I’ve been happily using a fantastic web-based storage system that can be a powerful tool for people who routinely work with digital files (documents, images, audio, video, etc.). It occurred to me that everyone in this class falls into this category. Archivists need storage!
Dropbox solves some very common problems. Ever wish you could have your documents and other files backed up quickly and automatically wherever you go? Ever wish you could instantly access and modify your files across computers regardless of operating system? Ever wish you could access a document, song or video on your smartphone? How about free website hosting? Dropbox makes all these things possible. The best part is that it’s free, and not in some sneaky way. You get 2GB of permanent storage without any catch. You only pay if you want additional storage space.
Created by a group of braniacs from MIT, it couldn’t be easier to use. After you sign up for an account, you download a small program onto your computer(s). Once you install the program and log into it using your ID and password, it creates a folder alongside your ‘My Documents’ or ‘Documents’ folder on your computer. The end. Now, whatever you save in that folder is automatically backed up every few minutes. Furthermore, if you repeat the installation on another computer or smartphone, a perfect copy of the Dropbox folder and all its contents is created on all your devices. If you make a change to any file on any of your computers, the change will not only be backed up, but it will also be duplicated across your devices.
The uses for archivists don’t end here. Depending on how creative or ambitious you are, Dropbox might transform your various projects. To begin, a Dropbox account has a public folder that can be used for a range of web-based storage, presentation and sharing applications. Here is a list of other uses for Dropbox: http://wiki.dropbox.com/TipsAndTricks
Use this referral link to try Dropbox. (You can also watch a short and amusing demo video.)
This is a great resource! Where did you learn about this tool?
A friend sent me an invitation. I’m glad to hear you’re interested. After trying several competitors, I believe this to be the most reliable and user-friendly. Let me know if you have any questions.
This resource does sound great! I am always backing up my work, but somehow it never manages to work just right. I think this sounds like it might be the solution. I am not super computer-savvy, so I wonder- does this take up a lot of space on your computer? Either way, thanks for sharing!
So far, Dropbox has worked perfectly for me as a backup system. I haven’t used a USB drive in months!
It looks like the download for Macs is 27 MBs – the size of 5-7 songs. If you don’t have a lot of space, I’d recommend giving it a try to see if it’s worth the space. If you follow the link above, you will see the download button just below the demo video.