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Drop Box vs YouSendIt vs ??? — Parallax Forums

Drop Box vs YouSendIt vs ???

ercoerco Posts: 20,259
edited 2013-04-27 07:53 in General Discussion
Anybody have recommendations for free services for sending large files (namely photographs) to someone? I started a free YouSendIt account which looked good until I used it. Sending multiple files is a feature of their "premium" paid service. So sending photos individually is a PITA and really no better than emailing photos directly.

Any privacy/security concerns? (THAT should get the chatter rolling!) I'm only using it to get article photos to SERVO magazine, so it's confidential, but not life or death critical.

Too bad they don't use FTP. Filezilla always worked great for me.

Comments

  • Mike GreenMike Green Posts: 23,101
    edited 2012-09-02 16:34
    I use Dropbox for sharing files among my various computing devices. They apparently have a new (optional) security system for two factor verification where you log in and they send a key to your e-mail address or via text message to your cell phone and you have to enter this key to complete your login. I may have the details wrong, but that's what I heard. You can also make folders available for sharing so anything placed in a particular folder becomes visible to those you allow. They can also be given permission to post files to the shared folders if you want. It's pretty seamless to use on Windows, Linux, and the MacOS as well as with smartphones and tablets.
  • W9GFOW9GFO Posts: 4,010
    edited 2012-09-02 17:29
    Why not archive all the photos into one zip and send that?
  • ercoerco Posts: 20,259
    edited 2012-09-02 17:34
    The editor requested YouSendIt, DropBox, or similar for whatever reason.
  • W9GFOW9GFO Posts: 4,010
    edited 2012-09-02 17:43
    Right, can't you use YouSendIt to send a single zip that contains all the photos?
  • stamptrolstamptrol Posts: 1,731
    edited 2012-09-02 17:52
    Dropbox has a dedicated folder just for photo sharing. Worked well for me. You just send the receipient a link via email and they can view the photos without a Dropbox account.

    Cheers
  • ercoerco Posts: 20,259
    edited 2012-09-02 18:02
    Gotcha Rich, good suggestion.
  • max72max72 Posts: 1,155
    edited 2012-09-02 23:57
    With dropbox you can have shared folders, and only the invited/authorized users can access it.
    Otherwise you can place the files in a public folder and share the url link (no privacy here).
    If you need to increase the privacy what about password protecting the zip or using truecrypt?
    Massimo
  • FranklinFranklin Posts: 4,747
    edited 2012-09-03 07:51
    Just post them all on facebook. ;)
  • tonyp12tonyp12 Posts: 1,951
    edited 2012-09-03 08:00
    I use Mircosoft Skydrive (Live Mesh is no longer with us)
    http://windows.microsoft.com/en-US/windows-live/essentials-home

    And also Google Picasa (syncs great with android phones)
    http://picasa.google.com
  • ratronicratronic Posts: 1,451
    edited 2012-09-03 09:11
    +1 for the M.S. Skydrive since it is included with my email. erco I think that is the best idea to put all of your files into a .zip and place onto Drop Box.
  • RickInTexasRickInTexas Posts: 124
    edited 2012-09-03 11:12
    Of those I've tried, I like Dropbox as it is the most seamless between devices. I can drop a few PDF's on my office PC Dropbox and by the time I go to the other room they are there on my iPad and Android phone. Sharing with others is a breeze as well - you share a folder and anything you place there is automatically shared with anyone. (Peter Jakacki uses it for his TACHYON FORTH, works quite nicely).

    It has photo-specific features that are so easy my wife can use it!

