When You're Here and Your File is There
Many people who use computers have more than one computer. Maybe a desktop or two sitting around the house, maybe a notebook or two, an office computer, possibly a netbook, and—with increasing frequency—a tablet. How many times do you discover that the file you need is on another computer—possibly a computer that's miles away from where you are. Eliminating this inconvenience is easy.
Several methods exist:
- If the other computer is turned on and has an application such as LogMeIn or GoToMyPC installed, you can just log on to the other machine and either work on the file there or e-mail it to yourself or place it on an FTP server.
- If you use an application such as Google Docs or Microsoft Live and the file is from one of those applications, you can edit the file online.
- If you think far enough ahead and have a large enough flash drive, the file could already be in your pocket. (Carrying important files around on a flash drive is not recommended unless you have encrypted the drive.)
- If you use a service such as Dropbox or SugarSync, any kind of file from any application can be available online.
- And there's another option that might not immediately come to mind. I'll get to that later. First let's consider the usual suspects.
Logging On to a Remote PC
If the computer that has the file is always turned on (for example, a computer at the office that must be powered at all times to allow access by network administrators), a remote access application is a good solution because it allows you to download the needed file to your computer or to edit the file on the remote computer.
A fast connection is essential, of course, and the IT departments of some companies won't allow applications such as GoToMyPC or LogMeIn. Instead, they will provide a more secure multi-key process such as the RSA SecurID system.
This option is not usable if the remote system is turned off or if the connection is slow.
Both free and paid options are available.
Google Docs/Microsoft Live
Because all documents are stored on Google's or Microsoft's servers, they're always available from any location that has an Internet connection.
You're limited to the file types supported by the application, of course, so that means word processor files, spreadsheets, presentation files, and database files. If you have a Photoshop file or an InDesign file or a Corel Draw file, you're out of luck. And if you have a Word or Excel file that uses some of the advanced features not supported by the online services, you're also out of luck.
Large Flash Drives
At about one dollar per gigabyte, flash drives can be a good solution but they require sufficient forethought that you maintain the most recent version of the files you'll need on the flash drive.
Flash drives are also easy to lose (I've lost some) and an unencrypted drive that's lost could expose your company's proprietary information. For this reason, some companies require that any portable memory devices be encrypted or prohibit the use of such devices.
Generally speaking, I limit the use of flash drives to transporting files that I know I'll need at a remote location.
File Synchronization Services
You've probably heard of Dropbox and you may have heard of SugarSync. Other file synchronization services exist but these two are representative of the breed.
Dropbox is the better known service and it provides up to 2 gigabytes storage without charge. SugarSync offers 5 gigabytes for free. That may sound like a lot, and it is if you're storing Word and Excel documents. But if you need access to digital images or video files, you'll quickly exceed the limit.
Dropbox provides 50GB of storage for $10 per month and 100GB of storage for $20 per month. Or for about $800 per year you get 1 terabyte that can be shared among 5 users. Dropbox promotes this for business usage.
SugarSync's paid plans begin at 30GB ($5 per month) and other plans include 60GB ($10), 100GB ($15), and 250GB ($25). Annual plans give users 2 free months.
The first thing you do when you set up a SugarSync computer is name it and select an icon. I've done that in the image at the right. The computer is a notebook system that I keep at the office.
Dropbox stores your files, encrypted, on multiple servers. It runs as a service on your Windows, Mac, Linux, IOS, Android, or BlackBerry computer or portable device but if you need access to a file from a computer that doesn't have the application installed, you can also use a Web-based service and a browser to retrieve it.
SugarSync has applications for Windows, Mac, IOS, Android, BlackBerry, Windows Mobile, and Symbian operating systems. You may have noticed that I omitted Linux. That will change an application for Linux is now in beta.
During the installation process, SugarSync will create a folder called "Magic Briefcase" in your Documents folder. You'll find a shortcut to that directory on the Desktop. Any file placed in the "Magic Briefcase" will be synchronized and so will several other folders.
Instead of accepting the default folder, I created my own folder on the Desktop ("SyncFolder") and specified it as a folder to synchronize.
By default SugarSync will create links that you may or may not want. It's easy enough to remove the ones you don't want and add ones that you do want.
You'll find a SugarSync icon in the Tray.
Click it to open the control panel and set up the relationships between directories on the various computers where you've installed the service.
To make changes, select the SugarSync File manager.
You may also note the "Get Free Storage" option on the menu. You'll earn extra space in various ways: 500MB for everyone you refer to the service and additional free space for sharing files with a public link, adding a notebook computer, adding a handheld device, and such. Except for referrals, it's not a lot of space but, as somebody once said, it's better than a kick to the head by a Kung Fu master.
From here you can add or remove folders.
On the netbook computer, after installing SugarSync, I created a SyncFolder directory on the Desktop and associated it with that directory on the SugarSync server.
At home, I added SyncFolder directories to a notebook computer and a desktop computer.
Now whenever I add a file to the SyncFolder directory on any of the 4 computers, it almost immediately appears on the other 3. And (this is important) any file that I delete from any of the 4 computers is immediately deleted on the other 3.
