If you are not already using dropbox, I will try to convince you that you should get this program/service today! I’ve been using it in the last year and it has totally changed how I store files on the “cloud”. Plus if you sign up using my referral link, both you and me get a bonus 500mb storage! Alternatively, you can always go to www.dropbox.com but will miss up on the referral bonus.
What is dropbox?
A: If you go to the dropbox main page, there’s a short 2:00 minute video that explains what dropbox is succinctly. The beauty of dropbox is not that it’s an online storage location, but that it’s a synchronized storage file. What this means is if a file is on your computer folder, it will be automatically updated in your dropbox online and across all your computers.
How do I use dropbox to improve my life?
(1) No More USB needed - Gone are the days where I need to carry a USB key around all the time. As long as I have internet connection, I can grab all my files quickly off any computer. For example for a powerpoint slideshow, instead of having to save multiple versions, transferring it to your usb key, or emailing it to yourself - you can just create the file in your dropbox folder and work on it as usual and be assured that you will have it on hand for your presentation.
(2) Share Notes - In med school, we had classmates that took awesome notes. However, it was a hassle for them to email us all the notes, and then have to email us revisions whenever there were any mistakes. Instead, several classmates and I made a shared folder of notes. It was easy to share class notes between us all and we could all make edits to the notes if we saw mistakes. The best part was it was automatically synchronized. It completely changed how we shared notes in school.
(3) Studying and Reference Notes - In clerkship, I store several reference documents in my dropbox. Things like antimicrobial guide, common drug dosages, clerkship schedules. I know that I can access this information on any computer / on my phone at any time. I could study anywhere as long as I had a computer/internet connection. Gone were the days where I had to hog up inbox space to hold temporary documents, I now just dropbox everything.
So give it a try today and go download dropbox, and let me know what you think!
Everyone gets 2GB free to start with and there are simple things you can do to increase your storage size. You can easily get another 1-2GB from the Getting Started Page, linking to your social networks and by referrals. If you have a university email, you can also get 500mb per referral.
Note: If you use my referral link, you will get an email stating that I have invited you to use dropbox. You’ll also get 500mb bonus storage. However, I will be able to see your email addresses (don’t worry, I’ll never do anything malicious with them) and once the referral is complete (you’ve installed the program), I will delete your emails from my referral page.
I have to say it’s an awesome little program for pretty much anything. Just make sure to set your “box” as private because people can actually search and look at your files through Google.
Thanks for the tip! I’ve only shared folders privately so I’ve never run into this problem, but you make a good point.
I agree with you. We’ve been using this program until now. No need a USB or any portable drive. You can save all your file here. It have a great capacity so no worries how many files you want to save. Thanks for sharing this.
I find that it’s more than just an online storage. It’s the syncing and sharing that makes it a killer application. Group projects and sharing files has never been easier.
I LOVE LOVE LOVE Dropbox. I use it for work and share it with two co-workers and I love that we’re always on the same page. The only thing I don’t like is how it makes conflicted copies when people change things when it’s open on another computer.
But otherwise, it’s AWESOME.
Yeah, the conflicted copies can be confusing at times, but dropbox keeps track of all revision histories, so it’s usually quite simple to get it working again.
I love dropbox. I have the dropbox folder on my laptop, so I don’t even have to access my files through a web browser. Just edit/create and save documents on the folder, and I can access it anywhere!
Remember how torrents and Netflix caused blockbuster to go bankrupt? Dropbox may do the same to makers of USBs!!! (if there are any business/finance students reading this, this is a joke-don’t take it too seriously and prove me wrong)
Forbes has an awesome article on Dropbox and how the founder’s of dropbox even turned down Steve Job’s himself!
http://www.forbes.com/sites/victoriabarret/2011/10/18/dropbox-the-inside-story-of-techs-hottest-startup/
[…] a journal article, you file away that knowledge in the right folder. I recommend using Dropbox (read my review) to make this simple system even more powerful, as your files can be accessible anywhere with an […]