Often times you want to keep a file in sync, much like .mac, between computers. Or maybe you just need to make sure your files are backed up to the web. Enter a product called Dropbox.
Dropbox provides many useful features:
- Simply installation
- Automatic file synchronization
- Share files in 2 clicks
- Display photos in a photo gallery
- Works on Ubuntu and Windows
Dropbox free accounts give you 2 gigabytes of space to store files. To install it, you can get the Ubuntu RPM at http://www.getdropbox.com. The Intrepid RPM listed also works under Jaunty. After downloading and installing the rpm, you can logout and log back in and you will notice that the notification area of your taskbar has a Dropbox logo. Clicking that will prompt you to start the process:
After clicking OK you will be guided through a wizard allowing you to use an existing account or create a new one:
After entering all of the information, Dropbox will ask you if you want to check out the features via a feature tour:
Dropbox is now installed and ready to use. You can now drag files to the folder, and they will be uploaded to Dropbox’s server, along with any other computers you have registered. I like to add Dropbox to my places menu for easy access, by opening my home folder and dragging it to the left bar:
Also if you are on the internet and don’t want your connection slowed down by Dropbox uploading / downloading files, if you right click the icon you can set the rate low and not even notice the transfers.
After using Dropbox for several months, I am very happy with their free offering. I am considering upgrading to their $9.99/mo 50 gigabyte plan, but I wish there was a plan between the two. The web interface for Dropbox is great, and the Linux client support has always worked for me. I would highly recommend giving this a try if you are a Ubuntu user.
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#1 by Vadim P. on April 16, 2009 - 5:15 pm
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I think you meant .deb, yes? not rpm.
#2 by Hans on April 16, 2009 - 5:39 pm
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What I hate about dropbox is the notification tray icon that always sits there. I once removed the pixmap data from the source to hide it, but that died on the next update, and I didn’t bother to do it again and again.
#3 by JGJones on April 16, 2009 - 8:11 pm
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I use Dropbox myself….it’s awesome.
A slight peeve of it though…they use Amazon S3 for storage, but encyption key belongs to them, not you. While you can always encrypt your files before putting in Dropbox, it does add some hassle.
As a result I only use Dropbox for non-essential documents etc with no personal information.
However iFolder have risen from the dead and is suddenly active, I find myself getting interested in that since it would mean I have control over my data (as well as better means of sync’ing data among multiple devices!) I think I’ll find myself using a mixture of the two perhaps – ie Dropbox would be much simpler and quicker to put onto a new computer even as a temporary measure to start with – ie I treat Dropbox as a “memory stick” that I never lose
#4 by zerwas on April 16, 2009 - 9:19 pm
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I encrypt my files with PGP before uploading them to Dropbox.
#5 by Juanjo on April 17, 2009 - 11:16 am
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After some buzz here and there I took a look to dropbox, and I was very surprised because dropboxd component is actually closed source.
Sorry, but this is an issue for me and I wouldn’t recommend closed source software.
#6 by aodhagan on April 17, 2009 - 8:48 pm
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There has been a lot of press around dropbox, but I personally prefer SpiderOak at SpiderOak.com. It is also natively available on Linux, they have published some of their code under the GPLv3, it has a lot of cool features (like sync between devices and share rooms), but most importantly – They are a zero knowledge storage service. Security matters.
aodhagan
#7 by WorkingWriter on April 18, 2009 - 10:20 am
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I’ve had Dropbox working well on openSUSE for awhile now. The packager integrates Dropbox with GNOME Nautilus, but this isn’t really a hassle for KDE users either.
Will check out SpiderOak as a possible alternative, though. Security matters, indeed.
#8 by Andres Monroy-Hernandez on April 21, 2009 - 10:46 pm
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Why not just add this to the sources:
http://linux.getdropbox.com/ubuntu jaunty main
and then do
sudo apt-get install dropbox
#9 by Roger on September 11, 2009 - 6:42 am
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Actually, I think it is
sudo apt-get install nautilus-dropbox
#10 by Randall on January 26, 2010 - 12:55 pm
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Huh? Ubuntu One. It’s already built-in.