2) This is a problem with just about any service unless you use something based in another country, but then you play by that governments rules
3) That third party is Amazon S3/EBS/EC2 which, if used correctly, provides a solution thousands of times better than you can with the same budget (redundant datacenters, high availability, etc)
4) If they do disappear, you still have all your data on your computers with Dropbox installed.
I'm a dropbox user, although I like the GP's standpoint. For practical reasons I don't refuse to use it like he does.
Now, help me understand point 1) please.
I assume for now that you're talking about the 'get someone to sign up' bonus? Which would be very shady in my world and is probably part of the reason why the GP gets annoyed by people at his university, trying to sift through the masses and find those that didn't sign up yet and could offer them a slight bonus.
2) This is a problem with just about any service unless you use something based in another country, but then you play by that governments rules
3) That third party is Amazon S3/EBS/EC2 which, if used correctly, provides a solution thousands of times better than you can with the same budget (redundant datacenters, high availability, etc)
4) If they do disappear, you still have all your data on your computers with Dropbox installed.