The Perfect Tool For Online Storage
When it comes to being a digital nomad, the most important thing of all is finding a way to keep everything available on the road. That’s why it is crucial to have a way to access your files, even when you don’t have your own computer along.
I have been searching for a tool to manage my online data storage for awhile now and have been disappointed with a few of the ones I have tried.
Luckily, I found Dropbox and have been more than happy with its features.
Overview:
What Dropbox does is allow you to backup files on your computer and store them online in the space they give you. You can then access those files by logging in to the website. It also allows you to share certain files, which makes it really useful for freelancers that need to share files with their clients.
Dropbox will store any file you might, and also makes it super easy to store photos. It has a built in photo gallery that makes it a breeze to store images.
Key Features:
Here are some of the key features that make Dropbox and awesome tool:
- 2 GB Of Free Space – When you sign up for Dropbox, they will give you 2 GB of free space. This works very well if you only have a certain amount of files to backup and want to save some money.
- 50 GB Premium Service – If 2 GB isn’t enough, you can opt for the premium service which will give you 50 GB of space for only $99 a year.
- Automatically Syncs Folder – The first thing I noticed with Dropbox is that it started to synch the folders I wanted to automatically. Now it updates whenever I add or remove a file.
- Works For Mac and PC – Unlike some software, Dropbox works with both PC and Mac so you do not have to worry about clients and their computers.
Still Not Sure?
If you are still not sure how it works, you can check out their screencast which gives a quick overview of how the system works. Check it out here.
Overall, the tool is super simple and highly effective. I like it so much that I will be adding it to my “Tools For Digital Nomads” section when I get it up and running.
Set up your free account and receive an extra 250 MB of space free with this link: Get Dropbox
Published on March 20th, 2009. And don't forget to check out my book, Life After the Cubicle.
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Hey Justin-
I enjoyed your review, but it did raise one question. You mentioned trying other similar services and they didn’t quite work out for you. Care to share which ones these were? Have you ever tried Office Live Workspace? Take a look here for more details: http://workspace.officelive.com/LearnMore. I’m interested in hearing how you think it compares to Dropbox.
Best,
Jeff
Office Live Outreach Team
Hey Jeff,
I have tried Mozy in the past which worked well but I prefer Dropbox. I have never tried Office Live since I don’t use Office or Windows. I use my Mac for everything and Dropbox works well with it.
Does Office Live work with Macs?
Office Live does work just fine with Macs.
iPhones too!…. http://www.iphonebuzz.com/microsofts-web-based-office-suite-will-work-with-iphone-safari-browser-145173.php
I remember signing up for dropbox (or something very similar) a long time ago but didn’t need it then. Now I do though and just signed up!
Will let you know what I think.
Gmail can do the trick if you just want 2GB storage. I don’t know if I can trust storing 50GB of stuff into a website. If you get hacked, you are SOL.
In the end of your post, I don’t understand why you said 250 MB of free space when you first mentioned that you get 2GB free.
I should of been more clear. If you sign up with that link you get 2GB of space PLUS an extra 250 MB of space.
Yeah, Gmail can do the trick it’s just a pain to upload everything. I prefer to have entire folders synced with it which makes it so much easier.
You still haven’t updated your post!! I’m going to use the Dropbox for school work. I won’t even need usb drives and worry about losing usb drives in school all the time.
I updated it now
I never even thought of using this for school work. I wish there had been something like this while I was in school. I would always forget/lose my flash drives and never have the information I needed.
I used your tiny ref link (;)) and installed Dropbox. It works fine and most importantly it’s simple – I don’t even have to think about uploading, it just happens. The only thing that I’m concerned about is data safety – even though they use all those safe protocols…
Yeah that was something I was concerned about as well. But they seem to have it locked down pretty good and I haven’t had any problems so far. I guess I will trust them unless I have a reason to think otherwise.
@Andrew
Honestly, I would not use this service for very confidential information. If you have a business with a database of client’s personal information, I would not use dropbox to back up that database.
I look at dropbox as a place to post designs, drafts and other files that will eventually become public anyway. Stuff that if leaked will not cause irreparable damage.
Sure, I’m not planning to put any top secret files in there too.
I use dropbox to send hi-res files to my photo clients…it’s fast and easy with no issues as of yet.
thanks for sharing this
great money maker!
It’s perfect service. We use it for share all projects files between our team
I use DropBox for transferring large (compressed) VM images and am very pleased with its simplicity and reliability. My review is at:
http://sharevm.wordpress.com/2009/09/13/compressed-vm-file-transfer-using-dropbox/
Pau
I’m fully satisfied with this service. It has a wide range of functions and it’s free for the 2GB variant. Free and if you like anonymous registration with a free upgrade possibility up to 8GB. Follow this invitation to sign up to Dropbox: http://db.tt/6MqJ0U1
Regards,
Emilie
Dropbox has worked great for me to easily save files and then have them immediately backed up and shared. I can create a document in Word on my laptop, save it, turn off my computer, and then in a meeting pull it up on my Android to look at what I wrote. It works great.
Use this link to sign up: http://db.tt/3OwTvur