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Dropbox is very cool. I try to get anyone that I may send data to more than once to sign up for the free 2GB account.

I agree - dropbox is a great idea and extremely well implemented. Actually it's even better than you mention. One: it is fantastic for sharing files with others or between project team, each being able to access files using their own account. Two: all transmissions and storage are encypted so your stuff is secure. Three: the dropbox on your computer has a Photos folder. Drop a folder with photos into that folder, and it'll become a great looking web slide show the moment the upload is finished. No work needed.

Could you use Dropbox (the paid version with up to 50G) to maintain an online backup of the iPhoto Library and Mail?

@johan2657: I didn't want the video to go on for 20 minutes! ;-) Yes, Dropbox has a lot of features and I'm only scratching the surface. Thanks for the added detail!
@Petricola: I assume so, though you might need to make some aliases, etc. in order to make it work. There might be better options for a straight network backup than Dropbox, though. There are other services that are more geared toward actual backup. Dropbox strikes me as being more of a file-droppy, workgrouppy kind of service.

Did everyone notice this in the user agreement?
Consent to Access Your Files
BY UTILIZING THE SITE, CONTENT, SERVICES AND/OR YOUR FILES, YOU CONSENT TO ALLOW DROPBOX TO ACCESS YOUR COMPUTER AND/OR ANY FILES THAT ARE PLACED IN THE ‘MY DROPBOX,’AND/OR ‘DROPBOX’ FOLDERS.

Technically Dropbox has to access your files in order to do what it does...

@ Jason and Petricola :
I have been using Dropbox for a few weeks now, and I am pleased, although I continue using Mobile Me in parallel.

One remark about Dropbox : aliases, as created by MacOsX, won't work when put in the Dropbox folder. All you will save is...the alias, not the original file ! So for the folders, documents you want to sync and that are NOT in the Dropbox folder, you can create a "symlink" and put it in the Dropbox folder. A symlink is around 4 K and points to the original element, which can be placed in any other location. Thus my Dropbox folder is full of symlinks, and just a few real folders or files. No need anymore to loose precious disk space to create duplicates of the original files or folders in order to place them in the Dropbox folder.


An easy way to create "symlinks" is to use a free utility called SymbolicLinker. When it is installed, select a file or folder, and right-click or ctrl/mouse to access a contextual menu in which under "more", you can easily create a symlink. Then just place this symlink file into the Dropbox folder.

Petricola : if you create just once a symlink of your photos folder, all you have to do is just put it in the Dropbox folder, that's all.

So, how did you expect that Dropbox could sync your files back and forth with your computer if they don't have permission to access the files?

Me too. I really like Dropbox. It's simple, intuitive, non-intrusive, and it does its thing very well.

Dropbox is great. It just works. Mostly, the synching is almost instantaneous between my three Mac's. Previously I tried other online sync services, but never quite found what I needed. Dropbox is so simple I can just forget it's there.
My only beef with Dropbox is its pricing structure. Free for 2GB, $100 for 50GB. Why not something in between for people who don't need 50GB, e.g. $5 for 20GB. I dareway Dropbox would get more paying customers if they did.

Oh, my other beef with Dropbox is that their User Agreement says that, for their free accounts, Dropbox is entitled to delete the contents of your Dropbox at any time without prior warning. I guess it's their own insurance in case they mess up your files -- but it's kind scary to have that sort of statement in their User Agreement.
In the Agreement, under the header "Termination", it says: "Dropbox reserves the right to terminate Free Accounts at any time, with or without notice."

JS2009 said:

It doesn't really impact you from a data perspective since the the only data you'd lose would be any data that wasn't synchronized. Though it is somewhat of a heavy policy.

So this is the same as Live Mesh.