Dropbox is a freeware application for Windows, OSX, and Linux that allows you to seamlessly keep the files on multiple computers in sync and backed up off-site.
Basically you install the Dropbox client on two computers you want to keep in sync. The client creates a folder on each machine and when you place files in this folder Dropbox automatically copies those file between the two systems and creates a secure backup on their servers.
As an added benefit the copy on their servers is accessible from their secure web site on any computer with Internet access. This has three main benefits for our web design and consulting business.
- I can share large files with clients by simply emailing them a link to the file on Dropbox's servers. This gets around the email attachment limits in place at most organizations.
- If I forget an important file I can simply bring up the web site on my smartphone and either view the file there or email a link to the client all with out having to wait until I get back to the office.
- No one remembers to backup every time they make a change to a file, let alone keep a copy of the file in a secure off-site location should something happen to the office. With Dropbox we don't have to change our work flow. Simply save your file to the Dropbox folder and the rest is handled in the background.
Best of all, 2GB of storage is free. If you need more, 50GB is only 9.99 a month. If you need to backup an entire computer look at Carbonite.
From time to time I am asked which operating system is the best in my opinion. This is a tough question to answer as there is no definitive answer. All your choices have their technical merits but, you really shouldn’t select an operating system based solely on its technical merits. You should instead select one that best suits your usage case. To that end I have done my best to summarize the pros and cons of each operating system from the point of view of the average end user. This overview is intended to be part of a larger series of articles I am working on to help you determine which is the best computer for you. A question I get asked a lot more often.
Lets address your operating system choices in order of market share, just to be objective.