Dropbox beta

it's been a while since i've posted anything here. but that's what happens when you start the fall semester at school - your priorities change a bit. even my video projects have had to take a back seat to make room with things like reading, memorizing, comprehending, and writing papers. not bad things, but it comes with the territory of a higher education. in case you wondering, i'm pursuing an associates degree in computer systems engineering at my local community college, Quinsigamond, in order to make myself a little more marketable.

as a result i haven't done anything too geeky for a while. i was thinking of writing a commentary of the new unibody MacBook Pro's, as i have had a chance to check them out. perhaps this coming weekend i will.

the only geeky thing i have done is sign up on a file sharing site called Dropbox. for a while i've been looking for a way to share my content with the world. although i have uploaded Dyson's Revelation to AnimeMusicVideo.org i still need a place to host my other videos from home movies i've taken. Dropbox came well recommended by Robert Palmer of TUAW.com. i gave a shot, signed up, and for my first upload was, of course, Dyson's Revelation. so far i have to say that i like it very much. signing up was simple as hell. downloading and installing the app for MAC was easy as pie. the interface couldn't have been more comprehensive, and the ease of use was no different than using any other folder within my Finder. what's really great about Dropbox is how easy they can make your content available on the interweb via a hyperlink. now my media site under Video Downloads will feature links to publicly released videos. check it out. my only gripe is the 2GB storage limitations. perhaps in the future they'll increase a bit. for now it's good enough. i don't have that much to upload anyway.

once you signed up for an account in order to take full advantage of what Dropbox can do, you'd have to download and install an app (available for Windows, Mac, and Linux) that allows you easy access to your cloud drive. the app places a special public folder within the Mac's Finder or Window's Explorer. you can move files in and out of this special public folder just like you would with any folder. if you have multiple machines running the Dropbox apps, and all have the same log-in account, changes that are made to a file on one machine are reflected on all machines. it mimics closely that of Apple's .Mac (or MobileMe) sync features. another feature is the sharing aspect. with your permission other users of Dropbox can gain access to shared files to read and/or modify them.

so if you are looking for a good place to hosted your photos, videos, or fan-fics, give this place a shot. they have a good demo video that explains not only the operations of the service, but the practicality of it as well.

peace,
@riel