It's the kind of situation that most everyone has been in at one time or another, trying desperately to figure out how to get all those files from one hard drive to another, even when the hard drives in question are connected to the same network. Some shrug and turn to a USB hard drive of some sort and brace for a long set of waits ahead, but there are easier ways. Mac and iOS users have had such a way for a while now in the form of AirDrop, but now, every device can have this level of service thanks to ShareDrop, a breed of AirDrop that runs on HTML5.
With ShareDrop, all that's needed is to get both of the computers in question connected to the Internet, then visit the ShareDrop website. The device with the needed files on it can simply drag and drop said files to the other device in question, right from the website itself. No downloads are needed, no setup has to be performed, just click, drag and drop files from one system to another.
That's a terrific idea, really—most computer users who have ever had to replace a computer at some point have likely wondered why there wasn't a simple way to connect two computers together for the sake of file transfer—and it's all powered by a source that may seem unlikely at first, but makes perfect sense when fully thought through: Web-based real-time communications (WebRTC). WebRTC steps in not only for the peer-to-peer file transfer parts, but joins in with Firebase for the presence management portion of the affair. However, users will need to be using Opera, Chrome or Firefox in order to work with this, as these are the major browsers to put WebRTC to work.
Naturally, some would likely be concerned about security here, but that's not so much an issue. The files don't go to any server or the like; this is a strictly peer-to-peer connection. The download begins once the recipient system accepts the file, so it all moves, reportedly, very rapidly and very smoothly.
WebRTC has several key components to it, starting with its ability to connect in voice and video chatting and ending with perhaps its lesser-discussed feature, the data channel. Putting those to work almost exclusively is a pretty exciting idea, and one that should pay off nicely for businesses and for regular users as well. While admittedly, the USB hard drive idea is one that's right there and pretty easily accomplished, the idea that two systems can just go to the same website to pass a file around is one that's well worth considering, particularly for those who need to do some file transferring from an old computer to a new computer. ShareDrop is likely to strike a chord for many users, and the end result should be one that's quite positive, showing us just one more purpose that WebRTC can serve.
Edited by
Rachel Ramsey
