"he's effectively "paid" ~$50 for 3GB of cloud space, for life. Which, on a shared server, would come to cents a year."
Except he doesn't have to manage that server, he doesn't have to implement the really cool synch between machines, and depending on the person the Dropbox space is probably more stable and secure. It will also be there longer than his interest in maintaining his own server will last. And the extra space on Dropbox is contiguous with the existing space on Dropbox.
It's more than mere extra space. Still may not be worth it, depending, but it's not just space.
Except he doesn't have to manage that server, he doesn't have to implement the really cool synch between machines, and depending on the person the Dropbox space is probably more stable and secure. It will also be there longer than his interest in maintaining his own server will last. And the extra space on Dropbox is contiguous with the existing space on Dropbox.
It's more than mere extra space. Still may not be worth it, depending, but it's not just space.