[Image - Copyright Dropbox]
What is it?
Software that enables you to access any of your files - documents, photos, videos, etc. - from any computer.
It's for you if...
You need a way to have the same files on your work and home computers. You want an online backup storage service. You want to be able to share files with friends and others. You want to access your files via a mobile phone such as an iPhone, Blackberry or Andriod device.
What's cool about it?
You can work on a document at your office, open it on your home computer later, work on it there, and see the updated doc on either computer at any time.
Once set up, your files will be backed up automatically. If one of your computers crash or worse, is stolen, you will have instant access to your files from another computer.
This technology is a great example of how "cloud computing" (internet based computing - the term cloud is a metaphor for the internet) works with traditional computing to provide a great service.
How do I get it?
Companies that provide these services are listed below. You can do a search for the "best online sync and storage service" or something similar. These companies come and go, therefore, my advice is to pick one that gets good reviews but also one that has been around for a while and has lots of users. Pricing and features vary - think about what you want - something simple or a service with lots of options; here's a link I found just by doing one search "best online sync and storage service".
Syncing and Online Backup Service Providers (a selection):
- Dropbox (looks good).
- SugarSync (looks good).
- Windows Live Sync (free - I believe - from Microsoft).
- MobileMe iDisk (part of MobileMe from Apple).
- Mozy (online backups only).
- ADrive (online backups only).
Tips/Extras
If you have a Mac and you only need a backup service then you are better off to use Time Capsule for backups.
Google Docs allows you to upload MS Word and Excel docs and you can access these from any computer via an internet browser later. It also allows you to share files. You can work on and share these files and even have other people watch as you edit the documents. This is one way to backup your files online. Once you put them there they don't sync to another computer but the beauty is that there is no software to install or maintain. Microsoft and Zoho offer similar products.
Except for their free offerings, you pay a monthly fee for the services. Even though there may be software to download these companies are primarily providing a service. They have servers which provide the computing and storage and software that provide the ongoing syncing capabilities and security. This is why they are referred to SaaS - Software as a Service - companies.
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