BitTorrent Sync - Interesting tool for photography + more

[lnh]

For the past month I've been trying out the beta version of BitTorrent Sync (not to be confused with the nefarious reputation of torrents as a mean by which copyrighted material is stolen). The software can be downloaded at: http://www.getsync.com/ for desktops (Windows/Mac/Linux/FreeBSD and some NAS devices & at the app stores for Android/Apple/Windows Phone/Kindle Fire). It's basically a private peer-to-peer file sharing technology which can give you cloud like capability, but using computers you control. Your data only goes where you want and is automatically encrypted while in transit between the peers. Sometime next year the product will be leaving beta and becoming v2 with both free and paid versions. There will also be versions geared towards IT with data duplication and other higher end storage management capabilities.

The advantages over a cloud are:
* You control everything
* Storage only limited by your own disks
* fast

I've also found it super easy to setup and manage, and surprised on it's ability to traverse through WANs and firewalls without having to configure routers with any port forwarding. It just figures out how to get where you want it to go. Obviously is doesn't negate the need for backups, nor the risk of having all your data at a single site. However, you could include peers which reside in a physically different location (close friends or relatives) or even host an inexpensive virtual server via Amazon EC2 or DigitalOcean and really have a private cloud.

My test bed has been 2 x Windows 8.1 Pro desktops + 1 Windows 7 Notebook + Synology NAS (using a community build of Sync, but should eventually become an official 3rd party app) + 2 Android phones and 1 Android tablet. Plan to introduce my wife's MacBook into the mix soon. You setup one of your directories as a Sync folder and send out an email link or QR code or secret code to another device with which you'd like to share those files. If they accept, you have the option to still approve the relationship and can delete peers at any time in the future. The files between the two or more peers stay in sync with each other. Some might be off line at any given time, but when they are on together they sync. The NAS piece will become an important component because it's always on.

On the mobile side, things are a little different. My understand is that on iOS you can only backup your photos due to Apple restrictions. On Android, you can do the same, but also setup other directories which can be backup to another peer. Deleting/modifying a file on the mobile, doesn't delete it on the desktop/server nodes, and likewise doing something with those files on the desktop/server doesn't change what is on the mobile. With Android you can also initiate a true 2 or more way sync from the desktop/server to the mobile. Don't know why you can't initiate it from the mobile, but it all works even if you initially sync an empty folder on the desktop/server to a folder filled with data on the mobile (the data flows back to the desktop/server & then stays in 2 or more way sync).

In the past month I haven't used Dropbox once. How have I used it? I use it to sync my Keepass password manager file from desktop to mobile, and also backup and share 2 factor authentication files between my mobile devices. GPS tracks from my mobile sync back to the desktop where I might use the track for geocoding in Geosetter. Mobile shots are backed up as well as shots transferred via WiFi from my "real" camera to mobile. Bicycle trainer workout files are transferred from tablet and notebook to desktop where they are uploaded to Garmin Connect and SportTracks Mobi. Some photo files are also synced with the NAS. In general it's been reliable and problem free. It is beta and the issues I've run into are more on the mobile side where files aren't always flowing as fast as I'd like. If you're curious and desire to control your data, it's worth checking out.

[Carlo Didier]

This sounds very interesting. I'd use it to sync my GPS logs (as you do) and pictures from the phone and my eBooks/eMagazines to the tablet.
Would be interesting to try to sync an iMatch db between PCs that way too.

[lnh]

This sounds very interesting. I'd use it to sync my GPS logs (as you do) and pictures from the phone and my eBooks/eMagazines to the tablet.
Would be interesting to try to sync an iMatch db between PCs that way too.

I've thought about that as well for the IMatch DB, but for now, especially since it's still beta, haven't even experimented with anything directly related to IMatch. Only treat IMatch by the book exactly how Mario intends it to be used (other than my stupid mistakes while learning the program). Might experiment down the road once Sync leaves beta on backup copies. Have to see how BtSync develops and whether it's continued use makes sense once everything settles out regarding the freeware vs subscription versions. They are saying the future freeware will be at least as feature rich (plus some) as the existing beta, but time will tell. Personally, not at all a fan of subscription software, and wish they'd offer a standard license.

BTW - I have seen articles/posts written about people who have successfully implemented BtSync on virtual servers in the Amazon EC2 infrastructure. Doesn't sound super simple, nor impossible; probably not too bad if you know Linux a bit. Wouldn't be surprised to see some enterprising company offer it preconfigured as a build-your-own cloud service at some point.

