Saturday, July 21, 2012

10 file-sharing options: Dropbox, Google Drive and more

In the bad old days, if you wanted to distribute files that were too hefty for your email to handle, you had few choices. You could buy some web-hosting space and use that to distribute files on the fly to your co-workers and collaborators, you could burn a disc or copy the file to a USB drive and drop that in an envelope, or you could use that fabled legacy transport protocol, Sneakernet. Nowadays, however, there's a bevy of free services that offer tons of storage and bandwidth.

In this piece, I examine 10 file-hosting services that can be used to distribute files to an audience via links or email. Four are dedicated to sending and hosting large files in a corporate context (MediaFire, RapidShare, ShareFile and YouSendIt), while the other six (Box, Dropbox, Google Drive, Minus,SkyDrive and SugarSync) are more general, personal-use file-storage services that have mass distribution as an adjunct feature.

All of the services in question allow download links to be generated from uploaded files, which makes it easy to distribute them to a mailing list or other group. That said, they've all got a different mix of storage capacities, helper apps and quirks.

To check file transfer times for each service, I uploaded a 100MB ZIP file that contained a mixture of PDF documents, JPG images and TIFF images, using a connection with an average 2 megabit/second upload speed.

In the following descriptions, I deal mainly with the file-sharing features of each service. Computerworld has reviewed a few of these services separately, looking at their other tools more thoroughly; in that case, we've provided a link to the review.

Dedicated file-sharing services

While there are currently a variety of cloud storage services out there, they were preceded by dedicated file-sharing services, whose main purpose was to allow people to upload and download files that were too large to send via email. These services may be more focused, but they also tend to offer the chance to share larger files.

MediaFire

MediaFire
Click to view larger image.

MediaFire is useful if you have lots of files you want to distribute, as long as they're under 200MB each. Uploads are scanned with the BitDefender antivirus engine; common document types can be previewed directly at MediaFire's site via a Flash-based previewer. Distribution includes sending file links to social media (Facebook, Twitter) and emailing via contact lists from a variety of programs including Outlook, Plaxo, vCards and many more.

The MediaFire Express desktop application is currently in beta but shows a fair amount of thought. It provides a drag-and-drop target for quick uploading of files and folders; after uploading, a pop-up appears with a quick link to the uploaded files.

Monday, April 30, 2012

Receive Email Without Sharing the Address

If you are tried to clear out your inbox constantly because you are receiving many emails, most of which are spams and promotional, you really wish there was something you could do about it. Here is a site that can make this happen. This website allows you to create your own personal contact form.

It creates a link at which others canclick and then send message to you. The appealing aspect of having to use this site is that you do not have to reveal your email address to other people. The site is completely free to use, but requires registration.

Those who run a website and want readers and visitors of their suite to contact them without having to risk their emails to spammers and hackers, they can simply use this Contactify from. It can provide you with a communication channel or means that is both safe and secure.

Here below is the address of the website:

URL: http://www.contactify.com

Friday, April 27, 2012

Find Out What Happened in the Year of Your Birth

When we are kids, we always ask loads of questions to our elders. Sometimes we get replies and sometimes we are told that we are too young to understand. But our early questions consist of what we see in our surroundings. They are hardly about what happened before we were born or in the year that we were born.

When we grow up, we learn through schooling and studies little things about this world, its people and life. But now, that you are here surfing around finding out things for yourself, what better website to avail thanWhat Happened In My Birth Year to know what happened the year you were born. The website though is an American, hence most things might not be so relevant to people from other countries. However, there are certain general facts about different things which would be of interest to everyone. Like that of universe, space exploration, history, events, Hollywood, music, art and inventions.

Just simply type in your birth year and it will generate one by one all the information of that year. It is an encyclopedia with a difference, one that you could relate to more.

