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Totally agree… I wish I could buy Dropbox’s minimal feature set: syncing files. And that they’d improve that feature rather than adding features I don’t use or

by meling 3y ago

Totally agree… I wish I could buy Dropbox’s minimal feature set: syncing files. And that they’d improve that feature rather than adding features I don’t use or want.

tapoxi 3y ago
I'll happily recommend https://syncthing.net/ https://syncthing.net/, it's open source, end to end encrypted, and peer to peer (your machines send files directly to each other).
- bayindirh 3y ago
  I can’t recommend it enough. Install your own directory servers, and you’ll have true invisible infrastructure.
- haunter 3y ago
  Searched for the iOS client, first hit answer by the maintainer >I remain unconvinced of the usefulness of the Syncthing sync model on iOS https://forum.syncthing.net/t/syncthing-for-ios/16045/4 https://forum.syncthing.net/t/syncthing-for-ios/16045/4 So basically it's not an alternative at all to Dropbox
  - unionpivo 3y ago
    well to those of us, not using iPhone it is* And to be honest, most of the files I sync, I never access on a phone anyway. So it would still be useful even without Android support. Not sure how common my setup is, But I have desktop both at home and at work. And I use git and synching, to sync most of the stuff seamlessly. That said I mostly work from home nowadays, so I mostly use my work comp to speed up compilation, or run tests, dockers, databases, etc. * Not trying to be an asshole. There are plenty of iPhone only app, that I sometimes** wish I could use, so I know how you feel. ** But not too much, otherwise I would switch by now :))
- gizmo 3y ago
  Syncthing is not end-to-end encrypted. It's peer to peer TLS encrypted. With end-to-end encryption you can transfer data with an untrusted server as intermediary, which syncthing doesn't support.
  - bedosh 3y ago
    Syncthing supports transferring data via untrusted relays (used when two nodes cannot communicate directly) and also supports storing data encrypted on untrusted nodes (those nodes cannot decrypt the data)
- cubancigar11 3y ago
  I prefer seafile because it actually scans immediately and has a functioning android client.
- TRiG_Ireland 3y ago
  I actually want a central server, because the main thing I'm worried about is a fire or flood taking out both my computers at once, in which case the sync to a central server works as a backup. (I don't have proper backups beyond Dropbox, because I'm pretty happy for stuff I've actually deleted to stay deleted. Just, in case of a hard drive failure or something similar, I can sync back from Dropbox. That's all I feel I need. Maybe there's something better?)
- Hard_Space 3y ago
  Second this. I De-Googled/De-Dropboxed my life about 15 months ago with the help of Syncthing, and a third-party cloud backup provider (the '1' in my 3-2-1) strategy, and I haven't looked back.
xwdv 3y ago
What if I told you you could replicate all of that with proven battle tested technology… for free.
- afavour 3y ago
  "you can already build such a system yourself quite trivially by getting an FTP account, mounting it locally with curlftpfs, and then using SVN or CVS on the mounted filesystem" https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=9224 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=9224
  - xwdv 3y ago
    It’s a testament to the Unix philosophy that after all these years, Dropbox has grown and morphed into something that people no longer enjoy, and yet if you simply followed that advice years ago, you would still have a system today that works exactly as you intended, and in 50 years when Dropbox is long gone as a company, that system will still be working as built, and even after you die, that system can be inherited by your children and grandchildren and still work as well as it did on day one. This is the timeless way of building.
    - afavour 3y ago
      I wish I shared your optimism that any kind of server I set up in 2007 would still be fully functional today without any kind of maintenance, let alone that it will still be around to serve my grandchildren. An FTP server already wouldn't serve my needs given that there's no such thing as mobile sync to an FTP server.
      - bentcorner 3y ago
        That's a fair criticism of the approach but I also think it's one of the strengths - protocols never change. So today with new requirements you'd need to figure out a new way to do it, but the old way still works, even if it doesn't meet your needs. The irritating thing with a lot of software is that they start out like a hammer and in 10 years it's a multi-dimensional VR rangefinder with email. Well that's super cool but I want my hammer back.
wahnfrieden 3y ago
iCloud
- dreamcompiler 3y ago
  iCloud is perfect if all your machines are made by Apple.
  - Aeolun 3y ago
    That’s a small sacrifice to make.
  - lostlogin 3y ago
    It really isn’t. The time macOS changed my default to having all my files in the cloud rather than local was a truely scarring experience. The price is high and ‘family sharing’ is a minefield.
  - wahnfrieden 3y ago
    They are now
qsort 3y ago
There's always rsync, you know...

