Linux Rants

I’ve been using DropBox now for a while, and I love the functionality of the application. It’s just a really great idea. I have it installed on four or five different computers, and can use it to synchronize my files among them. Beyond that, I have several people that I can share my files with that will just automatically see my updates whenever I make them.

I love DropBox.

So, what is this SparkleShare you speak of? SparkleShare is a free and open source version of DropBox. It is built by people who care about privacy and freedom. Not only can you use it however you like, you are also free to modify and redistribute it when you give the recipients the same freedoms (that was blatantly ripped off from their website by the way, so you should go read it).

What do I like about SparkleShare over DropBox?

First of all, let me say that SparkleShare is in it’s early stages, so not everything in place. I do think it will eventually beat DropBox for features. The biggest one for me is the fact that you can setup your own host. If you’re not into that kind of thing, that’s not required, but the fact that this option is available just makes me grin ear to ear. All communication between the clients and the hosts is encrypted, and the contents of the server can be encrypted as well.

Right now, I’m waiting on the Windows and the Android client to be available, and then I’m going all in on this. My plan is, SparkleShare installed on a Linux server, with my files residing on a Drobo FS. The combination of the three will lead to an extremely stable, redundant, virtually infinite storage location available to me on any device I own.