An Introduction To Multi-Device Sync

For many years, people had a computer. It was their computer, and everything they used was on it. They might have some work stuff on a computer at work and some home stuff on a computer at home, but that was about as far as the divide went; if you ever needed to have something on the other, you could always transfer it using a floppy, or a CD, or a USB stick. That time has probably now passed.

Many people now have a desktop at work, a laptop they use for a multitude of purposes, a tablet and a smartphone - and if they're interested in gaming they probably have a desktop at home in addition to those things. More than that, there are so many times when it's useful to be able to use someone else's devices; hotdesking is increasingly popular, and being without a computer is annoying enough to borrow a friend'.

As a result of this, we're moving more and more quickly to a place where you'll be able to have a very similar experience - all your usual programs and apps, your preferred browser setup, and all your files - no matter which device you're on, simply by logging in as you. This is one of the side effects of cloud computing, and probably the single most useful from the perspective of the everyday user.

How Multi-Device Sync Works

It's simple, really: much like a website your files and other data will be stored on a server somewhere, downloaded automatically every time you turn on one of your devices, and uploaded automatically every time you change something.While websites are downloaded temporarily and displayed on your browser, however, in this case your stored files will be downloaded straight to your hard disk and stored in your computer's standard file system. This means that from your perspective, it's no different to having the files on your computer normally - you open up the right folder and there they are, just as normal. It's just that this is still true no matter which of your devices you're on, and it will stay true as you alter and edit.

Why Multi-Device Sync Helps

The benefits of this are pretty obvious, and there aren't many people who wouldn't enjoy them.

  • You'll be able to access all your files seamlessly from any device, without ever again worrying about putting something on an external drive or emailing yourself.
  • Everything will be securely backed up on a stable, remote server, and a hard drive error won't result in your losing anything. These services usually use cloud servers, which means that the risk of losing anything ever due to downtime is very, very low indeed.

The Drawbacks Of Multi-Device Sync

As with all things relating to personal computing, these services are only as secure as you make them. You're going to need to have good security on all your devices if you don't want people to be able to access your files, as well as having a secure password on your sync account itself.

How To Get Multi-Device Sync

There are numerous services offering multi-device sync now, but for most everyday users the two most useful are Dropbox and Google Drive - both of which have very good free options.