scattered into The Cloud. I don't keep any files local on any machines, so I never have anything to sync.
Yes, zealotry and fanaticism - two very dangerous and destructive things, as history has shown.
Just to put my post in perspective... I'm a platform-agnostic software engineer. I was born and raised Windows, but now embrace all operating systems. I'm typing this on my freshly-built XP machine, but my Kubuntu machine sits next to me for Ruby on Rails, PHP, and Python development. The Vista machine is in the sunroom. I've was a C# developer for 5 years, but I now code PHP & PostgreSQL on FreeBSD and OSX every day at work. I was a designer for another 5 years prior to development, so I love the Adobe suite of apps and the Macintosh platform. Each technology has its place. I can't live without my Windows machine for gaming,.NET development, design and 3D modeling. Kubuntu is a fantastic development and server platform [and close to desktop-ready]. Ruby on Rails is the most groundbreaking advancement in web engineering since.NET 1.0. I've been thrilled with how far Linux has come in the last couple years. It is finally viable and people are noticing [myself included]. Maybe there's hope for a more level playing field soon. A competitive market drives innovation -- which we clearly aren't seeing from MS lately [except for the new Office GUI -- very well done] because they're fat and happy. It would be an exciting time if a few new players gave MS a good scare. Here's hopin'.
I'm amused by all this discussion surrounding whether the sales "count". If you have a commercial software product to sell and you have the drive, tenacity, aptitude, and wherewithal to get it bundled with every PC in the world, then you are a more effective marketer than your competition and you absolutely deserve those sales. This is called "Capitalism". It makes the world go 'round. It's the reason we have these wonderful things called PC's sitting in front of us. It's the reason you have the music you love, your favorite foods, your house, your car/motorcycle/skateboard, and a global internet. It's the reason you have a paycheck every week so you can provide for your family and lead a positive and productive life. In the free-market democracies of the world, everyone has the same opportunities as everyone else. If you want to smash Microsoft to bits, write a business plan, pitch it to the bank, borrow money, form a company, make it the most kick-ass software company in the world, and smash Mr. Softee to smithereens. Put a suit on and go pitch your fancy new Linux dist to the CEO of HP. Stop complaining and get off your ass. A lot of sales and marketing legwork, i.e., cost, goes into selling your product through these channels: building trust, forming relationships over the course of many years, and setting up partnerships. It's not as if MS waves a wand and their new OS appears at the Dell factory. I am not saying that MS isn't now a monopolistic, bully of a company with some questionable business habits, but the fact remains that Microsoft worked hard to be number one. It took decades of work from countless bright and dedicated individuals. Lil' Billy had a vision and ran with it. You can do the same.
Bose doesn't get robbed of sales numbers for all of the speakers they have bundled in Acura's. They still count toward their sales. Bose worked hard and incurred cost to secure those relationships.
The grocery store down the street isn't denied income because he gave a bushel of apples to the corner store to unload for him. After 10 years of being neighbors, the corner store guy trusts the grocer. He has a partnership with him. They are capitalizing together - because they are free to do so.
All sales "count" regardless of the channel by which they arrive.
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Here are my posts on how to do it, Installing Ubuntu Server with all the dependencies (DynDNS client included).
SSH with Public-Key Authentication, which also enables SFTP.
I use ExpanDrive as my SFTP client on all boxes that will be accessing the server. Secure, effortless drag-n-drop file transfer over SSH from OS X and Windwoes. Nothing is easier. Yes, it is commercial software. Yes, it is worth the $40 bucks.
The last step is to ensure that port 22 is open on your firewall and you're done. I simply drag files to my home server from anywhere. It's comforting knowing they are your files in your your home, not scattered into The Cloud. I don't keep any files local on any machines, so I never have anything to sync.
Oh, and a little Shell Script to keep them backed up redundantly to two mirrored external drives.
I don't see anyone referring to these pre-installed apps by their official name... Craplets.
Yes, zealotry and fanaticism - two very dangerous and destructive things, as history has shown.
Just to put my post in perspective... I'm a platform-agnostic software engineer. I was born and raised Windows, but now embrace all operating systems. I'm typing this on my freshly-built XP machine, but my Kubuntu machine sits next to me for Ruby on Rails, PHP, and Python development. The Vista machine is in the sunroom. I've was a C# developer for 5 years, but I now code PHP & PostgreSQL on FreeBSD and OSX every day at work. I was a designer for another 5 years prior to development, so I love the Adobe suite of apps and the Macintosh platform. Each technology has its place. I can't live without my Windows machine for gaming, .NET development, design and 3D modeling. Kubuntu is a fantastic development and server platform [and close to desktop-ready]. Ruby on Rails is the most groundbreaking advancement in web engineering since .NET 1.0. I've been thrilled with how far Linux has come in the last couple years. It is finally viable and people are noticing [myself included]. Maybe there's hope for a more level playing field soon. A competitive market drives innovation -- which we clearly aren't seeing from MS lately [except for the new Office GUI -- very well done] because they're fat and happy. It would be an exciting time if a few new players gave MS a good scare. Here's hopin'.
I'm amused by all this discussion surrounding whether the sales "count". If you have a commercial software product to sell and you have the drive, tenacity, aptitude, and wherewithal to get it bundled with every PC in the world, then you are a more effective marketer than your competition and you absolutely deserve those sales. This is called "Capitalism". It makes the world go 'round. It's the reason we have these wonderful things called PC's sitting in front of us. It's the reason you have the music you love, your favorite foods, your house, your car/motorcycle/skateboard, and a global internet. It's the reason you have a paycheck every week so you can provide for your family and lead a positive and productive life. In the free-market democracies of the world, everyone has the same opportunities as everyone else. If you want to smash Microsoft to bits, write a business plan, pitch it to the bank, borrow money, form a company, make it the most kick-ass software company in the world, and smash Mr. Softee to smithereens. Put a suit on and go pitch your fancy new Linux dist to the CEO of HP. Stop complaining and get off your ass. A lot of sales and marketing legwork, i.e., cost, goes into selling your product through these channels: building trust, forming relationships over the course of many years, and setting up partnerships. It's not as if MS waves a wand and their new OS appears at the Dell factory. I am not saying that MS isn't now a monopolistic, bully of a company with some questionable business habits, but the fact remains that Microsoft worked hard to be number one. It took decades of work from countless bright and dedicated individuals. Lil' Billy had a vision and ran with it. You can do the same.
Bose doesn't get robbed of sales numbers for all of the speakers they have bundled in Acura's. They still count toward their sales. Bose worked hard and incurred cost to secure those relationships.
The grocery store down the street isn't denied income because he gave a bushel of apples to the corner store to unload for him. After 10 years of being neighbors, the corner store guy trusts the grocer. He has a partnership with him. They are capitalizing together - because they are free to do so.
All sales "count" regardless of the channel by which they arrive.