[Mario]

There is also ownCloud which is on the market for some time (version 7!).
It does not only handle files (including versionsing) but also allows you to share calendars, galleries and all the nifty things you get from the big cloud vendors. Runs on Windows, Linux, Android, OS etc.

The community edition is also free. 

[lnh]

Mario - Have you tried implementing your own instance of ownCloud? I've looked at it in the past, but at the time don't think there were any non-European vendors (now there are a couple in USA). I asked my email/web supplier about it, and they said they've looked at it in the past, but it would be a major project to take it on (i.e. don't hold your breath waiting). It does have the appeal of taking back your address book and calendars from the likes of those big internet companies. The only thing is once you're on a mobile platform, you have to share lots of that same data back again via app permissions if you want to communicate with others. Haven't figured out a good way to control it. The Xposed framework with the Xprivacy plugin on Android at least gave you the ability to spoof apps with bogus data, but it's not clear that framework will or can even be moved forward to Android 5).

[Carlo Didier]

For me, the main disadvantage of ownCloud is that it needs a server. btSync directly syncs between peers.
I don't like having to let a computer run all the time when it's only used for maybe 30 minutes total per day. My Computers (a desktop and a laptop) are only up and running when I really use them. Boot and shutdown is so fast with SSDs, my Desktop boots nearly as fast as I unlock my phone or tablet.

[Dickel]

(I thought I had sent this (something similar) previously but it hasn't appeared on the forum).

I have been using BTSync for nearly 18 months now and find it extremely helpful.  Although BtSync is not a "backup application" as such, that's how I use it and it works great.  I use it to sync all my 'important' files (including all my photos and IMatch databases) between a desktop, laptop, and a tablet, running a combination of W7-32, W8-32, and W8-64.  I don't need to think about whether or not the laptop or tablet is 'up-to-date', I just grab one and go!  When I get back, all 3 machines automatically re-sync - easy!  (An IMatch "Relocate" command is required because of the different media involved of course, but that is relatively painless.)

As others have said, it is still in Beta so it is wise to use it with caution.  In my experience so far, it is very fast and it just WORKS!

There is a BTSync discussion forum here:
http://forum.bittorrent.com/forum/56-sync-general-discussion/

Regards
Dickel

[Carlo Didier]

An IMatch "Relocate" command is required because of the different media involved of course, but that is relatively painless.

You could avoid that by assigning the same drive letters on every machine and setting the same drive ID (using the volumeID tool from sysinternals.com for example).

[Dickel]

An IMatch "Relocate" command is required because of the different media involved of course, but that is relatively painless.

You could avoid that by assigning the same drive letters on every machine and setting the same drive ID (using the volumeID tool from sysinternals.com for example).

Thanks for the suggestion, Carlo.  I'm not sure of the implications to other applications though. . .  I'll do some testing.

[Carlo Didier]

There should be no problems if all disks with the same ID have the same content (i.e. are more or less synchronized copies of each other).
I wouldn't assign the same IDs to completely unrelated disks (unrelated contents), although I'd be hard pressed to find a situation where that could cause serious problems.

[Dickel]

There should be no problems if all disks with the same ID have the same content (i.e. are more or less synchronized copies of each other).
I wouldn't assign the same IDs to completely unrelated disks (unrelated contents), although I'd be hard pressed to find a situation where that could cause serious problems.

At the moment, all photos are on the "D" drive on the desktop, but there is only a "C" drive on both the laptop and tablet.  As I understand it, I would need to either move the photos from "D" onto the "C" drive on the desktop (which I don't want to do as I prefer to keep all my "data" on the "D" drive) or I could create new "D" partitions on the laptop and tablet drives and change the volume IDs.

Unfortunately there is not quite enough room on either the laptop or tablet HDs to accommodate some 65GB of photos - although there WOULD be enough room if I deleted all the photos currently on those drives and then created new "D" partitions.

I'll give this some more thought!

Thanks for your help.

[Mario]

If all your files are under a a single root folder, you could mount that folder as a drive (Windows Drive Manager) or use a SUBST command to associate a drive letter with that folder. If you combine this with a tool that allows you to change the volume id to make it the same on both computers, you don't need to relocate anymore.

[lnh]

Looks like BitTorrent is starting an invite-only alpha for something they call Project Maelstrom. Sounds like a web browser with distributed torrent technology at it's core. Info and sign-up at http://blog.bittorrent.com/2014/12/10/project-maelstrom-the-internet-we-build-next/.

