Dropbox's 'Project Infinite' Introduces Cloud Storage to Free Up Hard Drive Space

[MacRumors]

At Dropbox Open London today, the company announced "Project Infinite," a new feature of the popular document transferring app that will save space on a user's local hard drive thanks to the implementation of a new cloud storage feature.

With Infinite, both cloud files and locally saved files will cohabitate in the traditional location within Finder on Macs, letting users decide which take up storage space and which stay in the cloud.

Documents saved in the cloud will be marked with a tiny icon referencing their storage location, but there won't be any kind of laborious download process if a user needs to quickly gain access to anything not directly saved on their computer. Cloud files will sync on demand when a user clicks on them, displaying them in the same way as locally stored files. If a file will be needed in a location lacking an Internet connection, users can choose to "Save local copy" and download the cloud file for later.

In Project Infinite's introduction video, the company gives the example of a shared company Dropbox folder with upwards of 10 terabytes of data synced inside. On the desktop of one user, however, the folder is taking up just 28 megabytes of data thanks to the inclusion of cloud storage.

The company also mentioned that Project Infinite supports all platforms that Dropbox is available on, and even includes backwards-compatibility "on any computer running Windows 7 or higher, or Mac OS X 10.9 and up." So a file saved by a team member on Windows 8, for instance, can be viewed as a placeholder cloud file on another user's iMac, and then downloaded to their hard drive.

Project Infinite will enable users to seamlessly and securely access all their Dropbox files from the desktop, regardless of how much space they have available on their hard drives. Everything in the company's Dropbox that you're given access to, whether it's stored locally or in the cloud, will show up in Dropbox on your desktop. If it's synced locally, you'll see the familiar green checkmark, while everything else will have a new cloud icon.

Dropbox's aim for Project Infinite appears to be enterprise focused, but the company's blog post mentioned that it has "more product announcements to come throughout the year," following the launch of its new storage-saving cloud feature. Project Infinite is currently being tested among a select number of Dropbox sponsors, but no word has yet been given regarding a specific wide launch.

Article Link: Dropbox's 'Project Infinite' Introduces Cloud Storage to Free Up Hard Drive Space

 

[keysofanxiety]

Thank goodness! A few times I've synced 10s of GBs of data on Dropbox at work, then go home and forget that it's downloading onto the laptop as soon as I connect to Wi-Fi. Also, Dropbox tends to crash when you desperately try to unsync that folder, or even disconnect from Wi-Fi.

 

[maxsix]

Dropbox has been a cornerstone of convenient and reliable file management for years. It'll be interesting to see where this latest project goes.

 

[lolkthxbai]

But what about chromebooks?

 

[Paradoxally]

This is convenient, but I have switched all my important files in an ownCloud server. Works just as well, but I control every aspect of the server.

I just don't trust Dropbox for security or privacy.

 

[tentales]

That's welcome news, but 2 things are stopping me from coming back to dropbox.
1) No client-side encryption
2) No multi-tier pricing. It's 2GB Free or 1TB for $100/year.

 

[bushido]

nice, thats what i in the beginning assumed was the point of Cloud services in the first place ... not wasting space locally

i hate opening a file on iCloud and it gets cached locally on my iDevice with no idea how to get rid of it again

 

[arggg14]

But my ISP limits my data to 350GB a month

 

[Paradoxally]

nice, thats what i in the beginning assumed was the point of Cloud services in the first place ... not wasting space locally

i hate opening a file on iCloud and it gets cached locally on my iDevice with no idea how to get rid of it again

The problem with that is that cellular data is not cheap and not everyone around the globe has unlimited data. Apple has the right approach: download a copy, use that for everything, and if there are changes either done locally or remotely, only sync/pull those to/from the server if the "use cellular data" option is checked.

(Of course, this doesn't apply via WiFi.)

 

[maflynn]

Interesting that they introduce this feature, when MS removed this very feature in windows 10. Dropbox is making a strong case to use them over OneDrive. Its not only faster but it definitely has more features at this point.

 

[Puonti]

Backing up those files on the client side would become tricky with this feature enabled, I reckon. Definitely something that needs to be considered.

 

[ArtOfWarfare]

I just don't trust Dropbox for security or privacy.

I'm curious - why not?

I've never heard of them having any data leaks or breaches or any other problems.

 

[tremblewithfear6]

I've tried many other cloud platforms for my data, but DropBox has been immaculate for my needs. This upcoming feature will likely solidify the company further. While I have had ethical qualms with some of DropBox as a company (hiring Condoleezza Rice, buying and killing Mailbox and Carousel, etc), the main product -- their cloud syncing product, has always been something I have needed and wanted.

I sync documents for college, including multiple papers a week. I also have the ability of syncing work/employment data, including my resume and portfolio for applications. The best part, is it works on all platforms. At my current job, I use DropBox for syncing images and sales for social media (FB, Twitter, Instagram, and our website).

Without DropBox, I would likely be back to the olden days of having a flash drive with me everywhere I go, and worrying that if I break it by accident, I would be screwed. Man... Those days sucked, haha.

 

[Sandstorm]

OMG, OMG, OMG! I love Dropbox (I'm a very satisfied Dropbox for Business user), but this has been the single biggest missing feature imo. They have implemented it exactly how I'd hoped it to work. So happy!!!