Both Dropbox and SugarSync use the concept of a "magic folder" so that any file you place in the folder will be synchronized on your various computers. Take care to understand that "synchronization" is not "backup". If you synchronize the directories and then delete the local files, the deletions will also be synchronized—which is to say that the remote copies will also be deleted.
SugarSync also allows users to right-click a file or folder and essentially make it a "magic folder", too.
SugarSync enables online editing, too. To use it, you connect to the website, log in, and choose Edit with WebSync. A Java applet will download, install, and launch. The Java applet then opens the file in the PC's default application (Excel for XLSX files, for example) and then saves the file back to the SugarSync server when you're finished with the edit.
Both Dropbox and SugarSync can limit downloads and uploads to only those parts of the files that change during editing. This can be important if you download a graphics-laden Word file and change only a few paragraphs. Instead of having to upload the entire 200MB file, uploading the changes could cut the upload to 50KB and save a lot of time (and a lot of bandwidth, which is important if you're on a metered connection).
Both services also make file sharing possible. Dropbox creates a Public file on your computer and any files placed there can then be selected and placed on the Dropbox server so that they are available to anyone. No password is needed to access these files. It is truly a public folder. Or you can provide password-protected access to any file that you synchronize with Dropbox. Anyone who needs access to the file will need a Dropbox account (free) and you'll need to add their user name to a list of people who have access to the file. SugarSync's sharing option allows you to share files as "read-only" or so that other users may edit the files. Any given folder can be open or password protected.
The Elephant in the Room
Some people use off-site backup services and the files you've backed up to a service such as Carbonite or Mozy might be available to you from a remote computer.
Carbonite has been the service I've recommended for many years. It's an incredible bargain: Just $59 per year for unlimited storage. Yes, that really is about $5 per month per computer.
Carbonite also has an option that makes any of my files available on any computer with Internet access. All I need is my user name and password. With that, I can download any file that's been backed up and work on it.
Mozy is a little more complicated. If you don't have a lot to back up, the price is about the same $3.95 per month, but there's also a charge of 50 cents per gigabyte. I have a lot of stuff backed up on Carbonite—416 gigabytes as of 1 Feb 2012 to be exact—and that would cost $211.95 per month on Mozy! I value the data on my computer but it's already backed up locally and I use an online service mainly for assurance and convenience. $2500 per year? I don't think so!
Keep in mind that these are backup services, not synchronization services. This means that changes made to a file on one computer will not be replicated in files on other computers. You need to obtain a copy of the file from the backup service, modify it on the remote computer, replace it on the backup site, and then remember to "restore" the changed file from backup to the computer where the primary copy of the file lives.
While not as automatic as a synchronization process, you could use the free version of Dropbox or SugarSync to retain copies of files that you routinely need to use from remote computers and then use the retrieve-from-backup procedure to obtain files that are needed only on an ad hoc basis.
Two bottom lines this week ...
SugarSync is the quick and easy way to synchronize files on multiple computers.
Programs such as Microsoft One Note and KeePass make synchronizing files across computers important. SugarSync makes it easy if you need to synchronize no more than 5GB of files, it's free.
For more information, visit the SugarSync website.
Carbonite is the best way to create a safety-net backup of files you don't want to lose
Backup is important. I have local backups. I have weekly off-site backups. Even so, I wouldn't want to be without Carbonite. Files are backed up as soon as they're created or changed and the service is one of the best bargains you'll ever find.
For more information, visit the Carbonite website.
Behind a Strange (to Speakers of English) Name ...
... lurks the "Daum Pot Player". What would you expect this to be? Maybe a despised musician in a Southern funk band? The Daum Pot Player is a free video player from South Korea. In case you haven't been paying attention lately, South Korea manufactures some of the most reliable and popular electronic devices and automobiles. So why not media players?
You already have lots of choices when it comes to playing videos and DVDs. There's the built-in and quite capable Windows Media Player. You may have downloaded the DivX player or VideoLan's VLC player. Media Monkey can play videos and so can a variety of other applications. Even so you might want to take a look at this Daum Pot Player from a hitherto unknown company in South Korea.
Who Needs a New Video Player and Why?
Well, it's free but so are most of the other players. Pot Player comes with most of the codecs you'll ever need already built in and that's a plus because many other players require you to download and install the various codecs. Codec is an acronym for "coder/decoder" and it's the translator that enables players to play the various formats videos come in.
The basic download has an interface that I can describe only as smooth and, if you don't like the default interface, you can apply a skin to it. The Daum Pot Player also supports DVD playback (more or less) and inputs from both analog and digital recorders.
Pot Player opened with its play list window displayed,you can toggle it open and closed from the interface. This player has a full suite of familiar controls on its interface, including full screen, repeat, shuffle, and volume, but you can also access filter and rendering settings, speaker options, and other settings from the main window. Right-clicking the interface or the program's system tray icon accesses an extensive main menu.
