Feb
09
2011
A recent post on the Gmail blog discussed how to help prepare for a disaster with data on your local computer. The post recommended people backup their important data using Gmail and Google Docs as a measure to keep all important documents safe. However, these alternatives rely on cloud storage and Google services, which many people do not want to rely on in a bad situation. That is why Dropbox is a viable alternative.
Because Google is such a large company with so many different services, many people do not like having their personal data, account details, and even financial details tied up on the Google servers. Dropbox works differently than Google in that it is a service that works across multiple platforms that synchronizes data on each device that it is installed on. Dropbox also works with Android with three apps, including Dropbox: Moozone, Dropbox, and Droidbox. By having a central location to store all of your data, you can access it no matter how far away from your computer you are.
Dropbox works by installing a program on your PC that will create a folder that automatically syncs all devices and computers when any new data is added. This same folder and all the data contained within it is available on all devices. For an example of how convenient this is, imagine needing a document on your home computer at work. You can quickly access it on your G1 smartphone so long as you have Dropbox installed and set up.
The initial Dropbox service is free and provides you with up to 2GBs of storage space for your documents. You can extend this space by referring friends to the service for a maximum of 8GBs of space, or you can outright buy a plan that will increase the space for a yearly fee.
© 2011 CapturedTech.com