In answer to the original question I have been using the Dropbox beta for a few months with no issues at all. Yes it does move the actual files to a new location by symlinks back so any references to files still work as before.
What is the updated version? I have V.163.4.5456. I just checked and my Dropbox has not been moved to that ~/library/CloudStorage file mentioned in the discussion post you linked. The version referenced in the post is 157.4.4808. So, that seems like it should have affected me by now, right?
What version of macOS are you on? If, like me, you havenāt yet upgraded to 12.6 or Ventura, your version of Dropbox can be up-to-date without your Dropbox folder having been relocated to ~/library/CloudStorage.
I gather itās the macOS version that counts, not the Dropbox version.
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I am revisiting this discussion on NextCloud. Just interested to know how many people are self hosting on Mac via docker, linux or on a NAS.
I have all 3 platforms and trying to work out which is the best . I preferred to use my Synology DS918+ as most of my files are already there.
Interested to know your feedback or suggestion
Iām on Ventura (13.1)
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Same here, and I also have V.163.4.5456 of Dropbox.
I know that with Evernote, I donāt always get the latest update right away. Itās like they roll it out in stages. I wonder if thatās whatās happening here?
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My experience with FileProvider-based storage, albeit using CloudKit: Keep It v2+ uses it and itās great. I can add files en masse to Keep It in the Finder and iOS can see everything in the Files app. No problem syncing.
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Iāve been running Nextcloud on a 2014 refurbished thin client (Fujitsu business trade-in) with a 500Gb ssd and 8 gb of ram that I bought off our local equivalent of e-bay. The pc is very small, very quiet and runs Ubuntu Server (now 22.04). Nextcloud runs in a docker container with mariadb and redis. The whole setup typically uses around 25-30 watts, barely runs the CPU over 30%, ever, and does not run very hot.
So far in a year itās been absolutely solid for me, the only hickup was completely down to me putting it behind a Traefik reverse proxy and forgetting to add the domain to the ātrusted domainsā
Overall file, agenda and task syncing is very fast and reliable, and for me has not missed a step. Actually I found file syncing far quicker than in iCloud so I have now switched iCloud syncing for most of my machines to Nextcloud as well, leaving 1 machine on iCloud to ensure Documents. Desktop and admin files can easily sync between iOS and macOS devices (the machine syncs Nextcloud into the documents, desktop and admin folders on my iCloud drive)
I sync all files to my Synology with their Cloudsync app, and back it up from there with Hyperbackup (encrypted) to my backup storage provider (Synology C2)
As an easy fallback I have a raspberry pi at my motherās house attached to her cable modem with a 2TB external ssd attached, and I rsync my data there as well through a Tailscale connection. (where I live thereās no bandwidth cap)
I know the setup does require a bit of admin time from me (around 30 minutes per month), and a basic understanding of how Docker and Linux operate, but all in all if Iād have to choose again between paying 24,- per month (iCloud extra storage + Dropbox) and running my own I woud definitely do this again. My whole setup cost me around 300 Euros for the refurb and the ssdās and I had the raspberry pi 2 lying around for syncing. So I reckon at the beginning of 2023 Iāve earned back my investment, and am very happy to be in full control of my data again.
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wow, this has a lot for me to take in ( in a good way, as I am not really a techie or coder, just learning along the way - from all of you here 
).
I have an Intel NUC (Zotac) using an old Intel i7 and debian 11 bulleye on it. Currently only have Home Assistant OS running on it.
Definitely want to try installing the Next Cloud linux server on it and somehow (assuming that is is possible to use my Synology DS918+ on the same network as file server), I am currently using ARQ to back up the NAS selected folder to Backblaze B2 bucket)
This may be a good tech project for me. Continue to welcome othersā sharing and suggestions
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I think I read that it is rolled out gradually. So I guess this means the system requirements by MacOS canāt be in full effect yet.
I guess selling bigger SSDs isnāt the only motivation for this, but itās part of the plan to keep people within the ecosystem. Security is part of that. I guess the security can be better if everything is sandboxed and Apple controls most of the ecosystem and you use their own cloud service instead of another. On the other hand it surely fits their business if third party solutions get less comfortable and less useful by restrictions like these.
I use Dropbox and Box.com (as well as iCloud). Box changed to this model several months ago. The stability has been good - no issues on that front - but there is one limitation that bugs the crud out of me.
It doesnāt seem that you can get file previews (the icons) except for files that are downloaded. Even though the file will show in finder, the icon will be generic until you download it. For images, this is quite frustrating. Also, with Box, there is (was?) a bug that made all file preview icons default to generic. I had to uninstall it from my primary machine, so itās probably time for me to go back and try again to see if itās fixed now.
I run nextcloud on my Centos7 server. its awesome. for what dropbox charges, you could get a linode server and run your own with nextcloud.
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this is encouraging. I shall try to install on my debian server based on an Intel NUC
Hope the hardware is good enough and I can get through the linux installation. If not , then I may consider the Linode server option
I updated to the latest client with no issues.
This has been a big discussion in both the MacFamilyTree and Reunion genealogy forums. Most people report no issues other than non-PowerUsers who canāt see their Library folder.
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Iāve heard good things about the Maestral Dropbox client. They had an M1 native silicon version long before Dropbox itself did. Iām thinking I may try it out.
Generally, it seems stable for me. But there is a curious problem I have come across with the spotlight index.
For files in the new Dropbox location, it appears the spotlight index is not available to other apps?
For example, I have a PDF in /Users/[username]/Library/CloudStorage/Dropbox/
This PDF:
- file name does return in a Spotlight search
- filename doesnāt return in a search via Alfred (Alfred settings include that location. If I move the file to a different location, Alfred finds it)
- doesnāt match a ācontentsā search in a Hazel rule (if I run the same rule on the same file in a different location, works fine)
Took me a while to identify. No idea if itās a Dropbox problem, or a limitation of Appleās new approach to cloud providers.
Thanks for the info. This would ruin Dropbox for me. Anyone know a way around it? I rely on both Dropbox Pro and Alfred.
Found this:
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Now, Iām using Monterey and not Ventura. I just checked; Keep It v2 uses File Provider like Dropbox does, and I was able to search for an item in Keep It with Spotlight.
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uncheck all of your folders and wait for them to be removed from your Mac.
Oh heck no
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