Last week, at the suggestion of Tim Paek, I installed Microsoft FolderShare. The web-based service synchronizes the contents of folders on multiple computers. I find this to be useful in two ways. First, it allows me to share files with a Tim. He and I can both create folders on our machines, and instruct FolderShare to keep these folders in sync. Now, after a phone conference, Tim can place a PowerPoint file summarizing our action items into a folder on his computer, and moments later it appears on mine. In fact, FolderShare will synchronize folders across more than two computers, so you can use it to share files between larger groups.

The second way I started using FolderShare is to move files between my office computer and my laptop. I often work from home using my laptop (e.g. typing this) and up until now, I depended on a USB memory stick to move files between home and office. This presents two problems. One, the memory stick has limited memory. Two, I often misplace it, or simply forget to bring it to work. With FolderShare, I now have a folder on my laptop and on my office computer that are synced. No need to bring a memory stick with me anymore.

FolderShare will be a great tool to share files in our lab. E.g., my students often create videos (see here), which they need to get to me for review. Due to the large size of video files, this almost always means bringing a disk or memory stick to my office. With FolderShare we’ll be able to move files back and forth a lot more quickly.

Andrew Kun

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