I was just about to mention the sharing of files. If you want to share files or information in iCloud, then everyone would have to know your Apple ID & password. In Dropbox, you send them the public link.
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Dropbox Indeed Balked at Major Acquisition Offer from Apple
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I was just about to mention the sharing of files. If you want to share files or information in iCloud, then everyone would have to know your Apple ID & password. In Dropbox, you send them the public link.
Apple notoriously steals so that's a smart move. Steve stole the mouse from Xerox after visiting there office. I'm sure he's worried about the same thing.
I use Dropbox all the time (although mostly for 1Password). OTOH I have no use for iCloud. Checking off the features:
1. Calendar/Address syncing I have already taken care of with my mini server.
2. For mail, iCloud offers no advantage over Gmail.
3. iWork (document) sync seems to only be for the iOS apps, not the OS X apps, and Dropbox is universal.
4. Photos cannot be shared. Picassa/Google+ or Flikr are much better here.
5. I've no faith in Find My Mac ever finding my Mac since it relies on WiFi.
6. I haven't tried Back to My Mac yet. The old one never worked for me. I use VPN or SSH tunneling depending on my location. These have always worked.
7. My iOS devices don't run iOS 5. They are too old. Half my Macs run Snow Leopard and won't be upgraded. All these can access Dropbox.
8. No way to consolidate Apple IDs, so keeping track of past purchases is "broken".
9. Most of my music is "ripped" from vinyl so I expect the future iTunes Match service won't be of any use.
1. Calendar/Address syncing I have already taken care of with my mini server.
2. For mail, iCloud offers no advantage over Gmail.
3. iWork (document) sync seems to only be for the iOS apps, not the OS X apps, and Dropbox is universal.
4. Photos cannot be shared. Picassa/Google+ or Flikr are much better here.
5. I've no faith in Find My Mac ever finding my Mac since it relies on WiFi.
6. I haven't tried Back to My Mac yet. The old one never worked for me. I use VPN or SSH tunneling depending on my location. These have always worked.
7. My iOS devices don't run iOS 5. They are too old. Half my Macs run Snow Leopard and won't be upgraded. All these can access Dropbox.
8. No way to consolidate Apple IDs, so keeping track of past purchases is "broken".
9. Most of my music is "ripped" from vinyl so I expect the future iTunes Match service won't be of any use.
It's not always about music. I use it primarily for business type work. Dropbox is an incredible boon to businesses where files need to be distributed and shared without a proper IT infrastructure. Think home-based businesses, small businesses, consultants, entrepreneurs, charities, non-profit organizations, businesses run by volunteers.
Here's how I use it: I volunteer with a local non-profit organization, a summer camp. We have no "office". Files are stored in file boxes in people's basements, or in soft copy on someone's hard drive. We made a push a few years ago to put files on the internet so people could share and access files, but managing access and version control got messy. We tried translating documents into a Wiki but people don't like to learn how to edit wiki-code. The business is run by volunteers who do this in their spare time, and not all of them are (or want to be) computer-savvy.
Dropbox is a beautiful solution. All of our key files (budgets, meeting minutes, training materials, etc.) are stored in a shared folder. Everyone on our board of directors has an account. Everyone sees the files as if they are their own local files on their own local hard drives. They know how to open a Word document and edit it. And, "magically", every time they do so, everybody else is kept right in the loop.
iCloud = Apple's closed ecosystem in the cloud.
Meaning - it's an extension of the iPhone/iPad ecosystem whereby the user has no control over file structure, folders, etc. It's "blind" storage for only certain types of information within the walled garden.
Dropbox = completely open and cross platform.
Both have uses. But are very VERY different.
Meaning - it's an extension of the iPhone/iPad ecosystem whereby the user has no control over file structure, folders, etc. It's "blind" storage for only certain types of information within the walled garden.
Dropbox = completely open and cross platform.
Both have uses. But are very VERY different.
You don't have to qualify the file type. There is no way to put any type of file on iCloud if you want to share it between non-iOS devices.
Can you access iCloud from your computer? Dropbox can... They are two different products, iCloud is more a backup feature that syncs to other Apple devices, and Dropbox is also a backup feature that can be access through "any" computer. Dropbox will be fine, what Jobs was trying to obtain might have been the infractructure and storage space of the company. I think it was a good move by then, Dropbox can do things than iCloud can't do and vice a versa 
He had a right to say no. Whether that was the best decision really does remain to be seen. We will only know in the years to come.
