Dropbox is Sharing and Storage

What is Dropbox?
Drop box is similar to You Send It where you can share files back and forth to each other. However the energized file sharing site also has a built in feature like Mozy where you can back up files from your system. With the initial sign-up, you get two gig free of space but of course you can upgrade for more. I also discovered there is a new iPhone app for Dropbox too!

Stephen Herron who introduced me to Dropbox said he is using it primarily for storage of his writing projects. He is also impressed with how everything automatically syncs up between his laptops and PCs. He proclaims that, “it’s very handy.”

Give drop box a try.
http://www.dropbox.com

More Mobile Phones Should Have Flash

I am an avid iPhone user, but it’s extremely challenging taking pictures in dimly lit areas. Most everyone you know these days has a cellphone enabled to take photos, but there is no flash. The Nokia E71 Phone with 3.2 MP Camera has a flash and a few others, but the fact is the pickings are slim. I started carrying around an actual flash light just in case, remember I was a Boy Scout.

Civil War cameras even had a flash. Shouldn’t mobile phone creators start making flash a standard feature?

Rise of Online Rentals Sign of Culture Change

The other day as I drove by the local Blockbuster and I saw the store was closing. In my opinion, this signifies a tremendous culture change, the end of local movie rental chains. Not only are more and more people are using the Internet to rent films (Netflix and Blockbuster Online), but Hulu, YouTube and other online outlets are giving movie enthusiasts other venues to watch them. Also the increase of DVRs (Tivo) and On Demand are contributing to deep saturation. Finally online applications like Netflix give consumers the ability to easily search, sort and classify their movies, not only from a category perspective but from chronological perspective.

Personally I rent most of my movies from the RedBox which I also contribute to the decline of big stores like Blockbuster. If they are charging $6.00 for a rental and I can get the same film from a self-service vending machine for a $1.00, there is no contest.

Do you think all video stores will close in the next couple of years?

Teens Aren’t Into Social Networking?

Is your kid a fan of Twlight, Taylor Swift, Gossip Girl and Jonas? The other day I stumbled upon a tween gossip news website called Just So You Know (JSYK), that features interviews with the latest celebrities and musicians. What I found interesting surfing the site was a poll that asked “When did you get a MySpace page?”

After voting that I have a Facebook page, I was surprised by the results. MySpace was 10.0%, Facebook 28.5%, Both 22.7% and Neither 38.9%. Statistics from Mashable a couple months ago stated that social networking among teens are too busy sexting, so I guess this poll supports the theory?

http://www.jsyk.com/

Get Your Chat On Your iPhone

Chat rooms have been considered in the same light of highway rest stops these days. However ebuddy is out to change the misconception by creating a smart little application. With ebuddy you can connect all your popular instant message software MSN, Yahoo!, AIM, ICQ, Google Talk and even Facebook on one single list.

I downloaded the ebuddy app and I like it. The only thing I found annoying, as a spoiled iPhone user, was the fact there isn’t T9 character correction. I found myself typing many misspells.

Download this free app and start the chatting with your iPhone.
http://www.ebuddy.com/iphone/

Thanks to Mike Kimmel for the tip.

Discover The Best Twitter Apps

Leading Hands is constantly talking about Twitter and all the apps that make using the communication sensation easier. We started a rudimentary list of apps to get you started down the Twitter Highway, but if are now a Tweet-o-holic then you need more apps. Discover a better way to surf for twitter applications with One Forty.

The website says, “Oneforty is your Twitter outfitter, with tons of resources for all things Twitter.” They are currently tracking almost 2,000 Twitter apps and what I like best is they feature a Twitter app of the day. Do you use Twitter apps?

http://oneforty.com/

PayPal Accounts For Kids

My mom and dad taught me how to manage money with my first paper route. I took my modest earnings down to the bank to have my parents co-sign on the account; the shiny new little checking book made me feel like an adult. Now parents can provide the same lesson by opening up a PayPal account.

PayPal has launched a campaign that is entitled “Teen Spending That Parents Can Oversee.” Compare how student accounts stack up against others. See how it works from the student perspective or the parent perspective.

Check out PayPal Accounts For Kids
https://cms.paypal.com/us/cgi-bin/marketingweb

Big Events Shut Down The Net

The net is still in diapers. Every time a big event happens, the Internet seems to experience lag and major websites just simply shut down. When Michael Jackson’s funeral was held during a weekday in the middle of the afternoon, the world watched the event mostly at work online. This event alone seemed to cause everything online to hick-up.

Think about these facts:

• Amazon just turned 15
• Twitter is a new communication form started in 2006
• iTunes launched in 2001 and now represents half of music industry sales

Can we just admit to ourselves that the Internet is just still just learning to walk? Web 3.0 is approaching, but the fact is it is never too late to get on the web bandwagon and embrace the technology.

How Do You Comparison Shop?

At the conference today, we reviewed e-commerce systems and it got me thinking about websites that compare products. In the past, Leading Hands has reviewed many comparison sites and today I finally heard about Price Grabber.

If you are not familiar with Price Grabber your missing out on a comprehensive comparative rater. Search thousands of products, review user ratings and see products side-by-side. Ultimately, the site aids you to make a clear shopping decision.

http://pricegrabber.com

What sites do you use to make comparative shopping?

Have you tried Boxbe?

What is Boxbe? from Randy Stewart on Vimeo.

Boxbe is a free service that guarantees you’ll get emails that matter to you. It connects with popular services like Yahoo, AOL and Gmail to clean-up your in-box.

Boxbe works like the email on popular social networking sites. You add users to your approved senders list. If senders are not on your approved list, they will receive an email to verify their inbox. You will see emails you haven’t approved ranked from 1 to 10; the lower the number the better.

Say Goodbye to Email Overload
http://www.boxbe.com