Gspace Firefox Extension
I took a quick look at the Gspace extension for Firefox in 2005 and since it introduced a rather unique idea, I decided to take another look to see how it has evolved ever since.
Gmail gives its users lots of space, currently about 2.8 gigabytes which is of course a lot just for emails and this is what the GSpace extension makes use of.
It uses the extra storage that Gmail makes available as online storage for files which is often better suited for that than alternatives such as file hosting websites.
The interface of the extension looks similar to most ftp clients out there, it should not be a problem getting used to gspace quickly.
The only prerequisite for Gspace is a Gmail account. Just log into your Gmail account - the extension picks it up automatically and displays the files hosted on the account automatically afterwards. You can browse your local files on the left pane and browse the Gmail storage on the right. If you want to transfer files you simply mark them and click the button to start the transfer.
The transfer pane shows the current status of all of your transfers and the status bar displays useful information such as used and available free space. It is possible to create folders as well which you should do if you plan on transferring more than a couple files to the online storage.
Another nice feature is the ability to play multimedia files right from your Gmail storage. Gspace offers a player and a photo mode so that you can play music and browse pictures directly.. Just switch to either mode and you can browse, play or view those files directly in your browser.
There are currently only a few limitations that users should be aware of. Gspace has currently problems with some special characters displaying them incorrectly. It should also be noted that Google might put a temporary ban on the account if more than 1 gigabyte is transferred in 24 hours.
Update: GSpace is no longer available. The core reason for this is that Google is now offering Google Drive, an online storage system for all Google users. You can manage Drive files on the Internet, install a local client on your desktop, or use mobile clients instead to access files hosted on it.
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A major concern that you didn’t mention: what if two people use the same filename? I assume this will simply overwrite the earlier file, rather than adding an incremental number or using some other method to avoid overwriting.
To avoid that, you have to “add ingredients” using the big blue plus sign in the “File Name” area when setting up the Dropbox section of the recipe. I had mine use sender address, time received, AND file name (in case someone sends the same filename twice and I want both copies, which could happen if they use some boilerplate name like “NewDocument1”).
Is not Dropbox using copies of files automatically in this case? But good point, need to investigate this.
I have tested it, only on Google Drive but still. Same name attachments are stored as well. You end up with several same name files in the same folder structure but that is okay I guess.
They are poor variations of cloud storage (Google Drive, Dropbox or Microsoft’s OneDrive.) because they have specific limitations which do not make them idea as a cloud storage even for personal use. They don’t allow executable files (EXE, COM, BAT) to be uploaded or saved on their servers. I have purchase a few programs from online sources and want to save them in a cloud for easy access on the go. “Google Drive, Dropbox or Microsoft’s OneDrive.”, do not allow executable files so aren’t really a good choice for cloud storage or drop box option.
So MediaFire or Firedrive to the rescue. Both allow executable files uploaded, saved and shared (Mediafire checks copyrights of the files shared). Plus for programmers, who need to allow a few individuals to download a specific file or folder to beta test a program, Mediafire and Firedrive are great resources. Firedrive allows online chat and messaging between Dropbox and shared file users. But as they are based in UK their download speed is not consistent for all Canada/USA users.
I’ve never seen that limitation on Dropbox – I’ve been storing dozens of .exe and .bat files there for years. I thought maybe you were referring only to the web uploader (I never use it – my files are all uploaded from synchronized folders), but I just tested it and it works. Maybe you should give Dropbox another look.
Another limitation: it apparently can only pull in one attachment. I usually wouldn’t have a use for this, but right now I am accepting job applications via email, so I was excited to try it out. I’ve received two so far, and both used multiple attachments for cover letter, resume, and references. In both cases, only one attachment made it into Dropbox. The recipe “ingredient” in IFTTT is “FirstAttachmentPrivateURL”, and there are no options other than “First…”.
Of course, if you are asking people to send attachments, you could always specify to include just one file per email.
They could also pack multiple files into a single archive.
Because of this, I chose to have IFTTT just save all attachments instead of filtering to a specific sender or label. Multiple attachments worked just fine after that, though of course now I have various other attachments mixed in.
I know this is an old comment, but it seems this solution should be mentioned.
My main issue is that it doesn’t have the option of overwriting the old file, which puts a roadblock in my automation, as updated files must have a consistent name. Likely adding yet another online service to the mix to remedy that.
@Martin: While a too-technical step for many people, asking for a zipped file might be a really nice test of computer literacy if hiring for a very technical job.
“You can change the folder path where those files are transferred to however”
Do you just change one or more?
File URL
File name
Dropbox folder path
My dropbox folder name for example is John Smith……………however the path to get there is John Work/Clients/Jane Client