Dropbox – My Stuff Where I Need It [Review]

This post/review is courtesy of guest contributor, Jerry of mochaSync.com

I will be the first to admit it—I drink the Apple flavored Kool-Aid. Still, there are things I just can’t seem to justify; like the cost MobileMe. There seems to be plenty of free or low-cost alternatives to cloud computing and file management. Today, I will be talking about my favorite: Dropbox.
First, here’s a little about what kind of user I am. I have two laptops: one Mac Book Air and an HP that shall remain nameless (because it sucks). I also have a Blackberry and an iPhone. I work in an IT department which has no less than 32 projects going on simultaneously, I run my own wanna-be software development company and I manage my own band. So I have a lot going on in an average day. I need to be able to reference documents, songs, or ideas from anywhere, on any platform. Dropbox accomplishes this without missing a beat (no pun intended).

At work, I uploaded the most needed document – a monthly report – that I constantly need to modify. If I get a few minutes between tasks, I try to update the report as best as I can (hope my boss doesn’t read that). Having my report ‘in the box’ helps me avoid version conflicts between both laptops. It also comes in handy when I need to deploy a package to a user—no matter if I am at my desk or at home.

With my band, the very first thing I did was upload the newest idea we’ve recorded. Not only can I reference this at home when practicing, but I could use the Public Folder to share it with the rest of the band. Bam! A new collaboration method! No need for long email chains, emailing attachments and cluttering my inbox. This feature also works really well with photos and families! I take pictures of my daughter all the time—like every other parent does. By uploading those precious pictures that I took on my iPhone, I am able to share the whole lot of them with others like that relative I never remember the name of but somehow I have an email for. Of course the email doesn’t contain any hints to her name… oh and she barely can operate the computer, so why she has an email, I will never know…

Anyhow, the sharing is one of my favorite features. This feature alone sold me as a ‘home’ user. I needed a free alternative that doesn’t cloud up the user experience with “buy this as a print for $0.99 – limited time offer” BS. This is perfect for the minimalist in me, and that nameless relative of mine – damn it what is her name?!

Which brings me to my last big selling point – the user experience. Dropbox has made it so easy to share, from any place in the world that has an Internet connection, that it should be a crime to not check out this service. There is absolutely no clutter to the website, the Public Galleries, or the iPhone app. They’ve managed to turn a fairly intimidating service for most people into one that actually makes you feel welcomed – no matter your experience level. Yet, at its core, Dropbox is extremely powerful. Initial setup was a breeze and synchronizing the file changes is instantaneous and transparent on each platform.

Document management and photo sharing is only the tip of the iceberg. With the paid subscription options, which yield larger capacity accounts (50gig / 100gig), power users could use scripts to backup critical files and projects. Team sharing for work environments becomes easier and less tedious—users of SharePoint should identify with this point.

Whether you just need to share a few files here and there, or whether you are on the go at all times, Dropbox is a solid choice. With cross platform support, mobile access and a superb user interface, Dropbox is at the top of the list.

Dropbox can be downloaded here: http://www.getdropbox.com/

Bass Players Need Love Too!

We are back with our third entry in the iPhone app store. Though we have had plenty of difficulty getting into the app store in the past, Bass Tuner Pro made it through without a problem. Bass Tuner Pro is exactly what it sounds like, a bass guitar tuner made by bass players, for bass players. And we all know that “Slappin’ da Bass” is for the cool kids. =)

The product details are as follows:

Bass Tuner Pro features:
-Tones for tuning your bass guitar to standard tuning
-The highest quality bass guitar sounds
-Two separate tuners for 4 and 5 string bass guitar
-Turns your iPhone into a pocket-sized bass tuner for tuning on the go

To tune your bass: simply match the tone of your strings to the corresponding tone on Bass Tuner Pro.  There’s nothing more accurate than the human ear!

It doesn’t get any easier than that. As always, we encourage any feedback you have for us. Comments, concerns, bugs in an app, website critque? We want to hear it all. Email us here: AlkaliMedia@gmail.com

Update! New Apps (soon), Ratings, Success!

Hey Guys,

It’s been a little while since we last updated everyone on what’s been going on in the Alkali Media world. We’ve been working on a few new iPhone apps, and we still have a few in for approval. We had a pair of applications rejected again for the whole offensive content thing… However, we were waiting for what looked like some promise with the iPhone OS 3.0 update, and yesterday we saw some light at the end of the tunnel with the announcement of Parental Controls integrated into the software, as well as a rating system for all App Store Applications at Apple’s annual WWDC. With that, the apps are in for approval again!

We’ve got a few other things in the works right now, so hopefully we’ll be getting multiple applications into the store in the very near future. For now, don’t forget to check out PrudeBox, now apparently world famous for its flamboyant facelift.

Thanks for your continued support, and we’ll be updating you as soon as we have some more news.

Peace!
Chris, Pat & Mike

Our First Application Being Submitted.

We are almost there everyone! After what seems like an eternity (to us anyway) , we are ready to finally submit our first application to Apple. As soon as it is up on the application store we will let EVERYone know about it. All of our hard work is about to finally pay off. Additionally, our second application is already in the works and it will take nowhere NEAR as long for us to submit. We suspect that people will really enjoy it.

Hopefully our first one is not rejected for some strange reason. ::crosses fingers::