End of support for OS X 10.4 and 10.5

Anyone still interested in finding a Dropbox alternative still working on ppc: I have found this SpiderOak software which, properly set, does exactly the same (and even something more) as our beloved but unfaithful Dropbox; I am still testing it and I am not sure how truly reliable this SpiderOak is but it seems pretty decent so far. And free till 2GB. Now, the ppc version is no more officially supported but you can search de web and download SpiderOak 4.8.4, and it works just fine on my Powerbook 12" with Leopard onboard, syncing files with the updated version on my Yosemite iMac 27. Let me know if have any problem finding the legacy one.

Tomasso, thanks for the heads up re SpiderOak client backup for Mac PPC. I am trying to find SpiderOak 5.1.2. This article is both promising and ominous: https://blog.spideroak.com/20130124114121-powerpc-mac-users-attention

<removed> but I do not know if it actually works on PPC.

Edit: Link to unauthorised download removed by forum moderator.

You need the 4.8.4 version guys. Try here, a seems to post a link still working...
http://forums.macrumors.com/showthread.php?t=1757271

Probably a dumb question but does this SpiderOak work with Dropbox somehow? I need to add to and access files that my colleagues and I need to store and exchange but they will all have Dropbox, unless I can convince them all to switch. An entire lab group and department, which is possible because I'm not the only one who has an older machine, and if Dropbox comes for 10.6 next ...
Meanwhile I don't see any notices for XP users.
This is incredibly frustrating. Our Mac guru was the one who convinced us all to go to Dropbox over a few other free options, including drives and servers on campus.

I have no idea if Spideroak works with dropbox, I suspect i doesn't (tried to sync some files stored in dropbox and some didn't).
You can try yourself though.

Dear DropBox,

I am the proud owner of a Power Mac G5 Quad with 16GB RAM and a 400GB HDD. This machine is lightning quick and is still quite viable even though it is several years old. I love your DropBox client for Power PC, and hope that you will reconsider your decision to discontinue this wonderful application. There are a lot of us Power PC users still out here, because our machines still work fine and we enjoy using them. Please rethink this guys, there is no reason to drop support for us! Thanks!

I have used my trusty old PPC eMac 2005 for a long time now and it's sad to see 10.5 support being dropped. Leopard is the last usable OS on ALL PPC Macs and we really don't want to have to switch to a web client, purely because it is too slow.

Please, leave us with a working client rather than kicking us off. You don't need to update it, ever. Just do what Spotify did. Leave us with the old client, as long as it works.

Please don't stop support for powerpc macs!

I'm torn. I wasn't going to say anything but that doesn't help anyone, so here goes...

On one hand, I completely understand the dilemma of diminishing returns in continuing to support the old OS versions. Support from Apple in the developer tools has long since dried up. Dropbox likely doesn't want new hires getting bogged down in old dead-end code. I get that. I thank Dropbox for having supported OS X 10.4 Tiger and 10.5 Leopard for as long as they have.

I haven't seen anything about support being dropped for Windows XP in the near term. That stings of "double-standard" a little bit, especially considering the whole uproar last year of Microsoft officially ending support for XP. "On-the-surface" statistics may paint the picture: I saw one set of January 2015 numbers that showed Windows XP usage at 18+%. Mac OS X 10.10 was something like 3.5% and OS X 10.9 was a little under 2%. All older OS X versions were lumped together under a 6% portion of the pie called "Other" which I presume included Linux. Those stats vary widely depending on who's collecting them but the gist is: there are likely a WHOLE lot more XP Dropbox users out there than those on OS X 10.4 Tiger and/or OS X 10.5 Leopard. I have to ask though: How many of those are paying users?

On the other side of the coin, I have to consider my own use case:
One of the reasons I decided to go with Dropbox was explicitly because it supported earlier systems. As others have said, that's a SELLING POINT. It made Dropbox a much more useful and versatile tool.

My main personal Mac is on OS X 10.10 Yosemite but I also have a still-running-great iMac G5 that can't upgrade past OS X 10.5 Leopard. Dropbox is an ideal, elegant tool for sharing/syncing files with this machine. As others have attested, Dropbox has served as a wonderful "bridge" for when we need to keep an old system around due to proprietary BUSINESS hardware and software that just won't work on the new systems.

Yes, I could share the files with another "supported" Mac, but my 10.10 Mac is a laptop - what about when I have it on the road with me and a family member wants to work with/sync the shared files on the iMac? Put it the shared files on a NAS, some would say. Meh... too complicated. I bought into Dropbox for the SIMPLICITY. Jumping through all these extra hoops would negate that.

Other concerns...
1.) As others have suggested: how long before support for OS X 10.6 Snow Leopard is also dropped?
2.) More importantly, how long before we're locked out of even the Dropbox website on OS 10.5 X and earlier because the web browsers are "too old" and "unsupported?"

Others have described more compelling "mission-critical" uses of Dropbox on PowerPC Macs, but my own dilemma boils down to:
- My Dropbox Pro account offers more space than I ever really needed
- BUT, having the ability to sync with the older systems made the extra expense "worth it" to me (I was happy to pay to support a smaller, focussed company). I didn't really consider the competition.
- Now that the PowerPC support is going away, I should do more "due diligence" in really looking into other Cloud/sync/storage providers. Since I'm mostly on OS X 10.10 and an iPhone, most other services do just fine for my needs and at a lower price point. (Some of the savings might go into a "do-it-myself" sync solution for the older iMac.)
- I am a Canadian customer, and with our dollar having dropped from $0.95 US to $0.80 US, I have to admit I'm more price conscious than I was last year.

I fully understand aspects of the dilemmas:
- Canada/US Dollar exchange rate
- Next-to-nil developer support for OS X 10.5 and prior from Apple
...are beyond Dropbox's control (and beyond my own control).

It appears Dropbox has already made their "business decision" about the fate of OS X 10.4 and 10.5 support. (Hi Dropbox Team... you can still change your mind ;) )
I haven't made up my own mind yet about which way I'll go when my Dropbox Pro account is up for renewal in June. It will be sad to go.... It'll be a battle between my head and my heart.