I was given an invite to Dropbox. In a nutshell, it’s an online storage service that allows you to sync files across multiple computers. I’m syncing files via my PC running Vista and my MacBook running Leopard.
The service is very easy to use. You download the application and install it. In Windows it creates a folder in My Documents called My Dropbox. You drop any files in there you want to put on the server and it automatically uploads them.
Once you have files uploaded to Dropbox you can log into the Dropbox website and view the files using the web interface.
On the Mac, the Dropbox app adds it’s location to Finder, much like the .Mac iDisk does.
As soon as the files have been uploaded from one computer they will sync to all computers running Dropbox that are linked to your account. This came in handy for me when I downloaded a Habari theme on my PC but wanted to test it out on MAMP on my Mac later in the day. I didn’t want to remember the link or upload the file somewhere else, so I just placed it in the My Dropbox folder on my PC and when I booted up my Mac it automatically downloaded it in the Dropbox folder on my Mac. Very simple.
You can also put files in a public folder that is accessible from a link. Right click the file and go to the Dropbox subfolder and choose “get public link” and you will be able to send that link to anyone you want to view the files. Right now Dropbox is in private testing phase, but I can already tell that this is a great idea and the simplicity of their solution makes it a winner. They give you 2gb of online storage space. I can see them charging for more space in the future, which if you are someone who is on multiple computers a lot and want to keep track of files, say from home to work, this will be an ideal solution for you. I can’t wait to see where they go with this. I also have a few invites if anyone is interested in trying it out. Just leave me your info in the comments.
Dropbox
I was given an invite to Dropbox. In a nutshell, it’s an online storage service that allows you to sync files across multiple computers. I’m syncing files via my PC running Vista and my MacBook running Leopard.
The service is very easy to use. You download the application and install it. In Windows it creates a folder in My Documents called My Dropbox. You drop any files in there you want to put on the server and it automatically uploads them.
Once you have files uploaded to Dropbox you can log into the Dropbox website and view the files using the web interface.
On the Mac, the Dropbox app adds it’s location to Finder, much like the .Mac iDisk does.
As soon as the files have been uploaded from one computer they will sync to all computers running Dropbox that are linked to your account. This came in handy for me when I downloaded a Habari theme on my PC but wanted to test it out on MAMP on my Mac later in the day. I didn’t want to remember the link or upload the file somewhere else, so I just placed it in the My Dropbox folder on my PC and when I booted up my Mac it automatically downloaded it in the Dropbox folder on my Mac. Very simple.
You can also put files in a public folder that is accessible from a link. Right click the file and go to the Dropbox subfolder and choose “get public link” and you will be able to send that link to anyone you want to view the files. Right now Dropbox is in private testing phase, but I can already tell that this is a great idea and the simplicity of their solution makes it a winner. They give you 2gb of online storage space. I can see them charging for more space in the future, which if you are someone who is on multiple computers a lot and want to keep track of files, say from home to work, this will be an ideal solution for you. I can’t wait to see where they go with this. I also have a few invites if anyone is interested in trying it out. Just leave me your info in the comments.
My Resignation
Today I turned in my letter of resignation. I will not be working for this school district next year. In fact, I won’t be working for any school district next year. I am leaving the education field to work for a website design company. I think it’s a great opportunity for me and I’m looking forward to hopping on board.
As I look back, I realize this school year passed relatively quickly. Yeah, during most of the year it seemed like the days crept by, after all, I do deal with the troublemakers. It has gone by fast though. Time is running out for next school year and next thing I know, school will be starting again. I needed to start looking elsewhere because of the lack of opportunity in the district and my desire to never do this job again, now was the perfect time to move on. Will I come back to education? Maybe some day down the line I’ll come back to the field, but for the immediate future I’m going to be putting all my time in energy into this new job.
Boom Blox
I purchased Boom Blox last night because it looked like a simple fun game. I’ve been watching videos of gameplay for months and with Steven Spielberg creating it, I thought it must be fun. I’ll tell you this, it is. The story line for Adventure mode is very simple and something kids will enjoy a lot more than me. The true fun lies in the levels and not the in-between story line. The control with the Wii remote is very simple and easy and I’ve enjoyed the different types of play, whether it be strategically knocking down blocks, pulling blocks (think Jenga), or knocking away enemies. There is quite a bit of strategy involved in the game, on some levels more than I expected. I think this will be a great game for kids to think outside the box and strategically plan their moves. One thing I wish I could do, and maybe I’ve not figured if you can do this yet, but when you are exploding the blocks, I’d like to freeze the action so I can get a great angle to see the blox blowing away. I know you can switch angles while it’s happening with no problem, but a lot of times the action is almost done by the time I switch views. This is definitely one of those games where you can play a few levels when you have a few minutes of free time and then come back to it later. It’s a great casual game that makes you think critically of your every move. It’s worth picking up, or at least playing, if you’re looking for a solid Wii game.
My Life has Disappeared
I use a service called Lifestream.fm to aggregate my online life. It gathers my tweets from twitter, pictures from Flickr, my Diggs, recently played songs, my Del.icio.us feed, and blog posts from this blog. It’s a great service. It’s very easy to use, includes more social services than Socialthing, and looks great. There’s just one problem. The site has disappeared. When you go to Lifestream.fm, there’s just a GoDaddy parked page. Very odd. Anyone know what’s happened to it?
EDIT: It seems to be back up now. Weird.
Scrobbling on the Mac
I love letting other people see what tracks I listen to and I love being able to find artists similar to what’s on my playlist, that is why I love last.fm. Even though I don’t use my MacBook for listening to music much, when I do I still like to scrobble, or submit, the tracks. My problem has always been finding a good Mac client to do this. I used to use Menuet, but every time I right click the icon in the menu bar it crashes. So, I’m saying goodbye to that. I downloaded and installed the official client from last.fm and that was deleted almost instantaneously. The client gives you the option to place an icon in the menu bar but doesn’t give you the option of hiding it on the dock when it’s open. I don’t want it on my dock. At all. Deleted. So, right now I’m trying iScrobbler. We’ll see how I like this one when I’m actually able to listen to music. Does anyone have a suggestion for a last.fm app? Do you use something you think is better? If so, let me know.