
EXPANDRIVE MAC REVIEW FULL
(ExpanDrive promises big FTP improvements ahead with a free 5.1 update.)ĮxpanDrive’s settings control whether or not the application starts at login, displays the content of a drive when first connected, and allows users to be included in early beta releases.Įarlier versions relied on the trouble-prone MacFUSE to do the heavy lifting, but ExpanDrive 5 now works independently, with full 64-bit support. There are exceptions: The Finder hangs for short periods while copying files to a Dreamhost SFTP server when the window is open. Naturally, how fast this happens depends upon your internet speed, but ExpanDrive proved exceptionally peppy on my 50 Mbps down connection.ĮxpanDrive’s multi-threaded connection engine makes nearly everything responsive while maintaining optimal system performance. Once mounted, ExpanDrive volumes act pretty much the way you’d expect: Files can be dragged and dropped or previewed using QuickLook, and you can create new folders or rename existing ones. A slightly different, inconsistent color scheme is used in Drive Manager, but each service can be assigned custom nicknames to avoid confusion. Don’t take our word for it though - ExpanDrive offers a free full-featured 30-day trial on both applications.ExpanDrive lives in the menu bar, where the Drive Manager window controls which services are connected or disconnected.Ĭloud storage drives appear on the desktop with a traditional silver drive icon, while others are color-coded by type-blue (FTP), red (SFTP) or orange (WebDAV), for example. As far as cost you’re looking at a one-time purchase price of $39.95, or $34.95 if you first join the ExpanDrive group on Facebook.
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Plus, it removes the need to use cumbersome and tricky FTP clients ExpanDrive is actually a front end solution and can use any FTP client such as CyberDuck or even Firefox to move data (don’t worry, it will chose from available FTP apps on its own when you install it). We still say there’s no better sharing / auto-sync / remote back up service than Syncplicity – but where files you don’t need hogging up local space are concerned, ExpanDrive literally trounces the more expensive options mentioned above. If you don’t already have a hosting plan or an FTP account somewhere, plenty of services provide them for pennies compared to Amazon S3 front-end solutions like ZumoDrive.
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So if you already have a decent hosting plan like HostGator’s, ExpanDrive gives you a ridiculous amount of remote storage for absolutely no additional monthly or yearly cost - just a one-time software purchase. For example, the base plan from HostGator offers unlimited disk space for just $4.95 per month. These days just about everyone has a website and even the cheapest hosting plans typically come with free secure FTP access and a massive amount of storage. iDrive gives users 150 GB of storage for $49.50 per year and a slightly sexier solution, ZumoDrive, will run you an outlandish $450+ per year for 200 GB or a still-ridiculous $240 per year for 100 GB. The obvious benefit over other remote storage options such as iDrive however, is the cost. ExpanDrive places an icon in your taskbar as well, so you can easily connect, disconnect and see the status of each of your drives:Īpart from standard FTP functionality wrapped in the Finder UI, ExpanDrive gives you a terrific front end for as many iDrive-like remote storage drives you can stomach.
