TR Forums

For years I have had 4 devices regularly connected to and updating to/from DropBox. I even use DropBox for my eWallet updates.

But today, I noticed that my Laptop either didn't have the desktop folder (or it got uninstalled?), so when I reinstalled DropBox, I got a message that says I have to pay $119 per year or eliminate devices because the current limit is 3 and I have 7 defined. I can get rid of three obsolete devices, but I still have two laptops, an iPhone and two iPads. One of the iPads is an only-at-home device and never leaves the house, but I did want to keep using it to access my various PDF user manuals for everything ranging from kitchen and office appliances to my software and game userguides.

If I really need to, I can transition those PDFs to my NAS and just host them there. No limits and no extra cost. But I still use Dropbox to host my eWallet syncro wallet, and want to update across the PCs and iOS devices. So I'm kind of stuck there.

When did Dropbox go to 3 devices for the free account? That kind of sucks. If I need to, I'll find another way to syncronize my passwords, even if I move that too to my Synology NAS. It's working fine for other syncronization duties. But sheesh, I hate the idea of being forced to make changes...

Ah, remember when TV used to be free, too?

Meet the new "disruption", same as the the old "disruption"...

This is exactly why I don't rely on cloud services unless I really have to; you're completely vulnerable to the current management's whims. I dropped using Hamachi as an absolutely perfect virtual LAN solution for the same kind of change (they limited it to 3 or 4 devices or something stupid).

When did it happen? When Dropbox had to face the reality that they would go out of business if they kept giving stuff away. Bandwidth/storage isn't free, ads don't work, consumers don't want to pay. Give it time; even the 3 device limit will be "adjusted" further.

RIP Photobucket as well; the next time I get another email about my account exceeding its limits I'm going to delete the whole thing.

It was in March of this year that they limited it, btw.

Yup... all of these internet businesses which have been operating at a loss for years have finally figured out that they need to get to a positive cash flow somehow. How dare they!

Okay, if it was changed in March, that kind of fits. I'll have to reconsider my plans w/Dropbox. At least I have a NAS now which I didn't have when I started an account w/Dropbox. And I got free use from it for what...the last 10 years or so? Not bad.

Dropbox also changed their paid plans. I recently got a notification that the Dropbox Plus tier has gone from $9.99/month for 1TB to $11.99/month for 2TB (though there's a discount if you pay annually rather than monthly).

If you actually need 2TB, that's a "deal" (twice the storage for 20% more); if you weren't already pushing anywhere near 1TB, then effectively it's just a 20% price hike. They do include a "rewind" feature (get back old copies of your files) but it's limited to 30 days of history so it's not exactly what you'd call a backup feature (assuming you're comfortable with cloud backup at all).

On the other hand, the existing free cloud storage companies -- primarily Microsoft OneDrive and Google Drive -- are making you pay in other ways. If you're ok with having your data indexed and used by who knows what AI experiment -- and especially in google's case, used for targeted advertising -- then free is cheap. If you're not, then maybe you want to pay real money for storage. (Or I guess you could go to the trouble of encrypting everything you put into the cloud... or not use the cloud at all).

UberGerbil wrote:

Dropbox Plus tier has gone from $9.99/month for 1TB to $11.99/month for 2TB (though there's a discount if you pay annually

Backblaze is $6/mo for unlimited, or $5/mo paid yearly.

Backblaze is for archival storage, not ready access.

roncat wrote:

Ah, remember when TV used to be free, too?

Meet the new "disruption", same as the the old "disruption"...

Anyone who really expects to do everything with other peoples money is living in a strange universe.

Used to use Dropbox quite a lot, but with their ever reducing capacity and features nowadays I've mostly switched to Google Drive.

If you're ok leaving your files with big brother it really is quite a bit more useful. Being able to search for excerpts of text inside the files using Google's engine that allows for misspellings and sound-alikes is very cool. There's also the Google Apps API that will let you write all sorts of scripts, like CLI-based downloads so you can use it inside a powershell script. (Yes I realize Dropbox also has its own API)

Or just get a better router and plug in a USB drive and host your own files.

KingLear wrote:

Or just get a better router and plug in a USB drive and host your own files.

I just got my first NAS heh...single bay so y'all would probably laugh at it but I don't need more.

LostCat wrote:

KingLear wrote:

Or just get a better router and plug in a USB drive and host your own files.

I just got my first NAS heh...single bay so y'all would probably laugh at it but I don't need more.

Well, with drive capacities being what they are these days, single-bay is probably enough for most people unless you want to run some sort of redundancy (RAID-1/5/6/10).

just brew it! wrote:

Well, with drive capacities being what they are these days, single-bay is probably enough for most people unless you want to run some sort of redundancy (RAID-1/5/6/10).

I've had pretty good longevity on my drives overall also, not worried about one failing on me at all. Most of my important stuff stays on local SSDs. I don't even need it for much, but we'll see...certainly have plans.

LostCat wrote:

just brew it! wrote:

Well, with drive capacities being what they are these days, single-bay is probably enough for most people unless you want to run some sort of redundancy (RAID-1/5/6/10).

I've had pretty good longevity on my drives overall also, not worried about one failing on me at all. Most of my important stuff stays on local SSDs. I don't even need it for much, but we'll see...certainly have plans.

Heh... yeah, all of your HDDs live until they're obsolete (or nearly so)... until you hit the one that doesn't. My DIY NAS has always run some form of RAID... though I sometimes also create a non-RAID volume or two to use as cheap "scratch" space.

The reason I have the paid tier of Dropbox is because I volunteer for a non-profit and they use it. Sharing files between a couple of dozen people on three continents requires some kind of solution, and that's the one they chose. (I've been mildly lobbying to look at alternatives for a while now and this price increase may encourage that, but the folks who make the decision are comfortable and happy with it so I'm not holding my breath.)

KingLear wrote:

Or just get a better router and plug in a USB drive and host your own files.

That may be fine for a personal solution, but it's not going to work for everybody.

Waco wrote:

This is exactly why I don't rely on cloud services unless I really have to; you're completely vulnerable to the current management's whims. I dropped using Hamachi as an absolutely perfect virtual LAN solution for the same kind of change (they limited it to 3 or 4 devices or something stupid).

QFT

I've played too many defunct online games, watched dubious 'services' go by the wayside, lost online-activation software because the server got unplugged, etc. to ever trust anything that doesn't reside on my own hardware. Aside from dealing with shady internet companies, this attitude also forms the foundation of my hardline stance on video game DRM. It's becoming somewhat of a thing in my world due to the emergence of several web based CAD packages. I laughed evilly when Onshape changed their terms, and will laugh twice as evilly when Fusion 360 eventually does the same.