

Hidden "Drop Box" feature in Mac OS X Lion lets you sync files across Macs - gcv
http://www.appleinsider.com/articles/11/11/02/hidden_drop_box_feature_in_mac_os_x_lion_lets_you_sync_files_across_macs.html

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stevanl
I hope they find a way around having to ask the user what to do during a
version conflict.

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click170
git never did...

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_delirium
As a closer comparison, DropBox doesn't either; it just dumps a file named
"yourfilename (Other Person's conflicted copy 2011-11-03)" in the directory.

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drivebyacct2
I thought this was a, like standard feature of iCloud. I mean, the slogan is:
"Your content. On all your devices.".

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jbrennan
It is. And "Documents and Data" is just a wrapper term to mean "App Store apps
have APIs to sync data with iCloud", whether it's a Mac or iOS app. It doesn't
mean "Just iWork documents".

I think the reason for confusion is just... so few apps support it yet. Not
even iWork on the Mac supports it yet, I don't think.

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feralchimp
When I imagine telling my Mom, "Good news; the Finder is an iCloud app!" I
very clearly understand why Apple has not published this as a feature.

Nice that it works, though.

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Srirangan
Why is this Mac specific? This is exactly the sort of feature that must be
cross platform.

Does Apple really think it will have a monopoly in the years ahead?

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sunchild
I don't agree that cross-platform is a requirement. For example, I haven't
touched a Windows-only PC in years. Also, Dropbox can't sort out access
control precisely because it is cross-platform. That's just one example of
many downsides of supporting all major platforms.

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raganwald
This is one of those classic forks in the road.

If you make it cross platform, you make it easier to be a lingua franca of
sharing between loosely connected people. Dropbox is handy for sharing project
files between consultants and clients, for example.

OTOH, if you make it platform-specific, you can make it a better experience
for people who use it to synchronize their own files or between closely
connected people such as colleagues on a team that have a single standard OS.

The whole thing seems analogous to Apple’s strategy for integrating hardware
and software. It sacrifices “interoperability” for just being better. I
suspect a lot of the same arguments apply here.

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wanorris
It's also an hedge against someone deciding they want a 4G Android phone, a
BlackBerry, a Kindle Fire, a Windows 8 tablet or whatever comes along next
week in addition to their other Apple devices. This provides another incentive
not to mix and match.

Or an incentive to stick with Dropbox if you think you might want a heterodox
solution.

