Skip to content
  • PC & Mobile
    • Windows
    • Mac
    • Linux
    • Mobile
    • Android
    • iOS
    • Chrome OS
  • Hardware
    • Hardware & Gadgets
    • Product Review
    • Smart Home
  • Lifestyle
    • Internet
    • Gaming
    • Productivity
    • How Things Work
    • Glossary
  • Cheatsheets
  • About
    • About Us
    • Contact Us
    • Privacy
    • Advertise with Us
    • Write For Us

Dark mode:

Home > Software Hacks

5 More Interesting Ways You Can Make Use of Dropbox

Colin Scattergood
Jul 12, 2010

If you have been following this MTE blog, you will know that we are great lovers of Dropbox. It is easily the best syncing and file storage software out there and we just can’t stop showing our love for it. Previously, we have show you how to make the most out of your Dropbox. This time round, we will show you 5 more ways to utilize your Dropbox.

1. Sharing music

Sharing music on Dropbox is not only a breeze, but one of the coolest features the service is capable of offering. All you need to do is create a Music folder, then share it with your friends. You can all add music to the folder that you think each other would like, and sample any of it that you think they might be right about. Of course, music with DRM can present a problem, but aside from those files, its generally smooth sailing!

dropbox-music-share

2. Installing Android apps

As most of our consistent readers know, I’m a heavy Android user, and am always installing the latest and greatest apps. Part of doing this though, is installing apps that don’t just come from the Android Market. This means downloading apps from the internet and installing them on my phone. Dropbox is an awesome way to do this. From any computer, you can navigate to a site and download an app, then just drag the .apk (Android install package) to your Dropbox, and open Dropbox on your Android device. Then, just open the .apk file, and install! All without wasting valuable internal storage space on your mobile device!

dropbox-android-apk

3. Sharing photos

One of Dropbox’s coolest and most highly touted features is its photo sharing ability, and frankly, it really is cool.  Just drag photos from either your computer’s file browser or photo management program into your Dropbox’s Photos folder, and watch as Dropbox automatically turns these folders into photo albums. Then, share the albums with friends!  This means not only can they view the photos, but they can download high-res versions, which you can’t do through perennial picture sharing powerhouse Facebook.

dropbox-gallery

4. Use it as a multi-platform “clipboard”

One great thing about Dropbox is its speed. Uploads and download are limited only by your connection speed, and they start almost instantly. This is awesome for “copying” and “pasting” files from one computer to another. I commonly throw images back and forth between computers, as I’m working on articles, or projects for work. Just copy and paste something into Dropbox, then copy and paste out of it on another computer. One extra step than copy and paste, and far less than, say, emailing things as attachments.

5. Home security

One geeky tricked I’ve picked up is this one: Use your Dropbox to keep abreast of happenings at your home while you’re away. Here’s how it works:

  • Connect a motion sensor camera to your computer.
  • Whenever the camera detects motion, it takes video.
  • Set the camera software to save the video files, which should be short enough in length and low enough in resolution as to not be too huge of a file size, in your Dropbox folder after downloading the software.

Now, you can just log in to your Dropbox, and check for videos. If there are videos, you know there has been motion at your house, and you can watch them to find out what’s going on!

Conclusion

The fact is, Dropbox has a million uses… It’s truly limited only by our imaginations, and I hope to do another article like this in the future, with another list of great uses for the software. But for the time being, these are some super cool ways to use software that is actually incredibly useful just in its most basic form.

Remember to hit up the comment below with any other unique ideas you have for using Dropbox, in addition to any other similar software you may know about that could compete with it, or any of the features I’ve listed!

Colin Scattergood

Frankly, Colin is a big geek about the things in which he's interested. From tech to science to the business behind it all...When Colin get's in to something, he really get's in to it. Mac's and Android phones are his forte, but you name it and he probably uses it. He's an avid pilot and is also deeply interested in the industries that encompass his technical and well, sort of nerdy hobbies. He is open to any and all communication, so feel free to shoot him an email with comments, questions, suggestions or corrections at any time! Visit him at ColinScattergood.com or ItsTechKnowledgy.com.

Subscribe to our newsletter!

Our latest tutorials delivered straight to your inbox

Popular Posts

How to Verify MD5, SHA-1, and SHA-256 Checksum in Windows

How to Fully Secure Your Mac

How to Set Up and Use OneDrive's Personal Vault in Windows

How to Generate A Public/Private SSH Key in Linux

How to Use AppArmor in Ubuntu

What Is Email Encryption and How Does It Work?

The Best Open Source Tools to Secure Your Linux Server

SELinux vs AppArmor: What Are the Differences and Which One Should You Use?

How to Secure Your Linux Servers With SELinux

How to Secure Your Social Media Accounts

Affiliate Disclosure: Make Tech Easier may earn commission on products purchased through our links, which supports the work we do for our readers.

© 2023 Uqnic Network Pte Ltd.
All rights reserved.

  • About
  • Contact
  • Advertise
  • Write For Us
  • Terms of Use
  • Privacy Policy
  • RSS Feed Terms
Do not share my Personal Information.