More Dropbox: From Sharing to Undoing Mistakes to Backups

In my previous posting, I extolled the virtues of Dropbox as a way of having my everyday files automatically available to me on every computing device I control (my desktop computer at work, my desktop computer at home, my iPad, and my smartphone).   This means that I can start working on a document at home, save it (in a normal way), and then continue at work where I left off, without having to deal with wondering if I am working from the most current copy or with carrying around USB flash drives (which I've been known to lose for over a year in the back seat of my car).

But Dropbox gives me more than that.  First, it gives me the ability to create a shared folder, so that I provide access to one or more other Dropbox users.  This means that we can more easily work on projects together (collaborating on documents, PowerPoint presentations, and spreadsheets), or more easily share a document to read for reference purposes.

Second, Dropbox provides a Public folder, where I can put copies of files that I want to provide links to.  Nobody else can merely browse the folder, but once a file is in the Public folder, I can right-click on it to create a shareable link that I can email to anyone I want or that I can include as a link on a website.  Earlier this year, while flying from Tampa to Columbus via Charlotte in order to speak at a conference, I was faced with the fact that weather was going to delay the first leg of my flight so that I would miss my connection, meaning that I would arrive in Columbus too late to give my first presentation.  The flight from Tampa to Charlotte had Wi-Fi, and I was able to make contact with a colleague already safely in Columbus who was willing and able to give my first talk.  But how to get him my PowerPoint slides?  By putting them into the Public folder and sending him the link.   In no time at all, he assured me that he had a copy of my presentation and was prepared to give it.  Dropbox saved the day.

Third, we're only human, and prone to make mistakes, such as accidentally deleting an important file or making an unintended change to it.  Dropbox can help you there, too.  It provides access to copies of previous versions of your files, and also to recently deleted files (in both cases, going back 30 days, although you can upgrade to the unlimited Pack-Rat feature for an additional $39/year).

Fourth, by its very nature, Dropbox serves as a kind of automatic backup service.  Whatever I put in Dropbox is going to be automatically copied into the online-available server, and then copied back down to all of my other computers.  No more worries about dead hard drives or stolen or lost mobile devices.

Did I leave out anything important?  If you're already a Dropbox user, you tell me.