To send a file, you simply tap on the black hole, at which time you're asked if you want to Transfer Files, Get Clipboard, or Send Message (see screenshots below). The Home page displays the familiar DropCopy black hole. Mobie DropCopy's interface is simple and clean. One attempted transfer of a 328 KB PDF file to the iPhone actually crashed the DropCopy Mac application, but worked once I launched it again. Before I could send any other files to my iPhone, I had to quit the application, then open it again. For example, just to send one 376 KB screenshot file to the iPhone, I had to attempt my transfer three times before it worked successfully. During actual use, I ran into some issues that I have not seen with similar applications of this type. The iPhone app is installed in the usual way from the App Store. I'm not sure if 10base-t's servers are just being overwhelmed with new users or what, but using DropCopy's built-in help files, which actually open up pages on their website instead of being truly built into the application, I often had FAQ and help pages time out before they opened. ![]() It also drives me bonkers that I see Macs that I sold long ago appearing on the list of "discovered devices", and new devices showing up as "unlicensed." Firewall configuration is a common issue with DropCopy, which uses TCP/UDP port 5052. That's in theory even with my background as a Mac support professional, I occasionally have devices that just don't want to talk to each other with DropCopy. ![]() If you've used DropCopy before, you know that you just need to drop a file onto the black hole and it is zapped to the other Mac(s) on the network with some cool special visual and sound effects. The iPhone app, Mobile Drop Copy, costs US$4.99 (click opens iTunes).Īfter downloading and installing the Mac application, your desktop now has the signature "black hole" of DropCopy. The Mac application is free on networks of 3 or less Macs, and $25 for larger installations. Read on to see how they fare in a TUAW faceoff!ĭropCopy / Mobile DropCopy from 10base-t interactiveĭropCopy has been around for years and, until Leopard made Mac-to-Mac file sharing easier and more reliable, it was one of my favorite utilities. So how do these apps compare, or am I comparing Apples and oranges? I think you'll find that they're similar in operation, but different in what they mean to accomplish. Since news of both of these apps appeared in my inbox on the same day, I decided that a faceoff was in order. The latter is a new iPhone app that, like Fiiq and Fliq for Mac, facilitates transfer of non-DRM data between iPhones and Macs. ![]() There are several free or low-cost utilities that perform similar tasks, most particularly 10base-t interactive's DropCopy and Mobile DropCopy. Later, they shipped Fliq for Mac, a US$19.95 application goes beyond the capabilities of the iPhone app by providing an easy way to move photos, contacts and notes from your Mac to any Mac or iPhone on your Wi-Fi network. A few months ago, Mark/Space delivered Fliq for iPhone, a free utility for sending contacts and photos to other iPhones and iPod touches that are also running Fliq.
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