| Overview and History | | | | There is currently support for every device under the |
| Dropbox has been around for a couple of years and | | | | sun! The way DropBox is designed; if your devices |
| they have done excellent things in that small amount of | | | | can access the internet then they can make use of |
| time. In particular their VoteBox method which invites | | | | DropBox. |
| you to select which features they work on next. They | | | | Limitations |
| offer three versions: 1 free and 2 premium or pro | | | | The web site can only handle file uploads of up to 300 |
| version. The free edition allocates 2 Gb while the | | | | MegaBytes each but you can get around this limitation |
| Premium accounts supply you with 50 or 100 Gb. | | | | by using compression tools such as WinRAR or |
| Backup and synchronizing are easy to setup and work | | | | WinZip which permit you to break large files into |
| constantly in the background so it is a genuine "set it | | | | manageable pieces. The restiction is not present if you |
| and forget it" utility. DropBox also give the option for | | | | make use of the client software. File retention (before |
| unlimited file versioning as an additional feature to the | | | | deletion) is thirty days unless you invest in 'Pack-Rat' |
| Premium versions. Handheld devices are totally | | | | which is available as an add-on to the pro accounts |
| supported with apps for iPhone and iTouch and a | | | | and costs an additional $39 per annum and provides |
| website for web enabled devices. Collaboration | | | | you unlimited file versions and file retention. |
| features include public and private file and folder | | | | File Sharing and Collaboration |
| sharing as well as commenting on files and folders. | | | | Data can be shared publicly - which allows anyone to |
| With many more features in being developed. Photo | | | | see them - or privately where you assign access |
| albums and video streaming are also supported. And | | | | rights to chosen files and folders for each person or |
| how is this for customer facing: If you follow the | | | | group. Photo Albums are supported and are sharable |
| 'getting started guide' and carry out 5 of the 6 steps | | | | either publicly or privately. Comments can be added to |
| you are rewarded with an extra 250Mb of storage! | | | | each file that is shared and users can be permitted to |
| Brilliant! If you would like even more space, just invite | | | | leave additional comments to create a discussion |
| friends and you get another 250Mb for each referral | | | | about a particular file or folder. |
| up to a limit of 8Gb. Dropbox was incorporated by | | | | Synchronization |
| Drew Houston and Arash Ferdowsi in 2007, and got | | | | Synchronization is supported between different |
| seed funding from Y Combinator. Now, Dropbox is | | | | devices and between machines and the web portal. A |
| well-funded by Sequoia Capital, Accel Partners, and | | | | really good function is the LAN synchronization. This |
| Amidzad. Since launching publicly in September of | | | | lets devices on the same network (home or work) to |
| 2008, they have attracted in excess of 3 million | | | | very quickly sync changes via the in-house network |
| customers and are growing quickly. They have been | | | | without going to the internet first. This greatly reduces |
| featured in the New York Times and on TechCrunch, | | | | your internet bandwidth overhead. |
| and have won awards from PC Magazine and CNET. | | | | Web 2.0 Integration |
| Their drive is delivering a service that really delivers | | | | At the time of writing, there was no direct integration |
| and putting it in millions of people's hands. | | | | with online services to allow editing of documents, etc. |
| Feature Set | | | | Customer Support |
| Security | | | | There is no phone, online chat or direct email customer |
| DropBox has good security: The web portal is SSL | | | | support available. There are however, many other |
| encrypted and you need a username and password | | | | forms of advice available: You can contact support |
| to get to your files. Files in transit are protected with | | | | using a web form on their website; there is an |
| SSL encryption and once on their servers, your | | | | extensive knowledgebase and FAQ section; the |
| information is encrypted with 256 AES encryption. In | | | | documentation is complete to a sensible level. There |
| addition to this, this is managed by the Amazon AWS | | | | are also tutorials, a demo and case studies available. |
| service which is supported by the Amazon name and | | | | However, by far the most useful resources for |
| quality stamp. | | | | do-it-yourself support are the forum and blog. These |
| Backup Features | | | | are full of valuable advice and support from both the |
| Always ready and 'Block Level' backups are used to | | | | DropBox support crew and people using the service. |
| make sure your files are continually protected. In-use | | | | Ease Of Use |
| files are archived constantly by using 'Block level | | | | Extremely straightforward to get started with: Signup, |
| Incremental Backups' which means that DropBox only | | | | login, download the software on all your machines and |
| uploads the sections of a file that have been edited, | | | | start synchronizing. As of December 2009 there is |
| rather than the entire file. Including files and folders to | | | | now a LAN syncronization feature which hugely |
| the DropBox archive schedule is a snap: Just right-click | | | | speeds up local syncing. Both the desktop and web |
| on the files you wish to protect and select 'backup | | | | interfaces are clean, stylish and a pleasure to use. All |
| with DropBox'. Different copies of files are saved so | | | | things considered a very easy program to use. |
| you can always retrieve a different version of a | | | | Cost |
| document if you accidentally changed it. There is a | | | | Cost - Initial setup: free Cost - Monthly: Basic: free; |
| status indicator to show how the backup is | | | | Pro50 - $9.99 / mth; Pro100 - $19.99 / mth Cost - |
| progressing. On the downside network and removable | | | | Yearly: Basic: free; Pro50 - $99 / mth; Pro100 - $199 / |
| drives cannot be added to archives and commercial | | | | yr Cost - Initial allowed storage amount: Basic: 2Gb; |
| databases such as exchange and SQL server are not | | | | Pro50 - 50Gb; Pro100 - 100Gb Cost - of additional |
| supported directly. | | | | storage: n/a Cost - of additional devices / PCs / users: |
| Restore Features | | | | n/a Cost - Referral Program: 250Mb per referral up to |
| Restoring your data is extremely straightforward. | | | | a max. of 8Gb Cost - E-billing facility: Free - n/a; Pro: |
| There are two main choices: Restore via the web site: | | | | yes |
| Simply log in to your account, navigate to the file you | | | | Conclusion |
| would like to restore and choose how you want to | | | | DropBox is very easy to install and use. It provides |
| retrieve it. The other method is even easier: Just use | | | | almost all the features of a complete online storage |
| the DropBox Manager to restore any editon of a file. | | | | solution: Backup, Web portal, multiple device |
| Control and Analysis | | | | synchronization, file-versioning, online photo albums and |
| There are processor and bandwidth throttling available | | | | file sharing. The only element not yet available is |
| from the DropBox client program. Reports and logging | | | | integration with internet programs to permit you to |
| are also available from the client software. Proxy | | | | amend and create files directly in your DropBox. The |
| servers are well supported with options for HTTP, | | | | pricing is not bad yet there are better offers available |
| SOCKS4 and SOCKS5. | | | | if you require more space than 100Gb. The security is |
| Interface | | | | very good and the customer support is good, although |
| The interface is graceful and easy to use. There are | | | | the lack of telephone, internet chat and direct email |
| very few options presented which keeps everything | | | | support is a bit limiting. The forum and blog are |
| simple and easy to use. There is client software to | | | | excellent places to get your questions answered. If |
| install and when setup, the software provides a | | | | you want an all-round online storage solution then |
| DropBox folder where all protected files are listed. | | | | DropBox is an excellent choice. |
| Device Support | | | | |