Try The App That Sends And Receives Files From Mac, Windows PCs, iPhone, And iPad

We live in a cloudy age. No, it’s not cloudy as in weather cloudy. It’s iCloud, the cloud, online storage clouds. Mac and iPhone apps now backup or store files in the cloud and sync between devices.

That’s the new way to manage files online. The old way hasn’t gone away, though. How’s that? Device to device file transfer with the File Transfer app.

Take Out The Middle Man, Man

Remember sneakernet? That was a good way to move files from one computer to another and lose a few pounds.

Sneakernet was nothing more than copying a file or files to a floppy disk or CD or DVD, and then taking it to someone else in the office (or at home).

It’s a time honored way to share files, right? Those days are gone, thanks to the cloud.

Yet, modern technology seems to always find a way to do that which we once did and discarded but can be made new again.

That’s File Transfer. It’s an iOS and OS X app which lets you transfer and receive files from Mac, PCs, iPhone, iPad, using a wireless version of sneakernet.

Instead of using the cloud, File Transfer transfers files over a local network to each device. And it’s drop dead drag and drop simple to use. Just add File Storage to your iPhone or iPad.

From your Mac, just fire up File Transfer and you’re ready to go. File Transfer lists all the nearby devices. Select the one you want, then it’s drag and drop.

Sharing files between devices is simple, though only the Mac supports drag and drop to iPhone or iPad (not Microsoft Windows).

The File Transfer app displays the progress of the transfer in the Dock icon.

Why isn’t File Transfer or File Storage cloud-based? Not everyone needs to sync files between devices, and not everyone wants to store files in the cloud.

File Transfer on the Mac, and File Storage for iPhone and iPad are like a local networked way to bring sneakernet into the 21st century.

Unfortunately, the apps don’t handle file transfers when files are placed into folders, which seems like an odd arrangement, but it’s obvious this newfangled sneaker net is best suited to onesies and twosies transfers.

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