Anyways, did anyone else notice the box for a new iPhone 4S (or 4) on his desk?
Anyways, did anyone else notice the box for a new iPhone 4S (or 4) on his desk?
iCloud and Dropbox are not even competitors. They serve two distinctly different jobs. I would say Apple's answer to DropBox is AirDrop, which let's you transfer documents from one Mac to another over the same WiFi network. That is more along the lines of Dropbox. However iCloud is not, in it's current incarnation it serves only to reduce iTunes dependence of iOS devices. When you can designate folders on your Mac to sync to iCloud then it will be moving into Dropbox territory.
iCloud should backup 1Password every time you sync now. No need for Dropbox.
Reverse effect
Actually, no. As a long-time user of iDisk, I am now being left with no viable option from Apple. I will most likely move all of these files to DropBox, and I will become a paying customer in the process in order to get enough space.
iCloud has some nice features, but I have thousands of files. I need a filesystem and access to these files from a wide range of apps. Also, I write code that has to point to a file's location. iDisk gave me that. iCloud won't.
Honestly, I was thinking of making this move anyway. iDisk is always having syncing problems. Invariably, I have to click through a bunch of messages and tell it what to do. Worse, if I forget to check whether the sync was successful, I may end up at work or home and find that I don't have the most recent version of a file. I often ended up putting a second copy of critical files in DropBox just to be sure that I was not left in the cold. This practice has saved my *ss more than once.
I've rarely had these kind of troubles with DropBox. It does not have a cumbersome syncing process. Files move instantly to other machines. Apple wanted to buy this technology for a reason. It works, and iDisk is flaky.
With free iCloud giving me what I need in terms of calendar and contacts syncing, I no longer will pay Apple that $99 a year. DropBox will get my money instead.
Actually, no. As a long-time user of iDisk, I am now being left with no viable option from Apple. I will most likely move all of these files to DropBox, and I will become a paying customer in the process in order to get enough space.
iCloud has some nice features, but I have thousands of files. I need a filesystem and access to these files from a wide range of apps. Also, I write code that has to point to a file's location. iDisk gave me that. iCloud won't.
Honestly, I was thinking of making this move anyway. iDisk is always having syncing problems. Invariably, I have to click through a bunch of messages and tell it what to do. Worse, if I forget to check whether the sync was successful, I may end up at work or home and find that I don't have the most recent version of a file. I often ended up putting a second copy of critical files in DropBox just to be sure that I was not left in the cold. This practice has saved my *ss more than once.
I've rarely had these kind of troubles with DropBox. It does not have a cumbersome syncing process. Files move instantly to other machines. Apple wanted to buy this technology for a reason. It works, and iDisk is flaky.
With free iCloud giving me what I need in terms of calendar and contacts syncing, I no longer will pay Apple that $99 a year. DropBox will get my money instead.
For the people who think that drop box will drop off the face of the earth now that Apple has released iCloud....
Really, Apple is not the only company developing and working with their software. DropBox will be improving and innovating its own services at the same time to meet the demand of consumers.
I like the fact that my parents who use windows and myself who uses Mac, can share files, access each other's files anytime, anywhere. Video can be placed within. Any content can be placed within and for the average user. The free storage offered with Drop Box is more than sufficient.
Perhaps Apple wanted to buy Dropbox simply to take advantage of their advanced usage (compared to iCloud) and are headed in the same direction. Who knows?
It is a wonderful product that is worth using imo. Apple does recognize talent.
Also as some forum members have said that they don't use the other platforms so it's not an issue to have an integrated program that works across all platforms, for all of you, there are others who do appreciate and use multiple platforms on a daily basis.
WW
Really, Apple is not the only company developing and working with their software. DropBox will be improving and innovating its own services at the same time to meet the demand of consumers.
I like the fact that my parents who use windows and myself who uses Mac, can share files, access each other's files anytime, anywhere. Video can be placed within. Any content can be placed within and for the average user. The free storage offered with Drop Box is more than sufficient.
Perhaps Apple wanted to buy Dropbox simply to take advantage of their advanced usage (compared to iCloud) and are headed in the same direction. Who knows?
It is a wonderful product that is worth using imo. Apple does recognize talent.
Also as some forum members have said that they don't use the other platforms so it's not an issue to have an integrated program that works across all platforms, for all of you, there are others who do appreciate and use multiple platforms on a daily basis.
WW
Well, there already is a rather neutered version of iCloud for Windows.
http://www.apple.com/icloud/setup/pc.html
Now Android, that's not going to happen.