URL: http://whathappenedinmybirthyear.com/

Wednesday, April 25, 2012

Check Username with One Click for All Social Media Sites

Here is a one click tool for social media geeks. if the wish to check availability of their usernames on various social media sites, they can do in through Check Usernames. Simply type in the username you wish you use and click on ‘Check User Name’ button. It will automatically process and check availability of your typed username

For the sites where your username would be available it will indicate that it is ‘Available’ and for the ones where it has already been taken by someone else, it will fade out with a lighter color. There are around 160 popular social media sites to check your username availability from. If you get a premium service, you can check your brand name availability and username availability for up to 300 websites.

Here below is the website’s URL:

URL: http://www.checkusernames.com

Monday, April 23, 2012

Set Your Unique Record Straight Up for Everyone

This is a website you should not miss if you are into setting up unique records for the entire world to watch and attempt at emulating. If you want to set your record straight up high for others to reach your standard, then get yourself onto this site, RecordSetter.

The website says its mission is based on the philosophy that everyone in the world is best at doing something. Why not show everyone else what is it that you do best and set a record. The site aims to collect all such achievements.

There are certain guidelines which say:

Every submission must be a: quantifiable, b: breakable, and c: include indisputable media evidence.

The website has its own team of Moderators who help to witness and then verify the record and then submit it. All you have to do is to sign up.

Even if you are not into setting a record for yourself, then do it for your family and friends. May be they have some unique ability that will set them apart from others making a world record.

The site has Editor’s Pick, Just Verified and Most Viewed sections, where you can see world records created by others. There are people from all over the world and Pakistanis should definitely make their mark through this site. So catch up and then lead others!

URL: http://recordsetter.com/

Thursday, April 19, 2012

Fake iPhone text messages and screenshots have become so popular as part of having an off-time from work, humour and even pranking, that a lot of the people are involved in simply faking iPhone text messages and presenting them as genuine typo mistakes and then creating posts about it to have a good laugh. If you have always wondered how all that happen, just go to iFakeText.

If you are on a lookout for a prank to play, then usingiFakeText is a good way to start. The site allows you to create fake iPhone text messages screenshots. It is a web app, which allows for a customizable screenshots. Just go to the page, enter your name, choose a carrier (either Verizon or AT&T), and simply type in any text you want as part of your conversation. Then click on ‘Create Your Screenshot’.

Furthermore, you will get an option for sharing your fake generated text conversation screenshot. There is no need for a signup and the site is completely free to use. It is a good site and light fun. Just don’t use it too creatively that will bypass the legality and becomes a threat! Well, not really.

URL: http://ifaketext.com/

Tuesday, April 10, 2012

Make Your Own Stories Online

Those who like creating stories and would like to see them online in an innovative and beautiful way, they have a good site to avail in the form of the Storybird. You can create your own short stories full of art and get to read it later and also share it with whomever you want.

If you so wish, you can also see it in print form as there is an option for printing. It is a flash-based resource and makes for a creative experience. You can also read stories submitted by others too.
So let loose your imagination and generate a story for your kids, friends and family. You have you sign up for free on the site to use its features. You can always save your stories and come back later to edit them.
URL: http://storybird.com/

Wednesday, April 4, 2012

Make Your Professional Online Resume

If you want some other professional network, other than LinkedIn, to showcase your work and projects, then this website is the best place to avail. It is more attractive and customized than LinkedIn, and yet it is professional. There are many different themes which you choose to reflect your taste and style.

You can mention your education,

work experience, and other interests

as well as share your other social profiles.

There is a tagging system which you can

use to accommodate diffferent areas you touch

ipon. Through tagging, you can connect

with others having similar orientation as yours.

Tuesday, April 3, 2012

Express Yourself on Any Website through Doogl

Doogl in an interesting website through which you can exress yourself on any website. The aim of the website as it defines is to spread freedom of expression, especially your thoughts on any website online. The website, still in beta phase, is especially interesting for anyone looking to grow in ideas about different websites and want to share their informed options about any online service. It helps people to grow and communicate in this field.

