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It seems they're pushing one of the differences which is that this doesn't sync to a folder on your computer. The files only live in the cloud. Why this is bet

by aaronpk 10y ago

It seems they're pushing one of the differences which is that this doesn't sync to a folder on your computer. The files only live in the cloud. Why this is better than a syncing approach is not clear to me. I was hoping the "new spin" would be something a little more radical.

dannylandau 10y ago
No syncing -- you get all the benefits of accessing from the cloud without overloading your local storage. Just a guess.
kornish 10y ago
It's better than a syncing approach because most people can't utilize the full extent of their sync-based storage due to local hard drive limitations. An example: if I have a 320GB local drive and Dropbox keeps all its files on my local drive, I can't store the full 1TB of files in Dropbox that I'm paying for. However, I probably don't need all of those 1TB of files at the same instant, just various subsets which change over time, meaning that a cloud storage solution which doesn't require constant client-server sync lets me actually utilize the full volume of the service.
- jpalomaki 10y ago
  Dropbox project Infinite should help with this. It should make it possible to replace some contents of the Dropbox folder with place holders that only get downloaded when they are accessed. Personally I'm very much waiting for this. The current selective sync is too cumbersome. https://blogs.dropbox.com/business/2016/04/announcing-project-infinite/ https://blogs.dropbox.com/business/2016/04/announcing-projec...
bluecalm 10y ago
Obligatory: https://youtu.be/Ml92QEqE-RQ?t=45 https://youtu.be/Ml92QEqE-RQ?t=45 On serious note it would be very nice to have a choice in dropbox about what stays locally and what is cloud only. I don't understand those things that well but I suspect it would be relatively easy for them to add that if it's becoming a selling point for the competition. They must think they have more potential selling points if they are getting 77M.

by aaronpk 10y ago

dannylandau 10y ago

No syncing -- you get all the benefits of accessing from the cloud without overloading your local storage. Just a guess.

kornish 10y ago

It's better than a syncing approach because most people can't utilize the full extent of their sync-based storage due to local hard drive limitations. An example: if I have a 320GB local drive and Dropbox keeps all its files on my local drive, I can't store the full 1TB of files in Dropbox that I'm paying for. However, I probably don't need all of those 1TB of files at the same instant, just various subsets which change over time, meaning that a cloud storage solution which doesn't require constant client-server sync lets me actually utilize the full volume of the service.

jpalomaki 10y ago
Dropbox project Infinite should help with this. It should make it possible to replace some contents of the Dropbox folder with place holders that only get downloaded when they are accessed. Personally I'm very much waiting for this. The current selective sync is too cumbersome. https://blogs.dropbox.com/business/2016/04/announcing-project-infinite/ https://blogs.dropbox.com/business/2016/04/announcing-projec...

bluecalm 10y ago

Obligatory: https://youtu.be/Ml92QEqE-RQ?t=45 https://youtu.be/Ml92QEqE-RQ?t=45 On serious note it would be very nice to have a choice in dropbox about what stays locally and what is cloud only. I don't understand those things that well but I suspect it would be relatively easy for them to add that if it's becoming a selling point for the competition. They must think they have more potential selling points if they are getting 77M.