Store Files Online with Hotmail

Windows Live SkyDrive, which comes with a hotmail/windows live account gives you 25GB of free online storage. Very handy for storing smaller files as uploading is restricted to 50MB per file.

In addition, with SkyDrive you can download entire folders as Zip files and it also provides an online slide show for your photos. The uploaded files may be kept private or shared with other users.

Looks and works just like an extra hard drive except your files are stored in the 'cloud' :-)

In terms of file storage, SkyDrive seems a better deal than Google. Only 7MB capacity with gmail and a restriction on the file formats that can be uploaded.

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Technorati Tags: cloud computing, gmail, hotmail, skydrive

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Share Files Easily with Drop.io

Drop.io lets you create simple private exchange points on the Internet called 'drops'. This is a great little service for enabling temporary access to files.

Each drop is "private, and only as accessible as you choose to deliberately make it. Create multiple drops, add any type of media, and share or subscribe as you want".

You can choose to delete the drop from 1 day later up to 1 year later. You can also choose to allow your users to view only, view & add or view add & delete the 'drop'.

Drop.io is very flexible allowing you to create 'drops' using the web, email, voice, fax and widgets.

Give out the 'drop' address to your students and the whole class can access the file immediately at the same time.

Works a treat so long as it is not blocked on your schools network!! No surprises to hear that Drop.io is blocked on ours :-(

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Technorati Tags: drop.io, file sharing

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Storing and Sharing Your Files Online

There are lots of file sharing sites out there most of which are blocked on our student network, simply because they allow file sharing!

But, I have just come across Office Live Workspace which, so far, remains open and accessible. I like Office Live Workspace because it allows you to upload many file types, including all the OpenOffice documents, as well as the normal Microsoft Office documents. This is a distinct advantage over Google Docs, which only allows for a limited number of file types.

Handy features in Office Live Workspace include creating folders, called workspaces, and uploading multiple files using simple drag and drop.  The current upload limit is 500 MB for the whole account, with a maximum of 30MB per file.

You can also create specialised workspaces which already contain useful built in applications. For example, the class workspace contains a contact list, date list, class notes, essay outline and syllabus. Handy little features for students to use.

Sharing files/workspaces in Office Live Workspace is easy as you simply select the Share option on the toolbar and then add the e-mail addresses of people whom you'd like to grant read/write access to your document/workspace. Up to 100 people can be added.

NB: To share a single file it must be placed in the 'Documents' workspace.

Sharing the whole workspace or your screen could be good for online collaboration and demonstration.

Now blocked as of beginning of May 2008 :-(

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Technorati Tags: file sharing, office live workspace, open office

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An Alternative to Windows Explorer

ExplorerXP is a handy little file manager for Windows 2000/XP - for those still not using Vista or Mac! ExplorerXP is very fast, small and compact.

Unlike the standard Windows Explorer, ExplorerXP "displays the total size of each folder and allows you to browse multiple folders from a tabbed interface".

Some other features include:
* renaming multiple files in one step
* displaying folder size information and the real size of compressed files/folders
* merging and splitting tools
* advanced copy/move
* grouping folders
* configurable keyboard shortcuts

But, most importantly, ExplorerXP supports USB devices which will show up even when, for some reason, they do not show up in Windows Explorer!!!!

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Technorati Tags: explorerxp, file management, windows explorer

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Online PDF Manipulator

PDF Hammer is a neat little tool for rearranging and extracting pages from your existing pdf files.

With PDF Hammer you can "edit PDF documents right now inside your browser. Once you start, you will be able to upload one or more PDF files into your project, arrange the pages in any order you wish, and delete any pages you don't want".

When you have finished, you simply export the final document and save it to your computer.

PDF Hammer is still in Beta testing and new features promised will include the ability to rotate pages and to apply watermarks or stamps. Found this handy little tool thanks to Judy's blog.

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Technorati Tags: pdf online, watermark

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Online Storage for all File Types

DivShare provides "free, unlimited storage and sharing for your documents and media". An easy to use folder structure, for organising your files, is also provided by DivShare. For added security, you can  password protect any of your folders.

