By Edward Cen

As Co-op students begin their jobs and local students start making their trips back home on the weekends, lugging computers everywhere can always be a hassle. Students often e-mail themselves files and documents or carry around portable devices to copy information from one place to another.

“It’s inconvenient for me to deal with my school work when I need to travel home for the weekend,” said freshman mechanical engineering major Kevin Dutremble. “I find it difficult to manage my files between my computer at home and the one here.”

Students can now effectively manage their files and documents from computer to computer whether it would be at work, in their dorms, or at home through file-synchronization.

File synchronization allows users to access their information from remote locations through peer-to-peer file-sharing technology between computers.

Currently there are two companies which provide file synchronization services, FolderShare and BeInSync. Both companies require a simple download that provides software to moderate files and actions between computers.

However, BeInSync only operates on Windows-based PCs. Mac users need not to fret as FolderShare provide cross-platform usage. In a phone interview with Adi Ruppin, vice president of marketing of BeInSync, Ruppin explains that with file synchronization it allows the users to maximize their productivity through remote access of personal files. Ruppin also noted that currently 8-10% of their users were either students or faculty.

Between the two companies, BeInSync offers two service plans where users can have access to a free version which limits the user to five shared folders and only ten actions per day. The BeInSync Pro package, which costs $6.95 per month, allows provides 15 shared folders and unlimited access.

Like BeInSync, Foldershare offers its users a free version and similar packages where users would pay $49.95 a year for a 100 shared folders and $99.95 per year for 250 shared folders a year.

Although both programs provide students and faculty members a resource which allows efficient access of files, abuse of these programs can occur as it may lead to file-sharing simply by sharing user names and passwords.

“If [students] wish to share files of any type, all they have to do is put it into a synchronized folder, but there is no way for an outside party to search for a file that is not synchronized,” explained Ruppin.

Rick Mickool, executive director of Information Services, stated that appropriate actions would be taken if students fail to follow the appropriate use policy. Additionally, Mickool said that Northeastern University plans to develop a similar service through myNEU which is intended to launch in October.

Currently, ResNet provides faculty and staff with Web space for their files and plans to eventually make one gigabyte available to students.