The main issue with having and using multiple computers actively is keeping my files in sync. I’d also like to have my files on the cloud in case I need to refer to them from my phone (but this is really a nice-to-have). Of course there are solutions to this like Dropbox and Google Drive but they don’t offer the right solution for me!

I don’t think they work for me because:

  • I’m not sure I trust having my files on their server, unencrypted
  • I have a backup drive connected to my desktop and want to mirror files there as well (which I use Create Synchronicity for)
  • I’m afraid that if I accidentally delete my files online they will suddenly be gone from my computer
  • I keep my personal files encrypted on my laptop, and don’t always decrypt them – which causes Dropbox to complain because it thinks the directory to synchronize no longer exists
  • I have my own way of hierarchy of organizing files, and I don’t want to put it under a single folder – Dropbox doesn’t support the symbolic links concept (actually it looks like you can create a symlink at the OS level to solve the problem)

Although in writing this post, I came across Microsoft’s SyncToy, maybe that will solve some of my issues.