WTF, Dropbox?

With only one exception I can think of (their decision to appoint Condoleezza Rice to their board of directors), I've been a huge fan of Dropbox over the years. Great service for syncing files, backing up files, sharing files ...

... well, strike that last. I just got an email from Dropbox:

We'll soon be ending support for the Public folder. Dropbox Basic users will be able to use the Public folder until March 15, 2017. After that date the files in your Public folder will become private, and links to these files will be deactivated.

The only two descriptors I can think of for this are "dumb" and "evil."

Dropbox isn't just planning to make itself less useful in the future (dumb), it's planning to intentionally strike dead God only knows how many millions of links that users, including me, have used to share files with readers for years (evil).

This isn't "hey, sorry, we're going out of business" or something along those lines. That would be understandable.

No, it's "hey, sorry, you trusted us and we're screwing you."

So now I get to pencil in time over the next three months to track down all the links that I trusted Dropbox to preserve and find some other way to deliver the linked content. How did Santa know that was exactly what I wanted for Christmas?

For File Sharing, Dropbox + Orangedox = Win

I deprecated Dropbox a few months back. Between various privacy-related droppings of the ball and its incredibly stupid company decision to put Condoleezza Rice on its board of directors, I could no longer confidently recommend the service as a personal file storage/sync application. And I still don't -- I moved all of my personal files off the service and off they remain.

But Dropbox is still very good for one particular use -- public sharing/downloading -- and yesterday I discovered a way to make it even better: Orangedox.

Dropbox lets you share files by storing them in your "public" folder and generating "public links" for them.

Orangedox lets you track the downloads of your Dropbox files.

I changed the Dropbox PDF download link for KN@PPSTER's Big Freakin' Book of Stuff to an Orangedox link on Saturday afternoon, so now I can tell how many people are downloading the book (52 on Sunday!).

A free account comes with the ability to track 10 download links. If you need more links and more detailed statistics-keeping, "pro" accounts are available too (or you can get more available links by referring new users, as I naturally hope to do with both Orangedox and Dropbox in this very post).

Finally, an Intractable Problem in Chrome

The Chromebox/Chromebook are kind of like Macs in the sense that most stuff just ... works. If you use Windoze, you're used to weird error messages and inexplicable system crashes. That stuff just doesn't happen much on Mac, nor in ChromeOS.

But, finally, more than a year in the ChromeOS world, I've run into a problem that doesn't seem to want to fix:

For quite some time, I've used a text editor called Sourcekit (in conjunction with Writebox -- that way I can have two editors open at once, which I need for certain things). One important feature of Sourcekit is that I can load/save files directly from and to Dropbox. But starting the other day, I get re-authorization requests to connect Sourcekit/Dropbox, and when I approve, nothing happens. I just get a blank tab, and the next time I open Sourcekit, I get the request again.

Writebox also integrates with Dropbox and is working just fine. But I tried out another app, Writekit, and got the same error (yes, I've noticed the kit/box/write ubiquity). So I'm thinking the problem is probably at Dropbox, not with Chrome/ChromeOS per se. Or maybe it's with my Chromebox in particular (haven't used the Chromebook recently); I think that may be the case because I haven't seen any recent panicked "why can't I ..." threads on the web about the problem.

Fortunately, there's an easy work-around -- I installed yet another text editor, Caret. It isn't integrated with Dropbox, which means there's some extra futzing around, but it gets the job done.

JoliCloud: An Evolving Cloud OS Alternative

I discovered JoliCloud back in 2010 while looking for an alternative to the Windows XP that came pre-installed on a fairly under-powered ASUS "netbook." It worked out pretty nicely -- the OS was a gloss on Debian Linux, optimized for netbook uses (discovering and installing stuff from the web, keeping files in the cloud via Dropbox, etc.).

Joli has evolved more and more into a "cloud OS" over the years, while forking itself into a useful web-based personal organization. I haven't tested its latest downloadable/installable version, but the beta of the latest web version, JoliDrive, is actually my Chromebook/Chromebox home page and I'm using it quite a bit, if only to access my YouTube favorites and so forth.

Within JoliDrive, I have two dashboards: One for all my cloud storage/sync services (Box, Dropbox, Google Drive, MediaFire, SugarSync, etc.), another for various popular web services, especially social networking stuff (Facebook,  Google+, etc.), news feeds and so forth.

I may try the downloadable "full OS" version again some time soon (maybe I'll dig that old netbook out for it), but frankly I'm very happy with ChromeOS. People who still don't "trust the cloud" very much might benefit from JoliDrive. Manage your social networking presence from there, and experiment with the cloud storage stuff -- when you're ready to really dive into the cloud, you'll already have your stuff organized.

Meanwhile, Elsewhere in Sync-Land ...

Just got my Google Drive.  Unlike Dropbox, its downloadable sync software doesn't support MacOS 10.5.x (Leopard). Only 10.6 (Snow Leopard) or higher. Which makes it considerably less exciting.

On the sunny side, just having it prompted me to finally get around to cleaning up my Google Docs hoard. Had stuff in there that I hadn't looked at (for good reason) in years.

Addenda, instead of a new post:


April 28: David Murphy at PC Magazine lists the service's "six substantial slip-ups." The big one for me, already mentioned above but I'm gonna elaborate anyway, is "cross-platform support."

