Working with Multiple Computers (For Students)

Step 2 Make Dropbox Happen

The Dropbox folder created on your computer basically acts like any other folder, except every file has either a little check mark in a green circle or two arrows inside a blue circle. If you see a green check mark, it means that that file is synchronized with the file on the Dropbox servers. Every time you modify and save a file it will automatically synchronize the change with all the computers you have the client on, even being so thoughtful as to only bother uploading the bytes that have been changed, saving time and bandwidth. To be extra helpful, you'll always have a little icon in your menu bar / toolbar that lets you know what Dropbox's status is.

This isn't really much of a step as it's very self-explanatory. Just start saving files you want synchronized to a folder in your Dropbox. And that's it; you'll be taking advantage of the coolest part of Dropbox within seconds. All your files will show up on any other computers you have associated with your account, as well as being accessible from any computer via Dropbox's wonderful web interface. Included with this step are a few screenshots showing what my Dropbox looks like on my Mac, on my Eee, and on any computer via the web. Using Dropbox really changed the way I work; I made a little stand for my Eee out of the plastic covering of a 100 DVD spindle, which is very sleek and surprisingly stable. And, it keeps the power cord in place; I just throw the end of it into the inside of the spindle when I take the Eee. The only problem with this stand is that you cannot easily access the Eee's keyboard and mouse. But this shouldn't matter: Dropbox should prevent you from having to work on your secondary computer when your primary one is around, and if you really need to use your secondary computer, you can avoid having to touch it by hopping over to Step 6 and checking out syngery. I've included here a photo of this stand.

You can end your affair with this instructable here if you're satisfied, or you can go on for some information on additional programs and methods you can use to improve your multi-computer.