Posts Tagged
sync
File syncing services such as Dropbox, Google Drive and Microsoft SkyDrive all have one thing in common: they provide a centrally hosted solution. Your files are stored not only on the devices you’re using but also on their servers. It’s an extremely useful feature as it means you can easily share files to other people without any complicated setup and you’ll always be able to access your files through a web browser. Whilst these services are extremely secure, there are those who are a little wary of having personal (or even confidential) information stored somewhere that they have no control over.
BitTorrent Sync is a new service that provides a decentralised file syncing solution with an emphasis on security and keeping your files off such servers. Is it a worthy alternative for the security conscious?
I need more cloud storage, but I have commitment issues. I always want to try something new, and I’m always looking for more gigabytes. New service Copy has my storage woes covered. Free users are sitting pretty and will do even better with a generous referral program.
We’ll take a look at the Copy app and see if it has the features to match up to all that space they’re tossing around. (more…)
Quickly and easily sharing information between Macs and iOS devices is something many of us need to do regularly. If you need to share a grocery list, link, phone number, library call number, or image file between a Mac and an iOS device, there are many options for getting the information on one device or the other. For example, you can email it to yourself, make a new note in one of the many cross-device syncing notes apps, or edit a Dropbox file.
But what if sharing that information were as easy as copying it to the system clipboard? The three apps included in this comparison review—CloudClipboard, CloudClip Manager, and Cloud Clip—all use iCloud to sync your clipboard between Mac and iOS devices. (Yes, it was hard to keep these straight for the review.) This can potentially make sharing that grocery list between devices much easier, but which app should you go with? Read on to find out our top choice.
There are two ways I get a job done: I keep copious notes from start to finish and do really well, or I don’t take any notes and I fail miserably. This means I’m utterly dependent on some sort of notes editor at all times, and if it has syncing, well, that’s even better.
I’m always on the lookout for a better way to do what I do, including keeping notes, so I was happy to give Moccanote a spin. With an uncluttered interface and iCloud sync with the companion iPhone app, Moccanote is definitely a contender. Can Moccanote’s notetaking and organization features cause me to jump ship? (more…)
Several months ago, I wrote this piece regarding the then-current state of syncing among Mac apps and their mobile counterparts. What I didn’t know at the time was that Apple was toiling away in the forges of 1 Infinite Loop on what we now eagerly look forward to as iCloud. In case you’ve been living under a rock, iCloud is Apple’s latest attempt at a cloud-based sync service. Though we all saw the tragic end to .Mac and MobileMe, iCloud shows quite a bit more promise.
Today, I’d like to explore what iCloud means for third party developers. Specifically, I want to outline the potential I see in iCloud, and where I would like to see it go with regard to third party software.
Keeping files synced between different computers, servers and external drives isn’t the easiest task in the world. You constantly have to compare multiple versions to see which is the most recent and spend far too much time manually copying files from one location to another. This is especially true of web developers who work locally and then have to push those changes to the web for testing.
With FolderWatch, virtually all of the work is removed from this process. After a simple setup process, FolderWatch will keep an eye on the specified folders and sync any changes automatically.
I’ll be honest: the past 18 years of school have made me a forgetful, disorganized, unmotivated procrastinator. Since I like shiny, pretty interfaces and putting off doing work, I’ve spent a lot of time looking into various GTD and to-do list apps. During the school year, I used a full-featured GTD app (Things) to track and organize dozens of readings, assignments and exams.
However, now that school’s out and I’m freelancing a lot more, Things is starting to seem a bit excessive, and I’m still waiting on the promised iPhone cloud-sync. Enter SpeedTask, the iPhone-turned-Mac to-do list app that promises clever, easy-to-use features and powerful cloud sync.
SpeedTask deserves to be looked at from three different angles: as a Mac app, as an iPhone app, and as a cloud-syncing solution, so we’ll discuss each feature one at a time.
The productivity app space yields what can only be described as an embarrassment of riches these days, but is there something for everyone amongst the goods?
iProcrastinate is a productivity/to do list app clearly geared toward students. It appears to be a one man show over at craigotis.com, but the results seem solid. My first experience for iProcrastinate was way back before a major UI redesign, and (I believe) while the app was originally available for the first generation jailbroken iPod touch.
The app has come a long way since then, but what does it have to offer in the ever expanding sea of productivity tools?
In the mobile, digital world in which we live, it is more important than ever to have your data, calendar appointments, contacts, notes, and to do lists up-to-date, no matter where you are or what device you are using.
In a perfect world (for me, anyway), all of the software I use would stay synced with MobileMe (and MobileMe would be free!). Unfortunately, that’s not the case, and different software developers provide different services and methods for keeping the desktop and mobile versions of their apps in sync.
So what are the options, and which one is best?
Despite many complaints, niggles and annoyances, Apple has stuck by their cloud service for over a decade. Originally introduced in January, 2000 as iTools, it has gone through countless revisions, updates and re-branding efforts. Now called MobileMe, it’s a huge improvement over the years of neglect we saw to .Mac.
But does MobileMe cut it as a cloud service? Although it now does a pretty great job of syncing all your information, it falls down when it comes to file sharing and cloud data storage. There are plenty of rumours circulating about a major upgrade (centred around their big data centre project), but these are now over a year old and we haven’t seen an announcement.
Personally, I’ve been a MobileMe subscriber for the past five years. I love the sync functionality, and consider the price to be justified for this integration alone. Of course it’s possible to use Google’s free option, but it never feels quite as polished to me.
What do you think? Are you a loyal MobileMe subscriber of several years, or is it something that you’d never consider in the present format? Have your say in the poll and feel free to share any thoughts in the comments!
Interested in learning about some of the alternatives available? Check out MobileMe: A Worthy Investment? (And a Few Alternatives) for everything you need to know!
