I'm generally fairly wary of applications that claim they can synchronise files across your computers or via the Internet. Frankly, they rarely work as they should. Throw in different operating systems in to the mix and you'll find it's difficult to synchronise your PC documents to your Mac and vice-versa.

SugarSync is a desktop and online tool that really does work. If you have more than one PC or a combination of PCs and Macs, then you can use this tool to make sure the files you want to sync are automatically sync'ed between the machines. For instance, if you use more than one machine to edit a website, make sure the files are synchronised across your work PC, home Mac and your laptop.

It's all seamless, too. Just install the desktop tool, select the files you want to synchronise and SugarSync will do the rest. It uploads the files to a private and secure online storage area and, when you login from the other machine at a later date, compares the files on the remote server and your PC, then downloads updated files, so they are always in sync.

However, SugarSync goes even further. You can also login to your secure online vault and download files manually, if you do not want to synchronise them with a host PC. So, if you were using a third-party PC but required access to certain documents, you could download temporarily and then upload without leaving a trace on the host PC.

SugarSync has various monthly or yearly subscription plans and offers 10GB free for the first 45 days.

19 May 2008