Fans of Drop.io, a file-hosting service touted both for its simplicity and fast accessibility, will delight in learning that it has just been made an even easier utility to exercise for your uploading and sharing needs. Drop.io is introducing today a plugin [direct download], compatible with the Firefox 3 browser, that allows a user to drag and drop items from one’s local computer to the Web in one motion. Files from various webpages can also be transferred like so.
You have a number of options with the plugin. You can grab a file from your computer or some place out in the cloud and drag it to the corner circle, upon which an upload will automatically commence. Or, if you’ve already created a drop and want to aggregate multiple files in one place, you can drag a chosen file to a Drop.io tab. Furthermore, the Drop.io plugin enables the user to enter a bookmark of a drop for future use. If you’ve registered a custom drop with the service, you can add that as well, and you’ll naturally be asked for a password to gain entry. That is unless you only manage a free drop, in which case, access will be immediate.
Unfortunately, when dragging a new file to the red dot, a new drop is automatically generated. You cannot choose to add a file to an existing drop in such a way. It is only possible to pool multiple files together in a single drop via an open browser tab.
The folks at Drop.io have conducted quite a bit of alpha testing with Firefox 3 in its Mac, Windows, and Linux variations, and they now feel content enough with bug fixes in place to allow the public to dabble in the new convenience. I’ve only come across a single instance in which the plugin was stubbornly unresponsive to my mouse cursor. For the most part, though, it is a treat. Child’s play, quite literally.
And if this development weren’t enough, the folks at Drop.io have spoken to Mashable about a few other improvements as well. One occurs in the world of Twitter, where, in addition to offering users the ability to message about files added to drops, which arrived some weeks ago, they now allow customization of the language in their auto-tweets and fully control such language via email. Another is something they’re calling “Dropcasting,” which in the words of Drop.io Co-Founder and CEO Sam Lessin, enables users “a way to distribute/publish drops through the iTunes podcast directory,” making for a “whole new auto-flow system to get content on iPods and iPhones.”