Shit I Use Every Day (SIUED) : Dropbox

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I often get asked by people what software I utilize a lot, so I thought that I would start writing articles letting people know the software I find useful and use nearly every day. The first installment is Dropbox.

Dropbox is a nifty little utility that does one thing, and one thing perfectly. It synchronizes your files between computers, the web and mobile devices. You install a small piece of software wherever you want access to your files, and anytime you add a new file to your Dropbox folder, it get’s synchronized to all of your other devices.

For example, I have Dropbox installed on the following:

  • my work desktop (Windows XP)
  • my work laptop (Mac OSX)
  • the home family iMac (Mac OSX)
  • the home server/biz machine (Windows 7)
  • my iPad (iOS)
  • my iPhone (iOS)

So, each one of those devices has Dropbox installed and they all talk to the Dropbox website. If I change or add a file on ANY of those devices, the change gets replicated to ALL of the devices. It’s great for making things available everywhere, and even as a cheater backup solution. I also utilize several Dropbox ‘aware’ programs that store their data IN Dropbox, so you can utilize those programs on multiple devices as well. I’ll get into that more in a future installment of SIUED. In addition, you can use the service to share files with others. So load them up in your Dropbox, and then invite others to share that folder.

So if you are interested in Dropbox, you can sign up for the free service here. It’s become indispensable in my day-to-day routine.