Thank ye for th' (giga)bites!

In honor of International Talk Like a Pirate Day, I've translated the previous post into Pirate:

I be havin' t' say a big thank ye t' th' folks o'er at Dropbox. Thank ye fer me 50 GB account.

I posted earlier that Dropbox be available t' th' public, an' would soon allow customers t' purchase 50GB accounts fer $10 per moon, or $100 annually. I be doubtful that 50GB be worth th' $100 (an' I still be) but I now be havin' an opportunity t' test that theory fer th' next voyage.

Ye be seein', I won a contest fer beta-testers that provided 100 randomly selected swabbies a 50 GB account fer a voyage. I be so excited t' be seein' th' notification pop up in me system tray I actually skipped ou' t' th' galley wi' glee.

Despite th' impressions gi'en from me earlier post, I love Dropbox. `Tis th' epitome o' simplicity. Any file in yer Dropbox folder be synced between all folders instantly.

I`ll post more on this later, but one o' th' best things ye can do wi' Dropbox be create a password captainship system. Here`re th' basics:

1. Download KeePass Portable from PortableApps.com
2. Install (extract) t' yer Dropbox Folder.
3. Run KeePass, an' establish th' database in yer dropbox folder.

Now ye`ll be havin' an up-t'-date password captainship system across all yer (Windows) computers without a true application install. KeePass has versions fer *nix an' Mac`s, so ye can enjoy th' sync-y goodness across all platforms.

Hade o'er t' www.GetDropBox.com an' grab a free 2GB account Ya horn swogglin' landlubber!

Also, visit this link to see all of ZeroXP in Pirate!

Drop(box) and Gimme 50!

I have to say a big thank you to the folks over at Dropbox. Thank you for my 50 GB account.

I posted earlier that Dropbox was available to the public, and would soon allow customers to purchase 50GB accounts for $10 per month, or $100 annually. I was doubtful that 50GB was worth the $100 (and I still am) but I now have an opportunity to test that theory for the next year.

You see, I won a contest for beta-testers that provided 100 randomly selected people a 50 GB account for a year. I was so excited to see the notification pop up in my system tray I actually skipped out to the kitchen with glee.

Despite the impressions given from my earlier post, I love Dropbox. It's the epitome of simplicity. Any file in your Dropbox folder is synced between all folders instantly.

I'll post more on this later, but one of the best things you can do with Dropbox is create a password management system. Here're the basics:

1. Download KeePass Portable from PortableApps.com
2. Install (extract) to your Dropbox Folder.
3. Run KeePass, and establish the database in your dropbox folder.

Now you'll have an up-to-date password management system across all your (Windows) computers without a true application install. KeePass has versions for *nix and Mac's, so you can enjoy the sync-y goodness across all platforms.

Head over to www.GetDropBox.com and grab a free 2GB account.

Zero Experience Redirects

Now Zero Experience redirects correctly. Typing in either www.zeroxp.com or zeroxp.com will drop you here.

Hint: just type zeroxp in the address bar, then press [CTRL]+[Enter] to have your browser automatically send you (t)here.

Cancelling Vonage

In an earlier post I mentioned that my wife and I were considering canceling our Vonage account when the free months expired. On a whim, checked the account found that they were set to charge us on the 25th of September. I called to cancel, fully expecting them to hang on to me with another Free Three Month offer on my $4.99 incoming-only, residential hold plan.

The poor CSR seemed down when I called. Things aren't going well for Vonage as shown by the chart below. They only added 2000 net subscribers to their pool last quarter. The stock is way down. Just not looking good.

Anyway, the CSR only tried one (feeble) save attempt. He generously offered to triple what I (don't) pay for unlimited outgoing calls. Yes, $14.99 plus one free month and I could keep my phone number (which hasn't been used, but once, since June). I pointed out my last offer was three months, and that I was on a $4.99 plan. We cancelled the account.

So, here's a picture of the success Vonage has had over the last two years:(Sorry for the blurry picture, Blogger's fault. Here's a link to the chart.)

It's kind of sad that we have to cancel. We loved Vonage while we were using it, but with our new found sense of frugality, backed by our cell phones and email communication, there really wasn't a need for the service. I get all the incoming calls I need on GrandCentral which was a double-whammy against Vonage.

For those of you interested, Vonage charges all customers a disconnect fee:

As outlined in our Terms of Service, a disconnect fee of $39.99 per voice line is charged to all customers along with any applicable taxes. Your total refund of ($2.69) includes this disconnect fee, all pending charges, credits, and applicable taxes. For more information about our return policy, please refer to our Terms of Service: http://www.vonage.com/features_terms_service.php.

I hope they're still around in the future, because I love the features they provided. However, it doesn't make sense to maintain something we don't need for $15 a month (plus taxes!). Though that disconnect fee makes me think twice.

Dropbox Available to the Public

I've been using an amazing tool for the past four months - Dropbox. I found it while search for an online backup tool. I thought I'd pick a simple solution that allowed me to stick my files on some server in the cloud. I was pleasantly surprised by what Dropbox delivered.

Dropbox's greatest strength is the real-time synchronization of files between multiple computers and the cloud. Each computer synchronizes files when connected to the internet by contacting Dropbox's servers. Unlike other backup tools, the source computer does not need to be online for the other computers to synchronize.

Free accounts include 2 GB of online storage, though a 50 GB $10 monthly/$100 annual paid account will be coming in the next few days. That's somewhat higher than competitors offerings, and Dropbox may not have the right features to persuade more savvy users to pull out the plastic, but many users will be happy with the free account. Tech users will appreciate the cross-platform functionality of the Windows, Mac and Linux clients.

Still, with others like S3, Live Mesh and Mozy around, why get into Dropbox?

Simplicity. There is no easier way to quickly synchronize files between computers. The three-step sign up process involves downloading the client, installing and creating an account, and linking a computer to the cloud. You'll find a "My Dropbox" folder in the My Documents folder after install. Then, true to it's name, dropping files into My Dropbox synchronizes your files to the cloud almost instantly.

I use my account to (sort-of) synchronize my Firefox profile across all the computers I use while I wait for Mozilla Weave to hit prime-time. I also use it to maintain an up-to-date gamut of portable applications between my machines. I keep my favorite photos, work documents, and even an BartPE ISO in the mix. Anytime I make changes, my files are automatically updated. These files are also available through my web interface everywhere.

So what is Dropbox missing? The ability to select individual folders, and restore deleted and versioned files from the client interface are on the top of my list. The latter especially hurt when I deleted a large file accidentally. An "undo" feature would be welcome. Additionally the ability to select which folders give notification could silence the annoying tool-tip balloons on my work laptop when my portable defrag runs on my home desktop when I'm not there.

Dropbox has many of these features and a few surprises in the works. New builds come almost daily, and features follow suit.

In the end, there are multiple uses for Dropbox. I won't be backing up my 30 GB of family videos and photos for $100 a year (S3 runs about $2 a month for that), but they have persuaded me to leave my USB flash drive at home.