This is also so perfect for me because I have extremely fast unlimited fiber at home and unlimited fast LTE on the go (zero worries about bs like data caps and slow connection).

 

[coolfactor]

This is convenient, but I have switched all my important files in an ownCloud server. Works just as well, but I control every aspect of the server.

I just don't trust Dropbox for security or privacy.

Dropbox has been an amazing tool for me, but I've slowly been choosing Canadian (or rather non-US) providers for my business and infrastructure.

That's welcome news, but 2 things are stopping me from coming back to dropbox.
1) No client-side encryption
2) No multi-tier pricing. It's 2GB Free or 1TB for $100/year.

Client-side encryption should entirely be up to you, the end user, not a third-party file sync service. Macs have FireVault built-in. Your entire drive is encrypted when enabled. Done.

Don't forget about the referral program. Every referral gives you bonus space, so with a bit of effort, you create your own tiers. Need more space, just refer another person.

nice, thats what i in the beginning assumed was the point of Cloud services in the first place ... not wasting space locally

i hate opening a file on iCloud and it gets cached locally on my iDevice with no idea how to get rid of it again

This Project Infinite seems to be exactly what I imagined Dropbox and iCloud Files would be from the beginning, so I'm glad to see it finally happening.

 

[aajeevlin]

I'm curious - why not?

I've never heard of them having any data leaks or breaches or any other problems.

Something like this maybe?
http://www.businessinsider.com/drop...of-army-corporal-on-child-porn-charges-2015-7

Biggest problem I have with Dropbox is like someone mentioned before, multi-tier pricing, or even family pricing. In short, dropbox is great, but pricy when compared to other cloud service provider. Don't get me wrong, I would certainly rank them the best, but sometime when my needs aren't that great and dropbox is charing much more than the other, you just had to take your business else where.

 

[Keane16]

I'm curious - why not?

I've never heard of them having any data leaks or breaches or any other problems.

There was a lot of noise a few years ago regarding their Privacy Policy (2011 - time flies!), amongst other things:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dropbox_(service)#Privacy_concerns

Snowden didn't help a few years ago by name dropping them:

http://techcrunch.com/2014/10/11/edward-snowden-new-yorker-festival/

I used DropBox in the past, but similar to an earlier poster I now just have a personal cloud solution using Synology.

 

[Paradoxally]

I'm curious - why not?

I've never heard of them having any data leaks or breaches or any other problems.

Simply because your personal data is stored remotely without control. You don't know where it's stored or how it's stored. You have no client-side encryption or guarantee that no one other than you can access your data.

With ownCloud or any other self-hosted service, you control every aspect: setting up the server, permissions, encryption, and deploying on your own hardware. It's your server, not someone else's.

 

[aleksander]

Eddy tells me macOS will have that revolutionary iCloud feature in 2020 with 5GB for free!

 

[Pakaku]

Thank goodness! A few times I've synced 10s of GBs of data on Dropbox at work, then go home and forget that it's downloading onto the laptop as soon as I connect to Wi-Fi. Also, Dropbox tends to crash when you desperately try to unsync that folder, or even disconnect from Wi-Fi.

Selective Sync isn't a feature for you...?

 

[Traverse]

Interesting. Dropbox nailed the simple "just put it in the folder and it's available everywhere" idea. I like how it works and am not sure I like the on-demand sync.

Still, it seems interesting. I'll be curious to see how this works out. I do have folders in Dropbox that aren't synced to my computer because they are duplicates used for archiving. I would be nice to still see these in the Finder instead of having to use the iOS or web interface.

 

[keysofanxiety]

Selective Sync isn't a feature for you...?

It is, but if you add a new folder, it seems to auto sync that to all devices.

Unless I'm doing something wrong! I have selective sync enabled, though it always seems to sync new folders regardless. There's probably a small tick box to disable that from happening or something similar... I'll have another look through the settings.

 

[Sandstorm]

Selective Sync isn't a feature for you...?

Selective sync is useful, but not nearly as convenient as this new method.

 

[Xenomorph]

That's welcome news, but 2 things are stopping me from coming back to dropbox.
1) No client-side encryption
2) No multi-tier pricing. It's 2GB Free or 1TB for $100/year.

People complain about Apple's offering, yet they have cheap options like 5GB for free, 50GB for 99¢, etc. I can get a bunch of storage from Apple for $11.88 a year. 100GB from Google is only $23.88 a year.
Why can't Dropbox offer something for less than $100 or more storage than 2GB??

After all these years Dropbox still defaults to 2GB. Even after getting a bunch of affiliate/friend signups, I think I'm only up to 7GB with them. I'd pay for more, but I don't want to start at $100.

 

[wschutz]

Interesting that they introduce this feature, when MS removed this very feature in windows 10. Dropbox is making a strong case to use them over OneDrive. Its not only faster but it definitely has more features at this point.

This 'feature' exists from long time ago... it is called NFS, AFS, etc.. they just integrated it with their main product and I guess they have introduced some measures to minimize collisions and issues but all in all it is no more than a remote storage within Dropbox itself (I assume they will be doing smart syncing of data that is used often and avoid redownloading if the data on the server hasn't changed...).

The problem is not really storage because few people need to work with terabytes, and those who do so, do it on site not remotely. Dropbox just puts the 'issue', if there was any, on the network (and that is going to be fun for many).

Good to see the old and reliable technologies re-invented as brand new