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Dropbox silently installed new file manager app on users’ systems

arstechnica.com

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Re: Dropbox silently installed new file manager app on users’ systems

#231

Post by jammygit »

> Update 4:06pm ET: Dropbox says this was a mistake. "We recently announced a new desktop app experience that is now currently available in Early Access. Due to an error, some users were accidentally exposed to the new app for a short period of time. The issue has been resolved, though there might be a short lag for some users to see resolution. We apologize for any inconvenience this has caused."

Also, for linux users:

> On Linux, well, Dropbox doesn't care enough about Linux to port the file manager app over. Lucky penguins.

Re: Dropbox silently installed new file manager app on users’ systems

#232

Post by bhouston »

joshuamorton wrote: post #213
TeMPOraL wrote: post #152

Earlier quoted context omitted.

What's up with them? They now have three applications to do file syncing? Google Drive, Backup & Sync, and Drive File Stream? I've kept using Dropbox for all these years because they never confused people like this. There was a single app that gave you a folder that synced.

Just two, I think, the Drive applet was named Backup and Sync, while the Drive cloud-thing is still Drive. And DFS is a beefier, enterprisier, version of Backup and Sync. I think?

Drive stream pretends to be a network drive and hides syncing. It locally caches files on demand and uploads and deleted local copies in the background. From my perspective it is just always up to date and let's me have tbs of files on a small computer.

It is a game changer because it is simple. It is a virtual drive in the cloud that is fast and seamless and behaves as if it is local.

Re: Dropbox silently installed new file manager app on users’ systems

#233

Post by slig »

TeMPOraL wrote: post #172
gwbas1c wrote: post #59

I've worked for a major Dropbox competitor for almost a decade. Shenanigans like this don't surprise me. This happens because product managers, developers, designers, ect, like to get creative. They think that they need to invent something new; AND, we (in the industry) see how a certain group of users is constantly confused by the files and folders concept. Usually, cooler heads prevail and remind everyone why our c…

> This happens because product managers, developers, designers, ect, like to get creative. They think that they need to invent something new Capitalism is supposed to be about efficient allocation of resources. Cutting down the fat. Taking away materiel and capital from people who squander it and giving it to people who can put it to good work. How come that those product managers, developers, designers, etc. all hav…

Reddit had 20 designers to do their redesign, really makes one think [1].

[1]: https://www.wired.com/story/reddit-redesign/?mbid=synd_digg

Re: Dropbox silently installed new file manager app on users’ systems

#234

Post by RobotRidge »

carti wrote: post #68
redm wrote: post #7

I don't think this was a mistake. The mistake is that they were automatically switched but I'm sure they intended to download and install it in the background. I know several people who clicked "try the new dropbox" and it was instantly installed/available. I'm not sure this is a problem because I/they asked to try it, but it still felt a bit odd that it was already installed. Uncanny Valley. https://en.wikipedia.org…

I don't think the uncanny valley concept is really applicable here, unless the file manager resembles a human. It's certainly a departure from the expected behavior, though.

Anything that looks almost like what you expect, but is not quite what you expect, can qualify as falling into the uncanny valley. That term doesn't exclude definitions outside of robotics / AI but really applies to any UI.

A good example of this is trying to emulate OS UI (like a file manager that looks like Windows or MacOS) in a browser using Java - this used to happen more than it does now. But whenever you interacted with it, it wasn't quite web UI and it wasn't quite OS ui - even though it was trying to be.... It was really terrible UX and has since fallen out of favor and been replaced by UI that is clearly web - Dropbox's website is a great example. That's because it fell into the uncanny valley.

TLDR; if it almost does what you expect, but not quite, it could be uncanny valley.

Re: Dropbox silently installed new file manager app on users’ systems

#235

Post by veidr »

I wonder how many Dropbox users are like me. I still pay for it, for one reason only: all the stuff I have shared with a Dropbox link.

I set up Syncthing, and it completely and flawlessly replaced the Dropbox folder syncing. (It's actually way better, because the sync part is as reliable, but unlike Dropbox it also supports symlinks, meaning I can sync my active ongoing work, including stuff like git repos with uncommitted changes — no need to commit some unfinished work-in-progress before moving to a new location. Plus, since I'm not sharing my data with Dropbox employees and thus by extension the US government plus whoever hacks them, I can store even private data in the folders I sync.)

But the "share with link" feature of Dropbox works really, really well. Want to paste a video into a bug report, but not deal with horridly slow JIRA? Just paste the Dropbox link. Want to share a 500MB cute video of your kids? Dropbox link. Want to paste an image into an HN discussion? You can't, but you can easily paste a Dropbox link. Giving a talk at a conference and want a few friends to critique your delivery beforehand? Record yourself practicing and email/text/whatever them the Dropbox link.