Yes, I know it's silly to whine about newer programs not supporting your older OS, but in the case of sync software, the further back it reaches the better, because one great use for it is making it easy to port important files from old machines to new ones.


Google Drive apparently supports Windows all the way back to XP, which was released in 2001, but only covers MacOS X back to Snow Leopard (10.6.x), which was released in 2009. I'm running Leopard (10.5.x), which only dates back to 2007, and can't use Google Drive to sync.

Linux? Per PC World, Google says it's on the way due to considerable and semi-organized bellyaching ...

But hey, Dropbox already has me covered on both both my Leopard Mac Mini and my Linux laptop. Maybe even my Android tablet (Dropbox needs 2.1; I may be stuck at 2.0), if it survived the hailstorm we just had. I left it in the tent this morning, but we took a pounding -- the television guy says baseball sized, but it looked closer to golf ball sized to me.


So anyway, I'm glad to have another five gigs of online storage available, but I just don't see using anything but Dropbox for syncing, at least as long as they continue to offer a wider range of support for OSes/versions.

Cool New Dropbox Feature!

Nick Peers at BetaNews has the whole scoop.

Short version: The latest edition of the Dropbox software allows you to set up so that when you take a picture or shoot a video, it automatically stores in your  Dropbox folder and syncs across your other  Dropbox-running devices.

Pretty cool, especially since there are Dropbox versions for Android, iPad/iPhone, and Blackberry.

So you can be out about town and if (for example) that cop grabs your phone and accidentally drops/stomps it after you shoot video of him beating an unresisting bystander to death with a two-by-four, he'll still be busssssteddddd and will be forced to take weeks of vacation paid administrative leave while his department tries to cover it up investigates and clears him of all wrongdoing in the matter. [addendum: Well, I read it wrong. No good for that particular circumstance. See crossroadsman in comments for why - TLK]

So anyway, where was I? Oh, yeah -- cool new  Dropbox, cool new feature.

If you're already running  Dropbox, you don't have to do anything, it will update automatically within a few days or weeks (but if you're in a hurry, you can just reinstall the software and it will be the newest version). If you haven't been running  Dropbox, the new feature is just one more reason to do so (another is that if you get it -- FREE, by the way -- I get bonus free storage on my own  Dropbox account, hint, hint, why did you think I was linking every instance of the word  Dropbox?).

Yeah, what Brad Said

At WendyMcElroy.com:

Sites like MegaUpload are great if you want to share a really large file that you have (and that you keep on your own computer). But they're a bad way to store your files ...

As usual, I'll put in a word for Dropbox (or other sync services, but it's the one I like best, and yes that is an affiliate link that gets me more free storage when people sign up using it). It keeps your data on all your computers and a copy "in the cloud."

I set up two new (actually old -- laptop and netbook -- but unused for awhile) computers yesterday, anticipating an out-of-town trip). Getting my work stuff (RRND email templates, browser bookmarks, etc.) onto those machines was as simple as installing Dropbox and logging in. I did it at home, where my other computers were handy, but if I'd done it in Cairo or Vladivostok, same thing.

Data that needs to remain confidential/uncompromised? Stays on my hard drive (not in my Dropbox folder) and gets backed up to thumb drive or optical media. In addition to possible data loss, there's security to think of when contemplating "the cloud."

Hey, Zemanta tells me there's a new player in SyncTown; I'll be checking it out:

Related articles

• Insync targets Dropbox with new file-syncing service (macworld.com)

New Sync Option: SugarSync

I don't think I'll ever stop singing the praises of Dropbox, my go-to sync application. If you don't have it, get it.

But, Dropbox isn't the only sync option out there. I'm trying out SugarSync right now, and it seems to work well. I'll never give up my Dropbox, but having more storage space and more backup redundancy can't hurt, right?

Same basic principle: Any files you save in designated folders on your hard drive are automagically backed up online and ported to analogous folders on all other computers that you register with the service.

So if, for example, you're working on a document on your desktop (and save it in your SugarSync folder), you can get up, walk out the door with your laptop bag, and have that document available as soon as you start your machine elsewhere ... instead of having to email it to yourself, burn it to a CD, save it on a thumb drive, whatever.

And, of course, if one of your hard drives takes a dirt nap and has to be replaced, getting your important files back is as simple as setting up SugarSync on the new drive. Got a new computer? Same deal (I used Dropbox to pretty much instantly port a bunch of my files from the old Mac to the new Mac; easy peasy).

SugarSync gives you five gigabytes free, and more for referring new users (ahem). Paid plans available for those of you with really big data sync needs.

Dropbox gets even more useful

I remain a fan of Dropbox. It's the sync tool that's never failed me yet. Save stuff in my Dropbox folder on any computer ... BAM! ... it's there on any other computer when I'm looking for it.

Now there's a new tool for Dropbox that looks pretty cool: Dropbox Automator [hat tip -- TechCrunch].

Dropbox Automator lets you set up "recipes" for handling files you save in your Dropbox folders. For example, you could tell it that any file saved in a folder labeled "documents" should be converted to PDF or uploaded to your Google Docs account. Or that any picture you save in a folder labeled "pix" should be uploaded to your Flickr account.

Not sure how I'll use it myself, but if you have tasks of that sort as part of a regular routine, it should be a time-saver.