I know everyone has already heard about Dropbox, but I’m new to it and recently found a use for it that solves a problem for me, so why not share?
The basic idea is simple: Dropbox provides storage that can be accessed through desktop client software and via a web-based interface. When you install the client software (for Windows, OS X, and Linux), a special folder is created. It works like any other folder, but it stays in sync with Dropbox’s servers, so you can access it from wherever you have a client installed and from the web. There are some other features as well, like being able to share particular files publicly, via a folder designated for that purpose or by right-clicking the particular file and grabbing a public URL for it. In your operating system, the folder can be accessed like any other, but Dropbox also installs a management app–as a system tray icon on Windows and a menu bar application on OS X–for quick access and status updates. Pricing ranges from free (2GB) to $19.99/month (100GB).
So here’s my situation. I work from home sometimes. My box at work is a Dell machine running WinXP. My box at home is an iMac running OS X (10.5.7). There are a lot of ways to connect to a (Windows) VPN with a Mac, but I do it by running WinXP on top of VMware Fusion. This lets me connect via work’s Cisco VPN, so I can run Cisco IP Communicator (a virtual phone). Then I run Microsoft’s Remote Desktop Connection client to connect my VMware Fusion-hosted WinXP to my Dell box at work.
Though its a little convoluted, for a long time this setup did just fine. Lately, I’ve had a lot of lag issues, and I’m still trying to nail down exactly what is causing them. Windows makes a RDC client for OS X, and I’ve tried it, but I can’t get it to connect. Cisco supposedly makes an OS X version of their VPN client, but I can’t download it from their labyrinthine site, even though I’m a legitimate customer. Our IT shop is almost entirely Windows based, so I don’t expect much in the way of OS X support.
But no matter. While I continue to search for solutions to minimize or eliminate VPN lag, Dropbox provides a really simple solution to keep me working. I have it installed now on my work box, my iMac, and my virtual, Fusion-hosted WinXP box. After I do all the VPN/RDC connection nonsense, I grab a project I want to work on and copy it to Dropbox on my work machine. Then I copy it locally to either my iMac or my Fusion/XP box (depending upon what sort of file it is and what application I want to use on it). When I’m done, I copy it back to my work machine. It doesn’t do anything you couldn’t do via FTP or WebDAV (or a properly functioning VPN), but the setup is cake, the clients keep you apprised of sync status, and the whole thing works seamlessly, allowing me to focus on work rather than cursing the vagaries of network connections and my fate at their hands.