The cloud storage and sync offering from Sharpcast, SugarSync, has released a public beta of its OS X client today, complementing the existing Windows, web and mobile (WinMo + Blackberry, iPhone coming soon) clients. The Mac client and the Windows client appear pretty much the same, but once you set up your sync you don't have to look at the client UI very often.SugarSync is a for-pay service that extends your local files seamlessly to your other computers, to a secure webpage, and pretty much to anywhere you think they ought to go. CEO Gibu Thomas describes SugarSync as "get my stuff everywhere," a supercharged and cross-platform version of .Mac iDisk synchronization. Our colleagues at Download Squad have checked out the service in detail, and there's a good writeup at webware.com as well.
To use SugarSync, you can define a set of folders to sync, photos to share, "Magic Briefcase" files that live in the cloud and sync down on demand, click and go -- then the defined content will be available on all your computers. With both "full sync" and "light sync" modes, you can leave rarely used files on the SugarSync side and only retrieve them as needed (great for those MacBook Air users hungry for storage). You can also selectively share photo galleries or other content via the web UI.
Once you get past the 45-day, 10 GB of storage trial period, you can use the discount available through 4/15 to get a half- off data plan (starts at $25/yr for 10 GB, up to 250 GB for $250/yr).The advantages of SugarSync for backup, specificity of synced items, and a supported client may make you give it a look as an alternative to iDisk, or to cloud solutions like OmniDrive, JungleDisk or other clients for Amazon's S3 that require you to roll your own synchronization plan.
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
3-20-2008 @ 2:11PM
yo said...
I'm a crazy email archiver. I have nested folders in mail.app that i'm religious about keeping up to date. Thus, it makes it tough for me to use 2 computers b/c I really like to archive/organize my emails in 1 place.
Could I use this service to sync all the mail folders b/t two macs? It sounds like it, but I just want to make sure...
TIA
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3-20-2008 @ 2:39PM
Kiren said...
Hello,
Thanks for your interest in SugarSync! The Mac version of the SugarSync client is still in Beta, and one if its current limitations is that it has performance problems when syncing large numbers (tens of thousands) of small files (such as a Mail archive.) I'd therefore recommend that you hold off on using SugarSync to synchronize your Mail files until the Mac client comes out of beta later this Spring. In the mean time, go ahead and use the Mac client for documents, music, photos, etc, and let us know what you think of the product!
Cheers,
Kiren
Manager, Platform Technologies
Sharpcast
3-20-2008 @ 2:47PM
Simon Abramson said...
But, if you own a few gig of hosted space on the web couldn't you set up your mac to backup to a secure area on that hosted space? Is there any software that will backup my mac to an FTP server?
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3-20-2008 @ 3:04PM
Aaron Bailey said...
Simon, the great thing about SugarSync over FTPing files to a webhost is that 1) it's automatic and effortless, 2) it syncs files across multiple computers -- I've got my home directory synced between my laptop and desktop and 3) files are available from a secure website which can also be accessed from my iPhone in case my laptop goes missing. It's a pretty cheap service for what you get.
3-21-2008 @ 9:15AM
Ken said...
I've just been trying out Dropbox (http://www.getdropbox.com) and like it so far. Are there any obvious differences that would make me want to use SugarSync instead?
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3-21-2008 @ 11:27AM
Michael Rose said...
Hi Ken --
I'm writing up a Dropbox preview now. In essence, the Dropbox functionality is a lot like the SugarSync "Magic Briefcase" -- a single folder that autosyncs to multiple destinations. The only way to add more folders to your Dropbox is to link them in via "ln -s".
SugarSync gives you more control over which folders get synced, and lets you sync files to mobile devices.
3-21-2008 @ 9:34AM
yo said...
Thanks so much for the response! I like when a dev pays attention to customer questions and actually answers them. :)
I do indeed have tens of thousands of email messages archived. I may take a look for other files and such in the meantime until the mac version is out of beta.
Thanks!!!
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3-21-2008 @ 1:06PM
Ken said...
Hi Michael,
Thanks for the extra info. I guess what I'm not seeing from the SugarSync website is the Finder/Explorer integration that Dropbox has.
Thinking about it, though, I guess perhaps the point is that SugarSync is *so* integrated that it's not necessary to do anything beyond setting it up in the first place.
Definitely worth giving SugarSync a trial, I think.
Reply
4-06-2008 @ 2:38PM
Chris said...
I have an activated AT&T iPhone. I have been attempting to get to JailBreakme and installer the installer app. I have followed all the suggestions including rebooting the phone and connect the iPhone to iTunes on my laptop. I have been attempting to do this for about a month now and when I get to the link http://www.jailbreakme.com/files/y.tiff and green bar moves across the link and then simply hangs. This has been very consistent over many tries. Any suggestions?
Thank you
Chris
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