Whit Doogl you can:

Tell a superstar that you think his music is best
Tell other users weather you think a company and its services are good or bad
Share your experiences so other people will know
Sell your extra ticket to the football game on the website where you originally bought your ticket rather than somewhere else
Or do anything else of your choice

Here below is the URL Address of this website:

URL: http://do.gl

Saturday, March 31, 2012

Amazon Appstore generates more revenue than Google Play

Google Play, formerly the Android Market,apparently isn’t pleasing developers in the same way the iOS App Store or even Amazon’s Appstore are. According to data from Flurry Analytics, Amazon generates nearly four times more revenue from in-app purchases than Google Play does.

Flurry compared the iOS App Store, Amazon Appstore and Google Play by first setting iOS revenue to 100 percent since it generates the most. Then the competitors were given their own percentage to represent revenue by comparison. Amazon Appstore came in at 89 percent and Google Play came in at a sad 23 percent. Flurry notes that another way to describe this would be to say that for every dollar iOS apps generate in revenue, Amazon’s app marketplace generates $0.89 and Google Play brings in $0.23.

What’s worse is that in December, the Android Market was generating 24 percent of what the iOS App Store was earning. Though only slightly, overall revenue from Google Play apps has dropped.

Flurry obtained this data by analyzing top-ranking apps from each of the app stores in the study. The apps collectively average 11 million daily active users. The revenue was then monitored over 45 days spanning from mid-January to the end of February 2012.

When TechCrunch asked Peter Farago, VP of Marketing at Flurry Analytics, what he thought Microsoft’s Windows Phone could bring to the table in the future, he was rather optimistic. “We believe that Microsoft + Nokia have a lot of the key assets to succeed, from a powerful OS, hardware know-how and, most importantly, building robust third party developer support. We are bullish on their progress,” he responded.

Make Tables for Comparison Online

This online resource is really wonderful for those who would like to assess basically anything. But for the websites or blogs owners, one can display different things and track progress of each.

It is a very simple interface to use. One has to click and select interface and finally all you would need to do is to copy the code and paste it to your blog.

It is free, but one has to sign up for the service, which is also very easy thing to do. It will also help you in analysis of progress whether for social media analysis or anything else.

URL: http://www.compareninja.com/

Thursday, March 29, 2012

Change Multiple Links into One Link

For those who are into web marketing or web development, this online resource will prove very helpful. By using this site, a user can convert or change as many links as one wants into a single link. That way a few links will all be opened at once. But the limit of putting all of these links together is just five.

Hence, put up to five links in the tabs given on the site and create a single link clicking which you will get to open all of the other five links all at once. It is a useful website that can be used creatively and in any way one wants.

One can also put together their favourite links that they mostly visit on a regular basis and then click on that generated link to open all of their favourite links all together at once.

URL: http://hiperurl.com/

Wednesday, March 28, 2012

Maintain Your Own Online Journal Daily

This site provides an interesting way to write and update your journal every day within 280 characters. It is not just like Twitter as it provides private and secure encrypted system. A user can track personal stuff such as business notes, tasks to complete and basically maintain an online dairy of things to do.

It has a calendar dairy which tells a user what he or she did last week or even last year. It is really an interesting and useful source to keep track of things online without having another person having to peek into your stuff.

It is just like a traditional daily journal, just that it is online and safer as it could not be stolen and checked into by someone else. One has to sign up on the website and remain consistent with journaling thoughts ideas and tasks.

URL: http://280daily.com/

Print What You Like!

Print What You Like is a great website that anyone can simply and easily utilize to print a page from an online source with modifications as one wish to. A user can make customized changes to a page by removing ads, adding further images, links, text or font sizes and types and then can get that page printed.

However, through this one can protect the environment as paper and ink would be saved. The site basically claims that it “let you print the good parts of any web page while skipping ads and other junk.”

Here is the website address, so visit it and enjoy!

