AirDropper - request a file from anyone - into your Dropbox

Dropbox is one of those services (free) I use all the time. I have my important files backed up to Dropbox and synced between my home computer and school computer. I can also access these files from any web browser and my smartphone and tablet. I was using a service (Drop.io) in the past to have students send files to my Dropbox, but it shut down. Now there is a new one.

FileStork is a free service that allows you to request files from people right into your Dropbox. This is a great way to collect work from students or files from colleagues.

It is easy to use. You simply send a request to someone via email, or set up a standing link that users can use. They click on the link (emailed or standing) and then upload their files. The files are then available to you in your Dropbox. You can even limit what kinds of files you will allow them to upload.

If you use Dropbox, FileStork is a great service to use. If you don't use Dropbox, check it out!




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AirDropper - request a file from anyone - into your Dropbox

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READ MORE - FileStork - request files from anyone using Dropbox

AVG, the company that brings us free Antivirus software, has just announced the release of their own file sync, backup, and sharing service called LiveKive.

LiveKive is similar to other services like Dropbox, Sugarsync, and Zumodrive. It allows you to store, sync, and share files through their cloud service and is accessible from Windows, Mac, and mobile browsers. Automatic file sync is available for Windows and Mac platforms.

The free account gives you 5GB of storage and you can upgrade to 25GB for $49.99 per year or unlimited storage (with some restrictions) for $79.99 per year.

Like the Dropbox, Sugarsync, and Zumodrive, LiveKive is another great resource for teachers and students, providing file backup, syncing across multiple computers, and the ability to share files with others.


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READ MORE - AVG launches file sync, backup, and share system called LiveKive

Chrome OS is all the rage right now in the tech circles. Google has released a very early version to certain people installed on their CR-48 laptop. Chrome OS basically takes everything to the web and, for all intents and purposes, turns an OS into a browser, and doesn't do much on the actual device. To be able to take advantage of this, you have to have a lot of your resources as web apps or web sites.

I'm hoping to be one of the lucky ones to get a CR-48 to test out and evaluate. I'm pretty well set in the cloud as it is now. The only thing I'm still using on the computer is PowerPoint. But, I'm moving most of my presentations to either Google Docs or Prezi.

Chrome Web Browser (currently running 9.0.597.19 beta)

1. Home email - my home email, through my cable internet service is web mail.
2. School email - web mail, through Microsoft Exchange
3. Gmail - secondary email and used for my Google accounts - love the fact that it keeps multiple email replies together in a conversation.
4. School student data system - attendance, information, gradebook - all web based (PowerSchool)
5. Evernote - notes, lesson plans, and so much more - web based
6. Blogger - web based blogging platform - this blog and my class blogs
7. Google Sites - class website and reference web site with links, resources, and files
8. iGoogle with Google Reader, Google Bookmarks, Google Notebook, Google Calendar, Google Tasks, Google Contacts...all web based.
9. Picasa - online photo storage
10. Google Chrome extensions and web apps:

1. Tweetdeck web app
2. Clip to Evernote
3. Aviary screen capture and edit
4. Google URL shortner
5. Bookmark to Diigo
6. Chromey calculator

11. Online scientific calculator

12. Dropbox - cloud file storage and sync to access my files

13. Google Docs - online office suite - uploading my PowerPoint files and videos to Docs and YouTube

14. Aviary - online graphics, photo and detailing suite.

15. Prezi - very cool, online, presentation program

That's just the main things I use on a daily basis. I really don't need to access a hard drive or have local storage of apps/software or files to be able to do my work. It also means I have access to all of my stuff no matter where I am: home, school, at a different computer in the district, or even on my Palm Pre+. I can access everything from anywhere. 

What I really like about Chrome OS is that it would be perfect for education. (I wrote about that here). 

What about you? Can you live in the cloud and still get things done?

UPDATE: Very interesting. I got home on Friday (the day I originally wrote this post) and UPS shows up with a Google Chrome OS CR-48 notebook for me. I will be posting a review this week, so stay tuned. So far, I really like it. 

Related Links and Posts
Technology I use on a daily Basis
Chrome OS homepage
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Backing up your Cloud/Web based Data
Operating Systems and Web Based Apps

READ MORE - Living in the Cloud - I'm ready for Chrome OS -Update

I'm a huge fan of Dropbox. I have it on all of my home computers and linked to my network drive at school. I have access to my files from any computer and from my Palm Pre+. I can view, edit, and upload files from anywhere. I also use it to share files with the other instructor for the paramedic program I teach at (very large files).

I just posted about AirDropper (and earlier about DROPitTOme). Both are apps that work with Dropbox.

Dropbox's site also has a listing of apps that work with Dropbox.This is not unusual. Many web services are teaming up with other web apps to work together to provide more functionality to their service.

Some of the apps for Dropbox include office productivity apps, file readers, editors, scanners and much more. Many are smartphone apps, others are web apps. Check them out and see what's available to help you be more productive.

READ MORE - Apps that work with Dropbox

AirDropper is a site I recently learned about that lets you send an email request to someone to give you a file. The site works with your Dropbox account and the file the person sends you will be in an "AirDropper" folder in your Dropbox folder. The person can not access your files at all, they can only send a file to you.

The site is in Beta, but works very well. It took all of 2 minutes to request a file. There is no AirDropper account to set up, you simply allow it access to your Dropbox account so that it can deposit the file.

I clicked on "START", allowed it access to my Dropbox account, then just entered my email address, their email address (you can add multiple by separating them by commas), pick a name for the request which only you see and then what file are you requesting. That simple. It took about a minute for the test email I did to arrive and then I simple clicked "upload" which takes you to the AirDropper site and uploaded the file.You can select multiple files to upload also. Very easy to use

This is a nice replacement for Drop.io (which was bought by Facebook and then shut down). Teachers can send an email to students to have them submit work.

