Do you keep two computers synchronized? i.e. work + home. If so, how?

[wwdj]

@ Darwin , lovely to hear that , in case you have any questions or remarks while using it , don't hesitate to contact us via http://support.nomadesk.com 

[ajp]

This case is quite a)techie, b)purpose-specific, but nevertheless it might give some ideas.

10 years owning PDAs has left me with lots of notes; simple text notes that every respectable PDA let's you take. While using Palm I simply used the notes app and sync'ed to Palm Desktop. Some limitations arise, but all in all, it does the trick. Now I have a Windows Smartphone and it didn't come with a notes app. I bought a suite that includes a notes app which is really a plain text note editor. So now I mirror my notes directory between my smartphone, my personal laptop and my work computer, and to do so, I use Subversion.

I won't go into the details of what Subversion (or any version control system) does; just let's say it allows you to keep consecutive versions of your files. Since I already pay for a web/app server for my freelance projects, I created a Subversion instance for my notes, and -for the techie inclined- the syncing process becomes transparent and the whole solution is really powerful.

Even the other day I had to quickly check some notes that I haven't synced to the phone yet (no Subversion client for Windows Mobile; I plug the microSD card in the computer to sync), but since I had wi-fi available, I could read them through the web. It saved my butt that day.

Geeky cool hack, indeed! 

[siouxdax]

Surprisingly, I've found Microsoft's PowerToy SyncToy 2.0 to be a great help. I use it to sync up my images, videos, eBooks, et cetera. (Don't hate me for using Microsoft's PowerToys... LOL)

[cmpm]

It seems sync programs are popping up here and there quite a bit.
Unless I'm just now noticing.

http://jonathanstoolbar.blogspot.com/

A decent read.

http://synkron.sourceforge.net/

Another sync program - open source.

And another-

http://www.sugarsync.com/

Personally I like Dropbox and Syncplicity. I use both.
For their ease of use and ability to make links to share any file.
I was surprised to see it in Syncplicity, just right click any synced file or folder and you can make a web link.
Dropbox has it's 'public folder', still having to click and make the link though.

[cranioscopical]

Here's another possibility; Dsynchronize.
I don't have first-hand knowledge of what it can do, or how well it performs.

DSynchronize is a stand-alone utility that let you periodically synchronize two or more folders on Hard Disk, Floppy Disk, LAN, USB Key, CD-DVD (with packet writing software) and FTP server.

It is also possible to specify the time and the day to schedule the synchronization to run, and to create some additional "filters" for other factors.

Real-Time sync is also supported.

- The website

[ewemoa]

I wasn't too crazy about DSynchronize the last time I tried it as it didn't seem to handle files with names containing CJK and such [1].  In fact, a fair number of synchronizing utilities didn't seem to do so well on this point (at least many of the ones that I've tried -- I think this includes PathSync, TreeComp, and SyncExp). 

I think a few of the Java-based ones (JFileSync and DirSync Pro [mentioned already as a Linux alternative, but I believe it works under Windows too]) ended up working out for me in this regard but I found that Java-based stuff sometimes adds a bit of complexity to my portable set-up.

I think SyncBack Freeware might have worked ok, but IIRC it wasn't quite portable.

Was trying Toucan, but I think it still feels quite rough around the edges.

Will have to try Synkron -- hadn't seen that one.


[1] Not in the habit of intentionally creating files w/ names that use CJK, but when I create bookmarks when visiting certain pages, it tends to happen...

[city_zen]

I use Microsoft Groove 2007 for my local networked computers, but it still keeps them synchronized across the intertubes (laptop when at school, etc.) which is nice when working on an essay or programming something. But it really isn't meant for large scale synchronization.

It has a 2GB folder limit, but you can synchronize as many folders as you want. So it's kind of like having an infinite number of Dropbox accounts, except you can use any folder on your computer, and the data doesn't have to be saved in the same path on each computer. For example, I might want to keep my essays on my computer in a "D:/School/2008/English/102/Essays" directory. But on my wife's laptop, just in the "My Documents/Essays" directory for easy finding.

My only real complaints about Groove are that you can't filter files by anything other than what Microsoft Office determines to be good or bad. And it's all or nothing. Meaning that if you want to update exe files, you have to disable the filter and allow all files in the directory to be shared. It would be great if I could add individual exceptions to each directory as needed.

Other than that Groove is awesome!

