Tech Tuesday: Dropbox

This week we have another sharing application/website. Dropbox is a site that allows you to upload files to share between devices and share them with friends. Basic service is free and allows for 2GB of storage. Dropbox has applications for various platforms. There are Windows, Mac and Linux applications for your computer, or you can use their website. There are also iPad/iPhone, Android, and BlackBerry applications.

One thing I like to use it for is transferring images from mobile devices to my computer. Previously I would email images, but with Dropbox I can create folders and upload multiple images at a time. Much easier to do than sending them with email.

I have yet to install the Windows application for my laptop. Frankly, I have enough running on it and do not need another program hogging resources, especially when the website seems to work fine for my uses. I have shared folders out, sending some PDF files to a friend and it worked nicely. To share a folder, you just need the person's email address. If they have an account associated with that address they can access the folder, or they can create an account.

It seems very useful, and I imagine there are some great opportunities for collaboration. It appears that when you share a folder, the person it is shared with has control of the files. So, they could modify them, or delete them (thus, beware what you share). My one issue thus far with the iPad and BlackBerry applications is that you cannot specify an upload folder, but rather uploads go to your root directory and there does not appear to be a way to move them except on your computer. This is a small problem though, considering the price of $0.