Another similar service is DROPitTOme.

READ MORE - AirDropper - request a file from anyone - into your Dropbox

DROPitTOme is a great resource I learned about from Free Technology for Teachers (Richard Byrne). Richard and I had both lamented over the loss of Drop.io since we both used it to collect electronic versions of student work.

Richard found DROPitTOme and I was finally able to try it out. It works great. It links to your Dropbox account and allows you to have people submit a file to your Dropbox account without being able to see anything else in the account. Dropbox has free accounts available with 2GB of memory. That should be more than enough for most teachers to use for collecting student work. You don't have to keep the work there that long since you could download the files later.

DROPitTOme is a great replacement for Drop.io and very easy to use and set up. Why waste paper? Have you students submit their work electronically. You can even comment/markup/grade it and then email it to them or send it to their Dropbox folder.



Related Posts:
http://educationaltechnologyguy.blogspot.com/2010/09/dropio-online-collaboration-and-file.html
http://educationaltechnologyguy.blogspot.com/2010/06/dropbox-file-sync-backup-and-sharing.html

READ MORE - DROPitTOme - receive files to your inbox

With the recent announcement by Google that users will soon be able to upload any type of file to Google Docs (up to 250MB each, with 1GB of free storage, additional storage for a fee), I figured I would revisit the topic of cloud file storage. There are a variety of services out there, all with different options and features.

Google Docs - you can upload any type of file (up to 250MB each) and you get 1GB of storage free. You can purchase additional storage at $0.25/GB/year, which is a good deal. There is no automatic sync built in. Google Gears can currently sync your Google Docs so we'll have to see what will happen with the new file types. There are also some 3rd party applications that you can use (like GDocBackup, which I use.)

Dropbox is a service that allows you to sync your files on your computer with their system as a backup. This also allows you to access the files anywhere. You can also sync the files across multiple computers. This means that you have automatic backup of your files and 24/7 access to your files. I have it set up to sync a folder on my home computer and school computer so I don't have to worry about having multiple versions or forgetting a flash drive.

There are also Dropbox apps for iPhone, Android, iPad and there is one coming for Blackberry. There is an independent app for Palm webOS, but you can also access the mobile site from any web-enabled phone. Imagine being able to access all of your files on your smartphone!

One feature that is very nice is the fact that it works with network drives like we use in my district. Some of the other cloud file storage and sync systems can't work with network drives. I was very happy to see this was able to be done with Dropbox.

UPDATED 11-10-2010!

SugarSync - This is my main service. What's great about Sugarsync is that you can have it back up your files on their server, and sync the files among multiple computers. So, my files on my home computer are synced to my laptop and my school computer. You can also access these files through any web browser, and there are apps for smart phones. You can even access them with a mobile web browser if you don't have an app. You get 2GB (UPDATED 5GB free as of 11/10/10) for free and there are fee based plans with more storage (next level is $4.99/month for 30GB). I can access my files anywhere, on any device, which makes it very convenient. You select the directories that you want to be backed up. The "Magic Briefcase" is the directory or folder you pick to be automatically backed up and synced. As soon as I save a file to that directory, it is uploaded to their servers.

The Websync feature is also nice. If you are accessing your files through the website, you can select "Edit with websync" and a Java program will download a temp copy of your file, allow you to edit and save it and then upload the new version. You can also share files with others through email or the web.

Sugarsync came in very handy for my wife. 1 week after setting it up on her computer, her hard drive died. Completely dead and no data was recoverable. If it wasn't for Sugarsync, she would have lost over 2 weeks of work (since her last backup). The automatic sync and backup is wonderful.

Zumo Drive - is another sync and sharing service with similar features to Sugarsync and Dropbox. I use this also. A great feature is being able to stream music from Zumo Drive to your mobile device. There is a free 2GB version. Zumo Drive actually works and looks like another drive on your computer. 25 GB is $6.99 / month.

Box - is similar to the others. The free version only has 1GB of storage, but you can purchase more storage ($5.99 per month for 5GB - not great!)

What do you think about these?

What do you think about cloud storage?

Are there other services that you would recommend?

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READ MORE - Cloud File Storage, Sync, Backup

Dropbox is a service that allows you to sync your files on your computer with their system as a backup. This also allows you to access the files anywhere. You can also sync the files across multiple computers. This means that you have automatic backup of your files and 24/7 access to your files. I have it set up to sync a folder on my home computer and school computer so I don't have to worry about having multiple versions or forgetting a flash drive.

There are also Dropbox apps for iPhone, Android, iPad and there is one coming for Blackberry. There is an independent app for Palm webOS, but you can also access the mobile site from any web-enabled phone. Imagine being able to access all of your files on your smartphone!

You can also share files with others. I teach EMS classes (EMT and Paramedic) and the course coordinator shares files on it with instructors through one folder and students in another folder. It makes things very easy for all of us.

Plans are as follows:

Basic - 2GB - Free

Pro50 - 50GB - $9.99 / month or $99 per year

Pro100 - 100GB - $19.99 / month or $199 per year

Dropbox is a great service for teachers and students. Access to all of your files anywhere, backup of your files, and the ability to share files.

UPDATE: One feature that is very nice is the fact that it works with network drives like we use in my district. Some of the other cloud file storage and sync systems can't work with network drives. I was very happy to see this was able to be done with Dropbox.

Related article:

"Cloud File Storage, Sync, Backup" (features similar services to Dropbox)

UPDATE: Mozy.com is another online file storage, sync, and backup service that I just learned about an it also offers a 2GB free account. I haven't used it, but it seems to work the same as the others.

READ MORE - Dropbox - file sync, backup, and sharing