Scarlet Umbrella|Adventures in Mobile Technology

I am writing this post on my lovely screened in porch enjoying the summer weather and the benefits of a ceiling fan. Feel free to feel jealous.

I’m not posting to gloat (well, not too much). I am posting to do a bit of evangelization to the crowd that still feels it is okay to lug around an 8 pound notebook everywhere. It’s not. I am always bemused to see someone walk into the local Panera lugging a huge go bag, and pull out a desktop replacement, mouse, smartphone, ipod, and assorted other gadgets. This is NOT a healthy mobile lifestyle. I can’t even imagine how much stress that carrying all that weight is putting on a person’s back.

Today I am going to talk about a concept that I like to refer to as samurai mobility. Samurai mobility is a software-based approach to cut down on the amount of “stuff” that you carry around on a daily basis. Samurai mobility warriors do not need to carry around every gadget imaginable to get the job done.

The first step in samurai mobility is to leave the desktop replacement at home. I know you have all of your important documents and applications exclusively on it. Well, that is going to change now. With the many Web 2.0 applications out there, you have no reason to have all of your files stuck in one place.

To kick off the discussion of samurai mobility, let’s talk about online storage. Online storage options can range from free plans with limited options to deluxe plans with the ability to edit your files “in the cloud.” Here is a selection of some of the best storage solutions:

Box.net Box.net is a comprehensive Web 2.0 style storage system. They offer three levels of storage from free (1 GB) all the way to corporate (15 GB) pricing. The free storage plan comes with limited functionality but the other plans offer file sharing, the ability to edit photos and images online as well as the ability to edit Office documents.

Omnidrive Omnidrive is setting itself up to be a major competitor to Box.net. Currently in a closed beta, Omnidrive offers free storage up to 1 GB. Included in this is the ability to edit your files including Office applications and media. They also offer a Pro level with supposedly unlimited storage. Omnidrive is preparing to roll out version 1.0 at which point they will open signups again.

openomy openomy is another new storage solution. Currently, they offer free storage up to 1 GB. Files are organized by tag rather than folders which may help with searching. openomy is being closelipped about future plans. A pro plan is reportedly in the works. They also have developed an API so interaction with other applications is in the works.

GMail GMail gives you tons of free storage. Why not use it to store files? A comprehensive look at using GMail to store your files is beyond the scope of this post but several software solutions to upload files to GMail are a google away. However, unlike the previously mentioned solutions, GMail was not designed for file storage so use at your own risk.

file, file storage, GMail, mobility, online, online file storage, web 2.0, web2.0

If you enjoyed this post, make sure you subscribe to my RSS feed!