Some more innovative file-sharing tools There is no limit to the size of the file or folder to be shared
A FEW file-sharing tools/services are discussed in this edition of NetSpeak. Sharing documents, data, songs and other digital content with friends/clients is one of the prime requirements of a netizen. The various means adopted for this are decided by one's technical knowledge and skills. Many still use the e-mail attachment feature for sending files, though it has file-size limitations. To get over this shortcoming in the e-mail technology a variety of solutions are being presented (recall the services like Dropload- http://www. dropload.com/, Yousendit - http://www.yousendit.com/ discussed in the past). Pando ( http://www.pando.com/) is another attempt at countering the e-mail attachment size restriction. Here, you need to send the file/folder with the Pando client software (available for free download). While the file gets uploaded to the Pando server, the Pando client sends the e-mail to the recipient with details regarding the file being sent. To download the file, the recipient also needs to install the Pando software in his machine. File storage alternatives Besides such services, as mentioned in the past ( http://www.hindu.com/biz/2005/11/28/stories/2005112800171600. htm), a netizen has several file storage/sharing alternatives (like e-snips) at his disposal. In addition to the ones mentioned above, let us take a look at yet another innovative file-sharing tool, BoxCloud. Most of the solutions mentioned above require uploading of files to be shared to the service provider's server. Whenever one needs to share a file, one has to e-mail or upload it to a service and later remove the same once it becomes obsolete. But, if one can directly share the files/folders stored in the local storage, one does not need to bother about uploading/deleting it from the server. File sharing solutions like Foldershare (mentioned earlier: http://www.hindu.com/biz/200 4/08/09/stories/20040809005 61400.htm) help you do this. The free file-sharing tool BoxCloud ( http://www.boxcloud. com/) is another product of this kind with some innovative features. To share files or folders with BoxCloud, you just have to install the client software. Once installed, the software allows you to share files and folders of your choice with other BoxCloud members - the interface is almost similar to that of an IM client. When you create an account, the service provides you web interface with a URL of the form: http://your-name.boxcloud.com. Once the files/folders in your local storage are shared with a client, the service sends an e-mail mentioning your account URL to her. Now, using this web address, your client can view/access/download the files shared with her directly from your machine from anywhere on the Net with her browser - provided your machine is on-line. The service's advantage lies in the facility to access the shared files over a browser - the recipient need not install the client software. Also, there is no limit to the size of the file or folder to be shared (the whole hard disk can be shared). Zoho Show A stiff competition is brewing in the Web based office suite application realm. Many companies, including Google, are vying with each other to gain a rightful place in this fast growing lucrative segment. Zoho (http://zoho.com/), an on-line service with a wide array of products, is one such company eyeing the on-line office suite throne. Recently Zoho added the on-line presentation tool, Zoho Show ( http://www.zohoshow.com/, for its office applications pack, which already has a good range of products such as Zoho Sheet and Zoho Writer. Though Zoho Show lacks several features currently available with PowerPoint kind of products, it has some distinct advantages. The facility to import PowerPoint presentations is a notable feature. Yet another feature worth a mention is the facility to host remote live presentations. However, the current product is in beta and it may evolve into a full-fledged presentation application. ZapZap Podcasting, the process of distributing audio content with web feeds ( http://www.hindu. com/biz/2005/01/31/stories/20 05013100661800.htm), has become a major personal publishing medium on the Net. Innumerable podcasts on a long array of subjects are being rolled out daily by netizens. For instance, the podcast by the famous Indian cricketer Gavaskar (http://in.sports.yahoo.com/sportz/gavaskarpodcasts.html) may amuse cricket enthusiasts. Keeping up with the ever-growing podcast revolution is not all that easy, despite the availability of several podcast search services/directories (such as Podcasting news http://www.podcastingnews.com/- Podcast.Net - http://www.podcast.net- and so on). To deal with this overload, a podcast directory with user recommendation feature (like the famous technology news service Digg) can be used. The new podcast directory service ZapZap (http://www. zapzap.com/) enables a user to add the podcast of her choice to the zaplist and the service takes this as a vote to the podcast. The service keeps its content under subject specific channels for helping its users easily navigate the content. Once you identify a useful podcast episode, you can play it directly from the browser. Free ebook fair Project Gutenberg ( http://www.gutenberg.org/about/), a major ebook producer, is celebrating its 35th anniversary and as part of this event, World eBook Fair (http://worldebookfair.com/) is distributing tens of thousands of ebooks on a variety of subjects for free. This free access will be available till August 4. Gchart Want to view the current time, time zones, area and country codes through a world map? Check out Gchart ( http://www.gchart.com/) and click on the desired location to find its local time and other parameters (like international dialing code and country code). Financial dictionary We come across several financial terms in daily life. Those of you who are not familiar with these may find the on-line financial dictionary ( http://www.financialdictionary.org/index.php) handy. J. MURALI He can be contacted at: [EMAIL PROTECTED] http://www.thehindu.com/2006/07/17/stories/2006071700491600.htm Vikas Kapoor, MSN ID: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Yahoo ID: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Skype ID: dl_vikas Mobile: (+91) 9891098137. To unsubscribe send a message to [EMAIL PROTECTED] with the subject unsubscribe. To change your subscription to digest mode or make any other changes, please visit the list home page at http://accessindia.org.in/mailman/listinfo/accessindia_accessindia.org.in