I suspect (without evidence) that lots of Dropbox users are like me. I've shared hundreds of things that way over the years, and although it isn't mission-critical or anything, I don't want those links to go dark.

So I keep paying. That's why I think their tiny 2GB free plan is important. If the stuff you've shared includes even a handful of videos, you quickly exceed that limit.

In my case, if they upped the free limit to 25GB, I would cancel my paid service immediately.

Re: Dropbox silently installed new file manager app on users’ systems

#236

Post by chubs »

It seems to me that every other month this certain company does something that is anti-their customer base, and maybe there's a market for people considering moving away from them?

I've been inspired lately by the people who do Pinboard and Arq - both seem to be doing the one-man-band software thing, making something small and niche yet making a living out of it.

Background info: Arq is a one-off purchase app that backs up to your cloud storage account (eg you have an AWS account with an S3 bucket, and Arq backs up to there).

I was thinking of making a native Mac app Dropbox clone that would be much like arq (as in, BYO storage account).

Eg it does automatic two-way sync of a folder to S3.

Eg a company could have an AWS S3 account, and buy a copy of this app for each staff member, and they could all sync to the same S3 account.

I'd charge like $30 for it, which is vs $120/year for dropbox, and your S3 / Backblaze B2 pricing would be tiny.

Do you think this is crazy? Would you use it if I made it?

Do you think it's a good enough idea to put on indiegogo / kickstarter / producthunt and see if there's any traction before starting on this?

Thanks peeps

Re: Dropbox silently installed new file manager app on users’ systems

#237

Post by mr_toad »

papln wrote: post #114
bhouston wrote: post #40

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> "But," you may ask, "so much more you could do! What about task management, calendaring, customized dashboards, virtual white boarding. More than just folders and files!" > > No, shut up. People don't use that crap. They just want a folder. A folder that syncs. This argument is a good one but it only covers the rise of Dropbox. We are now in a different era. Dropbox's functionality is now table stakes and not somet…

> Windows by default has cloud sync on Mac and iOS and Linux and Android? > macOS does as well. On Windows and Linux and Android?

OneDrive has iOS, MacOS and Android clients. iCloud has Windows and Android clients. As far as I know the only way to access either on Linux is to use a browser.

Re: Dropbox silently installed new file manager app on users’ systems

#238

Post by m463 »

TeMPOraL wrote: post #172
gwbas1c wrote: post #59

I've worked for a major Dropbox competitor for almost a decade. Shenanigans like this don't surprise me. This happens because product managers, developers, designers, ect, like to get creative. They think that they need to invent something new; AND, we (in the industry) see how a certain group of users is constantly confused by the files and folders concept. Usually, cooler heads prevail and remind everyone why our c…

> This happens because product managers, developers, designers, ect, like to get creative. They think that they need to invent something new Capitalism is supposed to be about efficient allocation of resources. Cutting down the fat. Taking away materiel and capital from people who squander it and giving it to people who can put it to good work. How come that those product managers, developers, designers, etc. all hav…

The world is not planned like you think. All this is emergent behavior, motivated by the views and interests of the many players.

If you're a developer, you might try implementing a new feature. If you're a manager, you might encourage the developer because of his initiative and put it in. Some managers try to differentiate themselves think stuff up and have their folks do it. Marketing folks might come up with some hidden reason (learn more about our customers) and implement something extra just to collect more usage data.

The only place I've seen that discourages wild features is defense contractors. They strictly develop specifications for what will be created, then have requirement documents, then design documents tracking the requirements, then these are followed all the way through to delivery.

Re: Dropbox silently installed new file manager app on users’ systems

#239

Post by 29083011397778 »

TeMPOraL wrote: post #162
kilroy123 wrote: post #14

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I still think this is 100% true and that's still exactly what I want, as a paying Dropbox customer. What they're trying to build now are all things I'll never use.

That's a nice example of why "voting with your wallet" doesn't work. I've been a paying Dropbox customers for years now, and not on the lowest tier either. How much more money and to whom can you or me give, for Dropbox to stop doing the shit they're doing, and forever just remain a folder that syncs on every platform?

Just like in politics, you need the majority to vote with you. Voting in elections can work, and so can voting with your wallet. Neither work unless you have enough people though.

Re: Dropbox silently installed new file manager app on users’ systems

#240

Post by bradknowles »

blackbrokkoli wrote: post #24

Dropbox current direction just makes me sad. I struggled with file management for a long time - balancing accessibility from phone, highly effective programming environments, backing up large quantities of not-small photos, that stuff. So I sat down one afternoon, drafted a directory structure, subbed to Dropbox and...it worked so well. Synced my configs between machines, got an Android app which could preview lot's…

Have you tried rsync.net? I’ve heard good things about them.
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