Opening Pot Player presents a clean interface but you can display the drop-down menu to modify the program's operation.
You'll see the usual VCR icons (back, play, stop, forward, play list, and control panel) and a time line. Depending on how you've set the defaults, you may also see a play menu at the right. That's not visible here.
The control panel has controls for audio, video, captions, and playback speed.
This is the menu that shows all files that have been queued. In this case, "all the files" is just a single file but you get the idea.
I like Pot Player's ability to show information about the video that's playing. There are 3 options and the one shown here is the most verbose.
DVD playback is still primitive but this application has a lot of promise. On-screen DVD menus are not clickable in the current version so you'll have to watch from beginning to end. But if you have individual video files, the Daum Pot Player is a great choice.
Warning! Don't accept the application's offer to download the latest (beta) version. If you do, everything will be displayed in Korean. Wait for the next version to be released and then download it.
This warning does not apply if you happen to be able to read Korean.
I find it somewhat distressing that the Pot Player installer claims that the ActiveX components are out of date and then offers to download an older version of ActiveX than the one that's installed.
A Daum good Pot Player with a lot of promise but not yet quite ready for prime time
I really like the fact that Pot Player includes just about every codec I might ever need but the still flawed ability to play DVDs limits the application's usability. In other words, it's free and worth every cent.
For more information, visit the Daum Pot Player website.
Short Circuits
Tweeting an #Outrage
Twitter is the social networking site that the unknowing like to dismiss. "I don't need to tell everyone that I just had a bagel for breakfast," they say, ignoring the fact that Twitter has been instrumental in organizing protests around the world, from Egypt to New York. Now Twitter says that it will block messages in some countries and that has set off a fire storm of protest.
Twitter says that it will, if governments request, block certain messages in the country whose government requests it. The response was swift and harsh. For example, a post from a user in Sweden: "Thank you for the #censorship, #twitter, with love from the governments of #Syria, #Bahrain, #Iran, #Turkey, #China, #Saudi and friends."
Twitter defends the position as one that provides more transparency. For example, if the government of a country asks Twitter to block messages that contain certain words, the messages will be blocked in that country but the blockage will be announced: Tweet withheld. This tweet from @username has been withheld in: Country Name.
Although the message will be unavailable in the country that requested the block, it will be available elsewhere in the world and the fact that the message has been blocked will be readily apparent to anyone in the country.
Some see this as a good move and not as a cause for outrage because it complies minimally with a nation's laws and, because it's announced publicly, the policy is transparent. Unlike actions taken by some other social networking systems, Twitter's policy will block messages on a country-by-country basis and the government of the country must explicitly request the block.
Twitter's general counsel, Alex Macgillivray says that the service has always had an obligation to remove "illegal content" and he says that the new policy is a way to maintain content where it can.
Although popular in the United States, Twitter has more users in other nations and will soon open an office in Germany. Germany has laws that prohibit the distribution of any Nazi-related materials in any medium.
Regardless of the intent, Twitter's action will make it less useful for those who are trying to fight authoritarian governments. It's likely that some other system will eventually be developed to fill the gap
Google's New Privacy Policies: Take Two
Google has announced that it will unify its privacy policies across a broad swath of its services on March first and now a bipartisan group of 8 US representatives has sent a letter to Google asking whether the new policy will allow users to opt out of the entire process. The representatives also questioned the security of users' information. This week Google responded to the letter.
Google's Director of Public Policy, Pablo Chavez, said on the company's public-policy blog that combining the policies makes them easier to read. "We're explaining our privacy commitments to users of those products in 85% fewer words," he said. This would seem obvious because the single policy statement replaces nearly 70 statements. If you eliminate 69/70th of your agreements, one might reasonably expect the words to be reduced by 98.6%, not just the 85% Google claims.
Chavez says that the new policy does not allow Google to collect any new or additional types of information about users. From the beginning, Google has said that the new policies will create "a better experience for users" but has down played the fact that it will also create a better experience for advertisers.
As an example of providing a better experience, Chavez said that a user who is logged on to Google and who searches for recipes could be offered cooking videos if that user then visits YouTube.
Chavez says that Google's products can still be used without signing into a Google account. This is true for some products (search, for example) but clearly not possible with applications such as G-Mail or Google Docs.
And Then There Were Four (Terabytes, that is)
Hitachi has announced the availability of Deskstar 7200RPM 4TB hard drives. The Deskstar 7K4000 offers not only a lot of space but also high performance because of its 7200RPM spindle speed.
The drive contains 5 800GB platters. It has a Serial ATA-600 (SATA-600) interface and 64MB of on-board cache. It's worth wondering about why Hitachi decided to use 800GB platters instead of the current 1TB platters. The best guess is that the newer technology isn't considered sufficiently reliable yet. The 5400-RPM version of the drive (Deskstar 5K4000) uses the same platters.
The new drive is currently available only in Japan but is expected to be available in the US soon. The 7K4000 sells for about $380.
The author's image: It's that photo over at the right. This explains why TechByter Worldwide was never on television, doesn't it?
