To answer this question, I wanted to move beyond the standard CRM and invoicing tools which are critical to the day-to-day functioning of my business, and share something that might not be so obvious. The first thing that popped into my mind was file sharing and syncing app Dropbox, and even after more discussion and heated conversation, nothing could change my answer. The benefit of synchronized files and access from any PC is obvious, but as I’ve been using the service it has really become a critical part of my daily process.

Dropbox is a file sharing application that is amazingly simple to use. The installation creates a Dropbox folder on your computer — drop in a file and it miraculously appears on all of your shared computers. Individual folders can also be shared with other users. Here are some ways that I use Dropbox for maximum productivity.

Password Synchronization: With the sheer volume of user accounts I manage, a good password management system is critical. I’ve come to rely on RoboForm for this purpose, and Dropbox makes it dead simple to keep all of my account information and passwords in sync. Just move your RoboForm profile to a Dropbox folder, point all your computers to it and voila — easily log in to any of your sites from any of your computers, and never forget a password again.

Simple Network Sharing: For some of my home or small business clients, particularly those using laptops away from their offices, Dropbox is often a better solution for file sharing than setting up a shared network folder. The built-in versioning functionality is really handy and the ability to access files when away from the home or office is much appreciated. When the client returns to the office or checks in from a coffee shop, any changes to the files they are working on are automatically pushed back to the other users on their network.

File Distribution: I’ve set up shared Dropbox folders for a number of my clients and find it a great way to distribute reports and other information to them. The “push” of the information to them removes the need for them to seek out or retrieve the data that they need. It also makes it really easy for them to share files back to me, without needing to worry about email limits and such. Because there are no new interfaces to learn, it also has a very shallow learning curve. This makes adoption for the less tech-savvy much easier.

The fact that Dropbox is so easy to use and so flexible makes it a great addition to my services toolbox. Dropbox is free for up to 2GB of storage with monthly plans available, up to $19.99 for 100GB.

How are you enhancing your productivity with Dropbox? I would love to hear about your creative uses for the service in the comments.

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I thought I’d share some tips gleaned from my latest move to a new desktop. My way isn’t necessary the best way, but it may give you some ideas when it comes time for you to make the switch. Here are the steps that I took.

1. Back up your data. Use an online backup service like BackBlaze or Mozy. (Solo web workers should have an offsite backup solution, anyway) I also have an external drive that does nothing but back up my computer’s data. The free built-in Microsoft Windows Synctoy took care of my syncing. Make sure you synchronize everything, including the data on any mobile devices.
2. Take a computer inventory. Run System Information for Windows (SIW), Magical Jelly Bean Keyfinder and Belarc Advisor.  Save the output files in Gmail or someplace where you can access it from any computer. These free applications create a list of installed software, license keys, hardware inventory, network information and other details. These apps are all free.
3. Put the computers near each other. This makes the move easier and allows you to check what’s on the old computer and install it on the new PC and compare the setups. It’s also worth checking which apps are used frequently. While the inventory software lists all the installed applications, you might not need to exactly duplicate your setup. The key is to get the important and most frequently used tools and software installed so you can get up and running on the new machine. Then, if you find you need one of the apps you didn’t move over to the new machine later, you can install it. Don’t pressure yourself to get everything installed.
4. Install the applications and tools. Dig up all your software, download the ones that don’t have a CD/DVD and download updated software. Some of my software (Palm Desktop, for example) is so old that I didn’t bother using the original CD/DVD to install it. Instead, I went to the companies’ web sites to download the latest versions.
5. Share folders over the network. Turn on network file-sharing by opening Explorer. Find the folders you want to copy to your new computer, right-click the folder and select “Share.” Look for the option to share the folder (it’s different in Windows XP and Vista). Doing this, I shared the folder with all my work documents so that I had instant access to the documents I needed without waiting for the online backup to do its job. The online backup application then restored the rest of the files.
6. Copy the data from old to new.
7. Start using the new computer. I plan to keep the old computer nearby for a little while so if I run into something I need to customize or verify, I can look at it and update the new computer accordingly.
8. Set up a backup system. Whether you used one before or not, put a backup system in place. Even new computers mess up and you never know when some disaster decides to make life harder for your home. It can happen. I was in my grandparents’ house when it caught fire.

Having many of my applications and data in the cloud made this the easiest and fastest desktop transition ever.

What other ways can you ease and speed up the transition from old computer to new?

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Thanks to my smartphone, I don’t carry my laptop very much, unless I’m doing a presentation or going on an extended trip. But it’s nice to have my desktop sync with my laptop, so that it’s ready when I need it. And that’s where things start getting complicated.

My desktop’s a Mac mini, and my laptop’s a Toshiba Libretto U105 (which was a netbook before they started calling them that) running Windows XP. So how do I synchronize my data? It can be done, but it’s harder than it should be.

