Dropbox is still the best way for most users to store their files on multiple computers and in “the cloud” in part because it is system agnostic and not linked to a corporate entity that has other plans for you. And, using Dropbox you can share files pretty easily as well. However, there is another way to share files that is amazingly cool that I just found out about. It’s called “Drop Canvas.” With Drop Canvas you drag and drop files onto a “canvas” (it’s a web page) and then send the canvas to someone.
I’ve implemented a test already. A couple of other people and I are planning to make something for someone that involves images. So, I threw a bunch of possible images to use on a drop canvas and sent it around. Others can add additional images. I’m pretty sure others (to whom you’ve sent it) can delete files off the canvass (well, at least, I’ve just deleted a file off a canvass I sent to myself). So this could be an interesting collaborative tool.
Hat tip Yaara Lancet who also suggests other file sharing options.
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Google Drive (used to be Docs) is pretty damn handy IMO.
I do wish I knew of a service that gave a shared ‘whiteboard’ like the old SGI videoconferencing demo app. You could draw or type on it of course, but you could also drag-and-drop images and even 3D models (it was SGI after all) onto it. Such a thing probably exists, but I haven’t found it. Should be built into Skype and such.
Collaborative drag and drop in the cloud will only work when there is a haptic overlay that makes bigger things harder to drag. If you want to share a five gigabyte 3D model, that’s fine, but network latency means it will take hours to propagate in the cloud, whereas a 30,000 word short story can be shared in a seconds.
–bks
bks, this is why all good works are done in a text editor. Travc, haven’t tried “google drive” yet.
Timely post (again–you have a knack for that, at least in regard to my situation). I have some text files that need to accompany site pictures, and I need to get those to colleagues at the office (6,000 km away) so they can add their information. I was thinking of using a file sharing service, but this sounds better as I won’t need to resend a file every time I update…or they send me the latest version every time they put in something.
Nice thing about Google Drive is that you can share just by selecting a contact from your address book. That’s it. They get notification, click on it and open the file within Drive. Their choice to download. Or not.
Been using dropbox for the last two years and it’s made my life so much easier especially with sharing files between clients. However drop canvas looks more user friendly for the non technical! Good find.
U can use cameldrop.com if they are near you