6 ms·

Jobs had it right. Dropbox is obscenely overvalued, and has no place in the future.

by aes256 14y ago

keithpeter 14y ago
I take your point, but while it is here, it is very useful! The phasing out of direct links to the 'public' folder for new users recently suggests a need to find revenue streams. A possible alternative... "I'm funded by a Kickstarter project in 2012-2013 to build something not unlike DropBox, based on git-annex, that automatically version controls and syncs files between computers." http://joey.hess.usesthis.com/ http://joey.hess.usesthis.com/
- aes256 14y ago
  Sure, but a $5-10bn valuation for a freemium file hosting service with ~100m users, 96% of which pay nothing? Someone let me out of this bubble.
  - drx 14y ago
    I'll take 100m users of which 96% pay nothing any time. My email is in my profile.
  - tln 14y ago
    4m * $10/mo is about $500MM/year or 10x-20x valuation, or 8x the valuation in the article $4bn. Is that so out of whack?
colincsl 14y ago
Me and many of the people I know use it everyday. It's the easiest 'cloud' storage out there and certainly the most popular. I'm not sure why you say it has no place in the future.
- benologist 14y ago
  Think about what syncing as a whole really means for us ... seamlessly moving between laptop and desktop, upgrade devices just by signing in on your new one, etc... the promise of our Google and Apple accounts, but delivered properly and without platform lock-in. Dropbox as it is now is going to look like a toy when someone really solves syncing for us. An abandoned toy if they're not the ones doing it.
  - TillE 14y ago
    If you remember Steve Jobs at WWDC 1997, he was talking about exactly that, extolling the virtues of having his home directory mounted via NFS. It's a little surprising that, fifteen years later, there's still no good way for consumers to have that. iCloud may eventually evolve in that direction, but for now it feels incredibly half-assed.
statictype 14y ago
Is this sarcasm? I don't use a ton of software to keep myself productive, but Dropbox is easily one of the most valuable out of those I use. Apple, with its considerable engineering talent and resources, still can't even see Dropbox from where they stand right now with iCloud.
thoughtcriminal 14y ago
Jobs saying that was just sour grapes because he couldn't buy it. Dropbox is invaluable for me. I've tried to move away but there is nothing out there that's even close.

Jobs had it right. Dropbox is obscenely overvalued, and has no place in the future.

by aes256 14y ago

Jobs had it right. Dropbox is obscenely overvalued, and has no place in the future.

I take your point, but while it is here, it is very useful! The phasing out of direct links to the 'public' folder for new users recently suggests a need to find revenue streams. A possible alternative... "I'm funded by a Kickstarter project in 2012-2013 to build something not unlike DropBox, based on git-annex, that automatically version controls and syncs files between computers." http://joey.hess.usesthis.com/ http://joey.hess.usesthis.com/

aes256 14y ago
Sure, but a $5-10bn valuation for a freemium file hosting service with ~100m users, 96% of which pay nothing? Someone let me out of this bubble.
- drx 14y ago
  I'll take 100m users of which 96% pay nothing any time. My email is in my profile.
- tln 14y ago
  4m * $10/mo is about $500MM/year or 10x-20x valuation, or 8x the valuation in the article $4bn. Is that so out of whack?

colincsl 14y ago

Me and many of the people I know use it everyday. It's the easiest 'cloud' storage out there and certainly the most popular. I'm not sure why you say it has no place in the future.

benologist 14y ago
Think about what syncing as a whole really means for us ... seamlessly moving between laptop and desktop, upgrade devices just by signing in on your new one, etc... the promise of our Google and Apple accounts, but delivered properly and without platform lock-in. Dropbox as it is now is going to look like a toy when someone really solves syncing for us. An abandoned toy if they're not the ones doing it.
- TillE 14y ago
  If you remember Steve Jobs at WWDC 1997, he was talking about exactly that, extolling the virtues of having his home directory mounted via NFS. It's a little surprising that, fifteen years later, there's still no good way for consumers to have that. iCloud may eventually evolve in that direction, but for now it feels incredibly half-assed.

statictype 14y ago

Is this sarcasm? I don't use a ton of software to keep myself productive, but Dropbox is easily one of the most valuable out of those I use. Apple, with its considerable engineering talent and resources, still can't even see Dropbox from where they stand right now with iCloud.

thoughtcriminal 14y ago

Jobs saying that was just sour grapes because he couldn't buy it. Dropbox is invaluable for me. I've tried to move away but there is nothing out there that's even close.