• Contacts. I use the Apple Address Book, and sync it to my Google Contacts with Googaby. On the laptop, I use Thunderbird with the gContactSync add-on.
• Calendar. I set up several calendars through Google Apps. I’ve subscribed to the calendars in both Apple iCal (on the Mac) and Mozilla Sunbird (on the PC). Alas, the future of Sunbird is unclear at the moment.
• Passwords. I use SplashID because it syncs flawlessly with my Treo, although I’ve also been experimenting with LastPass, which is better at filling in some web forms, but is a bit obtrusive for my taste.
• Bookmarks. For those of us who use Firefox, Weave will probably be a great system someday. But right now, it’s too experimental: It only supports the upcoming Firefox 3.5, and it has a tendency to stop working at random intervals. In the meantime, I’m reluctantly using Xmarks — which strikes me as trying to do too many things. If you turn off all of the options except bookmark syncing, the Firefox add-on seems to work fine. But the Safari version is hard to install and obtrusive. (I mostly use Firefox anyway, so I turned Xmarks for Safari off.)
• Files. Dropbox. It’s easy. It just works.

If you’re wondering how all of these programs get along, well, they do, mostly. Googaby slows my Mac to a crawl when it’s updating, but it doesn’t update very often. Dropbox and Missing Sync work perfectly, and without getting in the way.

So why don’t I just use the web interfaces of all of these programs, and not worry about syncing?

It’s nice to have local backups in case Google goes down (which it does occasionally) or if my Internet connection goes south (which is does more often than I would like). Google Gears helps, but it’s not as smooth as having local copies of everything.

Both Apple Mail and Thunderbird make it much easier to manage and transfer messages between multiple accounts. Gmail Manager is a great way of accessing multiple accounts through Firefox, but it doesn’t let me drag and drop messages between accounts, like I can in Apple Mail.

One of these days, we might be able to use any computer, any browser, and get to our own “mobile desktop.” Glide is working on such a system, as are Xcerion, although neither system is complete.

In the meantime, syncing basic data between computers is much too complex. As long as desktop applications are more robust than their web counterparts, sync will be needed, so let’s hope easier and more user-friendly systems are on the way.

How do you manage data in multiple locations?

Image by stock.xchng user flaivoloka

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Evernote already synchronized copies of its own notes across as many installations as you cared to have – Windows, Web, Mac, or mobile. But attachment synchronization was limited to a few file types that it natively understands, such as images and audio. Now, you can attach any file you like to a note, and have that file transported to every installation, as well as available through the web interface.Attached documents can be edited directly from Evernote, and changes will be synched back to all of your copies (with warnings of conflicting changes). The new feature is available only to Evernote Premium subscribers, who pay $5 per month or $45 per year for the privilege. But if you’re already using some other utility to share files between your various computers, it’s worth looking at whether you can make Evernote both your note-taking and your sharing application.

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So when the folks at Siber Systems offered us a copy of their GoodSync file synchronization and backup product to review, I jumped at the chance to put it through its paces. I’m already a happy user of their fine RoboForm password management product so my expectations were high.

Goodsync is file synchronization and file backup software that works to keep files in sync between multiple PCs, desktops, laptops, Servers, webDAV and FTP locations, along with Mobile Phones and PDAs.

I really like how easy it is to get started and create a sync or backup job. Just select the folders you want to sync or backup on either side of the pane, analyze shows you what changes will be made, and then press sync to make it final.

It looks simple, and it is, but there is a lot of power available beyond the basic setup. Advanced options include auto start, scheduling, file conflict resolution, and filtering to include only specific file types. The advanced options can potentially be overwhelming but I think that is because of the nature of what is available. I did have to go to the manual a couple of times to confirm options and set up steps but was able to find what I needed.

I really appreciate the analyze functionality which shows what changes will be made before it does anything. During the job setup process, it goes a long way to make me feel comfortable before I commit to actually doing a transfer.

I find the interface to be intuitive and generally easy to use, although because of the complexity of what is being presented, it can be crowded at times. Icons try to provide visual clues as to the actions that will be carried out but with so many, it took a couple of visits to the manual to help identify them. There may be a bit of a learning curve to get comfortable with it, but once it “clicks” it works well.

Good synchronization software might not be a necessary item for everyone, but if you need this functionality, GoodSync is well worth a look. I found myself identifying multiple uses for it as the weeks went on and am currently using it to sync multiple USB memory sticks as well as an extra backup of my business data from my laptop. I tested the FTP and webDAV functionality and it all worked as advertised.

One feature I wasn’t able to test is the ability to do chained synchronizations – keeping 2 computers which aren’t connected synchronized by using an intermediary device like a USB disk or external HDD. It sounds useful for those who maintain distinct work environments, or for making sure there is a spare PC available in an emergency.

GoodSync is for Windows only and a free trial is available. The trial is fully functional but after 30 days it limits the number of files and jobs. A Pro license is $29.95 with additional licenses for other PCs for $9.95

Is there a place in your arsenal for good old fashioned sync software? How are you using it creatively?

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