Recycling is an environmentally conscious way to dispose of paper, bottles, cans, and other miscellaneous items that you no longer have a use for. But what about all those files on your computer that get deleted every day? Dumpster Drive is a Mac OS X application that looks to recycle unwanted files by sharing them with people who may find them useful.
The concept is a bit strange, sharing files you no longer have a need for with people you have never met. All you have to do to check this out is go to the Dumpster Drive site and download the application (Mac OS X only at this point, sorry Windows/Linux users). Once the application is installed you pick a folder to use as a dumpster. Any file you no longer have a need for you place in the dumpster and it gets added to the pool of unwanted files.
Anyone using Dumpster Drive can access and download the files in the community pool, but there is one interesting twist. Once someone has downloaded a file, that particular file is no longer accessible to anyone else browsing the community pool. I suppose this idea of ownership transfer enforces the "one man's trash is another man's treasure" idea behind the whole thing.
The only concern about this file sharing concept is that Dumpster Drive currently has no way to check files for malware or viruses, so there is a certain amount of use at your own risk here. Perhaps that's why the creator targeted Mac OS X as the primary platform for the software. At least the number of known exploits is low on that particular operating system. It's also probably smart to avoid putting any sensitive documents, like say your recent tax return, in your dumpster.
The source code for Dumpster Drive is freely available and someone will likely come along with the motivation to create a Windows or Linux installer for the thing. In the meantime, if you have Mac OS X and are compelled by the idea of digging through someone else's digital trash, give this a try. It might just bring out the hobo in all of us.
