Review Of Dropbox Online Storage Solution
Overview and History
Dropbox has been around for a couple of years and they have done excellent things in that short space of time. In particular their VoteBox idea which lets you to select which ideas they work on first. Great idea. There are 3 editions: 1 free and 2 premium or pro accounts. The free version gives 2 Gb while the pro accounts give you with 50 or 100Gb. Backup and syncing are simple to setup and work persistently behind the scenes making this a actual "set it and forget it" solution. They also sell unlimited file versioning as an option to the Pro accounts.
Handheld devices are totally supported with apps for iPhone and iTouch and a website for online enabled devices. Collaboration features include public and private file and folder sharing as well as commenting on files and folders. Lots more features in the pipeline. Photo albums and video streaming are currently supported. A really nice touch is: If you follow the 'getting started guide' and carry out 5 of the 6 steps you are rewarded with an extra 250Mb of storage! Brilliant! If you need even more capacity, simply invite friends and you get another 250Mb for each referral up to a limit of 8Gb.
Dropbox was setup by Drew Houston and Arash Ferdowsi in 2007, and was founded using seed funding from Y Combinator. Now, Dropbox is well-funded by Sequoia Capital, Accel Partners, and Amidzad. Since launching publicly in September of 2008, they have taken on in excess of 3,000,000 customers and are growing quickly. They have been featured in the New York Times and on TechCrunch, and have won awards from PC Magazine and CNET. Their enthusiasm is creating a product that rocks and putting it in millions of people's hands.
Feature Set
Security
DropBox has good security: The web portal is SSL encrypted with a requirement for a username and password to get to your files. File transfers are protected with SSL encryption and when on their servers, your information is encrypted with 256 AES encryption. In addition to this, their service runs on the Amazon AWS service which is backed by the Amazon name and quality stamp.
Backup Features
Non-stop and 'Block Level' backups are provided to guarantee your files are constantly protected. Even open files are archived constantly by using 'Block level Incremental Backups' which means that DropBox only backs up the parts of a file that have been changed, rather than the entire file.
Including files and folders to the DropBox backup schedule is a snap: Merely right-click on the files you want to protect and choose 'backup with DropBox'. Alternative copies of files are stored so you can always get back a different version of a file if you accidentally overwrote it. There is also a status indicator to show how the archive is progressing.
On the downside network and removable drives are not supported and commercial databases like exchange and SQL server are not supported directly.
Restore Features
Restoring your data is extremely easy. There are a couple of main options: Restore from the web portal: log in to your account, tunnel down to the file you wish to retrieve , then select how you want to retrieve it. The alternative option is even simpler: Just use the DropBox Manager to restore any desired editon of a file.
Control and Analysis
Both processor speed and internet access speed (bandwidth) can be controlled from the DropBox client program. Reports and logging can also be read from the client software.
Proxy servers are configurable with options for HTTP, SOCKS4 and SOCKS5.
Interface
The interface is graceful and simple to use. There are just a few options available which keeps everything simple and easy to use. There is client software to setup and when installed, the software uses a DropBox folder where all protected files are displayed.
Device Support
There is currently support for every device under the sun! If your devices can get access to the internet then they can make use of DropBox.
Limitations
The web site can only handle file uploads of up to 300Mb each however you can circumvent this by using compression tools like WinRAR or WinZip which let you to break large files into smaller chunks. This restriction is not present if you use the client software.
File retention (before deletion) is 30 days unless you invest in 'Pack-Rat' which is available as an bolt-on to the Premium accounts and costs an additional $39 per annum and gives you unlimited file versions and file retention.
File Sharing and Collaboration
Information can be shared publicly - which allows anyone to view them - or privately where you allocate access rights to desired files and folders for each individual or group.
Photo Albums are included and can be shared either publicly or privately.
Comments can be added to each file that is shared and other people can be allowed to add additional comments to create a discussion about a particular file or folder.
Synchronization
Synchronization is supported between different machines and between devices and the web portal. An excellent option is the LAN synchronization. This permits devices on the same network (home or work) to quickly sync changes via the in-house network without going to the internet first. This greatly reduces your internet bandwidth load.
Web 2.0 Integration
At the time of writing, there was no direct integration with online services to allow editing of documents, etc.
Customer Support
There is no telephone, online chat or direct email customer support available. There are however, lots of other forms of advice available: You can contact support using a web form on their website; there is an extensive knowledge-base and FAQ section; the online doc is complete to a practical level.
There are also tutorials, a demo and case studies available. However, by far the most useful resources for self-help are the forum and blog. These are full of useful advice and support from both the DropBox staff and customers using the service.
Ease Of Use
Very simple to get started with: Signup, login, download the client on all your Windows, MAC and Linux computers and start synchronizing. As of December 2009 there is now a LAN synchronization feature which hugely speeds up local syncing.
Both the desktop and web interfaces are clear, stylish and easy to use. Put simply a very easy program to use.
Cost
Initial setup: free
Monthly: Basic: free; Pro50 - $9.99 / mth; Pro100 - $19.99 / mth
Yearly: Basic: free; Pro50 - $99 / mth; Pro100 - $199 / yr
Initial allowed storage amount: Basic: 2Gb; Pro50 - 50Gb; Pro100 - 100Gb
Cost of additional storage: n/a
Cost of additional devices / PCs / users: n/a
Referral Program: 250Mb per referral up to a max. of 8Gb
E-billing facility: Free - n/a; Pro: yes
Conclusion
DropBox is very simple to configure and use. It has almost all the features of a complete online storage solution: Backup, Web portal, multi-machine sync, file-versioning, online photo albums and file sharing. The only feature not present is integration with internet sites to allow you to alter and create files directly in your DropBox.
The pricing is fair although there are better offers available if you require more than 100Gb. The security is very safe and the customer support is good, although the lack of phone, live chat and direct email support is a bit restrictive. The forum and blog are superb locations to get your questions answered. If you are looking for an all-round online storage solution then DropBox is an excellent choice.
by: savvyITsteve Currency Trading - How Can I Make Money Trading Forex Online? Review Of Idrive Online Backup Comprehending How To Make Money Online Review Of Elephantdrive Online Backup Service Review Of Data Deposit Box Online Backup Choosing The Best Karaoke Discs Online - Buying Guide Creating An Online Empire - Tips For Success! Understanding An Seo Company's Importance To Any Ppc Ad Campaign Online Mlm Secrets Of The Pros Online Auctions - Playing For Pennies Discover Cheap Flights To Australia Online Make Money Online With Amazon Information About Structured Settlements That Are Available Online