    Use this link to get a 500Mb sign-on bonus: (shameless plug, I get additional free space too)

    http://db.tt/5TYhphe
  • sylvie369sylvie369 Posts: 1,622
    edited 2012-09-03 16:33
    I love Dropbox, but I've been receiving zipped up YouSendIt files containing numerous files, and it works just fine.
  • SRLMSRLM Posts: 5,045
    edited 2012-09-03 23:27
    Ubuntu one has 5GB free: https://one.ubuntu.com/
  • W9GFOW9GFO Posts: 4,010
    edited 2012-09-04 00:38
    Just FYI, Google's version of DropBox, Google Drive I think it is, has some pretty uncomfortable terms for its use. Be sure to read the terms for whatever service you are using.
  • Martin_HMartin_H Posts: 4,051
    edited 2012-09-04 07:49
    I use PogoPlug which is a cloud service that uses your own hardware. I use the dedicated plug computer, but you can do the same using just a Windows computer and local storage. Basically you email people a URL to the file on your computer.
  • Scott MerrittScott Merritt Posts: 2
    edited 2013-04-25 02:10
    Maybe I'm missing something.

    But the only way to use drop box is to keep the files stored on your own computer's hard drive. If the purpose of using a service like this is to free space on your hard drive and have remote storage then it's a no brainer that Yousendit is the only choice.

    With yousendit I can store all these large files on a remote server and keep them off of my local hard drive.

    So far I have found no way to do that on drop box and therefore there is no comparison.

    I have paid versions of both and now I realize that it was a waste to sign up for drop box.
  • CuriousOneCuriousOne Posts: 931
    edited 2013-04-25 04:02
    Commercial webhosting recently became quite cheaper, and you get all benefits, such as no ads, no limits, ftp access, password protected folders, etc. for reasonable price, say $5/month.
  • Heater.Heater. Posts: 21,230
    edited 2013-04-25 04:08
    You are missing something.

    I don't even have any dedicated directories (folders in Windows speak) for working with DropBox. I just go to my DropBox page and tell it to upload/download files. That is; navigate to a suitable DropBox folder on the page, right click mouse, select upload from the pop up menu, select files from local drive etc etc.

    After up loading I can delete the local copies if I like.

    We have been using DropBox to pass files between collaborators world wide for half a year now and it has worked very well.
  • NWCCTVNWCCTV Posts: 3,629
    edited 2013-04-25 12:11
    Personally I just use my own web site. I don't want my files all over the place. Did I not hear something a couple months ago that one of these services planned on selling peoples photos???? I pay a web hosting service and use an ISP that there are no limits on. If I have files that I need a client to download I put them on my web site. If someone needs pictures I zip them up and send them.
  • Scott MerrittScott Merritt Posts: 2
    edited 2013-04-27 01:39
    Heater. wrote: »
    You are missing something.

    I don't even have any dedicated directories (folders in Windows speak) for working with DropBox. I just go to my DropBox page and tell it to upload/download files. That is; navigate to a suitable DropBox folder on the page, right click mouse, select upload from the pop up menu, select files from local drive etc etc.

    After up loading I can delete the local copies if I like.

    We have been using DropBox to pass files between collaborators world wide for half a year now and it has worked very well.[/QUOTE

    I thought I must be missing something after going through all the instructions on the drop box site I still didn't see any way to do this.

    I just went to the drop box site and logged and and opened a folder and clicked on upload files. As soon as I started to upload files they started to appear in my drop box folder taking up double space on my computer. If I delete it in the drop box folder it deletes it in the online folder.

    Maybe the only way to do this is to uninstall the desktop app and delete the drop box folder.
  • Heater.Heater. Posts: 21,230
    edited 2013-04-27 02:00
    Ah, I see what you mean. I never bothered to install any desktop app so I never came to that problem. I guess that kind of automatic synchronization might be useful in some circumstances. I'd rather not have my remote copies vanish just because I accidentally deleted something locally.
  • max72max72 Posts: 1,155
    edited 2013-04-27 07:53
    Dropbox keeps track of revision history and deleted files.
    The free version for a limited time. If you pay for the extra service you have unlimited history. You can also delete history. Everything is done via the web interface.
    It saved my day a couple of times...

    Massimo
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