It even runs on Linux - well... mostly. All my devices run Linux, from my Raspberry Pi to my MacBook. One of the great things about Linux is that is allows for case-sensitive file names. That is, "Bob" is a different file to "bob".

However, lesser Operating Systems can't handle that. So when Dropbox senses two files or directories with the same name but different cases, it mungs them. Here's an example:

edent@xubuntu:~/Dropbox/test$ mkdir TESTING
edent@xubuntu:~/Dropbox/test$ mkdir testing
edent@xubuntu:~/Dropbox/test$ ls
TESTING  TESTING (Case Conflict 1)

That is very frustrating. And, it seems, there's no way around it. I understand that Windows would get its knickers in a twist over such shennanigans - but why can't the file corruption happen in the Windows client? Why can't Dropbox leave my sensibly named files alone when they're on a case-sensitive system?

So, it looks like I need to find a new Sync and Store solution - preferably one which respects Linux users.

I love Calibre, it's the perfect eBook management tool. It comes with a built in WWW server so you can easily access your library on the go. The only problem is that this really only works if you have a single machine dedicated to Calibre. For various reasons, I don't have a single machine.

I have a desktop, laptop, and server. The Calibre Library is just a database with a set of files and folders - so all three machines sync via DropBox. As long as I don't have the Calibre program open on my desktop and laptop at the same time, everything is hunky-dory.

However, having Calibre running on the server buggers everything up. So, I'm using a separate program - Calibre-PHP Content Server.

Installation was relatively simple, assuming you've already got apache and PHP installed, you'll also need GD, SQLite3, and Smarty.

This was how I installed them on Ubuntu

sudo apt-get install smarty php5-gd php5-sqlite php5-sqlite3sqlite3

Configuration is slightly confusing. Copy the config_default.php to config_local.php and edit it.

$config['library_dir'] = '/data/Dropbox/eBooks/Calibre Library';
$config['smarty_dir'] = '/data/smarty-cache';
$config['smarty'] = '/usr/share/php/smarty';

The library directory must be readable to the webserver (chmod a+r) and all the directories above it have to be searchable (chmod a+x).

The "smarty_dir" is where the cache is stored. It needs two sub-folders, smarty_cache and smarty_templates_c. Both of these directories must be writable by the webserver.

That should be it. There's help available at the official help thread.

The two big contenders I could find are Ubuntu One and Dropbox.

Both allow me to map a drive and seamlessly sync my files just by copying them in there. I don't need to worry about regularly running a "sync" command. Just drag, drop, done.

Quick Comparison

There Can Be Only One

I really really wanted to go with Ubuntu One. It's cheaper and the money I pay for it would support my favourite Linux distribution. For US$90 I could get 60GB and feel good about paying for Linux.

But it's not to be. Dropbox wins on three counts.

Mobile

Firstly, Dropbox Mobile is supported on a wide range of phones. Sure, I only use Android now, but I may move back to BlackBerry. Bizarrely, Ubuntu One Mobile only works for syncing music and contacts. So, no pictures, documents, movies. Far too limited for me.

Command Line

Secondly, command line options. I run a headless server at home which is primarily used for storing the household's music, movies, and photos. It runs Xebian - a Debian variant. Yet it seems that Ubuntu One only works on Ubuntu machines. While I kind of understand the logic behind that - it's a business limiting decision. By contrast, Dropbox works fine on the command line of just about any Linux distro.

I never run Windows or Mac. But, I'm sure one day a job will mandate that I do - so it makes sense to go with the one with wider support.

Security

Both services use SSL to encrypt during transmission - but Dropbox uses Amazon S3 to keep the contents of the files secure. While I'm sure Amazon has its problems, Ubuntu One doesn't keep its files encrypted and makes no mention of physical security.

Other Options

I'm aware that I could buy several gigs of space via a cloud server somewhere and treat my filesystem as a giant SVN. But this has an easy to use front end, paid support, and apps for my mobiles.

That said, if you can convince me there's a better option - please let me know!

You can sign up to Dropbox using my referral link - that way, we both get extra space.