When looking for files, you can view all files with the same format - with just one click. You can also carry out a keyword search.

Another useful feature, in DivShare, is the document viewer, which allows you to view all PDFs, Word documents and PowerPoint presentations right on the DivShare download page - helpful for sharing files with people who don’t have the right software. Also very useful for storing and viewing those blocked YouTube and Flickr files - so long as DivShare itself is not blocked!! The original file format can still be downloaded.

Uploading files is straight forward and by installing an activeX addon you can use the 'drag and drop' upload feature, which makes it even easier again!

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Technorati Tags: divshare, media, online storage

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Convert Your files Online

Zamzar is a handy tool that enables you to convert your files online without the need to download any software. Convert office documents, image files, audio files, video files and zip files (up to a maximum size of 100MB) easily at Zamzar.

The converted file is sent to your nominated email address.

Zamzar has also, recently, introduced the ability to convert files from URLs including support for all the main video sharing websites.

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Technorati Tags: audio, image, video, zamzar, zip

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Convert your Text Files into Speech

Spoken Text (found via Stephen Downes) lets you create speech files from ordinary text files. The recordings can be created from plain text files, Acrobat PDF, Word files, PowerPoint files, emails, web pages or text entered directly. File upload size is restricted to 981KB so large files must be split and recorded separately.

At present two voices are available - Dave (high quality) and Bob (low quality). Spoken Text is currently working on providing a female voice option. The final recording is made available at Spoken Text for seven days. You can, however, download your own copy of the file in MP3 or m4b (iPod) format.

There is quite a difference between the quality of Bob and Dave as you can judge from the two snippets below (taken from a recording of a four page PDF file). The Dave recording used the default speed of 170wpm.

Here's Bob.......

Here's Dave........

Also came across vozMe (thanks to Judy O'Connell). In vozMe, you simply type in the text (or copy and paste) and select the 'Create mp3' button. You can then download the resulting mp3 file to your computer!

vozMe also enables you to add voice to your website through the use of plugins and scripting.

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Technorati Tags: email, ipod, mp3, pdf, powerpoint, spoken text, vozme

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Use your Email for File Storage

The Backup to Email software enables you to send any file to your email account. Once the Backup to Email software is installed, ensure that you change the “outgoing server” option to either the smtp of your ISP or the gmail smtp (smtp.gmail.com). If you are using the gmail smtp then you may also have to enable secure authentication.

To backup a file, simply right click on the file and then choose 'Backup to Email'. When backing up a folder, the software automatically zips the folder and sends it to the email account. A copy of the zipped folder is also left on the computer. There is no limit to the size of file transferred although files bigger than 10MB will be split into 10MB slices.

Backup to Email also allows for management of multiple email accounts and a very useful user guide is provided on the website. This is a very handy way for students to submit class assignments or exams as it really is just a two click process!!

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Technorati Tags: backup to email, email, software, zip

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Online Goodies (7) - Scribd

Need access to your files anywhere, anytime? Then store them online using Scribd, which not only allows for the storage of files but also encourages public sharing of the documents. Scribd's stated aim is to "create the world's largest open library of documents". The files can be viewed in a web browser using Scribd's custom flash document viewer. Interestingly, the original file can be downloaded in a variety of different formats (pdf, word, txt or mp3).

This text document called 'Wiki as a Teaching Tool' includes an audio file on the page.

Files may be uploaded individually or in bulk. You can decide to keep the documents private or share them with the world! You can also create and join different groups and like other social networking sites, Scribd also lets you add friends.

MediaFire is a free file hosting service which allows anyone to share files and images. There is, currently, no limit on the number of files stored.

I am also using an account on Box (1GB storage). When I signed up it was completely free, but I notice now that they are charging for all of their accounts. The entry level Plus Plan allows 2GB of storage (50MB per file limit) for $25 per year. It will be interesting to see how long mine remains free!

Update: 25/8/08: Automatic convertion to mp3 at Scribd does not seem to be available any longer.

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Technorati Tags: flash, online storage, scribd, social networking, wiki

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