OK, Cheri ..... I'm chiming in. :)
I have used Dropbox for quite a while now and I love it! It is safe to use as
everything is encrypted. Dropbox can be used as a backup service or (as I use
it) to keep both of my computers, my iPad, and my iPhone all in sync. I store
ALL of my genealogy files in my DB. That includes digital files of census,
church records, vital records, etc. and photos. Also, anything that I want to
be available to me on my other computer, is saved in my DB. For instance, I
have a program that stores all the serial numbers and other info for all my
programs. That is stored in my DB so that I can access it from either computer.
I also store all my genealogy program files in my DB. Dropbox syncs all the
changes I make to my file so that when I want to work on it on my desktop
computer, I am assured that I am working on the most current version of my data.
Important things to know about Dropbox........ It is a wonderful tool but you
need to understand how it works, so that you can use it correctly, without any
problems, if you are using it on more than one computer or on multiple devices.
You must understand that whatever you put in your DB, gets synced up to the
cloud where it "lives" and is available to use as a backup. So, at the very
least, your data is still very much on your own computer's hard drive as well
as up in the cloud. If you are using DB to sync your data to a second computer,
then the data is copied from the cloud back down to your second computer. So
far so good. If you are using Dropbox to sync, the most important thing to know
and remember is that you CANNOT have a file you store in the DB open on
Computer A and then open that same file on Computer B at the same time. You
will get conflicted copy errors. It isn't necessarily a catastrophe, but will
necessitate you having to choose which file to keep from the two that you will
now have in your DB. That COULD cause you major headaches. You just have to
understand how DB works in this regard and always, ALWAYS, ALWAYS ...... did I
say "always" ?.....close the file on one computer before you open it on the
other. An example of this would be: I use Reunion for Mac for my genealogy. If
I am adding info to my Reunion file on my laptop but know I want to go sit at
my desktop computer to do further work, I quit Reunion on my laptop. I walk
down to my office, wait a minute for the files to sync to my desktop computer,
then open the Reunion file on my desktop Mac. Wala! I can continue working on
the same file, right where I left off on the laptop. When I'm finished with
working on Reunion on my desktop Mac, I quit Reunion and DB syncs the file. Oh,
BTW, DB provides you with a menubar icon that quickly lets you see if files are
synced and up to date, are currently syncing, or what has just finished syncing
.... like the Reunion family file from my example.
Because I store so much in DB, I upgraded my account to 50 GB sometime ago. I
find it to be indispensable to me, both as a backup and a syncing utility. If
you have an iPhone or iPad, Dropbox has a free app for those devices (and
probably others, too). Those work great, too! I can view any genealogy document
I own right on those other devices. BTW, I also have other backup systems in
place to insure the safety of all my files so, for me, DB is more for syncing.
It is a wonderful utility that is free for 2 GB of storage. I would
wholeheartedly recommend it!
I apologize for being so long winded but I hope this has been helpful to some
folks.
Kathy
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Visit the Azores GenWeb Project:
http://homepage.mac.com/kmacardoza/Genealogy/azoresindex.html
Climb my Family Tree:
http://homepage.mac.com/kmacardoza/Genealogy/Kathy/index.htm
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
On Apr 21, 2011, at 8:50 PM, Cheri Mello wrote:
> I don't think so. I think I remember the web site said it's encrypted. I
> had Dropbox on my computer at one time, but my computer was having problems,
> so I removed it. I need another kind of back up, and since my computer
> problem is solved, I was going to try Dropbox again. Hope to watch the
> webinar tomorrow.
>
> I know Kathy Cardoza uses it. (Kathy's cue to chime in here).
>
>
> Cheri Mello
> Listowner, Azores-Gen
> Researching: Vila Franca, Ponta Garca, Ribeira Quente, Ribeira das Tainhas,
> Achada
>
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