TechAsh's Blog

Dropbox is a free and easy to use service that allows you to store you files in the cloud and have them automatically synced to all you computers and mobile devices. It ensures that you will never again have to worry about forgetting your USB drive, or remembering to email that file to yourself.

Dropbox Basic gives you 2GB of storage space for free, but if you need more Dropbox Pro 50 and Pro 100 provide 50GB and 100GB respectively for a monthly fee. You can also earn more free storage space by referring others to Dropbox and completing simple tasks.

Dropbox is extremely simple to use. To get started you need to sign up on their website, then download and install the Dropbox client to your computer. There are versions of the client software for Windows, Mac and Linux as well as mobile systems such as Android and iOS. The client will create a folder called "My Dropbox" in you Documents folder, simply drag and drop files to this new folder and they will be automatically uploaded to your Dropbox account. Once uploaded, your files will be accessible from anywhere in the world simply by logging into the Dropbox website, or going to the "My Dropbox" folder on any computer with the Dropbox client. The website is really easy to use and allows you to upload, download and delete files from your account. You can also restore files that you have deleted or revert back to an older copy of a file using this web interface.

Dropbox also allows you to share your files with others. Placing a file in the "Public" sub-folder of Dropbox and right-clicking on it allows you to copy a public link to that file. You can then give this public link to your friends who will be able to access the file, even if they don't have a Dropbox account. A similar feature for photos that you place in the "Photos" sub-folder will allow you to create a public photo gallery so that your friends can view your photos.

A slightly different feature, called Shared Folders, allows you to specify a folder to share with other Dropbox users. Once shared both you and your friends can access files placed in this folder. This is especially useful if you wish to collaborate with friends or colleagues on a project as it means you can all have access to the files.

The only limitation that I can find with Dropbox is that it can only synchronise files that you place in the "My Dropbox" folder, if you have files stored elsewhere on your PC then Dropbox won't be able to sync them. However the Dropbox team have said that they will work on a "Watch Any Folder" feature, which would mean that you could set Dropbox to synchronise other folders on your PC to your Dropbox account.

Dropbox is by far the simplest and most elegant file synchronisation service that I have used. The Dropbox client and web interface are very well designed and it manages to include many great features without feeling cluttered. I would strongly recommend Dropbox to anyone looking to keep files on multiple devices and have access to them from anywhere where there is an Internet connection.

As an added bonus, if you sign up with this link you will receive an extra 250MB of storage for free.