# A Favour to Ask... and a Post about Dropbox



## Erin99 (Nov 1, 2013)

I wish I could make a post that only says "I love Dropbox. That's all", but I won't. 

Firstly, because I need a favour of you, if anyone wants to and can help. Also, because I just wanted to say how useful the program is for writers. I've had it for years. You basically install Dropbox on a machine and it saves anything you put in it onto the Cloud. Thus, you always have a backup copy of your file, so even if your PC dies, or your laptop sets on fire, or a comet hits your house, your work is never lost: it's online on Dropbox's secure servers, safe. This has saved me and my family countless times, when we would have lost our stories otherwise (we have our writing folder in Dropbox itself, so it auto backs up everything we write every time we save a file). Dropbox even saves versions of files, so if you write over a story accidentally, you can call up its older version and download it. (If a comet blows up your house, btw, just get yourself a new laptop and install Dropbox on it... Your house may be lost, but your _magnum opus_ will magically reappear!)


Think about it: if you've a laptop or netbook you write on and a PC you keep having to transfer updated files to, you won't have to use a pen disk any more; on your laptop, just drag your story into Dropbox and when your PC goes on the internet, Dropbox will automatically add the file into its PC Dropbox. _Et voila!_ Files that are always up-to-date on every machine. And Dropbox even warms you if you're trying to open a file that's already open on another machine.

So, if any of you don't have Dropbox already but like the idea... I have a favour to ask. Seph has run out of Dropbox space and can't fit any more uni work into it, and Dropbox is vital for him for his writing lecture notes. If anyone wants to sign up for Dropbox, could you use the following link, *which adds 500MB more space for Seph and you*, rather than if you sign up for Dropbox by yourself and get nothing extra?

https://db.tt/kzocS1N6

A huuuge thanks you to anyone who does. And a big hug! It will be a huge help to Seph.


If anyone wants a tour of Dropbox before signing up, here is Dropbox's official page: https://www.dropbox.com/tour





Edit: Forgot to say, Dropbox is free, too, unless you choose to upgrade.


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## Brian G Turner (Nov 1, 2013)

Currently at WFC - but, why not try Google Drive? Very similar system, with the caveat that Google has not been broken into by hackers (other than the NSA) whereas Dropbox has.


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## Erin99 (Nov 1, 2013)

Hope you are having a fab time at the con! (And to every other Chronner there. I'm so jealous! If Seph and I can raise enough money and take the time off, we'd love to go to next year's. They're so expensive, though.)

Anyway, I like to think Dropbox will be very secure after that episode D); and it wasn't really a "hack", more of a reverse engineering by researchers. Plus... I'm not a fan of Google these days, and Dropbox is already installed and set up, so it's easier to stick with. Also, since it's just my stories I keep in Dropbox, which aren't exactly on anyone's must-acquire list, I'm less paranoid about it. Besides, most places are getting hacked these days.  Adobe last week, LinkedIn the other day, Sony in the past, etc. You store stuff anywhere online, you're gonna run the risk of hackage. Can I make up that word, hackage???


Anyhoo, say hello to everyone at the con from me!


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## chrispenycate (Nov 1, 2013)

Sorry Loopypuss, I've been on Dropbox for some considerable time, for audio files.

But if I built a shared box – I'd need Seph's eMail (I already have yours, I believe) – You could use a lump of my memory (and no jokes about how unreliable that is).

And I'll give your wishes to those who congregate tomorrow – I'm around, even if not registered.


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## jastius (Nov 2, 2013)

i signed up with the link leisha.. i don't have stuff online except for email but i hope seph can get the space he needs.. has he ever thought about that? doing a file backup by emailing the file and keeping a copy there? 
it is an interesting concept to be sure.


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## J Riff (Nov 2, 2013)

I have DropBox and it is great for files that are too big to eMail, like videos - u can drop a huge file in  the box and they have it minutes later. Seems to work fine.


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## Parson (Nov 2, 2013)

I use Dropbox too. It's been great. 

I have a bit of storage problem too, but I just thought that maybe I could get my wife to sign up. Hm, might work, and then I gain some extra space to store my ever growing piles of PowerPoint files.


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## Mirannan (Nov 2, 2013)

Another free service that might be useful is Micro$oft's SkyDrive - 5GB IIRC. Many ISPs have a cloud storage service, too.


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## Erin99 (Nov 2, 2013)

Chrispy, don't worry. I figured most people would already have Dropbox or something similar, or not be able to help. But you don't get anywhere if you don't ask, so I figured I should at least try. Seph uses his Dropbox very, very regularly, which is why we're hoping to sort this out without harassing anyone into signing up when they wouldn't have wanted to.

(I hope that's the case; I would not ask anyone to install Dropbox when they didn't want to! )

And yaaaaay! I hope you did say hello! *waves to all the conners* I realised that cons are gonna be out of the question for the foreseeable future, so I'll have to live them through everyone else. 


--------------------------------------------


Jastius, thank you! Big, big hugs are being sent your way. I'm surprised you didn't hear my jumping up and down in excitement! But... I hope you didn't feel pressured into installing Dropbox because of me. If you have to email files to yourself, though, perhaps Dropbox is exactly what you need? It's so much simpler than email, and you have access to your files instantly as long as your machines are connected to the internet. And no signing into email accounts; Dropbox runs all the time, with your files sitting in a folder on your hard drive(s). Easy!

But yeah, Seph has emailed files to himself in the past, but for the amount of files he has now that would be impossible. His Dropbox is full of lecture notes and PDFs of essays.


