I do not like having to constantly try out different backup solutions, only to end up horrifically installing a ton of dependencies and never reaching total satisfaction. So far, I found rsync to be a great solution (simply simple), but I've been searching for a remote storage solution that I could use to backup and share my configuration files at the same time. While I do have a server to call my own, I'd rather let a third-party do the dirty work.
And so, after looking at github and deciding that learning git was not on my list of things to do yet, I decided to go with the next option: Dropbox.
Dropbox has clients for Mac OS X, Linux, and Windows. However, in order for me to use Dropbox without going installing Nautilus, I had implement a workaround that I honestly didn't feel like dealing with. However, I discovered that there was a much easier way of going about things, thanks to the AUR repository, and I thought I'd like to inform those of you who use Arch about a couple of packages that'll bypass this mess.
Here's a quick way to get Dropbox on Arch Linux without having to worry about installing and using Nautilus!
Install yaourt if you haven't already and input: 'yaourt dropbox'. It'll execute a search for anything Dropbox in the AUR repository. Check the listings and choose which version of Dropbox ('dropbox' or 'dropbox-experimental' you'll like to install. (I decided to install the stable version.)
2) From there, start the Dropbox install. Either create a new account or log-in with an existing account. From there, you'll be able to take a tour of how Dropbox works. You can skip it if you want, though you should look at it anyway.
3) You can choose where your shared Dropbox folder will be. I'm going to put it in my home folder.
4) Once you click on Finish, your file manager of choice will open up your Dropbox folder! There's even a little Getting Started text file to help you get all comfy and happy with your new Linux Dropbox setup. New users should look at the text documents within the root, Photos, and Public folders. They'll explain what exactly these folders are for. All that's left to do is dragging and dropping (or cp'ing) your files to your folders.
I created a few folders within Thunar, and I was able to view these changes on the Dropbox website rather quickly. Log in to http://getdropbox.com, and click on the Recent Events tab. You should be able to see the history of all the files and directories that you just uploaded or created. Sweet beans!
(EDIT: knopwob was kind enough to point out something that didn't cross my mind while I was futzing around with the setup. Making symlinks of the folders you want synced in the Dropbox folder is a much easier way of managing synced folders. (Coping and pasting every time is rather bothersome.) Thanks for the tip!)
That's it! Yaourt is a major life (and time) saver, and if you didn't know about this wonderful tool, you should really get acquainted with it. Seriously. It's very useful when you're searching for a minimalistic or dependency-stripped applications for your non-Gnome and non-KDE desktop.
