Just Iike you I am always on the look our free stuff, whether it’s an app for my phone or a BOGOF pizza on a Tuesday. That’s why I thought I would share this we gem of freebie with you - Dropbox.
Picture the scenario, you have a various files on your laptop, desktop and smart phone. In the past when you have wanted to collate all this information in one place you have had to email yourself with file or mess about with a USB flash drive to transfer the files.
And yes, there is an easier way. I have been using Dropbox for over a year now and it’s a fantastic tool for keeping important stuff safe, secure and accessible. Once you have created an account you get 2GB of free online storage, depending on the quality on the file this is probably enough to store about 1000 photos. You can download a Dropbox client/ app for your desktop, laptop and smartphone(s) all of which are free. As soon as you drag a file in to your Dropbox on your desktop, it is uploaded to your online vault or “the cloud” and then replicated to each of your laptop and smartphone. Best of all should anything ever happen to your device(s) an online version of the file is always available in the web based version of Dropbox.
Another great feature of Dropbox is the share option, so instead of emailing loads of files to an individual or group of individuals you can share a folder with them meaning they can access the files they want when it is convenient. The example Dropbox use for this is sharing your holiday snaps with your family, which is definitely an improvement on sitting through your uncles boring slide show of his caravanning photos from Skegness.
Some businesses have taken to the use of Dropbox for storing and collaborating their companies files, I think in its basic form Dropbox is fantastic to store files and access remotely, for instance in my Dropbox I have an electronic copy of our Brochure which I can very quickly share with someone either by viewing on my phone or by emailing it directly (as I would forget otherwise). The weakness however is in the collaboration, for instance if you have tender document stored on your Dropbox which requires the input five of your colleagues then potentially you could end up with 6 versions of the same document. The original document created by you and then a version by each of your five colleagues who have all made different amendments… the result for you is a very messy and laborious cut and paste job for the next 2 hours.
For personal use and as a resource for a light business user Dropbox is fantastic, you can create an account for free and download your Dropbox here. And if you need any assistance give me a call.
Liam Bonthron |Business Development |Fruit Mobile Managed Services |0141 2043248
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