[jeknepley]

Late to this post. Been away from IM & the forum since May.

My setup is two laptops (one Win7, 8GB & one Win8, 32GB) each with SSD drives. Each PC stores almost over 1.5TB of image files on their own separate external drives (one 2TB & one 5TB). They use a 4-drive Synology NAS (four 3-TB drives & RAID) for backup.

All of that said, keeping things in sync is (was) a challenge. I just bought copies of GoodSync for each PC and am happy with the results. I use GS's backup option (1-way sync) to send data from the PC's  to the NAS and the GS auto-sync feature for 2-way sync between the two PC's. The between-PC sync is private P2P.

I was intrigued by the suggestions for matching drive letters and volume id's between the PC to avoid the IM5 relocation. A small freeware program, Hard Disk Serial Number Changer (poorly named since it changes the volume id & not the SN), did the id change easily.

I just finished matching the drives and loading a copy of the Win8 PC's IMD5 DB file on the Win7 - and held my breath. It worked like a charm. Thanks for sharing your ideas - a big help.

[Carlo Didier]

As far as I see in their FAQ, Goodsync needs a connection to their server (Goodsync Mediator). Is that true? Did you ever try to sync between two machines in a local network without internet access?

[jeknepley]

Apparently that was the case "once-upon-a-time", but no longer. Check http://www.goodsync.com/how-it-works/block-level-sync or Google "Goodsync P2P" for details.

Bottom line - for me it's between my two PC's without the internet - just my LAN. The speed varies but 7-10 MB/s is typical on my LAN. Your mileage may vary.

[Carlo Didier]

Apparently that was the case "once-upon-a-time", but no longer. Check http://www.goodsync.com/how-it-works/block-level-sync or Google "Goodsync P2P" for details.

That page only talks about the data synchronisation itself, not the connection.

Bottom line - for me it's between my two PC's without the internet - just my LAN. The speed varies but 7-10 MB/s is typical on my LAN. Your mileage may vary.

Did you try if it still works if the internet connection is not there? In their FAQ, they talk about Servers to manage the connections.

In the "Connect" chapter under "How it works", they talk about Goodsync servers and Mediator servers. It's not clear whether these are local installations of Goodsync or servers at their site. And they talk about setting up a Goodsync Connect account, which would necessarily be on their servers, wouldn't it? 

[jeknepley]

All references to the "server" in my setup are via a "localhost" address. Further, my reading of the various GS mentions of P2P  state that there is no 3rd party server if the PCs being synced are on the same LAN. However it works - it works perfectly and so I'm satisfied.

Download the free version, set up the P2P and try it. Only takes a few minutes to run a quick test. Shutting down the internet here would get me beat about the head and shoulders by other users. 

[Dickel]

If all your files are under a a single root folder, you could mount that folder as a drive (Windows Drive Manager) or use a SUBST command to associate a drive letter with that folder. If you combine this with a tool that allows you to change the volume id to make it the same on both computers, you don't need to relocate anymore.

Hi Mario and all;

I realize this is even further "off-topic" so don't waste your precious time on it, but if you see something obvious. . .

I decided to try implementing the suggestion for getting around the "Relocate" requirement when changing from machine to machine.  Here's the machines details & Directory organization:

DESK: W7-32
D:\@Photos
   @Photo Databases
   Archive Photos

LAP: W7-64
C:\@Photos
   @Photo Databases
   Archive Photos

TAB: W8-64
C:\@Photos
   @Photo Databases
   Archive Photos

The Directories "@Photos" are maintained 'in sync' across the 3 machines by BTSync. 
(The use of "@" in directory names is purely cosmetic - just for display ordering.)

I ensured all drives had the same volume ID (using the mis-named "Hard Disk Serial Number Changer.exe".
I created virtual drives "P:" on each machine (using "VSubst.exe").

In the first instance the "P:" drives pointed to the "@Photos" directory, i.e.,

DESK:
subst P: D:\@Photos
LAP:
subst P: C:\@Photos
TAB:
subst P: C:\@Photos

That did not work correctly and the "Relocate" command was still required on the other machines.


For my second attempt the "P:" drives pointed to the entire drive in each case, i.e.,

DESK:
subst P: D:\
LAP:
subst P: C:\
TAB:
subst P: C:\

That did not work correctly either and the "Relocate" command was again required on the other machines.

