Here are a few services that we use and recommend. You can take a look for yourself to see what you think about them, and maybe incorporate them into your workflow too.
For the longest time we had to drive back to the office just because we needed the file that was on our Desktop computer to email to a co-worker. The task itself only takes a few minutes, but the travel time can make it an hour log chore.
Why? Why didn’t you have LogMeIn setup on that computer so you can just remote in from home or your mobile phone to send that file?
LogMeIn is one of the most valuable pieces of software on my system. I use it all of the time to remote in and create invoices if I’m on-site with a client. LogMeIn has several great products that can really make you seem like the most advanced computer user without taking courses in computer networking classes with other services like LogMeIn Hamachi.
Skype is the best way to stay in touch and hold meetings from virtually anywhere with video chat. People use Skype every day to share their computer screens with one another, video chat, make phone calls, chat with Facebook® friends and much more!
If you’re not using Skype then you are missing out on the future. It’s easy, fast, fun and best of all free for Skype to Skype chat and video. No longer do you have to hop in the car, or on a plane to conference with your co-workers when you can do it right from your desk. So what are you waiting for?
So many of us are now plugging our lives into Google‘s powerful set of cloud services such as Gmail, Google Documents, Google Calendar and so much more. We have evolved into users who no longer use desktop email clients, and we live and work 90% of our day in a web browser.
One of the trade offs that we lose by using a web browser for email, is desktop notifications of new messages when we close the browser. Not to mention a great way to communicate real time with people.
Google Talk is the solution to the problem. Install Google Talk on your PC, login and you will receive notices for incoming email. Click on the notice and your browser will launch and take you straight to the message in Gmail.
Have you ever sent a document to a friend or co-worker only to have them send you a response back telling you that they can’t open it? What about when you need to upload a file to a website that only accepts PDF files when you only have a Microsoft Word document?
The best tool that you can have on your side is CutePDF. If you have ANYTHING on your screen that you can print, you can save it as a PDF instead. CutePDF will install a “virtual printer” on your computer. Whenever you need a PDF version of your document you just select to print it, and it will pop up a save dialog to create a PDF.
It doesn’t get any easier than that. If you can see it, you can “PDF” it!
If you are not using anti-virus software, you could be at risk for a world of problems. With so many choices out there it can be tough to decide which one to use.
My personal favorite is Microsoft Security Essentials. It’s FREE for personal use. The best thing about it is, that it’s light-weight and stays out of your way until a threat is detected. It doesn’t slow down your computer like some of the others and updates in the background every day.
If you have a subscription to another anti-virus program that is about to expire, then give Microsoft Security Essentials a try! I think you’ll like it!
This one can be a lifesaver for you. Have you ever had a moment when you were working with someone and had to explain directions in an email to do a task on the computer. Maybe showing your mother-in-law how to clean up her email or teaching a co-worker the new billing system.
Jing is perfect for recording your screen and voice so you can make a video tutorial to walk them through. It’s great to express ideas on the fly and best of all they have a free version.
It will allow you to upload videos to your screencast.com account that can be setup during the install. All of your videos can be private and you can provide a link to your friends and family.