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Dropbox Professional

blogs.dropbox.com

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Re: Dropbox Professional

#31

Post by pasukin »

superdaniel wrote: post #19
brchr wrote: post #14

According to the new plans page [1], "shared link controls" for things like passwords and expiration dates will now no longer be available on the Plus plans like they have been for the last 5+ years? Am I reading this correctly? If so, that is a deeply unsatisfying regression buried in this announcement. [1]: https://www.dropbox.com/plans

I noticed that too and that would definitely be a shame to have such a downgrade. I see how Dropbox is trying to diversify their prices based on features. But honestly, they should try to compete harder with providers like Apple and Google by providing different storage tiers. Apple has 2TB for the same $9.99/mo Dropbox provides 1TB. At this point Dropbox has me mostly because of inertia and their reliability.

It's difficult to compare Dropbox to Apple, Google and Microsoft in terms of what they offer and for how much. All three of those giants are able to subsidize their storage offerings. Apple has their hardware business, Google has their ad business, and Microsoft has their software business. The storage offerings from all three are used to entice you into using their other services. It doesn't matter if they're profitable (and I'm willing to bet that they aren't). What does Dropbox have? Nothing but its storage offering.

Re: Dropbox Professional

#32

Post by pasukin »

epberry wrote: post #26
superdaniel wrote: post #19

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I noticed that too and that would definitely be a shame to have such a downgrade. I see how Dropbox is trying to diversify their prices based on features. But honestly, they should try to compete harder with providers like Apple and Google by providing different storage tiers. Apple has 2TB for the same $9.99/mo Dropbox provides 1TB. At this point Dropbox has me mostly because of inertia and their reliability.

Unless it's still coming, I still have expiring and password links on my plus plan.

Existing customers who have access to shared link controls will keep this access. They’re “grandfathered” in.

Re: Dropbox Professional

#33

Post by joshstrange »

jpalomaki wrote: post #29
brightball wrote: post #7

I might sign up for this just for Smart sync. A great next step here would be to venture into the online document signing space (Ecosign, RightSignature, etc). You’ve got probably 70% of what you need for it here already with Showcase. EDIT: Tried to sign up but the linux client doesn't support Smart Sync yet. Support people tell me it's pending.

Smart sync is great news, happy to pay the extra for that. Setting up on new computer has been painful since full sync takes couple of days (lots of small files). With smart it would be actually possible to travel with empty disk and sync needed files on destination.

> Smart sync is great news, happy to pay the extra for that.

I'm not, it doesn't cost them hardly anything extra and yet I have to pay twice as much a month just so I reclaim some HD space?

Re: Dropbox Professional

#34

Post by willtheperson »

digitalengineer wrote: post #3

A showcase portfolio? Is that still a problem in need of fixing? I can't imagine myself using this and I've been using dropbox for ages and I work for myself in the creative industry.

You're on Hacker News and your name is "digitalengineer." You're probably not their target customer :)

I have a bunch of friends in the creative space who use dropbox exclusively to share their work. It's a portfolio for them that's easier to update and control what the prospective client sees. Some of them also have a website portfolio (typically a squarespace setup) but they take so much time to build and maintain with fresh work that they end up sending both a link to the website and dropbox for the latest work.

I totally see why Dropbox is doing this, I just wonder if there are enough creatives who use it this way to make them any substantial gains or if the cool kids convinced them this was the most important thing to do.

Re: Dropbox Professional

#35

Post by SmellTheGlove »

pasukin wrote: post #31
superdaniel wrote: post #19

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I noticed that too and that would definitely be a shame to have such a downgrade. I see how Dropbox is trying to diversify their prices based on features. But honestly, they should try to compete harder with providers like Apple and Google by providing different storage tiers. Apple has 2TB for the same $9.99/mo Dropbox provides 1TB. At this point Dropbox has me mostly because of inertia and their reliability.

It's difficult to compare Dropbox to Apple, Google and Microsoft in terms of what they offer and for how much. All three of those giants are able to subsidize their storage offerings. Apple has their hardware business, Google has their ad business, and Microsoft has their software business. The storage offerings from all three are used to entice you into using their other services. It doesn't matter if they're profit…

If you're a consumer, it's easy to compare, though. Consumers don't care about the vendor's costs, just the price and some perception of stability (of which, if I had to bet, Dropbox and Apple are the most likely to not surprise-discontinue on us in the future).

That said I'm pretty happy with Dropbox and not going to switch. I'd love Smart Sync, though, but not at 2x the price I'm paying for Plus right now. $99 a year is great, $199 not so much.

Re: Dropbox Professional

#36

Post by hellofunk »

jpalomaki wrote: post #29
brightball wrote: post #7

I might sign up for this just for Smart sync. A great next step here would be to venture into the online document signing space (Ecosign, RightSignature, etc). You’ve got probably 70% of what you need for it here already with Showcase. EDIT: Tried to sign up but the linux client doesn't support Smart Sync yet. Support people tell me it's pending.

Smart sync is great news, happy to pay the extra for that. Setting up on new computer has been painful since full sync takes couple of days (lots of small files). With smart it would be actually possible to travel with empty disk and sync needed files on destination.

> Setting up on new computer has been painful

What about Selective Sync which has been there for years?

Re: Dropbox Professional

#37

Post by SmellTheGlove »

brightball wrote: post #7

I might sign up for this just for Smart sync. A great next step here would be to venture into the online document signing space (Ecosign, RightSignature, etc). You’ve got probably 70% of what you need for it here already with Showcase. EDIT: Tried to sign up but the linux client doesn't support Smart Sync yet. Support people tell me it's pending.

> I might sign up for this just for Smart sync.

Not me. I'd pay a little more for Smart Sync, but not double the price. If they went to $129 on Plus and included that feature, I'd upgrade immediately.

If anything, this thread has me looking at OneDrive because I didn't realize $99 a year got you Office + 1TB of storage. I said upthread I didn't intend to switch, but now I'm really thinking.

Re: Dropbox Professional

#38

Post by arachnids »

d--b wrote: post #28

It's not that surprising that Dropbox is moving into this space. They kind of lost the enterprise battle, and are still very popular among arty people who need to share large files easily (and without caring much about security). In a way it's a bit like Apple's move to cater to creative people after losing the enterprise to Microsoft. They have some way to go though, cause the brand is not really there yet...

> They kind of lost the enterprise battle

What is this based on? Not saying you're wrong, just looking for some evidence because that seems like a big claim.

Re: Dropbox Professional

#39

Post by Cookingboy »

arachnids wrote: post #38
d--b wrote: post #28

It's not that surprising that Dropbox is moving into this space. They kind of lost the enterprise battle, and are still very popular among arty people who need to share large files easily (and without caring much about security). In a way it's a bit like Apple's move to cater to creative people after losing the enterprise to Microsoft. They have some way to go though, cause the brand is not really there yet...

> They kind of lost the enterprise battle What is this based on? Not saying you're wrong, just looking for some evidence because that seems like a big claim.

Box and Microsoft dominate this space.

Re: Dropbox Professional

#40

Post by ProfessorLayton »

Dropbox has been dropping out of favor for me. Their app now has non-notifications on my system menu (Check out this new feature!), and it drains my laptop's battery when there's lots of syncing going on. I also I didn't like how they handled the Accessibility controls fiasco.

I bought my parents a subscription to iCloud and whats really great about the product is that they don't even know they have it, they just know their iPhones and Macbook aren't nagging them about space anymore (They're not techies).

So far iCloud has been working really smoothly for them and I'm considering the switch.

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