Dropbox - I'm finally free of the desktop!

I’m planning to do a lot of travelling in 2010, and I’ve been gradually weaning myself from using desktop applications in a bid to get all my work online, so that I can function as a blogger on any PC, anywhere.

You’ll know that I switched my email to Google Apps, that I use Google Reader and Google Docs, but the problem area has always been storing files like logos and photos that I use all the time.

One option was always to store that data on my server, but it’s not an easy process and takes up valuable time, messing around with FTP. I have just discovered the answer, and it’s called Dropbox . Dropbox behaves just like any other folder on your desktop, so you can store anything you like in it. The really clever part is that you can access it from as many PC’s as you want, with a simple set up, or even via a web interface, if you’re using an internet café machine.

Dropbox automatically synchronizes everything, so I can open a file on my PC, make the changes I want to it, and moments later, it’s changed on my laptop. Because the data is all stored on Dropbox’s servers, as well as locally, it also means you don’t ever have to back up again!

I can also share any file within my Dropbox simply by specifying an email address to have access to it. Once you have it set up on your PC, it’s no different to using any other folder – double click to open the folder, then do the same for any file in there. When you’ve finished working with it, simply close it and the synch happens seamlessly behind the scenes.

A couple of other features I love are mobile access, and the 30 day history. So if you do make a mess of one of your files, you have a 30 day “undo” option.

The best news of all is that everyone can have an account of up to 2GB for free! There are paid options for up to 100GB, so you can store all your music there for example, but go and get yourself a 2GB account at Dropbox now and start using it – it really is one of the best blogger’s tools out there, and you’ll never need to use a USB chip again.

Here’s the link for your free account: 

Sync your files online and across computers with Dropbox