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5 million Dropboxes

blog.dropbox.com

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Re: 5 million Dropboxes

#31

Post by reynolds »

mynameishere wrote: post #22
teej wrote: post #12

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Yeah, it basically just uploads and downloads files. Except I didn't have to teach my mom how to use it. Except that I never have to worry if it's working correctly. Except that it works on every platform I use. Except that it's just a folder on my computer. These aren't features you put on a retail box, but they are the features that set Dropbox apart. "Just works" is incredibly easy to say but incredibly hard to en…

My god people, he just described a toaster. Is a toaster awesome because its operation is straightforward? Or, if you don't like that example, compare it to just about any online game. Consider the incredible complexity and operation requirements of Call of Duty (or whatever you like) and then come up with an adjective for it. How about "awesome". Well, no, that won't do, because Dropbox is "awesome" and Call of Duty…

Says the Call of Duty fanboy.

Re: 5 million Dropboxes

#32

Post by elblanco »

mynameishere wrote: post #22
teej wrote: post #12

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Yeah, it basically just uploads and downloads files. Except I didn't have to teach my mom how to use it. Except that I never have to worry if it's working correctly. Except that it works on every platform I use. Except that it's just a folder on my computer. These aren't features you put on a retail box, but they are the features that set Dropbox apart. "Just works" is incredibly easy to say but incredibly hard to en…

My god people, he just described a toaster. Is a toaster awesome because its operation is straightforward? Or, if you don't like that example, compare it to just about any online game. Consider the incredible complexity and operation requirements of Call of Duty (or whatever you like) and then come up with an adjective for it. How about "awesome". Well, no, that won't do, because Dropbox is "awesome" and Call of Duty…

> Is a toaster awesome because its operation is straightforward?

Yes. We all own one don't we? Ever tried to toast bread without a toaster? It takes far more effort, is far less efficient, and the results are usually far less consistent.

Re: 5 million Dropboxes

#33

Post by elblanco »

swombat wrote: post #13
mynameishere wrote: post #7

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Little bit of adjective inflation here? I mean, it basically just uploads and downloads files.

it basically just uploads and downloads files You obviously have no idea just how many things can go wrong in that apparently simple process. With dropbox, it just doesn't go wrong. That's what's awesome about it - flawless, works every time, and quasi-instant. It's 20x quicker, if i want to give a file to my cofounder who's sitting next to me, to put it in our shared dropbox than to use any other method of sharing.…

Exactly, it's like having an intranet drive, everywhere. Without having to VPN in, and fight with bandwidth problems and other such issues. Plus, since it also stores locally, you can work offline on things that are in your dropbox and it'll sync as soon as you get connectivity.

Re: 5 million Dropboxes

#35

Post by felixmar »

andrewtj wrote: post #17

The users by nationality statistics are interesting. Australia has a population of about 21 million whilst the Netherlands has about 17 million, and yet the former doesn't rate a mention whilst the later does — why? My theory - bandwidth: http://xs4all.nl - € 29,95 per month for 4M Internet. http://internode.on.net - $49.95 per month for 1.5M Internet; 50 gigabyte cap - downloads and uploads are counted.

Xs4all is actually the most expensive consumer ISP in the Netherlands. The cheapest ISPs offer 20 Mb DSL for 20 euros per month. DSL is slowly becoming legacy technology due to high speed fiber and cable connections.

Re: 5 million Dropboxes

#36

Post by mynameishere »

elblanco wrote: post #32
mynameishere wrote: post #22

Earlier quoted context omitted.

My god people, he just described a toaster. Is a toaster awesome because its operation is straightforward? Or, if you don't like that example, compare it to just about any online game. Consider the incredible complexity and operation requirements of Call of Duty (or whatever you like) and then come up with an adjective for it. How about "awesome". Well, no, that won't do, because Dropbox is "awesome" and Call of Duty…

> Is a toaster awesome because its operation is straightforward? Yes. We all own one don't we? Ever tried to toast bread without a toaster? It takes far more effort, is far less efficient, and the results are usually far less consistent.

There's a possibility that this guy's opinion is also the consensus opinion in which case I'm not going to win any arguments. This was all a semantic misunderstanding. When I think of the word "awesome" I think of something that inspires "awe", which I think is beyond the scope of file syncing.

Let me ask you guys one thing though: Is there anyone here willing to admit that they would be incapable of making a workable clone of dropbox in a reasonable amount of time--not on the same scale, of course. The fact that almost everyone who comes to this website could produce something of that complexity is maybe a clue into all this irrationality. Most of us, by contrast, couldn't make Call of Duty (a game which, actually, I've never played). Maybe we're setting our standards where our capabilities are?

Re: 5 million Dropboxes

#37

Post by systems »

They gave nice stats by country and platform.

I would also like to see stats, by free vs paid accounts? How many of the free account actually use their account are close to their quota limits?

It would be nice to know how big can Dropbox scale, how many servers they can afford, etc ... .

Re: 5 million Dropboxes

#38

Post by CapitalistCartr »

mynameishere wrote: post #7
swombat wrote: post #3

Awesome. Dropbox is an awesome product. I install Dropbox on every single machine I have.. it's one of the first things I install. And it's saved me countless hours. Now if only they could sort out the folder sharing model so large folders shared by someone else (who upgraded) don't use up my personal space... (yeah, I know they're working on it.. hurry up!)

Little bit of adjective inflation here? I mean, it basically just uploads and downloads files.

You're looking at the mechanics of it; I value the solutions it provides me. It makes several inconvenient tasks easier or disappear completely.

Re: 5 million Dropboxes

#39

Post by andrewljohnson »

matthew-wegner wrote: post #19

Anyone else notice that Dropbox globally indexes files? If you upload a large file already elsewhere on their servers (Linux distro ISO, scene-made TVRip or DVDRip, etc), it "uploads" instantly, and will begin downloading immediately on your other linked Dropbox machines. Makes me wonder how hard it is to download a file by hash (via the Linux client, parts of which are open-source), without having the file, or how e…

Apple does this with iTunes/MobileMe, and any cloud storage player is aiming for the same network effect.

The cloud storage play is huge for Apple... first they sell you the video, then they sell you the space to store the video, but it doesn't actually take them anymore hard drive space.

And as the media gets bigger and bigger (HD today, who knows tomorrow), Apple sells you more and more storage "space" and their costs only go up marginally.

It's the stuff billion dollar business plans are made of.

Re: 5 million Dropboxes

#40

Post by andrewtj »

felixmar wrote: post #35
andrewtj wrote: post #17

The users by nationality statistics are interesting. Australia has a population of about 21 million whilst the Netherlands has about 17 million, and yet the former doesn't rate a mention whilst the later does — why? My theory - bandwidth: http://xs4all.nl - € 29,95 per month for 4M Internet. http://internode.on.net - $49.95 per month for 1.5M Internet; 50 gigabyte cap - downloads and uploads are counted.

Xs4all is actually the most expensive consumer ISP in the Netherlands. The cheapest ISPs offer 20 Mb DSL for 20 euros per month. DSL is slowly becoming legacy technology due to high speed fiber and cable connections.

Oh, I thought it was middle of the range like Internode. The equivalent of Xs4all in Australia would be Telstra who's ADSL services start at 1.5M with 2gb (upload/download) for $39.95; additional usage charged at 15¢/MB and capped at an excess of $300.
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