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I'm going to make the argument that Dropbox doesn't support Windows, because they don't support FAT32. That's just as true as your argument that they don't supp

I'm going to make the argument that Dropbox doesn't support Windows, because they don't support FAT32. That's just as true as your argument that they don't support Linux, because they very much do still support Linux.

rogerbinns 8y ago
You can't install Windows on FAT32. I'm pretty sure your home directory (where the Dropbox folder is) can't be on FAT32 either. About the only thing that uses FAT32 are USB sticks smaller than 32GB. It is extremely unlikely anyone would want to run Dropbox on a FAT32 volume, and I suspect it has never worked due to the filesystem limitations. ie you would have to struggle to end up in this situation as a Windows user. And even if you did, I doubt any of their competition supports FAT32 either. They are only partially supporting Linux already (eg no SmartSync). They are now removing support for the default configuration on many existing distros. They are removing support for setups that have worked for years, and earned them much revenue. It is their business and they can do what they want. Linux support is what distinguishes them from their competitors. And now they will lose future revenue from me and others who have posted here about it. Also note that their technical explanation is complete nonsense which is exacerbating the problem. Hopefully they will revisit the decision, or communicate in more detail what the problem actually is. I have no doubt that Linux will fix whatever it is.
- Dylan16807 8y ago
  I do want to clarify that FAT32 can be up to 2TB (or more if you push up the cluster size). Microsoft just decided they wanted to be pushy in their formatting tool.
JoshMnem 8y ago
Running Linux without encrypting the drive is a big security risk. Anyone who can get their hands on the machine has full read and write access to the hard drive by booting with a thumb drive. Any company that uses Dropbox for Business and has employees who use Linux will be putting a security hole in their business if they decrypt their hard drives in order to use Dropbox. (Possibly including Dropbox, if any of their employees use Linux.)

rogerbinns 8y ago

You can't install Windows on FAT32. I'm pretty sure your home directory (where the Dropbox folder is) can't be on FAT32 either. About the only thing that uses FAT32 are USB sticks smaller than 32GB. It is extremely unlikely anyone would want to run Dropbox on a FAT32 volume, and I suspect it has never worked due to the filesystem limitations. ie you would have to struggle to end up in this situation as a Windows user. And even if you did, I doubt any of their competition supports FAT32 either. They are only partially supporting Linux already (eg no SmartSync). They are now removing support for the default configuration on many existing distros. They are removing support for setups that have worked for years, and earned them much revenue. It is their business and they can do what they want. Linux support is what distinguishes them from their competitors. And now they will lose future revenue from me and others who have posted here about it. Also note that their technical explanation is complete nonsense which is exacerbating the problem. Hopefully they will revisit the decision, or communicate in more detail what the problem actually is. I have no doubt that Linux will fix whatever it is.

Dylan16807 8y ago
I do want to clarify that FAT32 can be up to 2TB (or more if you push up the cluster size). Microsoft just decided they wanted to be pushy in their formatting tool.

JoshMnem 8y ago

Running Linux without encrypting the drive is a big security risk. Anyone who can get their hands on the machine has full read and write access to the hard drive by booting with a thumb drive. Any company that uses Dropbox for Business and has employees who use Linux will be putting a security hole in their business if they decrypt their hard drives in order to use Dropbox. (Possibly including Dropbox, if any of their employees use Linux.)