Dropbox

Dropbox (free to $19.99 per month) is the simplest, most elegant file-synchronization tool we've ever used. The premise behind Dropbox is it gives you access to your files no matter what computer or device you have at hand. The service stores files with strong encryption on multiple servers and lets you get at your files quickly, easily, and for the most part elegantly from virtually any Internet-enabled device. Dropbox is both a downloadable product, with a version for every major operating system?Windows, Mac, Linux, iOS, Android, BlackBerry?and every user also gets a Web account with file access, too, just in case you're on a computer that doesn't have Dropbox installed.

Dropbox works equally smoothly on Windows, Mac, Linux, as well as mobile devices (see our review of Dropbox for iPad, for example). Dropbox synchronizes only files stored in a single dedicated folder, so if you prefer to synchronize folders you already have on your system, or if you want to keep several folders fully synchronized between multiple machines, Dropbox may not be for you. But its smooth and hassle-free operation make it our Editors' Choice for file-sharing and backup solutions.

?

As a freemium service, Dropbox offers a few different pricing levels. First, there's Dropbox Basic, which gives you 2GB of storage at no cost. Second, if you need more space, you can pay $9.95 per month for 50GB or $19.99 per month for 100GB for Dropbox Pro 50 and Dropbox Pro 100, respectively. Finally, a tier for small businesses is also available, called Dropbox Teams, for $795 per year, which provides up to 1 terabyte of storage for five users, and includes telephone tech support, too.?

How to Get Dropbox
Dropbox is available as a download from the company's website. Don't look too hard for it in the Mac App Store because it's not there. The iOS version is in Apple's mobile app market (as it must be), and the Android and BlackBerry apps are in their respective marketplaces, too.

When you download and install the client program, you'll also have to create a new account or sign into an existing one if you have it. Next, the program will create a new folder called "Dropbox" for you; you'll have the option of choosing where to install it, or let it go to the default location (you can always move it later). A shortcut icon also appears (top menu bar in Mac, system tray in Windows) that lets you open your Dropbox folder with just a double click. From this same icon, you can also reach other preference settings, such as the folder's location and throttles on upload and download speeds. Another nice option on the pop-up menu is the "Forums" item, which opens a browser window on Dropbox's user support forum; you'll find the dialogue between users and developers livelier than on most competing services' sites.

Like its rival services, Dropbox stores synchronized files in the cloud so they're available at any machine on which you've installed Dropbox. You can also reach your files through a Web interface from any Internet-connected system. Dropbox's storage preserves copies of earlier versions of the files in My Dropbox, so you always have the most current copy on your computers. We like that you can still access older versions (or files you deleted or moved) with just an Internet connection. One attractive feature (also available in SugarSync) is Dropbox's bandwidth-saving ability to upload and download only the parts of files that change during revisions. We made changes in a 125MB file and found that Dropbox only needed to transfer 2 to 3MB of data to update the file. That's a decent bandwidth savings.?

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/ziffdavis/pcmag/~3/V2wZkSIoCQk/0,2817,2343852,00.asp

st louis weather kryptos student loan forgiveness amy winehouse cause of death amy winehouse cause of death white witch white witch