URL: http://www.printwhatyoulike.com

Monday, March 26, 2012

Search Engine for Online Files

Internet is a good source of looking for general information and even for more detailed and complex knowledge with plethora of material online just because of websites like Files Hut. Here you can search for any file that you want.

It is among the largest files repository online which can be equated to being a search engineof files. One can check files from hotfile, fileserve, uploading, rapidshare, wupload, 4shared, filesonic and other file sharing wbsites. Hence it is almost liske the hub where all files sharing sites come together.

Here below is the URL address of File Hub:

URL: http://www.fileshut.com

Wednesday, March 21, 2012

Get to Read Front Pages of Different Newspapers for Free

It is really like a museum of newspapers, which has both old archives of newspapers and also the latest newspapers published every day. It is a part of the Newseum website. For those who would like to read front pages of newspapers from all around the world, this site which quench their thirst a bit.

It has all the newspapers’ front pages from the regions all across the globe that includes Asia, Africa, Caribbean, Europe, Middle East, North America, Oceania, South America, United States and International, which means newspapers with international editions. One can access these newspapers’ front pages in gallery form, in list form and also select them through a map.

One can also sort them simply by regions. It has 870 newspapers’ front pages from 89 countries of the world. Newseum is basically an attempt to prevent illegal downloads of the newspapers’ front pages.

The website states the following:

“Through a special agreement with more than 800 newspapers worldwide, the Newseum displays these front pages each day on its website. The front pages are in their original, unedited form, and some may contain material that is deemed objectionable to some visitors. Discretion is advised.”

Website Url : URL: http://www.newseum.org/todaysfrontpages/default.asp

Monday, March 19, 2012

Use Free Online Accounting Software

All those who are accountants or are simply interested in carrying out accounting can use this free online accounting software. All the instructions and tour guide is available on the site, should you face any difficulty, you can easily seek help.

You have to sign up and make an account on the site to use it. The user account is unlimited and has no expiry date. You can track your spending, invoices, debts, and much more about your accounts.

For those who are running small businesses and a tight budget can especially use this. Also those who are interested in joining the field of accounting can also learn from it

URL: http://waveaccounting.com/

Saturday, March 17, 2012

Use Free Online Accounting Software

All those who are accountants or are simply interested in carrying. out according can use this free online accounting software/ All the instructions and tour guide is available on the site, should you face any difficulty, you can easily seek help.

You have to sign up and an account on the site to use it.The user account is unlimited and has no expiry date. You can track your spending, invoices, debts, and much more about your accounts.

For those who are running small businesses and a tight budget can especially use this. Also those who are interested in joining the field of accounting can also learn from it.

URL: http://www.waveaccount.com

Wednesday, March 14, 2012

Create Your Own .mp3 from Any Text

URL: http://www.vozme.com

For those who want a voice over any text they have written online or even offline, they can use this wonderful resource to actually have their text read in a computerized voice and recorded.

Through this website, one can create their own .mp3s, as many as they want, for as long a text as they want. Another interesting feature is that you can chose which gender will record your .mp3, whether male or female. Also you can choose in which language you want your .mp3 to be.

All you have to do is to type your text in the given box, or copy-paste from an already written text, and then simply click on the button “Create mp3” and you will have it with you. Then you can download your created .mp3 to your computer and use it as you like.

Saturday, March 10, 2012

Get Sponsored for Your Talent

URL: http://www.ursponsored.com/

For those who are full of talent and are passionate about any skill they have, they can utilize this website to showcase their ability. Whether it is in your voice as a singer or in your hands playing a musical instrument, you can use this website to get sponsored for your talent.

There are different categories on the site, which you can browse, like Acting, Behind the Scene, Dance, Humor, Music, Sports, and others. You can create your account on the site and make a video of yourself displaying that talent of yours. Then upload the video to show it to the world and surely someone who knows what you are worth can help you out with your passion.

You can also simply browse videos of other passionate people and share with them your ideas by connecting on the site. So don’t wait and get onto it to pursue your dreams.

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