dropbox

Google Drive, SkyDrive, Dropbox? Heck, use 'em all!

It's true that the newly launched Google Drive competes with plenty of other services for sharing files across all your devices. But there's something very different in this particular situation than in a lot of online services.

Namely this: why not use them all?

With social networking, few people have the patience to keep a lively feed of activity at Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, Instagram, Google+, and any number of other sites. We gravitate toward the one where our contacts are active.

And with e-mail, it's inconvenient to have multiple addresses on multiple services, generally speaking.

But with … Read more

How to back up your Dropbox account

A critical part of any storage solution is having reliable backups. Dropbox keeps backups of all the files you store on your Dropbox account, but having a local backup can often make it easier to recover your files. You'll also want to back up your files if you're considering switching to another provider, like Google Drive or one of the many other cloud-storage services.

To back up everything from your Dropbox account, log in to your account via the Dropbox Web site, then hit Ctrl+A to highlight all your files and folders. Click the Download button that … Read more

Google Drive: It's slick, integrated...and not exactly free

Google is set today to open Google Drive, a service to store files online and share them among various computing devices that turns out to be a lot more important than you might think.

Why? Two reasons:

First, Google's service goes well beyond rivals because of integration with Google Docs, Google+, Gmail, and other services. Second, beyond a basic free level, ordinary consumers will pay to use Google Drive -- not much, but enough to make them into customers, not just users of an advertising-subsidized service. That's a pretty big philosophical shift for Google.

What is Google Drive? … Read more

How to share your Dropbox files with links

Dropbox users can now share files via links, instead of of relying on the public folder. It lets you easily share your files and folders with others, even if they don't have a Dropbox account. We'll show you to use the share links from dropbox.com, your PC, and your smartphone.

Share files via links from dropbox.com From dropbox.com, either right-click on a folder or a file, then select the Get Link option. You can also hover over a folder or file, then click on the get link icon, to the right of the file name. … Read more

Google Docs upped to 5GB of storage; hints at Google Drive

Google Docs users now have 5GB of space to house their documents, up from just 1GB previously.

A check of my own Google Docs storage confirmed the 5GB now available, though the Verge says the rollout seems to be staggered, so some users may not yet see the increase.

The timing of this move could be a sign that Google is ready to kick off its Google Drive, especially following a Reuters report claiming the company will announce the new online storage service as soon as today.

Taking a page from SkyDrive, Dropbox, and other online storage sites, Google Drive … Read more

Six tips for a paperless lifestyle

According to The Economist, the average American consumes almost eight 40-foot trees per year in paper. Even if you're not environmentally minded, reducing the amount of paper you consume has many benefits, including saving money and reducing clutter.

To help you get on the path to living a paperless lifestyle, here are six tips to consider:

Switch to paperless billing If you're still getting paper bills in the mail, consider switching to paperless billing. Many companies, banks, and utilities offer paperless billing options. The bills will typically be in PDF format, which you access online. When the new … Read more

How to remotely start torrents with your iPhone

A while back, I rounded up four killer Dropbox tips, one of which allowed you to start downloading a torrent file from any computer while you're away from home. That's useful, but not ideal if you want to start downloading something and can't access a computer right away.

With just few initial setup instructions, you can use your iPhone to start downloading torrents, no matter where you are. Here's how:

Step 1: Sign up for Dropbox and download the client for your operating system. The download links are available on the Dropbox home page. Then, download … Read more

The startup accelerator boom...er, bubble

MOUNTAIN VIEW, Calif. -- The pace of startups popping up seems matched only by the emergence of new "incubators," or "accelerators," whichever word you chose to describe these startup boot camps that have cropped up across the country.

And Paul Graham, the man behind the grandaddy of them all, Y Combinator, barely pays attention to them. What he is convinced of, though, is that many will die, and that they're formed for the wrong reason.

"People are doing it because it's the cool thing to do," Graham told me during a break … Read more

Save space on your iPhone by saving photos to Dropbox with Cloud Photos

The high-res camera on the iPhone 4S is a blessing and a curse. Its high-resolution sensor lets you capture crisp, clear images, which then motivates you to snap more photos. The downside is this collection of high-res photos begins to eat at your iPhone's available storage. Enter Cloud Photos (99 cents), a camera app that saves photos to your Dropbox account, freeing up space on your iPhone for apps, music, and other content.

After you launch the app, you'll be greeted with two buttons: one allows the app access to your Camera Roll and the other connects you … Read more

How to share Dropbox folders with your Facebook friends

Dropbox is a great way to share files and folders with co-workers, as well as friends and family. Sometimes, though, you may not be sure what e-mail address to use when inviting someone to a shared folder.

To share a Dropbox folder with a Facebook friend, log in to your Dropbox Web site. Next you will need to select or create the folder you wish to share.

You will notice that if you haven't already linked your Facebook account with Dropbox, then a link will appear above the name field. Click on the link and follow the prompts to … Read more