Dropbox: The Ultimate File-Sharing and Syncing App - Dropbox and Akira
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According to Simon Mackie, a tech contributor to the New York Times and a writer for GigaOM, a blog about new technology, Dropbox can be used remotely to control a PC when used in conjunction with Akira (a Windows utility) and its companion server Latte can "send commands to a remote Windows PC via Dropbox."
Basically, Akira uses Dropbox's synchronizing capabilities to provide basic networking functionality by using shared folders to communicate between clients and servers. To use Dropbox and Akira to control a PC, a user must already have a Dropbox account that is used on different, authorized computer systems, or they must have different Dropbox accounts that have already been authorized for access.
As mentioned previously, Akira comes with the Latte application, so the installation process and usage greatly depends on the number of Dropbox accounts being used. In order to use Dropbox and Akira, a user must place the Akira folder into the Dropbox folder on their computer system. It's important to point out that other PCs linked to the Dropbox account can automatically begin using Akira, while other Dropbox user accounts need to be authorized beforehand, which then enables users to begin working with Akira.
Once Akira and Dropbox are working in sync, users can send commands to take care of any common administration tasks they previously had to be sitting at their PC to perform. For example, they can open a file, terminate a process, run an application, take a screen shot, or completely shut down the PC, among other tasks.
As if Dropbox weren't already useful enough for its conventional tasks like file storing and synchronizing, Akira makes this older (at least in the tech world) app sing by enabling its users to complete a multitude of tasks remotely. Once installed, Akira can also:
- View contents of a drive.
- View contents of a folder.
- Run an application.
- Open a file.
- Delete a file.
- Terminate a running process.
- View currently running processes.
- View a list of all available drives.
- Generate a screen shot of the current server screen and place it in the Dropbox.
- Get a specific file from the PC's server and place it in the Dropbox.
- Open a website or any URL with the server's default browser.
Next: Using Dropbox for Maximum Productivity >>
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