This is a really handy bit of software. I found Dropbox when I was looking for an easy way to share files with my work colleagues at House Advertiser. I needed a solution which was easy to use, as like most companies, our directors have varying levels of PC expertise. Dropbox fits the bill admirably.

The idea is that you get some storage space on an internet server (it’s run by Amazon) where you can store your files and some software to install which creates a special folder on your computer. Any files dropped into this folder get automatically uploaded to your internet storage space. It’s a really simple backup solution for important files – however, it’s even more useful than this when you use more than one computer….

Installing the software on a second internet-connected machine allows you to have the SAME Dropbox on them both. Files dropped into one box magically appear in the other. I find it’s a great way to have my work files available on my home computer – especially as I made my ‘My Documents’ folder be my Dropbox. Now, whenever I create and save, or edit a document at work, I know that the same file is also saved to my home PC (and also backed up on the internet).

There are other ways Dropbox can work – by having individual accounts on each computer and sharing designated folders within  one of the Dropboxes for example (that’s what we do for House Advertiser). Its quite versatile. The best thing is that you can use the system free, paying for extra storage space only when you need it.

At H-A, we all mainly use PCs, but the system works with Linux and Mac too so I may install it on my Linux box at work when I have some time to play.

Niftiest bit of software I’ve found in ages!

29th October 1969 saw the birth of the Arpanet network – the US-only forerunner to the Internet we know and love/hate today. Hirsute boffins in bow ties, based at UCLA and Stanford, sent the first data between its nodes… 400 miles across country. When the sender typed in the third letter of the sequence, the system crashed and had to be reconfigured, but since then it has all managed to work reasonably nicely (well apart from Tiscali and the occasional bit of congestion at the BT exchange, that is).

More on the story at the BBC’s website.

… well about 8 hours of it, so far. My home PC decided to foul up big time yesterday, so I had to reinstall Windows XP (it refused point blank to repair itself from the CD). Working until 1 o’clock last night. Now I’m slowly putting back all my software and settings – nightmare!

I’ll be happy to get to work today – just for a rest from computers. No… wait a minute. That won’t work, will it?