In an earlier post I talked about Sugar Sync and how I was using it to sync files between my home and work PC.  I thought I’d walk through the research I went through to come to my final decision.

FTP Sync

My first thought was to take  syncing into my own hands and use FTP.  I demoed a product called Good Sync that handles synchronizing files between local drives, network drives, and FTP.  I was impressed with the product, but it didn’t work well over FTP.  At some point the longer sessions was always terminated and it doesn’t seem to auto-reconnect.  I did find a good use for it backing-up pictures from my wife’s computer to mine. If you need a good syncing tool for local or network drives this is a great product, but for my remote needs it fell short.

Flash Drive

I then thought briefly about using Good Sync to sync to a flash drive.  While they do make large flash drives now (up to 64 gig) I need something that’s automated and doesn’t require user interaction (I’m just not disciplined enough).

Sync’ing Services

I then started looking at the various syncing services.  Each seemed to have different feature sets so I created the spreadsheet below for me to help keep track of them all.

Keep in mind these are not all the features of these products, only those I was interested in.  Below are some brief thoughts on each service.

Dropbox

Dropbox seems to be the service on everyone’s lips (the wonders of a private beta).  Speaking of private betas if anyone wants a Dropbox invite let me know.  Dropbox excels in it’s technology.  It provides block level syncing which means if you update a file only the parts that are changed get’s transferred to the central server.  It also provides versioning of the files so you can track your changes.  One major issue is that it will only sync folders under it’s installed directory.  This was a show stopper for me.  I want to sync files/folders anywhere on my machine.  They are working to resolve this in the near future. 

Microsoft Mesh

Microsoft Mesh is really much more than a syncing service.  They also allow you to remote-control any machine you install the agent on.  While their vision is quite ambitious and it could be the next big thing, their current state doesn’t match my needs of a simple file sync tool with good on-line sharing options.

Sugar Sync

Read here for my review.

Syncplicity

Syncplicity was actually a close second for me.  I love their on-line sharing tools and the fact that they provide versioning.  In the end it was a very limited iPhone interface that lead me to go with Sugar Sync.  If the iPhone isn’t on your radar then I would highly recommend Syncplicity.

Apple Mobile Me

While Apple Mobile Me does sync your files, ultimately, it’s much much more.  That more, wasn’t what I was looking for so between that and their rough launch, I moved along fairly fast.

Be In Sync

I’ll be honest… I didn’t spend a lot of time reviewing this one.  While it’s the grand daddy of syncing services it’s starting to show it’s age a bit.

Again please keep in mind these reviews are biased for the features I was most concerned about.  Mainly, customizable syncing of files and folders with good on-line and iPhone sharing functionality.

Hopefully this write up is helpful.

If you remember file sync’ing was one of the features I believe should be built into the OS.  Sync’ing was also something I’ve been wanting to help complete my digital workflow.  So for the last few weeks I’ve been working to find a solution.  Later this week I’ll share all of the sync’ing methods and services I looked at but for now I’ll share the one I picked as my winner.

Sugar Sync is a service that keeps files on 2 or more computers in sync.  It does this by placing an agent on each computer.  The agent copies the files and folders you decide need to be in sync up to a central disk on the Internet where other agents can then download them.  Having this central disk also allows Sugar Sync to provide a web interface for viewing the files from any computer on the Internet.  They also have a iPhone interface that’s very cool.

There’s several services out there that are very similar (again, I’ll share those in an upcoming post).  What made Sugar Sync stand out to me was the level of customization you have in what get’s sync’ed and the tools to share your files on the Internet and iPhone (did I mention to got one?).

See more info on how Sugar Sync works by watching the video below.

The iPhone interface is really what sealed the deal for me.  It allows you to not only view the files on the central disk, but also e-mail files to friends or co-workers.  Talking to a colleague about a presentation you just gave?  Now you can send him the presentation file right in the moment.

Other tools had similar mobile features but none as functional as Sugar Sync’s.

One of the only drawbacks to Sugar Sync is that their free plan in limited to 45 days of use.  Most others had a perpetual free plan albeit at only 2 gigs.  The basic price for Sugar Sync is $25 per year for 10 gigs of central storage, not too bad.

While I’ve only been using the service for four days it’s totally changed the way I think about my files.  I keep having to remind myself that I now have access to all my files wherever I’m at.  No more ‘I wish I could work on that, but I left the file on my laptop at work’.  Remember I don’t bring my laptop home… (why should I when I have a nice desktop machine at home that’s much faster and is ready on). 

I really think that we’re in the middle of a change from mobile computer to ubiquitous computing. 

Evernote is now in a public beta.  They’ve also greatly improved their web interface.  It’s much easier to use and looks great.  Finally they announced the pricing (something to be honest I was worrying about as I’ve grow to rely on this product).  Surprisingly you can use it for free with very generous (in my opinion) allowances.

I really recommend this product, especially if you’re using One Note.