MN K12 Tech Coordinator Tips & Tricks
It should be noted that neither Apple's MobileMe iDisk or DropBox's iPhone applications have yet been updated for the iPad. Both of these apps provide access to your cloud storage, and any file that you download from the application is stored locally on the iPad and changes to the document are synced with the cloud.
iDisk:
Desktop to iDisk syncing is pretty great. First you set up iDisk syncing, using the MobileMe System Preference. Simply click the "Start" button, set it to "Automatically", and check the "always keep most recent version of a file" option.
What will happen after you start the iDisk Sync feature, is the Finder will copy your existing iDisk folder from MobileMe down to your computer. Once it is copied, it is just a local folder on your computer. You have access to all of the MobileMe iDisk files even without a network connection.
You can make changes to any of the documents on your local copies. The next time you connect to a network, MobileMe Sync Services will sync any changes to the MobileMe cloud.
You will see a little "sync" icon next to your iDisk in the FInder's sidebar. When you look at your iDisk in the Finder, you will see the last sync date/time in the Finder status bar.
In my brief tests, after editing a document, it was synced within seconds of me editing it.
iPad Integration:
It didn't look like the sync process was automatically pushed to the iPad.
However, if you open a "Recent Document" from the iPad, it is smart enough to check MobileMe for updates first and will download the latest version from MobileMe automatically.
So as long as you have a network connection, or remember to download the file before going offline with the iPad, it works fairly well.
I am not sure if the MobileMe application runs as a background task on the iPhone/iPad, which would be a requirement for complete, automatic document syncing.
Time will tell what the actual iPad MobileMe application (or iPhone OS 4.0) will bring.
DropBox:
To setup DropBox, you create an account with them and download the DropBox application. After installing the application, a special folder is created. This folder is monitored by the DropBox service running on your computer and automatically synchronizes any changes up to the cloud. The process is immediate.
The DropBox Finder window does not report when you last synced or how much space you have used in your DropBox account like MobileMe iDisk does, but it does install a menu item that gives you similar information.
iPad Integration:
Like MobileMe iDisk Sync, the DropBox iPad app didn't automatically push changes to the iPad.
However, if you open a document you marked "Favorites" from the iPad, which are documents you have downloaded to the iPad, it checks DropBox for updates and indicates that changes have been made. It will also badge the Favorites tab, indicating there are newer documents in the DropBox cloud. However you do have initiate the download to update the iPad version.
So as long as you have a network connection, or remember to download the file before going offline with the iPad, it works fairly well.
Without third-party "multi-tasking", I am sure that the DropBox application cannot run as a background task on the iPhone/iPad, which would be a requirement for complete, automatic document syncing.
Time will tell what the actual iPad DropBox application (or iPhone OS 4.0) will bring.
Final Thoughts:
Until we see the official iPad applications from these companies, nothing can be certain. Also, iPhone 4.0 could change everything again.
Personally I give the nod to MobileMe iDisk:
Comments
James (unauthenticated)
May 18, 2010
The dropbox iPad app has been launched. As has the android app. If you need to work in a word that isn't exclusively Mac, then I recommend Dropbox.
Here's the blog post about it: http://blog.dropbox.com/?p=492
Ps. I don't work for them...just a happy customer!