I am probably overlooking something very basic here and I would appreciate someone pointing out the error of my ways!

Thanks much!

Dickel

[ColinIM]

Hello Dickel,

I'm wondering on which computer (drive letter) your @Photos folder was located when you first create your IMatch database, and then, following your creation of the substituted "P:\" drive on each machine, did you run an IMatch 'Relocate' at least once to persuade your database that - hereafter - all your photos are sitting on a folder on a "Drive P:\"?

And therefore - perhaps to over-state my query to you - have you really 'persuaded' that single database, the one which is replicated across your computers, that your photos have now 'moved' off the drive (C: .... or D: ...) on which the photos were sitting when you created the database?  And then afterwards, is that same single database (the one which now believes your photos are on a P: drive) being properly RE-replicated back onto the other computers following that unavoidable one-time 'Relocate' phase?

If you have already run 'Relocate' once, and if the answer to my queries above is "Yes, IMatch now thinks my photos are on a P: drive.", then perhaps - given our current Operating System versions - the newer 'mklink' command might be a better way to create those "P:\...." directory paths, instead of 'subst'?  (mklink is available in Vista and later Operating Systems.)

The mklink command is acknowledged to be a rather non-straightforward command to use (or more accurately, the way Windows Operating Systems handle the results of the deceptively simple mklink commands, is complex!) - so I'll invite you to read this very good article which explains some of the mklink options ... (I note that your Desktop is 32-bit Windows, but the general guidelines in this article will still apply) ...

Using NTFS Junctions to Fix Application Compatibility Issues on 64-bit Editions of Windows
http://blogs.msdn.com/b/aaron_margosis/archive/2012/12/10/using-ntfs-junctions-to-fix-application-compatibility-issues-on-64-bit-editions-of-windows.aspx

(That article is not light-reading for sure, but it is accepted as being authoritative. And the References at the bottom of that page might help too, or instead  )

Perhaps to summarise that article, and without making any promises that this will really fix your problem (because I haven't tested it myself), you might try the following alternatives to the subst commands:

From within a command-prompt on each computer, running with Administrator privileges

(on DESK: W7-32)
mklink /D  P:\@Photos  D:\@Photos

(on LAP: W7-64)
mklink /D  P:\@Photos  C:\@Photos

(on TAB: W8-64)
mklink /D  P:\@Photos  C:\@Photos

As usual, I'll happily defer to anyone who has another idea, or who may have direct experience of using 'mklink'.

Please keep us updated Dickel.
Best regards,
Colin P.

[Dickel]

Hi Colin

Thanks for your valuable input.

I'm wondering on which computer (drive letter) your @Photos folder was located when you first create your IMatch database, and then, following your creation of the substituted "P:\" drive on each machine, did you run an IMatch 'Relocate' at least once to persuade your database that - hereafter - all your photos are sitting on a folder on a "Drive P:\"?

The original database was created on the desktop "D:\" drive and yes, it operated correctly after being 'Relocated' to the "P:\" drive on that same machine.  No problem there.

And therefore - perhaps to over-state my query to you - have you really 'persuaded' that single database, the one which is replicated across your computers, that your photos have now 'moved' off the drive (C: .... or D: ...) on which the photos were sitting when you created the database?  And then afterwards, is that same single database (the one which now believes your photos are on a P: drive) being properly RE-replicated back onto the other computers following that unavoidable one-time 'Relocate' phase?

That's what I was testing.  I created a "P:\" drive on the second machine (laptop) and "Relocated" the database from the "C:\" drive to the "P:\" drive.  That operated normally from the new "P:\" drive.  After shutting IMatch down on that machine and returning to the desktop, the database needed to be "Relocated" to the "P:\" drive again.  After doing that, the laptop database once again required "Relocating" back to its "P:\" drive - the vicious circle!

So, clearly something about the relocating procedure was not being carried back to the other machine and vice-versa.  Unfortunately, I did not take notes as I was doing this - my lesson!  One possibility is that I was not allowing enough time for 'syncing' to happen between the two machines, but that should have happened within a second or two.

If you have already run 'Relocate' once, and if the answer to my queries above is "Yes, IMatch now thinks my photos are on a P: drive.", then perhaps - given our current Operating System versions - the newer 'mklink' command might be a better way to create those "P:\...." directory paths, instead of 'subst'?  (mklink is available in Vista and later Operating Systems.)

