General File Sharing
With so many people having multiple computers/smartphones per household (or even, per person), ensuring that you have access to your own files can become quite a hassle. When I was in college, common solutions were flash drives, emailing files to yourself, or even the "ancient" method of burning CDs with files. These are cumbersome methods. Flash drives are easily lost, email inboxes get flooded, and CDs... well, who likes CDs anymore? Here are my picks:3rd Place: YouSendIt has become a huge hit, earning itself a spot in Inc. Magazine's Top 500 companies of 2010. However, I've found that YouSendIt allows for limited file sizes, fast expiration times, and a less-than-stellar user interface. I also dislike that I have to stay on a specific webpage while my file uploads. However, it has earned itself a spot in Inc. Magazine's Top 500 companies of 2010, so they're doing something right. Plus, nearly everybody has heard of the website, making it easy to use with others.
2nd Place: Drop.io is a collaborative, file-sharing masterpiece. It allows real-time sharing on a page (similar to the Facebook Wall or Wiki) and also gives a unique e-mail address, voicemail phone number, and conference call phone number, all while protected under custom privacy settings. Here's a great example: A hiring committee creates a drop page for each candidate. Members can add the candidate's resume, references, and cover letter. They can chat on the page about the candidate's qualifications and share URL links, such as the candidate's blog or professional website. Using three-way calling with the Voicemail phone number, a phone interview can be recorded and posted to the drop page for all hiring committee members to review. Additionally, a variety of applications can be added onto the drop page to create a stronger collaborative project. The drawback to this is that it isn't the best tool to share your own files with yourself from device to device. It's clunky to download files that have been posted to the drop and space is limited.
1st place: Dropbox is the king of file syncing. It allows for file sharing both between different people and different devices. It runs quietly in the background and gives a substantial amount of space. Unlike other programs, Dropbox does not have a single file size limit, just an overall user space limit. The free version starts you off with 2 gigs of space and gives you the opportunity to "earn" more space by referring friends, up to 8 GIGS! (Speaking of which, if you want to give it a try, please use my referral link so I earn more space!) That's pretty generous for a free version with no advertisements. That's right, folks- no annoying blinking boxes telling me I'm a winner or pop ups offering me grants to go back to school for an Associate's degree. The front end of this site is also very nice- it makes sense and it very easy to navigate. It also provides automatic backup with your shared folders. Though it does allow for shared folders with other users and public URL links to share with those who do not have a Dropbox account, it really should be seen more like file syncing rather than sharing.
I think this will become an ongoing blog series. Next time I'll do my 3 favorite photo hosting and sharing sites. Stay tuned ...
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