Access Your Files From Anywhere with Dropbox

OK. I’m late to the Dropbox game but better late than never. I’ve been running around town with a bag filled with portable hard drives and thumb drives – some filled with work related files and some filled with personal data. Suddenly while playing musical chairs with thumb drives searching desperately for a buried file, I decided to find a better way to manage accessing personal and work files when away from those computers. After some research I decided to go with Dropbox. This service allows you to sync files and directories among multiple computers. You need to install a small program on each computer that you would like to sync. The installer creates a directory on the system that syncs automatically with folders on each computer you sign in to your account. Place a file in your Dropbox folder on your home PC and it’s instantaneously available on the other computers signed in to your Dropbox account. If you use a password manager like KeePass you can access your passwords from other PCs by storing the KeePass database file in your Dropbox folder. Dropbox also has a web interface so you can access files without having to install the software. It also allows for sharing files and folders with others without their having to sign-up with Dropbox. You can get 2Gb of storage free with the basic account, 50GB of storage for $9.99 per month, or 100GB of storage for $19.99 per month.

Xfinity Now Offering On Demand Online

Comcast is now offering the on demand component of its Xfinity service online. As a subscriber you can now access your on demand content via any web connected computer. Movies, TV Shows, HBO, Showtime, and other network programming can now be accessed from the internet via the subscriber-based service. Once there you will also find a kicked up channel guide, as well as the ability to manage your Comcast DVR remotely. All in all pretty cool stuff, but are we really getting our money's worth without an a la carte programming option from the cable giant?

Hey, Now Android Can Spy On You!

Well, it was just a matter of time. Apparently an application was released in the wild that can forward private text messages to any phone without the owner's knowledge. The app is unique because there is no visible icon or shortcut to access it, so once it’s installed, it will continue to monitor without revealing itself. The app was released on Wednesday, but eventually pulled from the Android Market as it violates the Android Market Content Policy. Some argue that this is just the reason to require apps to be approved before being released in the Android Market. Well, decide for yourself, but in the mean time, keep your Android phone within eye sight.

Google Adds Voice to Gmail

Google is rolling out voice capabilities to its Gmail program. You can now call any phone in the US and Canada for free and at low rates internationally. The word is the service will be free through the end of this year. You’ll need a Google Voice account to utilize the service, and you will also need to activate the chat feature in Gmail. This poses a huge threat to the de facto service in this space, Skype. Of course, the jury is still out as to whether everyone will flock to use this latest service offering from the online giant. Recent offerings from Google such as Wave and Buzz were met with less that stellar enthusiasm… but hey a free call is a free call.

Social Networking Comes to Gmail

So, I logged on to my Gmail account this morning and instead of going directly to my inbox, I landed on a new page introducing me to Buzz. Buzz is a set of social networking features added to Gmail. Google is hoping that instead of sharing information on Facebook, Twitter, and MySpace users will take to this new offering. Google has ventured in to the social networking realm with Orkut, but for some strange reason Orkut has only been successful in Brazil. This time around Google is banking on its captive audience to gain a larger foot hold in the burgeoning social networking arena. Other than the service being tied to Gmail, the service offerings are the same as other social networking sites. You can follow other Buzz users, add status updates, share videos and photos, and integrate it with other sites like Picassa, Flickr, Twitter, and Google Reader. You can make posts public or private. Buzz can even be loaded on your mobile phone. I like the move, but are folks ready to switch to yet another social networking "flavor of the day"? As usual, time will tell.