If you’ve read my column before you know I love free things! It’s even better when it’s free and useful. Are you familiar with Dropbox? If not, it’s going to change your world. Let’s see, how to describe it? Dropbox is a digital “box” where you can “drop” files that you want to access from other computers. The information you put in the box is saved on an online server, much like the cloud drive that ipad and iphones use. Best of all, it’s free!

~If you have the program installed on your work and home computer, you can begin something at work, save it to your Dropbox, and pick up right where you left off when you get home. You can even get the Dropbox app on your smart phone to read or work on something on the road.

~Dropbox offers 2 gigabytes of file sharing for free. Two gigs is a lot of space, but that only applies to what’s actually in your box. You can save items to your computer and remove them from the dropbox when you need to free up space. You can complete simple tasks like taking a short Dropbox tour, to earn increased space. You can also earn increased sharing space when you invite others to use Dropbox too.

~Dropbox is also a way to share documents or folders with others. If you are working on a group project you can choose to just share the project information and not your summer vacation pictures. When your co-workers update or add to the project, they can share it back with you and the updated version is stored in your Dropbox again.

~The process is quick and painless. The installation takes just a few minutes and has never caused me any problems. If 2 gigs isn’t enough for you, you can upgrade to Dropbox Pro to get up to 500 gigs starting at around $10 a month. You can sign up for Dropbox here.

Published on Thursday, September 20th, 2012 @ 1:14 am.