Detailed Review of DropBox Online Storage Solution
Overview and History
Dropbox has been around for a couple of years and they have done excellent things in that small amount of time. In particular their VoteBox method which invites you to select which features they work on next. They offer three versions: 1 free and 2 premium or pro version. The free edition allocates 2 Gb while the Premium accounts supply you with 50 or 100 Gb. Backup and synchronizing are easy to setup and work constantly in the background so it is a genuine "set it and forget it" utility. DropBox also give the option for unlimited file versioning as an additional feature to the Premium versions. Handheld devices are totally supported with apps for iPhone and iTouch and a website for web enabled devices. Collaboration features include public and private file and folder sharing as well as commenting on files and folders. With many more features in being developed. Photo albums and video streaming are also supported. And how is this for customer facing: If you follow the 'getting started guide' and carry out 5 of the 6 steps you are rewarded with an extra 250Mb of storage! Brilliant! If you would like even more space, just invite friends and you get another 250Mb for each referral up to a limit of 8Gb. Dropbox was incorporated by Drew Houston and Arash Ferdowsi in 2007, and got seed funding from Y Combinator. Now, Dropbox is well-funded by Sequoia Capital, Accel Partners, and Amidzad. Since launching publicly in September of 2008, they have attracted in excess of 3 million customers and are growing quickly. They have been featured in the New York Times and on TechCrunch, and have won awards from PC Magazine and CNET. Their drive is delivering a service that really delivers and putting it in millions of people's hands.
Feature Set
Security
DropBox has good security: The web portal is SSL encrypted and you need a username and password to get to your files. Files in transit are protected with SSL encryption and once on their servers, your information is encrypted with 256 AES encryption. In addition to this, this is managed by the Amazon AWS service which is supported by the Amazon name and quality stamp.
Backup Features
Always ready and 'Block Level' backups are used to make sure your files are continually protected. In-use files are archived constantly by using 'Block level Incremental Backups' which means that DropBox only uploads the sections of a file that have been edited, rather than the entire file. Including files and folders to the DropBox archive schedule is a snap: Just right-click on the files you wish to protect and select 'backup with DropBox'. Different copies of files are saved so you can always retrieve a different version of a document if you accidentally changed it. There is a status indicator to show how the backup is progressing. On the downside network and removable drives cannot be added to archives and commercial databases such as exchange and SQL server are not supported directly.
Restore Features
Restoring your data is extremely straightforward. There are two main choices: Restore via the web site: Simply log in to your account, navigate to the file you would like to restore and choose how you want to retrieve it. The other method is even easier: Just use the DropBox Manager to restore any editon of a file.
Control and Analysis
There are processor and bandwidth throttling available from the DropBox client program. Reports and logging are also available from the client software. Proxy servers are well supported with options for HTTP, SOCKS4 and SOCKS5.
Interface
The interface is graceful and easy to use. There are very few options presented which keeps everything simple and easy to use. There is client software to install and when setup, the software provides a DropBox folder where all protected files are listed.
Device Support
There is currently support for every device under the sun! The way DropBox is designed; if your devices can access the internet then they can make use of DropBox.
Limitations
The web site can only handle file uploads of up to 300 MegaBytes each but you can get around this limitation by using compression tools such as WinRAR or WinZip which permit you to break large files into manageable pieces. The restiction is not present if you make use of the client software. File retention (before deletion) is thirty days unless you invest in 'Pack-Rat' which is available as an add-on to the pro accounts and costs an additional $39 per annum and provides you unlimited file versions and file retention.
File Sharing and Collaboration
Data can be shared publicly - which allows anyone to see them - or privately where you assign access rights to chosen files and folders for each person or group. Photo Albums are supported and are sharable either publicly or privately. Comments can be added to each file that is shared and users can be permitted to leave additional comments to create a discussion about a particular file or folder.
Synchronization
Synchronization is supported between different devices and between machines and the web portal. A really good function is the LAN synchronization. This lets devices on the same network (home or work) to very quickly sync changes via the in-house network without going to the internet first. This greatly reduces your internet bandwidth overhead.
Web 2.0 Integration
At the time of writing, there was no direct integration with online services to allow editing of documents, etc.
Customer Support
There is no phone, online chat or direct email customer support available. There are however, many other forms of advice available: You can contact support using a web form on their website; there is an extensive knowledgebase and FAQ section; the documentation is complete to a sensible level. There are also tutorials, a demo and case studies available. However, by far the most useful resources for do-it-yourself support are the forum and blog. These are full of valuable advice and support from both the DropBox support crew and people using the service.