-Deozaan (September 17, 2008, 04:22 PM)

+1 for Groove (a.k.a. Microsoft Office Groove 2007)

2 free alternatives for file folder syncing
http://www.collaber.com/
http://www.collanos.com/

these are also great for teamwork. They are similar to Groove.

-kartal (September 17, 2008, 05:45 PM)

At the risk of being repetitive (I already praised the software in this thread), I think that Collaber may be even better than Groove, for the following reasons:

- It seems it doesn't have the 2 GB per folder limit
- It's not a Microsoft product 
- For now (its current status is Release Candidate 1, IIRC) it's free. And all accounts created during the beta period (I'm assuming that RC period is included also) will remain free.
- It's being updated MUCH more frequently than Groove. So new features, like file versioning, are likely to be implemented in coming releases. And, of course, bugs fixed.

Collaber is definitely worth being taken into consideration.

Please note that in all of theses solutions (Groove, Collaber, etc.) your data remains in your computer/s. Their servers are only used temporarily for synchronization purposes. And, at least in the case of Collaber (I haven't checked the other's FAQ), all data is encrypted during transport.

Disclaimer: I am in no way, shape or form related to the Collaber development team

[MeMyself]

DirSync Pro 1.0 Final is just released; See: directorysync.sourceforge.net. It is open-ource (free) and i is written in Java and so it could be run on all platforms.

I have been using it for a while and I like it!  It has a clear user interface and it does just it says: synchronizing. There are no trash-functionality (which you never use) which may make it unneeded complex. It is very fast too!

[ewemoa]

Thanks for pointing out the release of DirSync Pro 1.0 -- will have to check it out. 

I like that it has a preview feature   However, I found that JFileSync makes it easier to choose not to sync certain individual things after previewing.  May be that kind of thing is already in DirSync Pro and I missed it or perhaps if it isn't there, it will be added eventually.

[Shades]

Since I believe that all those companies offering their services for storing your backups/synchronize your files can never be trusted (after all it is my unique data and for them it's just business).

Don't get me wrong, there is nothing wrong with the off-site backup concept that they offer. I just think that since it is my data, I want to have as much control over it as possible.

While looking for an update for a tool called ExamDiffPro, I saw that the author also has a simple version control system that only requires FTP access. It doesn't require you to setup a CVS, SVN (or any other similar) server, it just requires plain and simple FTP access. With this software you don't need to pay for an extra monthly fee (besides your internet access and own website) to keep your data in your own hands.

For the ones interested, FtpVC
While it is not cheap (50 USD), it is a one time buy. They hand out 20% discounts for students and educators.

[cmpm]

here's another for your own network
looks a lot like goodsync and it's capabilities

best sync

http://www.risefly.com/index.htm

edit-oops, it's shareware, thought it was free
can't find the price anywhere, but didn't look very hard

[Darwin]

Interesting, cmpm. BestSync is sold at four price points - Free, Basic ($15), Premium ($38), Business($78). To find the pricing you have to click on Contact at the top of the page and then Online Buy on the left hand pane of the page that loads and then scroll all the way down the page. Bizarre!

For personal user, the activation number is equal to the license number PLUS ONE, that is, if you have ONE license, you can activate it on TWO computers.
 For enterprise user, ONE license can be activated on only ONE computer.

That's as far as I got - I got tired of looking for the differences between versions.

[cmpm]

Yeah, Deception in their website.
Not clear on key things.

BestSync would be one to stay away from imo.

[Armando]

Goodsync, mentionned by cmpm a few times is 19.95 today (34% saving) on bitsdujour.

http://www.bitsdujou...ftware/goodsync-pro/

[cmpm]

If it's in you network places or shared docs, they can be synced, with Goodsync. Without limits for the pro version.

I am trying humyo.com and it's program, but there is no sync capabilities without a purchased plan. Although you can upload up to the specified limits.

[Deepthi]

Hi @ ALL

To solve all your problems for active collaboration we introduce Collaber. It is an Collaboration software which lets you synchronize with your team members in an easier way then ever before. You can work any no.of computers synchronized at a same time. Its absolutely an free Software with unlimited space. There are more than 14 tools to make your virtual office effective. Keep all your data secured.

In a very short span people started saying it is an alternative for Groove.

Check www.collaber.com for more details  on Collaber:)

[cmpm]

You have a fine setup in Collaber.

But some people do not want the middle man, the server run by another party. Which is the way a lot of sync programs work.

But there are a few that can deal directly with network places and shared folders over the net or home network. Both free and not free.