Dropbox on Ubuntu 8.10

Hamish Taylor
Friday, 02 January 2009 12:37

Opinion and Analysis

I use Dropbox for a few different purposes. The one that I use the most is for quick and easy photo galleries. The system doesn't have a lot of options or anything complex. You simply drop the photos into the Photos directory or create a sub-directory with a specific name and wait for the system to upload the files. When that is done, right click on the directory, select Dropbox and select "Copy public gallery link". I then send that to whomever I want to share the photos, such as this one here .

The other thing you can do is to share files. Copy the file to the Public folder, then right click on the file, select Dropbox and select "Copy public link". Then send that around. Here's an example.

When you are doing the right clicking thing, you'll also notice that a "Revisions" option appears. Dropbox keeps copies of your files so you can roll-back if you require. Note that revisions make up part of your 2GB/50GB allowance, so you might have to delete some of them if you need to free up some space. You can do that via the web interface.

One of the most useful features of Dropbox is the fact that it stores file on the Internet. Simply drop them into your folder and they're available on any connected computer.

You can also share the files with specific people, through the website interface. They will get an email invite and will have to sign up. Using this method you can create a VPN between a group of people or collegues. Also, the system only uploads changes in the file as opposed to the complete file, so even if you are all sharing a large spreadsheet or Photoshop image, uploads remain small. This makes it effective over modem and 3G connections.

Dropbox maps as a standard drive location, so you can use normal backup tools. I use Grsync to keep local copies and the online Dropbox copies of specific files and folders in sync.

I could continue to talk about Dropbox for a while, but I think I have for long enough! I find it really useful. Let me know in the discussion forum if you currently use Dropbox and how you use it, or if you want to get some help with it, I will see what I can do.

As always, please leave feedback, comments and questions. However, I will only respond to comments left on iTWire article discussion forums. The direct link for this article is here.