Based on Apple's history of online service offerings I wouldn't act as if their ability to make iCloud a game changing success is a foregone conclusion.
Kudos to them for resisting a buyout from none other than Apple. That takes courage and vision for sure. Apple will survive and continue to innovate just fine. So will Dropbox. Nothing will be cancelled nor will any features disappear. Everybody wins.
That said I don't get why so many use services like Dropbox when it's so easy to rent your own cheap, privat server and set up similar software on it. I suppose the convenience factor must play a large role in this.
That said I don't get why so many use services like Dropbox when it's so easy to rent your own cheap, privat server and set up similar software on it. I suppose the convenience factor must play a large role in this.
Some of you guys have your head so far up Apples/iCloud's ass its seriously comical.
What about the millions and millions of people who use Windows, Linux, Android, etc. Dropbox is the best option for these folks. I love mac computers, but the phones don't do anything for me. I have no option but to use dropbox to get things between my mac and phone.
You're way too caught up in Apple/iCloud marketing hype. Apple has made it sound like "Hard Drive in a Cloud" is an inferior approach to Cloud services to what they do with iCloud. It is not.
DropBox offers a more flexible and more open approach to cloud storage than iCloud, it enables end users to have full control of their data by exposing the file system. iCloud hides the data from the end user, forcing it into "app-specific" sandboxes. This is arguably simplifies "file management" for computer illeterates, but results in a lot less flexible system, not even able to support some very basic functions like cross-application data sharing.
Consider also that DropBox offers a full set of cloud API's to 3rd-party apps, so there is nothing stopping App developers from doing everythat that iCloud can do.. While retaining all of the flexibility of exposed file system for more advanced users. Not to mention full cross-platform support, including non-Apple mobile OS's like Android and Windows Phone 7.
Time will tell which approach is "transitional", but for now I (and millions of others) are staying with DropBox.
Doing just fine I hope.
I'm a happy Dropbox customer. I'll remain a customer as long as the service they provide stays the same.
You will be waiting for a long time. Apple will not be offering an iDisk (or Dropbox) equivalent with iCloud. 3rd parties might try to cook up some sort of a replacement, but with Apple - you will be stuck with iWork on Mac.
I don't see it. Unless Dropbox comes out this something pretty big, they're dead in the water (meaning they are in a maintaining mode). I think it was possibly not the best idea to go for a 9-digit sales. I mean, when you start a company, you do it for pretty much 1 reason, to make money. To turn down that much just because you're "dedicated" to your company?? I call bull on that. They're hoping to make more money later on, but problem is, every software service company is coming up w/ their own cloud based storage.
I'm droping Dropbox here as soon as I get everything transferred over to me Box.net account. 50GB free for lifetime when you install their iOS client. How can dropbox compete with that? Box + SugarSync offer way more features too. Everyone is going to pass up dropbox here soon. MS, Apple, Amazon, Google, etc... That leaves no buyer for dropbox, and with their record of "keeping up" (w/ Box and SugarSync) or lack there of, leads me to my thoughts that they should have recognize the future, and they will be competing will full fledged software companies, that make billions in any given quarter.
I will give them this. They were I'd say first major consumer friendly mover in this space that made it dead simple. But as a mentor of mine said, Pioneers were killed by the Indians. Being first isn't always best, especially when you're not equipped(have the resources) to handle the long haul, which I complete agree with SJ on Dropbox is a feature, not a product, and the sooner they come to grips with that, the better off they'll be (unless they have something big in the pipeline that would change all that).
I'm droping Dropbox here as soon as I get everything transferred over to me Box.net account. 50GB free for lifetime when you install their iOS client. How can dropbox compete with that? Box + SugarSync offer way more features too. Everyone is going to pass up dropbox here soon. MS, Apple, Amazon, Google, etc... That leaves no buyer for dropbox, and with their record of "keeping up" (w/ Box and SugarSync) or lack there of, leads me to my thoughts that they should have recognize the future, and they will be competing will full fledged software companies, that make billions in any given quarter.
I will give them this. They were I'd say first major consumer friendly mover in this space that made it dead simple. But as a mentor of mine said, Pioneers were killed by the Indians. Being first isn't always best, especially when you're not equipped(have the resources) to handle the long haul, which I complete agree with SJ on Dropbox is a feature, not a product, and the sooner they come to grips with that, the better off they'll be (unless they have something big in the pipeline that would change all that).