--------------------------------------------

J Riff and Parson - more DB users!!! It's nice to know how many of us are out there. Yes, I love how convenient and useful it is, and I don't know how I ever survived without it, tbh. I would certainly have lost my stories in the past, had it not been for DB. Anyway, I'd definitely recommend getting your wife to sign up, Parson. I signed Seph and my family up, and Seph's signed his family up. You can even follow a couple of the DropBox steps to gain extra space - writing a sentence of why you like DB, installing it on your mobile, etc. Easy extra space!

And I shall have to look into the other services (thanks, Mirannan!) if we can't get more space on DB. The thing is, you can get up to 16GB extra through signing up others. And while that sort of size is *too* big for us, some more GB is definitely needed.

Thanks for the replies, everyone. I love the Chrons.


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## Karn Maeshalanadae (Nov 2, 2013)

Since basic is free, I went ahead and clicked on it as well.


Heck of a time trying to install the damn thing though. This laptop is rather old and isn't always responding fast enough.


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## Erin99 (Nov 3, 2013)

Turkey Karn, thank you! (Soz, I'm laughing at your avatar; he's so sweet! I want to write your name on that turkey's blank sign.) I hope you love DropBox as much as I do. And thanks for installing it even though you had such trouble. Seph passes on his huge thanks!

*He also wants to make sure I make it clear that he had no hand in this.* He wouldn't dare ask for people to install DropBox for him, which is why I did it instead. (Without being cheeky, I hope! DropBox has so many benefits.)



Edit: Couldn't resist!


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## Ursa major (Nov 3, 2013)

No need to apologise. 'Karn' may very well capture the Harvard pronunciation of 'corn'.









​


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## David Evil Overlord (Nov 5, 2013)

Okay, signed up with the link. Hope that helps.


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## Erin99 (Nov 5, 2013)

Puns, aaaaargh!




And yes, thank you! Can't believe a couple of you have signed up. The extra space only becomes active once a person installs DropBox after signing up, but today Seph got an email alert saying a "marshall" has installed it, and Karn's had come through too. So if you were "marshall", DEO, it's done! Unless that was just Jastius? Either way, *I can't thank you all enough*! If there's ever anything I can do in return, drop me a PM.


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## David Evil Overlord (Nov 5, 2013)

That's me, leisha. Don't tell anyone, but my real surname is not "evil overlord".


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## Gary Compton (Nov 5, 2013)

David Evil Overlord said:


> That's me, leisha. Don't tell anyone, but my real surname is not "evil overlord".



Marshall of Menace then?


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## Mouse (Nov 5, 2013)

I had Dropbox on my old laptop but never used it. After all the fuss with this new one and not being able to get to my files, I think I'll install it again. So I'll click your link tomorrow.


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## Erin99 (Nov 6, 2013)

Thanks, Mouse! DropBox is soooo useful. You never have to worry about lost files again (though every so often I make a non-DropBox backup of my stories to be sure; you can never have too many backups!)

I do hope you get your laptop up and running (and not just because of DropBox!). 




And Jastius, Seph just got your notification email this morning - thank thank thank you!


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## Phyrebrat (Nov 6, 2013)

I clicked and downloaded a few days ago, sorry I forgot to let you know. Been busy resigning from one of my my hellacious jobs and damage-limiting 

pH


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## TheDustyZebra (Nov 7, 2013)

I already have Dropbox, but I may see about getting it for my son with your link -- I'll let you know!

Dropbox actually did manage to lose one of my files, just for the record -- it was an update to one that was already in there, and I never did figure out what happened to it. It wasn't in the "versions" thing, either. I only lost an evening's work, though, which is better than losing the whole thing by not having Dropbox.


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## Erin99 (Nov 7, 2013)

Hello, TDZ! I'm sorry to hear you lost a file with DB. I have, touch wood, no bad experiences with it - and I've had it about three years. Anyway, no, you should log in and send a referral to your son from your own account, which will get _you_ the extra space. It seems wrong that you would lose out! 


pH - thank you!!! (A plain thank you never feels enough, does it?) You must be the one we got an email about yesterday evening, if that's when you installed it.

And... I'm sorry to hear about your personal life. I hope the resignation means you're happier in some way and that you get another job immediately if you need one.


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## Phyrebrat (Nov 8, 2013)

Leisha said:


> pH - thank you!!! (A plain thank you never feels enough, does it?) You must be the one we got an email about yesterday evening, if that's when you installed it.
> 
> And... I'm sorry to hear about your personal life. I hope the resignation means you're happier in some way and that you get another job immediately if you need one.


 
No need to worry about thanking me  - you're the one who has probably done me a favour!

Yay, I resigned on Monday... three more weeks to go in this place. I swear it's Hutt-controlled here. 

pH


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## Erin99 (Nov 11, 2013)

Sorry - haven't been back for a couple of days. I promised someone I'd help them with their story, and it's taken up all my PC time for 2-3 days.

Anyway.... *shudders* I always hated Mr Hutt. (Anyone else call him Java the Hutt???) He's like a giant, evil grub-type thing. And I don't normally have a problem with grubs!!!

Well, pH, you've less time until you leave work, now, so...  (Good luck with everything that follows.)


As for DropBox... it doesn't register the extra space until a person has signed up and then installed it, at which point we get an email confirmation, but with so many of you being amazing (and I found out who the mystery installer was - thank you again!), there's no rush for you to do so, pH.  You'll have other things on your mind besides DropBox!


But, everyone, please know how grateful we (Seph and I) are. I did not predict so many people helping out!


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## David Evil Overlord (Dec 29, 2013)

Leisha, there have been a couple of times lately where I've opened my WIP, and um, spent all my writing time surfing the net...looking for inspiration, researching, that kind of thing...

Anyway, I also have Amazon Cloud Drive. And if I don't make any changes to my WIP, then Amazon Cloud Drive "helpfully" writes over it with an earlier version.

Dropbox has probably saved my last 2000 words worth of work. Dropbox good, Amazon Cloud Drive bad.


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