dropboxRight after I published the story of how I backup all of my data, I was bombarded with questions (I’m glad I could help start people on a backup routine) about certain specific parts of my process. The most frequent was about Dropbox and what it is.

Dropbox is what I consider a major player in the emerging battle of cloud storage. MobileMe users will be familiar with this because it is very similar to your iDisk. Before actual cloud storage disks came along, I used to use email servers and Google Docs to store all of the things I needed when I was not at my computer. When I was out on the road and needed access to a document, I’d call up my email on my phone and open an attachment. This seemed to work OK but I was always searching for long periods of time to find anything. Now, with the emergence of cloud storage, the game has changed.

Dropbox is quickly becoming the most popular online storage place because of their extensive feature list, their ease of use and their support of multiple platforms, each with their own client. They start off each new customer with 2GB of free online storage with the opportunity to expand that by 250MB’s just by following a few simple steps. There is a paid option for more space in the amounts of 10gb for $5 per month, 50GB for $10 per month, and 100GB for $20 per month. In my use, I haven’t had a need for more than the 2GB though.

How i use Dropbox

I use Dropbox for three different things; backup, file sharing and document portability.

Backup: As I mentioned in my outline of how I backup my digital information, I send my most important files like my preference files, my task manager database, my Evernote database and my 1Password database to my Dropbox account daily. First I tried using an SFTP client to backup these files to the online storage associated with my domain thinking this will be the most secure place for it but 6 hours later, the backup still wasn’t done for the 250MB of information. Trying the same process using Dropbox had that 250MB synced in around 30 seconds. It is incredibly fast.

File Sharing: At times I like to share a draft or a list of some sort with my co-workers and friends for their input or collaboration. Dropbox allows for this by providing a unique link for a selected item or folder to be sent out to your contacts. Once the contact receives that link, they can work on the document and after saving their changes, the item is kept in sync across everyone’s account that has access to the file. This works much like Google Docs but with the added benefit of Document Portability.

Document Portability: For my work I have my personal computer, my work computer and my iPhone. I find myself needing the same few documents no matter which station I’m at or if I’m on the road. Since Dropbox has clients for Mac (my personal computer), Windows (my work computer) and a web interface I can access on my iPhone, any file stored in my Dropbox is accessible wherever I am. The nice thing about it is that each individual client performs so well on your platform of choice, that if you didn’t know it was Dropbox, you’d think you were using just another folder on your system. It’s like a Mac, “it just works”.

How does Dropbox stand up to the competition?

MobileMe: Although MobileMe users have more storage available to them, there are some distinct disadvantages to it vs. Dropbox. The most important item is price. You pay $99 a year for 20GB of storage with MobileMe. The 2GB of storage you get with Dropbox is free. MobileMe is also geared towards Mac users. Try getting a file from your Windows system onto your iDisk, it gets frustrating. Dropbox provides you with clients that work on most any platform. The last issue is with collaboration. MobileMe is more like a file sharing system where you share a music file with your buddy and he can download it but can not do much more. With Dropbox however, you’re friend can take a paper you shared with him, edit it, and save the changes right back to your Dropbox for you to see. Both Dropbox and MobileMe have a great photo gallery feature where they take any photos stored in a particular folder and create a neat online gallery you can send friends and family to. In my opinion, MobileMe is great as acting like another drive for all of the macs you own, but doesn’t compare with what Dropbox offers.

Google Docs: The main advantage that Dropbox has over using Google docs is the ease of use. Using Google Docs you have to upload any individual file you want to collaborate on or have accessible to you anywhere you have an internet browser handy. Instead, Dropbox acts as another folder on your desktop where you can easily drag and drop files to take with you. (Hint: on a Mac, option+click and drag will make sure you copy an item into your Dropbox instead of move it)

Box.net: This article has a great comparison of Box.net and Dropbox. I can tell you from experience though that Dropbox is far, far easier to use than Box.net.

To get started using Dropbox, visit www.getdropbox.com and sign up for your free account.