I discovered that there was a drawback with both "subst" and "mklink" in that in their original form, they are only temporary - they both disappear after a machine reboot.  There are utilities available to automatically reinstate these links upon rebooting, so that problem was solved.  Same thing applies to the creation of the virtual hard disks (VHD) in windows - the 'file' is retained but the VHD must be 're-attached' after each reboot.  I found a utility to automatically re-attach them during the boot process.  Another problem solved.

This is a LOT of work when just doing a simple "Relocate" takes only a few seconds!  (It's the challenge that counts!)

The mklink command is acknowledged to be a rather non-straightforward command to use (or more accurately, the way Windows Operating Systems handle the results of the deceptively simple mklink commands, is complex!) - so I'll invite you to read this very good article which explains some of the mklink options ... (I note that your Desktop is 32-bit Windows, but the general guidelines in this article will still apply) ...

Using NTFS Junctions to Fix Application Compatibility Issues on 64-bit Editions of Windows
http://blogs.msdn.com/b/aaron_margosis/archive/2012/12/10/using-ntfs-junctions-to-fix-application-compatibility-issues-on-64-bit-editions-of-windows.aspx

(That article is not light-reading for sure, but it is accepted as being authoritative. And the References at the bottom of that page might help too, or instead  )

Ha!  I thought I was reasonably knowledgeable about these various types of links - insofar as I have been using the "Link Shell Extension" app in connection with BTSync across all three machines.  LSE is an extremely versatile app - but very heavy going!  Others may find it very useful too.  (See here http://schinagl.priv.at/nt/hardlinkshellext/linkshellextension.html)  It is also very heavy reading to say the very least!

Perhaps to summarise that article, and without making any promises that this will really fix your problem (because I haven't tested it myself), you might try the following alternatives to the subst commands:

From within a command-prompt on each computer, running with Administrator privileges

(on DESK: W7-32)
mklink /D  P:\@Photos  D:\@Photos

(on LAP: W7-64)
mklink /D  P:\@Photos  C:\@Photos

(on TAB: W8-64)
mklink /D  P:\@Photos  C:\@Photos

This is exactly what I finished up doing - thank you!  (I have not done the "TABLET" computer yet though.)  Since I have "LSE" installed on all machines, those "Command line" created "mklinks" now show up with the LSE icons - just as if they had been created by LSE.

Everything appears to be working the way I had hoped for.

So, in the end, I scrubbed all my previous actions and started over from scratch.  I still don't know what the original problem was but I've learned a few new things along the way!

Best regards
Dickel

[Carlo Didier]

Strange. Subst is not persistent, that much I knew, but any links created by mklink are persistent on my machines. Didi you run mklink as administrator?

[ColinIM]

Hi Dickel,

Thank you for your feedback, and good news that you've resolved your puzzle after all.

On that "LSE" utility ... Wow! That's an impressive-looking program. I haven't looked in detail at it yet, but I'm positively swayed by the depth and extent of Hermann Schinagl's documentation. (There's usually a correlation between good documentation and good software - as evidenced here with IMatch  )

By the way, here's a corrected version of that LSE link:  (Perhaps Hermann changed the page-name after you grabbed that link?!)
http://schinagl.priv.at/nt/hardlinkshellext/hardlinkshellext.html

This 'virtual drive' theme interests me because I'm thinking about moving an 'echo' of my own IMatch database onto my laptop too, so that I can work with my son (living in another town) on extending my Thesaurus/Keywords for certain sets of my images - so I've bookmarked this LSE page for later.

(Like Carlo Didier, I'm also intrigued about your non-persistent mklink links! I believed that they were as persistent as those "lnk" shortcuts we so often use on our drives to help manage our documents etc., but again I admit that I've only used the mklink commands for some limited tests.)

Colin P.

[Dickel]

Strange. Subst is not persistent, that much I knew, but any links created by mklink are persistent on my machines. Didi you run mklink as administrator?

Ahh, that one escaped me - I was thinking about the virtual drive being temporary!  mklink is persistent of course.

Dickel

[Dickel]

Hi Colin

Thank you for your feedback, and good news that you've resolved your puzzle after all.

Almost solved, but not quite - it's the TABLET that seems to be the sticking point - I can create a virtual drive (VHD) but I cannot access it!  It returns a 'not accessible' error.  It would appear to be something to do with UAC permissions but I cannot figure it out.  It's a MS Surface Pro running W8.1 which apparently has a few 'quirks'.   If anyone knows. . . thanks!

