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Syncthing is so much better than Dropbox. There are no accounts, so it's much easier to set up syncing between multiple machines that may not belong to the same

Syncthing is so much better than Dropbox. There are no accounts, so it's much easier to set up syncing between multiple machines that may not belong to the same user, or to shared devices. I use it to sync family documents, work documents, for syncing Factorio save games, ... I've also never had problems with CPU usage (Dropbox often caused high CPU usage in some cases) The only downside is that background sync on iOS with Möbius Sync doesn't work reliably, but I think that is mainly because of how Apple cripples background processing. It does sync quickly if you manually start the app. It's a bit challenging for new users (you need to understand machine keys, folder identifiers, ignore lists), but once it's set up it just works.

sneak 4y ago
Möbius Sync is more IAP cancer, unfortunately.
- vorpalhex 4y ago
  They had to do a lot of extra work to make things work on iOS and it does work. I think it was $6 for a full license? I happily paid for it and use it to this day.
  - newaccount74 4y ago
    I'm really happy that Möbius did the job that the Syncthing devs don't want to do themselves. It's the beauty of open source. The only people who complain about it are those who think "open source" = "I get everything for free".
    - sneak 4y ago
      Closed source proprietary software is not "the beauty of open source".
      - newaccount74 4y ago
        The SyncThing developers wrote on their website that they don't offer an iOS client because Apple doesn't properly support background processing. It seems that the SyncThing developers don't care about iOS. But here's the beauty of Open Source: anyone can download the source code and try to get it running on iOS. Now Möbius found a way to get SyncThing kinda working on iOS, and for a small fee you can install it on your iPhone. The wrapper they built around SyncThing isn't open source, but for Möbius customers that doesn't really matter. They just want something that works. And through the beauty of Open Source, someone was able to build it for them, and they get to make a little money with it!
        sneak 4y ago
        Yes, many proprietary software developers who don't respect the freedoms of users make money piggybacking (some might say parasitically) on open source software releases. I'm not sure what this has to do with open source, however. These people aren't even part of the free software community, as they obviously don't care about software freedom.
        vorpalhex 4y ago
        It sounds like you are confusing open source with copyleft. Copyleft is a great thing, but it's also fine for things to be open source and not copyleft. I can use syncthing because of Mobius. If Mobius did not exist, I would either have to pay a bounty to get someone to port Syncthing or use something else. That bounty is more than $6. You can still port syncthing yourself. Mobius is not stopping you! You'll have to pay Apple $99 a year, and you will have to handle the app store process, and all - but you can do it. Neither syncthing nor Mobius will stop you.
        sneak 4y ago
        Free software has nothing to do with copyleft. Neither does respecting the freedoms of the user. I release all my software into the public domain; it's not copyleft at all, but it is free software, and it does respect the freedoms of the user.
- newaccount74 4y ago
  IAP cancer? It's a one time payment for an app that does exactly what it says in the description. Do you expect all developers to give away their apps for free?
w0m 4y ago
> much easier to set up syncing between multiple machines that may not belong to the same user I always thought this as one of the bigger value-adds of Dropbox; easy cross user management and sharing.
- LatticeAnimal 4y ago
  I have used Dropbox and have setup Syncthing for myself and my opinion is that: Sync thing is relatively easy for the average HN user. Dropbox is relatively easy for the average non-HN user. Neither are hard, but Syncthing requires some background understanding of computers
- newaccount74 4y ago
  But Dropbox business model requires them to use accounts -- as far as I know you can't set up Dropbox on a shared device without signing into an account. This makes it harder than necessary to set up Dropbox in some scenarios. Sure, they make it as easy as possible to get started, but "easy to use" for first time users does not mean "easy to use" for people who are willing to spend a few hours to read the docs.

sneak 4y ago

Möbius Sync is more IAP cancer, unfortunately.

vorpalhex 4y ago
They had to do a lot of extra work to make things work on iOS and it does work. I think it was $6 for a full license? I happily paid for it and use it to this day.
- newaccount74 4y ago
  I'm really happy that Möbius did the job that the Syncthing devs don't want to do themselves. It's the beauty of open source. The only people who complain about it are those who think "open source" = "I get everything for free".
  - sneak 4y ago
    Closed source proprietary software is not "the beauty of open source".
    - newaccount74 4y ago
      The SyncThing developers wrote on their website that they don't offer an iOS client because Apple doesn't properly support background processing. It seems that the SyncThing developers don't care about iOS. But here's the beauty of Open Source: anyone can download the source code and try to get it running on iOS. Now Möbius found a way to get SyncThing kinda working on iOS, and for a small fee you can install it on your iPhone. The wrapper they built around SyncThing isn't open source, but for Möbius customers that doesn't really matter. They just want something that works. And through the beauty of Open Source, someone was able to build it for them, and they get to make a little money with it!
      - sneak 4y ago
        Yes, many proprietary software developers who don't respect the freedoms of users make money piggybacking (some might say parasitically) on open source software releases. I'm not sure what this has to do with open source, however. These people aren't even part of the free software community, as they obviously don't care about software freedom.
        vorpalhex 4y ago
        It sounds like you are confusing open source with copyleft. Copyleft is a great thing, but it's also fine for things to be open source and not copyleft. I can use syncthing because of Mobius. If Mobius did not exist, I would either have to pay a bounty to get someone to port Syncthing or use something else. That bounty is more than $6. You can still port syncthing yourself. Mobius is not stopping you! You'll have to pay Apple $99 a year, and you will have to handle the app store process, and all - but you can do it. Neither syncthing nor Mobius will stop you.
        sneak 4y ago
        Free software has nothing to do with copyleft. Neither does respecting the freedoms of the user. I release all my software into the public domain; it's not copyleft at all, but it is free software, and it does respect the freedoms of the user.
newaccount74 4y ago
IAP cancer? It's a one time payment for an app that does exactly what it says in the description. Do you expect all developers to give away their apps for free?

w0m 4y ago

> much easier to set up syncing between multiple machines that may not belong to the same user I always thought this as one of the bigger value-adds of Dropbox; easy cross user management and sharing.

LatticeAnimal 4y ago
I have used Dropbox and have setup Syncthing for myself and my opinion is that: Sync thing is relatively easy for the average HN user. Dropbox is relatively easy for the average non-HN user. Neither are hard, but Syncthing requires some background understanding of computers
newaccount74 4y ago
But Dropbox business model requires them to use accounts -- as far as I know you can't set up Dropbox on a shared device without signing into an account. This makes it harder than necessary to set up Dropbox in some scenarios. Sure, they make it as easy as possible to get started, but "easy to use" for first time users does not mean "easy to use" for people who are willing to spend a few hours to read the docs.