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Coming soon: an open source Dropbox alternative with collaboration
Dropbox is a great little service (and app). Developer Hylke Bons seems to like it -- but he's got designs on building an alternative with a few improvements. As he writes on his blog, "Dropbox has a great user experience, but it has downsides as well: you can't host your own server; it's not open source and has some freaky things in its license agreement."
Dubbed SparkleShare, Bons is building his project using Mono, GTK+, and Git. Like Dropbox, SparkleShare sets up a local folder which is automatically kept in sync -- though not in the cloud. Instead, you and your friends/coworkers set up connections to each other's shares (or you can keep everything to yourself, of course). That'll make SparkleShare an extremely interesting option for teams who need to collaborate via the 'Net -- and for users who want to keep files in sync without floating them in the cloud.
And since you're hosting your own server, there's no monthly fees to worry about -- which is always a bonus.
A Linux release is the first item on the agenda, with OS X and Windows versions to follow. Bons is seeking contributors -- if you're interested in helping out, drop him a line on the SparkleShare web site!
[via OMG! Ubuntu]
Dubbed SparkleShare, Bons is building his project using Mono, GTK+, and Git. Like Dropbox, SparkleShare sets up a local folder which is automatically kept in sync -- though not in the cloud. Instead, you and your friends/coworkers set up connections to each other's shares (or you can keep everything to yourself, of course). That'll make SparkleShare an extremely interesting option for teams who need to collaborate via the 'Net -- and for users who want to keep files in sync without floating them in the cloud.
And since you're hosting your own server, there's no monthly fees to worry about -- which is always a bonus.
A Linux release is the first item on the agenda, with OS X and Windows versions to follow. Bons is seeking contributors -- if you're interested in helping out, drop him a line on the SparkleShare web site!
[via OMG! Ubuntu]
Comments
16
Subscribe to commentsJoePalmaJun 11th 2010 11:07AM
I've been dieing for this, when it hits release its going on my server. Although I might wait a day or two 'til it gets an Ubuntu PPA.
miaousseJun 11th 2010 12:53PM
The manufacturer LaCie has made a service like that Wuala. The more local space you share the more in the cloud storage you have.
Ashutosh MishraJun 11th 2010 12:19PM
This is like Diaspora all over again. A great idea, but something the unnerdy herd will not dig into. Heck, a ton of my friends don't understand Dropbox either, and it's like one of the simplest services you can find out there.
I'm excited of course. Lets see what's on offer. :)
BuggerJun 11th 2010 12:25PM
Sounds so much like Opera Unite...
Check this out: http://unite.opera.com/
ButtersJun 11th 2010 12:32PM
It also sounds similar to Windows Live Sync, unless I am missing something. That has not fees either because you just sync between computers and not in the cloud.
DavidJun 11th 2010 2:42PM
Agreed Butters, this is more like WLS and other file synchronization apps than dropbox, because of the lack of cloud storage. Open Source and cross platform are cool though, so I'll look forward to trying the Windows version when it comes out.
SupersonicdarkyJun 11th 2010 3:33PM
Mono? No thanks.
FiloJun 11th 2010 4:09PM
Darn, I thought this was a dropbox-like client for syncing files to your own server in the cloud. That would be kind of a cool service to offer to clients, does anyone know of something like that?
MpmcfarlaneJun 11th 2010 4:41PM
I would be interested if it didn't have such a f**king pansy name.
GreenwaldJun 11th 2010 8:52PM
Ubuntu One anyone?
Ugh, this is just another open source alternative we don't need. Dropbox works excellent, is free, and doesn't sell my private data. What more could I possibly want?
Can open source folks like concentrate on a few areas (say office suites, or music server software) instead of going for the shotgun approach and nailing few things perfectly?
Lee MathewsJun 11th 2010 8:54PM
I'm sorry, I don't buy your argument here... Opera already had a pretty good, full-featured browser, so I don't think Google should have spent all that time developing Chrome. Really?
Competition drives innovation. If SparkleShare disappears but encourages Dropbox to do bigger and better things, great. If it turns into an amazing project, that's great too.
theKageJun 12th 2010 2:27AM
What does Dropbox have in their license agreement that I'm no aware of? I might've missed something.
PeterJun 13th 2010 10:27AM
Many open source fans have a problem with every license agreement that's not GPL-based. The argument is usually based on principle more than the specific wording of the EULA. They generally don't think there should be any restrictions on what you can do with a piece of software or a service, so any EULA that places any restrictions on you, is problematic in their view.
BoeJun 12th 2010 3:28PM
Maybe he should take a look at iFolder: http://ifolder.com/ifolder
tracker1Jun 15th 2010 5:54PM
Funny, I was kind of thinking the same thing.. the irony is another Mono project where Linux is the first target... I thought the "problem with Mono" is that "it will constantly be chasing windows" I think this just shows it's a viable platform for Linux, and I'm glad to have it. Even if it doesn't align 100% with Microsoft's version of Mono.
DavidJun 28th 2010 10:49PM
@Greenwald
Not true, Dropbox only does 2gb
I want to run my own servers and backup more then 2gb
I'm not a linux user and don't want to mess with it
I want my own dropbox server and would pay for the software if it were reasonable and a one time charge.
I want to offer remote backup to my clients.