ShrinkFile online file zipper: Some apps don't need to go web 2.0

by Brad Linder Aug 28th 2008

Google, Zoho, 37signals and other companies have done an excellent job of demonstrating that some applications don't need to be desktop based. In fact, web-based calendars, office applications, and chat services offer many advantages over desktop versions like easy collaboration without the need for an Exchange server. But some applications really make a lot more sense on the desktop. Case in point: ShrinkFile.

ShrinkFile is an online file compression and hosting service. Have a large file you want to share with a friend or colleague and want to save them a bit of downloading time? Upload it to ShrinkFile, and ShrinkFile will zip it and host it for free for up to a week.

Sure, ShrinkFile could come in handy if you're on a computer that doesn't have WinZip, 7-zip, or another archiving application. But you know what? Practically every major operating system available today ships with the ability to zip files. What's more, you could save time both downloading and uploading your large file if you just zip it before sharing it using another service like FileDropper or YouSendit.

What do you think? Am I missing something, or is ShrinkFile basically useless?

[via MakeUseOf]

Tags: filedropper, shrinkfile, useless, web-apps, yousendit

Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)

Firtch said 6:34PM on 8-28-2008

no, you're right. But it is simply a gimmick. What hosting company wouldn't compress the file once it's uploaded? This is a feature that I think some hosting companies could add, but the truth is, large files are often already compressed and were too big to be e-mailed in the first place.

Gimmick.

Brian! said 8:16AM on 8-29-2008

Oh man. You just totally killed their IP. Thanks a lot Brad.

Any more web companies you would care to take down with obvious statements?

KarlW said 8:16AM on 8-29-2008

If it zipped/unzipped .rar and .sit files, that would be great. No OS that has web support does not have zip support.

Jash Sayani said 8:16AM on 8-29-2008

Well, Windows/Mac has its own Compression Tool for zipping so its not an issue. And its always good to have a rar application like WinRAR/UnRarX.
Upload --> Zip --> Download. Seems to be a long process.

But not bad for sharing files.

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