How are you currently storing your important documents?

Do you share documents with other team members or people outside of your business?

Do you have a secure backup service off-site?

Are you currently using any of the following to store and share your data:

• USB Sticks
• Hard Drives
• On Site Network Storage
• CD-R’s

The problem with all of these solutions is that if anything were to happen at your office, a break in, fire etc. then all your data could be lost.

Online Cloud Based Solution

If you answered yes to any of the above, then it might be time to consider an alternate online, cloud based solution.

An alternative solution is to consider using an online storage service which enables people and small businesses to store their files on the Internet and easily share it with others. Online Storage Solutions or Cloud Based Technologies are increasingly becoming popular since internet speeds get faster and bandwidth prices are decreasing each year. By doing a back up of all your important data online, you can have peace of mind knowing that your data is safe and can be accessed wherever you are.

The benefit of using online cloud based storage is that it is ideal since it is inexpensive and easily expandable.

Introducing Dropbox

Synonymous with free online storage, is Dropbox. The base account offered by Dropbox enables you to store up to 2GB for free. For most people, this will be more than enough for your personal usage, however if you do require more space, the service is easily expandable and very inexpensive.

Dropbox has become so popular right now that many individuals and businesses are using it. With Dropbox, you can easily store your multimedia files online and share it with another user. Dropbox will give you a desktop alert when a file has been added to the folder you are sharing or when something has changed in your shared folder.

It goes without saying that all businesses dream of growth. However, expanding a business can be really expensive because of the extra space, equipment, network capacity, software licenses etc., needed. By using Cloud Storage, small businesses can easily expand without pouring cash into unnecessary physical storage devices. Just recently, Dropbox has been voted for Best Overall Startup and Best Cloud Service.

I have now been using Dropbox for over a year and I couldn’t run my business without it. I am still using the free account, however they recently launched a team version which I am considering using.

Benefits of Dropbox

• Any file you save to Dropbox also instantly saves to your computers, phones, and the Dropbox website.
• 2GB of Dropbox for free, with subscriptions available up to 100GB.
• Your files are always available from the secure Dropbox website.
• Dropbox works with Windows, Mac, Linux, iPad, iPhone, Android and BlackBerry.
• Works even when offline. You always have your files, whether or not you have a connection.
• Dropbox transfers just the parts of a file that change (not the whole thing).
• Manually set bandwidth limits — Dropbox won’t hog your connection.

Dropbox will also keep a one-month history of your work giving you even more peace of mind.

How to get Dropbox

We’ve got an arrangement with Dropbox that enables us to provide you with an extra 250mb of free storage giving you a total of 2.25gb when signing up for the first time to Dropbox. Sorry this is not available to existing Dropbox users.

In order to get this extra free storage, simply sign up using the link below.

Conversion Rate Dropbox Sign Up Link

Summary

With the speed at which technology moves, it’s likely that physical storage devices will become obsolete. More and more businesses and individuals will start realising the benefits of saving data in the “cloud”. If you are a business owner and would like to reduce the cost of your storage needs as well as streamline all your data, looking into Cloud Services like that of Dropbox will be hugely beneficial to your company.

Don’t forget if you’d like to get an extra 250mb of data for free click the sign up link below

Conversion Rate Dropbox Sign Up Link

I couldn’t believe my eyes and I couldn’t believe I have only discovered this now.

So what does a text expanding tool do?

They allow you to define text substitution hotstrings that, when triggered, will replace hotstring with a larger piece of text. By entering your most commonly-typed snippets of text into Texter, you can save countless keystrokes in the course of the day.

There are a number of programs available both paid and free that will do this job, but the one that I’ve found and am now using is a free program called Texter.

Unlike software-specific text replacement features, Texter runs in the Windows system tray and works in any application you’re typing in. Texter can also set return-to markers for your cursor and insert clipboard contents into your replacement text, in addition to more advanced keyboard macros.

The most common place I am currently using it is in my emails for commonly entered text.

Give it a go and let me know what you think.

Here is a link to the texter download page.

For those who aren’t aware, you will soon have to display a sign like this in your front yard to stop Google from invading your privacy…

Go here for more: http://www.boingboing.net/2007/05/30/google-maps-is-spyin.html

Does anyone know if the Google Van is in Australia yet? I wanna get in the picture.

So far our super-fit general manager Mark Standeven has joined the cause with me. Between us, we are potentially saving up to 2 tonnes of greenhouse gas emitted every year!

It’s a small start, but our personal trainer is happy! I think that the real benefit of riding to work is that:

• We’re get smarter about using energy
• Being in peak physical fitness keeps the mind sharp
• We’re reducing our dependence on fossil fuels.

We want to take the “going green” philosophy further, so the next thing we are looking at is green website hosting. If you think about it, web servers generally run 24×7 in power draining air conditioned data centres. Some of the areas that we’re investigating are:

• Using servers that require less power
• Purchasing energy from renewable sources (Green power - there are plenty of providers in Australia now)
• Offsetting other greenhouse gas emissions with carbon credits.

I didn’t until I met Ken and Lyn Acheson at Crikey Bamboo. They’ve been in the flooring business for over 30 years and they introduced us to the concept of Bamboo floors as an alternative to hardwood flooring.

What we didn’t know about Bamboo flooring was that:

• It’s actually 8 times harder than “hardwood” flooring
• It has an incredibly fast growing cycle and can be harvested in 4-6 years
• It’s a very sustainable product because it requires fewer resources than hardwood flooring to produce.

If you’re in the market for a hardwood floor, then head over to see Ken and Lyn at Crikey Bamboo and check out the Bamboo flooring alternative first. You’ll be surprised at the quality of the finish and you’ll be able to rest easy knowing that you’ve done your bit for a sustainable future.

We’re always on the lookout to assist with websites that promote an environmental product or cause. If you have a project and you want to promote it on the Internet, please contact us to discuss it.

Some of the initiatives that we are implementing to reduce power consumption include:

1. Powering off computers at night
2. Switching to low power consumption servers for our data centre and office
3. Switching to low power light globes
4. Locating our offices close to staff and clients to reduce travel.

In addition to that, we are offsetting our carbon emissions with carbon credits through various projects.

I think it’s very interesting to watch the groundswell that is occurring around “climate change” at the moment. In Australia over 450,000 people sent an SMS in support of the live earth concert. Now that’s pretty significant. The marketing is working!

Personally, my biggest carbon weakness is my fondness for the “big sedan” that I drive. As much as I love it (yes, it’s an emotional thing), I’ve reduced its carbon footprint by:

1. Significantly reducing my travel by car
2. Carpooling when possible (most of the time)
3. Limiting our family to only one car.

I’ll get rid of it when the lease comes up. Hopefully by then I can get a hybrid family car!