4 ms·

But then again, this appears in the article you linked: “Nobody cared then and nobody cares now, because synchronizing files is just not a killer application.

But then again, this appears in the article you linked: “Nobody cared then and nobody cares now, because synchronizing files is just not a killer application. I'm sorry. It seems like it should be. But it's not.”

tantalor 12y ago
It's not. Collaborative editing is. People were using file syncing for asynchronous collaborative editing. File syncing is not such a big deal now that we have synchronous collaborative editors.
- marcusf 12y ago
  Dropbox?
  - threatofrain 12y ago
    I'd say Google Drive, because the web app is so complete and nice that for simple purposes, you wouldn't mind not installing the desktop client, especially since you edit the files on the web anyway. So off-site storage + collaborative editing = Google Drive. Dropbox, on the other hand, is mostly a file syncing service; they may have some photo features on their web app, but that's it outside of file syncing.
    - marcusf 12y ago
      Can't disagree with GDrive being awesome. However, I was responding to the parent's suggestion that the parent's parent's quote was negated by e.g. GDrive. With less double negatives: File syncing has actually turned out to be a pretty big thing, it just took (and this might be a bad list, but off the top of my head) 1. mobile adoption, 2. higher avg bandwidth and 3. someone getting it right. GDrive/Evernote/… does not negate that there is a demand for Dropbox.
- deleted 12y ago
  [deleted]
- mqsiuser 12y ago
  Microsoft OneNote
- rattray 12y ago
  I'm not a mod, but I believe downvotes should be used for comments which are not constructive or appropriate, rather than comments one disagrees with.
bambax 12y ago
Thanks for pointing that out! And when this was written, Dropbox had been in operations for 11 months... Joel assumes the reason why synchronization apps didn't succeed was because there was no market, whereas the success of Dropbox proved the market was there alright, it just waited for the right app at the right time. I've needed file synchronization for my whole professional life, which started in 1991. At first there was no Internet; then there was Internet but you couldn't connect to it at work (imagine that!) and the rate at home was so slow it wouldn't have made any sense to try to exchange files over the network (even when most Excel files weighted 20k). I used floppies, and Zip discs (remember those?) and removable hard drives, with bizarre synchronization and copying applications that never worked properly and with which you could very easily erase your own files if used in the wrong way. The day I found Dropbox was like the Second Coming. It was the day I stopped worrying. I very much disagree with Joel about architecture astronauts; contrary to what we hear sometimes, being early is not the same as being wrong. > The people? They love twitter. And flickr and delicious and picasa and tripit and ebay and a million other fun things I would trade a million Twitters for one Dropbox, and I bet I'm not alone. Dropbox we need; Twitter? not so much.

tantalor 12y ago

It's not. Collaborative editing is. People were using file syncing for asynchronous collaborative editing. File syncing is not such a big deal now that we have synchronous collaborative editors.

marcusf 12y ago
Dropbox?
- threatofrain 12y ago
  I'd say Google Drive, because the web app is so complete and nice that for simple purposes, you wouldn't mind not installing the desktop client, especially since you edit the files on the web anyway. So off-site storage + collaborative editing = Google Drive. Dropbox, on the other hand, is mostly a file syncing service; they may have some photo features on their web app, but that's it outside of file syncing.
  - marcusf 12y ago
    Can't disagree with GDrive being awesome. However, I was responding to the parent's suggestion that the parent's parent's quote was negated by e.g. GDrive. With less double negatives: File syncing has actually turned out to be a pretty big thing, it just took (and this might be a bad list, but off the top of my head) 1. mobile adoption, 2. higher avg bandwidth and 3. someone getting it right. GDrive/Evernote/… does not negate that there is a demand for Dropbox.
deleted 12y ago
[deleted]
mqsiuser 12y ago
Microsoft OneNote
rattray 12y ago
I'm not a mod, but I believe downvotes should be used for comments which are not constructive or appropriate, rather than comments one disagrees with.

bambax 12y ago

Thanks for pointing that out! And when this was written, Dropbox had been in operations for 11 months... Joel assumes the reason why synchronization apps didn't succeed was because there was no market, whereas the success of Dropbox proved the market was there alright, it just waited for the right app at the right time. I've needed file synchronization for my whole professional life, which started in 1991. At first there was no Internet; then there was Internet but you couldn't connect to it at work (imagine that!) and the rate at home was so slow it wouldn't have made any sense to try to exchange files over the network (even when most Excel files weighted 20k). I used floppies, and Zip discs (remember those?) and removable hard drives, with bizarre synchronization and copying applications that never worked properly and with which you could very easily erase your own files if used in the wrong way. The day I found Dropbox was like the Second Coming. It was the day I stopped worrying. I very much disagree with Joel about architecture astronauts; contrary to what we hear sometimes, being early is not the same as being wrong. > The people? They love twitter. And flickr and delicious and picasa and tripit and ebay and a million other fun things I would trade a million Twitters for one Dropbox, and I bet I'm not alone. Dropbox we need; Twitter? not so much.