On that "LSE" utility ... Wow! That's an impressive-looking program. I haven't looked in detail at it yet, but I'm positively swayed by the depth and extent of Hermann Schinagl's documentation. (There's usually a correlation between good documentation and good software - as evidenced here with IMatch  )

Yes, it is extremely versatile and capable - just like IMatch.  And, as you say, superb documentation - just like IMatch!

By the way, here's a corrected version of that LSE link:  (Perhaps Hermann changed the page-name after you grabbed that link?!)
http://schinagl.priv.at/nt/hardlinkshellext/hardlinkshellext.html

He must have moved it within the last day or so as I was re-reading the documentation only yesterday!  Thanks for the update.

This 'virtual drive' theme interests me because I'm thinking about moving an 'echo' of my own IMatch database onto my laptop too, so that I can work with my son (living in another town) on extending my Thesaurus/Keywords for certain sets of my images - so I've bookmarked this LSE page for later.

BTSync will keep your and your son's machines in sync any time that they are both online.  Creating VHDs on both machines would be the icing on the cake!

(Like Carlo Didier, I'm also intrigued about your non-persistent mklink links! I believed that they were as persistent as those "lnk" shortcuts we so often use on our drives to help manage our documents etc., but again I admit that I've only used the mklink commands for some limited tests.)

Yes, my mistake.  mklinks are persistent!

Best
Dickel

[Carlo Didier]

I have no problems on my desktop running Windows 8.1, with any application. mklink works fine. Maybe something specific on the Surface Pro causes your problems (drivers, ...)

[Dickel]

I finally managed to delete the "P:" drive on the tablet, then re-created it.  All is well.

[lnh]

BitTorrent Sync just released v2.0 along with the promised Pro version at a cost of $40/year. The BTS community is upset by the limitations imposed on the free version of v2. The prior version (v1.4x) didn't have any limitation on the number of folders which could be synced, but the new free version is limited to 10 top level folders and I believe each of those can have any number of subfolders. Haven't personally confirmed that in practice. A number of folks feel BT has broken a promise to not de-feature the free version 2 from what was previously possible. Obviously they have, but it may still be possible to design a setup which is very useful. Everyone has to decide for themselves if $40/year is too expensive for a service which isn't hosting any data (which is one of its advantages), but is solely managing the connections to your storage. Right now I believe I can fit in the 10 high level folder limit, but not rushing to upgrade till I figure it out and look at alternatives like some of the ones mentioned here or https://github.com/syncthing/syncthing. I'm an advocate for paying for good software but prefer a traditional license rather than subscription. For my use, $40/year is too expensive for the value I'd receive.

[Mario]

I like the IMatch pricing model. You know what you get and what it costs you. Upgrades are discounted for existing users and you have a six month grace period for free upgrades. Works since 1998 and maybe a handful of users ever complained.

Even if you don't upgrade IMatch does not stop working. You won't get access to updates anymore of course. And support may be limited (Your's truly may be a bit reluctant to give you support for free when he can spend the time supporting users who in turn support the further development of IMatch by buying upgrades). And, my-o-my, I have some cool new things up my sleeves for the upcoming versions...

[lnh]

Just read that BitTorrent has reversed their policy for BtSync perpetual licenses for home users and are now offering it for $39.99 USD to individuals for personal use. Personally kept using the beta 1.4x release and never even tried the v2. Also have given some trials to open source Syncthing and currently on the 30 day trial of GoodSync. The pricing seems fair, so I'll give the v2.2 a try now.

[lnh]

Tiny update... GoodSync seems to work well enough, but it's been a battery hog on my Android phone. For now, I've uninstalled GoodSync and I'm trying out the new version of BtSync. So far it's working fine. Your prior setup under beta 1.4x does not translate over to v2.x and you have to set up your sync relationships over again. Not a huge deal. Still has the round about way of setting up a 2 way sync of existing folders on your phone. You have to initiate the sync relationship from the desktop/notebook and then point it to the existing folder on your phone (first setting the interface to advanced in settings or else it won't let you choose an existing folder).

Another very useful app on desktop/notebook/smartphones is called PushBullet. You can use it to simply send links, messages or files between your systems, or to another PushBullet user. Mobile works on Android and iOS. The same company has released another app geared towards file transfer call Portal. Right now the transfer is only in one direction, but the next release should make it go both ways. You can do the same on a single file basis with PushBullet, but Portal is geared towards handling bulk transfers.