A couple months ago we moved from iDisk/Me.com to Dropbox for file storage and syncing.

Using it on 3 Macs to keep documents, presentations and other files has been very satisfying and dependable.

It took a few days to realize that you just move all the files you wish to share between Macs in the special “Dropbox” folder.

This folder is essentially a virtual copy of what exists on the remote storage volume at their site. Much like how you can tell Me.com to keep a local copy in sync with Me.com in the system preferences.

A couple of important differences, first its free for the first few gigs of storage. Better yet, it has an amazing revision control system built-in.

Say you edit a document and a few hours, days or weeks later realize that the old version is what you really wanted. A quick trip to their web site you can locate the version you want and with a simple click all your Macs have that version sitting in their local Dropbox folder.

There is much more and the service has been rock solid. So give it a try at http://getdropbox.com.

Avoid losing passwords stored in the Mac OS X Keychain when upgrading applications that use the keychain.

Mac OS X requires you to give any new version of an application access to the keychain, but the wording on the dialog can be confusing to some.

Remember to always click Allow or Always Allow. If you don’t allow the access, the passwords stored in the keychain will not be available to the application.

Always reinstall Mac OS X using the included discs and do NOT rely on the version installed at the factory.

Why?

Often I have experienced strange issues when relying on the factory installation, such as broken applications, file permission errors and other odd behavior under the hood.

My hunch is that the disk imaging system in the factory may contain older, less polished versions of Mac OS X than is shipped in the box.

Voodoo or superstition?

Could be! But experience with dozens of Macs taught me that spending the hour up front helps avoid issues later.