Ease Of Use
Extremely straightforward to get started with: Signup, login, download the software on all your machines and start synchronizing. As of December 2009 there is now a LAN syncronization feature which hugely speeds up local syncing. Both the desktop and web interfaces are clean, stylish and a pleasure to use. All things considered a very easy program to use.
Cost
Cost - Initial setup: free Cost - Monthly: Basic: free; Pro50 - $9.99 / mth; Pro100 - $19.99 / mth Cost - Yearly: Basic: free; Pro50 - $99 / mth; Pro100 - $199 / yr Cost - Initial allowed storage amount: Basic: 2Gb; Pro50 - 50Gb; Pro100 - 100Gb Cost - of additional storage: n/a Cost - of additional devices / PCs / users: n/a Cost - Referral Program: 250Mb per referral up to a max. of 8Gb Cost - E-billing facility: Free - n/a; Pro: yes
Conclusion
DropBox is very easy to install and use. It provides almost all the features of a complete online storage solution: Backup, Web portal, multiple device synchronization, file-versioning, online photo albums and file sharing. The only element not yet available is integration with internet programs to permit you to amend and create files directly in your DropBox. The pricing is not bad yet there are better offers available if you require more space than 100Gb. The security is very good and the customer support is good, although the lack of telephone, internet chat and direct email support is a bit limiting. The forum and blog are excellent places to get your questions answered. If you want an all-round online storage solution then DropBox is an excellent choice.
Questions and Answers
Detailed review of SpiderOak online backup and synchronization service.
LiveDrive is a great archiving utility, it is tucked away cleanly and only shows itself when necessary. If you go for the Briefcase version then the load of features you have access to easily justifies the extra cost. With the huge range of integration with internet toys and internet programs you have a complete online storage and workspace that automatically syncs with all your internet devices.
Carbonite offers a easy secure method to archive your information from either PCs or MACs. The unlimited storage for a set fee allows for uncomplicated budgeting and takes away the requirement to continually note how much information you are backing up. The Carbonite Online Backup utility is very well protected and the support is solid. If you require a easy backup solution then this is an excellent choice.
If you are looking for a straightforward, no frills online backup solution then iDrive is a great choice. The pricing is good and the family and SME editions have useful and appropriate add-on functions to allow the management of numerous accounts / machines. The interface is simple and uncluttered, the client software is not resource hungry and the encoding of your information both in transit and when on their servers is equivalent to any bank.
This is Acronis' first attempt at an web backup solution and in my opinion they have done rather well. The point that the product can be either standalone or integrated into the existing desktop software is a clever touch and gives flexibility for users. There are a few items missing from the standalone version, for example reporting and centralized control of all machines within one account. But these will probably become available in time...
If you are looking for a trustworthy, set-it-and-forget-it answer that does not cost too much, will increase or shrink to adapt to your situation and is simple to change then Mozy Online Backup is your perfect solution. If you are looking to backup huge amounts of information that changes on a daily basis then there are different and cheaper solutions available.
An Outlook .ost file is playing a major role in providing effective communication and managing user's data by Microsoft Outlook e-mail client.
The main issue with office based systems is the day-to-day running costs, with servers needing to be updated on a daily basis, and unless you employ an I.T. manager then running a server can be a costly business.
Accidently deleted your precious data from your iPod Classic? Don't panic. All you need is Photo Recovery for Win when you lose files from your iPod Classic. Follow this guide to do iPod classic recovery only by a few clicks.
Accidently deleted your precious files from your memory card? Don't panic. All you need is Photo Recovery for Win when you lose files from your card. Follow this guide to get back your card memory only by a few clicks.
Hard drives nowadays are becoming problematic and no matter whatever brand hard drive you use, it has been seen that clicking sounds are coming out of every second hard drive. If you think that you having a Hitachi, Seagate, western digital or any other hard drive would not cause this problem, then you are only in blue.
eFax provide a web faxing service that allows you to send and receive faxes via email, a web portal or from installed client software. The following review is a detailed analysis of eFax's Internet Faxing Solution.
Detailed review of SpiderOak online backup and synchronization service.
Detailed Review of BackBlaze Online Backup.
This is Acronis' first attempt at an web backup solution and in my opinion they have done rather well. The point that the product can be either standalone or integrated into the existing desktop software is a clever touch and gives flexibility for users. There are a few items missing from the standalone version, for example reporting and centralized control of all machines within one account. But these will probably become available in time...
Data Deposit Box is a solid, very secure internet backup service. The client's look and feel is a touch dated but it has that 'built to last' quality which gives the impression that this utility will never let you down and will last forever. The backup features are excellent, although the lack of an ability to schedule backups is a bit strange.
Discuss this Article
Comments on this article
http://db.tt/Ci7dpUX