Online storage and backup services like Dropbox and Box.net are about to get a whole lot more useful with the advent of the iPad. These services mirror directories on your computer, putting a copy in the “cloud”. This is great as a safe, offline backup for your data. It also means that you can access it from anywhere.
One of the big questions about the iPad is how we will get our files on and off. The official way is to drag files into iTunes, where apps capable of handling files will have a special storage area. Another way is email: send a file to yourself and tap on the attachment in mail. A list of apps that can open the file will pop up.
Or you could use something like Box.net’s new iPad app. The free app (Box.net subscription required) connects to your online document repository and lets you browse and preview the files right in the app. The two-pane, Mail-like interface gives a list of files on the left and the preview on the right. Box.net is really aimed at collaboration between teams, and you can edit and comment on each other’s files (with permission). But as the free version of the service gives you a gig of storage and the iPad and iPhone apps are also free, it might be worth signing up just for the easy transfer of files.
We imagine that there will be plenty of solutions like this, and hopefully Box.net will add an “open with” command, too. This would really make the app useful, like Windows Explorer or the Finder.
Box.net for iPad [iTunes via Macworld]
Full story at http://feeds.wired.com/~r/GearFactor/~3/wAtcPBpnwAc/
Posts
No comments:
Post a Comment