by meling 3y ago

Totally agree… I wish I could buy Dropbox’s minimal feature set: syncing files. And that they’d improve that feature rather than adding features I don’t use or want.

tapoxi 3y ago

I'll happily recommend https://syncthing.net/ https://syncthing.net/, it's open source, end to end encrypted, and peer to peer (your machines send files directly to each other).

bayindirh 3y ago
I can’t recommend it enough. Install your own directory servers, and you’ll have true invisible infrastructure.
haunter 3y ago
Searched for the iOS client, first hit answer by the maintainer >I remain unconvinced of the usefulness of the Syncthing sync model on iOS https://forum.syncthing.net/t/syncthing-for-ios/16045/4 https://forum.syncthing.net/t/syncthing-for-ios/16045/4 So basically it's not an alternative at all to Dropbox
- unionpivo 3y ago
  well to those of us, not using iPhone it is* And to be honest, most of the files I sync, I never access on a phone anyway. So it would still be useful even without Android support. Not sure how common my setup is, But I have desktop both at home and at work. And I use git and synching, to sync most of the stuff seamlessly. That said I mostly work from home nowadays, so I mostly use my work comp to speed up compilation, or run tests, dockers, databases, etc. * Not trying to be an asshole. There are plenty of iPhone only app, that I sometimes** wish I could use, so I know how you feel. ** But not too much, otherwise I would switch by now :))
gizmo 3y ago
Syncthing is not end-to-end encrypted. It's peer to peer TLS encrypted. With end-to-end encryption you can transfer data with an untrusted server as intermediary, which syncthing doesn't support.
- bedosh 3y ago
  Syncthing supports transferring data via untrusted relays (used when two nodes cannot communicate directly) and also supports storing data encrypted on untrusted nodes (those nodes cannot decrypt the data)
cubancigar11 3y ago
I prefer seafile because it actually scans immediately and has a functioning android client.
TRiG_Ireland 3y ago
I actually want a central server, because the main thing I'm worried about is a fire or flood taking out both my computers at once, in which case the sync to a central server works as a backup. (I don't have proper backups beyond Dropbox, because I'm pretty happy for stuff I've actually deleted to stay deleted. Just, in case of a hard drive failure or something similar, I can sync back from Dropbox. That's all I feel I need. Maybe there's something better?)
Hard_Space 3y ago
Second this. I De-Googled/De-Dropboxed my life about 15 months ago with the help of Syncthing, and a third-party cloud backup provider (the '1' in my 3-2-1) strategy, and I haven't looked back.

xwdv 3y ago

What if I told you you could replicate all of that with proven battle tested technology… for free.

afavour 3y ago
"you can already build such a system yourself quite trivially by getting an FTP account, mounting it locally with curlftpfs, and then using SVN or CVS on the mounted filesystem" https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=9224 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=9224
- xwdv 3y ago
  It’s a testament to the Unix philosophy that after all these years, Dropbox has grown and morphed into something that people no longer enjoy, and yet if you simply followed that advice years ago, you would still have a system today that works exactly as you intended, and in 50 years when Dropbox is long gone as a company, that system will still be working as built, and even after you die, that system can be inherited by your children and grandchildren and still work as well as it did on day one. This is the timeless way of building.
  - afavour 3y ago
    I wish I shared your optimism that any kind of server I set up in 2007 would still be fully functional today without any kind of maintenance, let alone that it will still be around to serve my grandchildren. An FTP server already wouldn't serve my needs given that there's no such thing as mobile sync to an FTP server.
    - bentcorner 3y ago
      That's a fair criticism of the approach but I also think it's one of the strengths - protocols never change. So today with new requirements you'd need to figure out a new way to do it, but the old way still works, even if it doesn't meet your needs. The irritating thing with a lot of software is that they start out like a hammer and in 10 years it's a multi-dimensional VR rangefinder with email. Well that's super cool but I want my hammer back.

wahnfrieden 3y ago

iCloud

dreamcompiler 3y ago
iCloud is perfect if all your machines are made by Apple.
- Aeolun 3y ago
  That’s a small sacrifice to make.
- lostlogin 3y ago
  It really isn’t. The time macOS changed my default to having all my files in the cloud rather than local was a truely scarring experience. The price is high and ‘family sharing’ is a minefield.
- wahnfrieden 3y ago
  They are now

qsort 3y ago

There's always rsync, you know...