Saturday, May 15th, 2010...9:53 AM
Taking Control Of Files In The i-Era
I have posted many times on this blog that I have become a big fan of the Apple suite of products. My route to this Apple support though is not typical.
I adopted iTunes early and have consolidated our media library there. We loved the iPods and still have one of the original white iPods working. When the iPhone was released I jumped on…it was not fulfilling to me for email but I endeavored on and this got addressed. Everyone always asks but can you tolerate AT&T? Yes I can because the productivity gains of integrating phone, email, im, iPod, web browsing and this ever growing suite of apps has become a staple for me. All of this contributed to the decision to give the Mac a try. I have come to love the Mac and have now adopted the iPad. Think about that most Apple loyalists have been diehard Mac-sters that simply expanded their use of Apple products. My orientation was iTunes to iPod to iPhone…to Mac…and now iPad.
A key weakness for me though that has developed in my use of the Apple products is an inefficiency in sharing information/files between the devices. This has caused me to do crazy things like email files to myself. Rely on use of jump drives. Store multiple versions of files in different places. In a world where we “create” files over time…collaborate with colleagues on refining this work…actually all things are work-in-process…if you are not careful with the file management you are setting up a real mess. Either you are spending too much time managing it…or you are setting up for a disaster. This is a big problem for me. There must me millions of others that share this problem as well.
Ironically, the problem only gets worse with more devices and usage. My work is not tied to the office. I work all the time where ever I am. So I need access to my files from whereever I am located. Specifically there are four devices that I need access to my key work/personal files. I am organized…but I do not have the bandwidth to think about how to manage all of this using these manual methods.
So what does one do for this?
I tried MobileMe. I don’t want all of what MobileMe has though. I have my eMail and Contacts all set. I found the interface to be a bit clumsy as well for file management. Kind of ironic that the company we all put on a pedestal, the vaunted Apple, would have a product that received this kind of review from me. It is what it is though.
I think that Carbonite, founded by my friend David Friend in Boston, is moving in a direction that could solve this dilema for me but they position themselves as back up service and don’t have the ability to integrate all of these devices yet. They are solid for back up though…excellent. I think they could expand positioning though and set themselves up to expand into this important area. Carbonite is on the move and should be adopted by all of us for back ups. Worth watching on this broader topic too.
Another friend mentioned DropBox.
First I must say that I love a company in this day and age that brands itself what it is….DropBox…must be a place where I drop stuff (files) for storage (box). Brilliant and descriptive branding.
I jumped in and gave DropBox a try. I love their very simple video that is featured below. I also thought that the interface was very simple and intuitive. DropBox allowed me to set up my account and file structure very easily on the web. Then I downloaded their app for my Mac, iPhone and iPad. I then moved my key files into this structure on the Mac…just as if it was “My Documents.” The files were uploaded to my account at DropBox.com and Bingo….shared access from all my devices. If I update any of the files, they will be stored on DropBox, and then accessible from any of my devices. Should I be traveling or need access to a file when I am without any of my devices…I can just go to DropBox.com and access from any device connected to the Web. Wow.
This is just what I wanted! Very cool site, app and solution to a big problem.
6 Comments
May 15th, 2010 at 2:23 PM
I use pogoplug.com. It makes my external hard drive accessible to me anywhere. Plugs directly into your home router. I love it.
May 15th, 2010 at 4:07 PM
Sounds like a great solution.
May 15th, 2010 at 4:12 PM
My friend Andy has another solution as well: http://www.payne.org/index.php/Mac_OS_X_File_Sync
May 16th, 2010 at 7:14 AM
After wrestling with Google Docs and hating the implementaion, I’m a loyal DropBox user. It has user-permissions, you can share/email files, you can star them as a fav to keep a local copy on any device for off-line access, and the sync features are flawless. The real kicker is the fact that it is essentially “device-agnostic”, bc they have apps for all platforms and devices. iDisk was great in the fact that it kept your local files in sync with the cloud, but sans Mac it was useless.
If/when dropbox integrates with a document EDIT feature, it’s going to be game over.
File backup (bc cloud storage and access) is a totally different beast. I use a combination of a 1TB drive attached to my wifi router at home, an have recently adopted Carbonite for remote backup and access.
May 17th, 2010 at 9:24 AM
I’ve tried numerous solutions but I like DropBox the best. I currently sync over 50GB of data between 3 machines. Not too long ago DropBox also released a new feature called versioning, which let’s be get back old or deleted versions of files.
Another solution for those more tech savvy is to get an Amazon Web Services account and using their S3 storage service, but you will either need to write your own tools to manage your files, or use a custom made tool which is a little like FTP. Here are some examples
May 17th, 2010 at 12:51 PM
My friend Mike might have the mother of all solutions:
Ok Jeff, get ready for the real answer to your problems here… I have tried them all (including the ones you mention), literally like 10-15 different solutions and I still try new ones as each day passes just to see if I can find something more versatile.
My challenge is a bit complex I would say; not only am I all mac for my desktop stuff, but I am apple on my iPhone and iPad like you. And, of course I cannot live without my Blackberry and of course I need to do development work on my Nexus One (android) and also see how it compete’s with my iPhone (well btw). So, I need coverage for mac, iPhone, iPad, blackberry and Android… Ridiculous, I know…
My final solution, and finally my recommendation to you is SugarSync. I worked with SugarSync early on when they only had a standard retail version and helped them gain insights on what business users would want to manage multiple users in an organization. I have used it dedicated for the past 9 months, it works great and has clients for mac, win (yuk), blackberry, ipad, iphone, android and also the native web app which is well designed and very functional. Like Dropbox it has a feature called “Magic Briefcase” which is the folder that if you drop items in will get distributed to each device you have attached to you account. In addition when using any client you can either select to view or share any file which will make this available to anyone you choose with the click of a button.
There have been numerous times when I have been on the road and the engineering team needed a spec or other file from me and I simply took out the iphone or blackberry, located the file and shared it with ease. The guys had quick access to the file and could be on their way. No time wasted.
They go to 250GB plans of which I have a 500GB
(they gave me an extra 250GB for helping them out)
Give it a try – http://sugarsync.com
Hope this helps you and anyone out there looking for the ultimate solution.
Leave a Reply