The slow death of the Home folder in favour of Dropbox

After yesterday’s announcement that Dropbox is doubling the space available to its Pro users, I have started thinking whether this is another sign of the demise of the good old home folder as we know it.

This thought occurred to me after looking at the type of data that I still store on my standard home folder compared to what files I save in Dropbox.

In the home folder created by OS X, I store:

  • iTunes library.
  • iPhoto library.
  • Microsoft Office User Data.
  • Web Receipts folder.
  • Some Fluids apps.
  • Some WordPress files that I regularly backup from my self-hosted installation.
  • A few Automator actions.

The working files are all stored in . These are:

  • Blog posts.
  • Blog pictures.
  • Picture files. They are divided in folders for each single event and year. I keep them separated from iPhoto in case something happens to its DB.
  • Moneydance DB.
  • 1Password database.
  • TextExpander files.
  • Receipts, bills, medical records and whatever document I have scanned.
  • Mindmaps.
  • All type of manuals in PDF format.
  • Some work documents.
  • All travel documents for the next trip. They can be flight tickets, hotel reservations, car rentals information and so on. When I complete my trip I delete the folder’s content.
  • Recipes.
  • Tech resources of different kind.

It turns out that pretty much all my life is now stored on Dropbox. Not only that but in Finder, the Dropbox icon is now strategically placed just below the normal home folder.

At this pace, it’s not going to take long before I completely replace all default folders in the Finder sidebar with folders located in Dropbox.

How about you? How do you use Dropbox? Just as a temporary folder to transfer information between devices or as a total replacement of your home directory?

8 thoughts on “The slow death of the Home folder in favour of Dropbox”

  1. I am using Dropbox, but need to read up on it … I have a feeling (after reading this post by you) that I am SO not using it to its true potential. I have some learning to do!

    Reply

  2. Do you have a suggested blog or posts that you can provide … the best-of when learning how to use Dropbox to its true potential?

    Reply

  3. What happens to the files stored in the dropbox if I did not open it for quite some time?

    Reply

    1. Hi RIjen,

      Dropbox files are always stored locally too. I think this is one of the big advantages of Dropbox over other cloud services.

      Best regards,
      Pietro

      Reply

      1. I exactly didn;t understand your saying that is ” Dropbox files are always stored locally too.:

        Reply

        1. Sorry for not being clear. What I meant is that Dropbox files are not stored exclusively on the cloud.

          Even if you are not connected to the Internet you still can use files stored on Dropbox because they are stored locally. As soon as you connect to the Internet, changes are uploaded to the cloud.

          I hope this makes sense.

          Best regards,
          Pietro

          Reply

          1. How is it possible that I use Dropbox even if I am not connected to the internet?

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