On my Mac/Windows PC…Dropbox

On My Mac/Windows PC is an on-going series highlighting the software (and sometimes, hardware) I use on my Mac nearly every day. Look for additional On My Mac…posts in the coming weeks! -- Douglas

Dropbox

Everything is in "the cloud" today, it seems and Dropbox provides you some free storage space there where you can share any type of files with groups of people large and small.

When you have a number of computers that you use on a regular basis, and several family smartphones and you need to deliver large files around the Internet, Dropbox comes as a bit of a revelation. I keep finding uses for it every day. I first used it to transfer large video files from CareerCamp attendees so I could edit them and place them online. Instead of driving around in my car and transferring files from a variety of devices and computers, people could upload the videos to their own computer and they would, eventually (as they were quite large) show up on my computer.

Then, when Dropbox for iPhone arrived, I was able to set up automatic uploads of all my pictures to Dropbox and they would "magically" appear on all my other Macs and PCs. Sure, I can and do use iCloud's Photostream feature, but Dropbox does not require that I use iPhoto and works on Windows as well.

Due to several promotions, I now have 10GB of Dropbox space for free, although I think it starts with 2GB free for most new users. You can gain extra space by introducing new people to the service.

So check out Dropbox and I think you will be pleasantly surprised what it can do for you and your daily productivity.

Link: Dropbox Web Site

Previously in On My Mac...

Comments

Microsoft release Outlook.com email services to replace Hotmail

Today Microsoft released its new email service Outlook.com to replace its Hotmail brand. This new streamlined Metro interface design looks good and functions well so far. You can use your existing Microsoft account to log in and then choose an email alias (i.e. douglaswelch@outlook.com) for your new email address. Here are several articles that discuss Outlook.com... Goodbye, Hotmail; Hello, Outlook.com [REVIEW] Outlook Is a Completely New, Feature-Filled Webmail Service from Microsoft Go Get Your @Outlook Email Address Quick Before Someone Else Does I will post links to more articles and reviews as they appear.

Shared calendars are one part of an organized family

by Douglas E. Welch , techiq@welchwrite.com 206-338-5832 Reader/Listener Line As a parent with a school-age child, I often hear other parents bemoaning their disorganized existence. Along with the busy schedules of two working parents you might have art classes, karate classes, Little League, soccer and more. Add in more than one kid and organizing your life can quickly become a nightmare. This is exactly why one of my most important organizing devices is a shared calendar that reflects all the activities and events for everyone in the household...and I do mean everything. If someone -- is required to be somewhere -- at sometime, it goes into the calendar. If we are given a calendar that reflects all the events for a particular activity (say, Little League), all these events immediately go into the calendar, along with notations on whether we are providing the team snack, working in the snack bar, etc. Even events that occur anytime during the day, like family birthdays, and other rem...

Google Docs adds templates

I have started to move away from using Microsoft Office (Word, Excel, Powerpoint, etc) in favor of online tools like Google Docs . Even as a computer consultant, I find that I use probably less than 10% of the features in any of these projects. One feature I really like in Google Docs is the easy, online file sharing that also allows you to edit simultaneously with someone else. Today, Google Docs added some templates including business cards, brochures and more. At the moment, it looks like they are rolling out this feature over time, so you might not yet see the templates on your account. When available, you will find the templates under the New... menu item. From Open Loops ... Today, Google quietly rolled out a new feature for their Google Docs Applications: Templates! It's so new that it isn't even listed on the new features page at this time. When one opens their Google Docs account and chooses to start a new document, a new "From Template..." command is pre...

TechnologyIQ

Search This Blog