Would you like a simple method of storing backup copies of critical data files off-site? This would be a great place to keep a backup copy of your genealogy database. How about an easy method of swapping files between home and the office? Oh yes, should this service also be available free of charge? In fact, it shouldn't even have advertising?
DropBoks may be your answer.
DropBoks is a free service although the site's owners do suggest a $1 donation. Each user receives access to 1 gigabyte of storage space. That's the equivalent of nearly 700 floppy disks. That's a lot of storage. However, no one file can be larger than 50 megabytes (several thousand printed pages).
By way of comparison, all 500+ newsletters I have published in the past ten years take up only total 123 megabytes. The free storage space on DropBoks will hold all those plus the next seventy years' worth of newsletters as well. (OK, so I am making a few assumptions about future newsletters here.)
DropBoks works on Windows, Macintosh, Linux, and probably other operating systems as well. It is an extremely simple application to use. To upload files, log onto DropBoks, click on BROWSE, and navigate to the file(s) on your hard drive that you wish to upload. Then click on UPLOAD FILE.
Want to download (retrieve) a file from your online storage area? Go to DropBoks, double-click on the file name, and follow the menus to store it on your local hard drive.
Want to remove a file from online storage? Drag and drop it onto the trash icon. You can't get much simpler than this for online storage solutions.
DropBoks is a simple service; it doesn't support file sharing with others or any other advanced features. Instead, it is a personal tool for your use alone. It becomes your personal file storage area that you can access from anyplace that has Internet access. The site owners claim the site is secure, but I have no method of verifying that.
I am surprised that this site exists on donations alone. There are no advertisements.
The DropBoks sign up process required about fifteen seconds. No personal questions were asked, other than my e-mail address which is then used as my user name on DropBoks. I was never asked for my name, address, credit card number, or anything else. I was so impressed that I donated a dollar to support the service.
Try it. What have you got to lose?
