Every now and then something comes along that is so simple in design and, even better, that simply just works, you can’t help but pause and wonder why on earth someone didn’t think of it before now. When was the last time you needed quick access to a file, but weren’t at your computer? Maybe all you’ve got with you is your iPhone? Or maybe you’re struggling to move large files between you and a client because they’re too big to email? Enter Dropbox.

The premise of Dropbox is painfully simple, in that it simply gives you a new folder on your computer. In fact, you can create a folder on any computer or smart phone that you care to install the Dropbox program on. But the magic is that, in effect, each device has ‘the same’ folder – in that, each time you save your document, the latest (and same) version of the document appears in each location.

So picture this; you’re working on a big project at your desk, saving key documents into your dropbox folder. You get a call from the client with a problem onsite, so you jump in the car and rush out there. Onsite there’s a problem with a supplier delivery that would be easy to sort out…if only you had your documents on hand. But wait! Dropbox to the rescue! You wip out your iPhone, open up your dropbox folder, and there’s the document you need, right where you saved it before leaving the office. Dropbox certainly isn’t the first product of its kind, but of all the ones we’ve tried here at the Garden Shed, it has one big advantage over the others – it works. And best of all for up to 2Gb of storage, it’s free! Now Dropbox won’t replace your server based storage (for a range of reasons), but in its place it has to be the best tool we’ve come across in quite a while.