Q: When on-line storage service Dropbox began out, it was good for storing information and a helpful solution to share information too giant to be despatched by way of the e-mail methods of the time. However now e-mail methods can carry greater information, and on-line storage is offered from a number of firms at comparatively low charges. As well as, Dropbox limits free customers of its app to a most of three gadgets, though many individuals now have greater than that. Is there any cause to proceed utilizing Dropbox?

STAN KAUFMAN, New Brighton

A: There are totally different opinions about the way forward for Dropbox, which was one of many earliest on-line storage companies when it started 14 years in the past.

Some level out that Dropbox now has giant rivals, similar to Microsoft, Apple, Google and Amazon. These bigger firms can afford to supply extra free storage with a purpose to appeal to prospects to their different, for-pay companies (see tinyurl.com/3xtrfne8).

Others say that Dropbox will do effectively as a result of it has discovered a distinct segment by providing easy-to-use software program that makes employee collaboration less complicated (see tinyurl.com/tz6895rp).

What does this imply for shoppers? If you happen to’re trying strictly totally free on-line storage, Dropbox shouldn’t be for you. Dropbox provides you with 2 gigabytes of on-line storage totally free, however Microsoft provides you with 5 gigabytes and Google provides you with 15 gigabytes.

However you have to choose a web-based storage service by greater than what number of gigabytes you get totally free. As a result of, ultimately, your storage wants will outgrow the free companies. For instance, I’ve taken actually 1000’s of iPhone images. I pay Apple’s iCloud service $3 a month to again up these images on-line at full decision, or sharpness. That requires about 130 gigabytes of cupboard space, way over any on-line storage firm would give me for nothing.

If you happen to, too, finally must pay for extra storage, Dropbox costs are aggressive with these of the larger firms. For instance, Dropbox presents 2,000 gigabytes (2 terabytes) of on-line storage to a single consumer for $10 a month. Google presents the identical storage on the identical value (though it additionally has cheaper plans with much less storage). Microsoft presents 100 gigabytes for $2 a month, and Amazon Images presents 100 gigabytes for $1.70 a month.

So, does Dropbox have a future? Most likely. It simply will not provide as a lot free storage as the opposite cloud companies do.

Q: I used to be stunned to test my older PC and discover that it had Home windows 10 Professional Model “21H1 Construct 19043.1165” put in in June 2020. Your current column (see tinyurl.com/33rd3mju) mentioned that Home windows 10 21H1 wasn’t obtainable till Might of this 12 months. Are you able to inform me how outdated my copy of Home windows 10 actually is, and when it’ll turn out to be out of date?

PAM CHRISTIAN, Minneapolis

A: The set up date in your PC is improper — Home windows 10 21H1 solely grew to become obtainable in Might of this 12 months. This is not a severe PC error, and it might right itself within the subsequent replace.

The excellent news for you is that, based mostly in your “construct quantity,” your PC has the most recent model of Home windows 10 (21H1 has itself been up to date 9 occasions). It will likely be good till December 2022.

For particulars, learn the Microsoft chart known as “Semi-Annual Channel” (see tinyurl.com/vzxac5y2). It reveals that in June 2020, your PC would have been putting in a then-new model of Home windows 10 that was (confusingly) known as Model 2004.

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