4 ms·

This is why I like Dropbox. If it dies then I have all of my files on my desktop and my laptop anyway.

jiggy2011 15y ago
Ditto , the only inconvenience is finding another backup/storage provider. This demonstrates the dangers of SOPA quite nicely. My worry is that in an attempt to create lock-in software vendors will try and tie storage and applications together so if you lose one you lose both. Let's imagine something like basecamp got taken down , that would be a major disaster for many businesses. They don't only lose the app but they lose all of the data.
- ljf 15y ago
  Yup - they might tie it down so terribly, but I just have a dropbox accounts across a couple of computers - I have the same account on my personal PC, my office laptop and my crappy Jolicloud cheap linux laptop I use for surfing while watching TV. So as long as I turn each on once in a while I not only have a cloud back-up, I also have 3 'physical' ones. If one day Dropbox through the 'kill switch' - I'd just have to use one of the other devices without connecting to the internet first - as I don't like to leave machines running needlessly only one is ever on at a time. In a way I think it's good that Dropbox limits the amount I can store - it makes me focus on the files I /NEED/ to have for a long time, and makes me do the work of backing up the other lesser items - like photos (that I care about but aren't going to lose me £££ if I lose them).
mike-cardwell 15y ago
Unless the Dropbox service sends a command to your Dropbox client to delete the files as part of its "death". If somebody other than the people who made and run Dropbox were responsible for the action of shutting it down, this might happen accidentally. Or if the service was hacked. It's still a good idea to have your own local backups.
- antidaily 15y ago
  Yikes, I hadn't thought of that. Time to read the terms of service.
- jessriedel 15y ago
  This is true for any service, cloud or not, that has permission to write to your hard drive. This ability has nothing to do with storage, and this risk is much, much less likely than simple bankruptcy or whatever.
  - mike-cardwell 15y ago
    You misunderstand my point. Not backing up files on your hard drive because they're in Dropbox is not safe. Dropbox has built in functionality to delete those files from your hard drive. If any one of your clients or your account is compromised, or the Dropbox service is hacked, these files could disappear. Hence why you need backups. Also, if the FBI starts pulling servers in a random order to shut Dropbox down, are you confident that wont cause Dropbox's systems to incorrectly send delete commands to your client just before the service disappears? If you are, you shouldn't be. Not after the "log in to any account without a password" issue of last year.
radley 15y ago
Dropbox reserves the right to delete files from your folders, including local ones. I had music files repeatedly removed from one of my folders.
- xxbondsxx 15y ago
  From copyright infringement? That's the first I've heard of that. I thought the ToS implied privacy over filenames and such.

jiggy2011 15y ago

Ditto , the only inconvenience is finding another backup/storage provider. This demonstrates the dangers of SOPA quite nicely. My worry is that in an attempt to create lock-in software vendors will try and tie storage and applications together so if you lose one you lose both. Let's imagine something like basecamp got taken down , that would be a major disaster for many businesses. They don't only lose the app but they lose all of the data.

ljf 15y ago
Yup - they might tie it down so terribly, but I just have a dropbox accounts across a couple of computers - I have the same account on my personal PC, my office laptop and my crappy Jolicloud cheap linux laptop I use for surfing while watching TV. So as long as I turn each on once in a while I not only have a cloud back-up, I also have 3 'physical' ones. If one day Dropbox through the 'kill switch' - I'd just have to use one of the other devices without connecting to the internet first - as I don't like to leave machines running needlessly only one is ever on at a time. In a way I think it's good that Dropbox limits the amount I can store - it makes me focus on the files I /NEED/ to have for a long time, and makes me do the work of backing up the other lesser items - like photos (that I care about but aren't going to lose me £££ if I lose them).

mike-cardwell 15y ago

Unless the Dropbox service sends a command to your Dropbox client to delete the files as part of its "death". If somebody other than the people who made and run Dropbox were responsible for the action of shutting it down, this might happen accidentally. Or if the service was hacked. It's still a good idea to have your own local backups.

antidaily 15y ago
Yikes, I hadn't thought of that. Time to read the terms of service.
jessriedel 15y ago
This is true for any service, cloud or not, that has permission to write to your hard drive. This ability has nothing to do with storage, and this risk is much, much less likely than simple bankruptcy or whatever.
- mike-cardwell 15y ago
  You misunderstand my point. Not backing up files on your hard drive because they're in Dropbox is not safe. Dropbox has built in functionality to delete those files from your hard drive. If any one of your clients or your account is compromised, or the Dropbox service is hacked, these files could disappear. Hence why you need backups. Also, if the FBI starts pulling servers in a random order to shut Dropbox down, are you confident that wont cause Dropbox's systems to incorrectly send delete commands to your client just before the service disappears? If you are, you shouldn't be. Not after the "log in to any account without a password" issue of last year.

radley 15y ago

Dropbox reserves the right to delete files from your folders, including local ones. I had music files repeatedly removed from one of my folders.

xxbondsxx 15y ago
From copyright infringement? That's the first I've heard of that. I thought the ToS implied privacy over filenames and such.