Posted by Eric Matt on Tue, Dec 15, 2009 @ 12:44 PM
Does Google have what it takes to supplant (or even compete against) the dominating Apple IPhone as reigning king of the smart phones? Only time will tell, but after this weekend it seems evident that the time to find out is drawing near.
Although details are still sketchy, it has been confirmed in a tidal wave of attention this past weekend that Google is in fact preparing its own smart phone device running its Android mobile operating system (the phone is currently being called the "Nexus One").
Whether you like them or not, you gotta admit that on the surface it sounds pretty cool. It is such an intriguing proposition that the sky has been the limit on the speculated impact of such a move.
Why, just on the surface it makes me wonder if Google has an ultimate strategy to bypass the carriers and provide phone services via the Internet with their own version of Vonage (only with a better jingle!). Could they pull it off? How would it change things?
Currently little is known about specifics of the device (to be manufactured by HTC of Taiwan) or Google's plans for it. However it seems clear that Google plans to sell the device online and not through traditional cell phone sales methods where consumers acquire the phone from their carrier in exchange for a long term contract. For example, the phone could be sold at Amazon.com for instance, and at the time of purchase the consumer would select their carrier network from a list of participating carriers.
T-Mobile is said to be the only carrier interested in pursuing this new distribution model with Google - which seems to be a must-change situation for Google to shake things up beyond media frenzy. But then again, the IPhone only runs on the AT&T network.
Regardless of how this all shakes out, it is obvious that Google has the notoriety to stir the pot as well as anybody. They also have the Internet clout, the cash, and the technology to take on the old guard (telecomm carriers) and beat them at an old game with a new Google twist.
It will definitely be entertaining to watch it unfold in 2010 - anybody want popcorn?
Posted by Eric Matt on Tue, Dec 01, 2009 @ 05:29 PM
I am declaring the first day of December to be the official Technology Thanksgiving Day.
This will be a joyous day as we reflect and appreciate the simplicity and productivity that technology has delivered. A day where we take time to remember how it used to be...before the Internet... before the PC...back in the dark ages of office life...when we smoked cigarettes at our desks and typed on typewriters.
It is important that we do not forget where we came from as we head so fast towards where we are going - wherever that may be!
Here are some thoughts of thanks from the pilgrims of this new Holiday:
Mitch
I am thankful for the ability to do business with the entire world from my desk in Overland Park, Kansas!
I am thankful for the TrueShare users that help make the TrueShare service what it is today and what it will be tomorrow. Their ideas and participation in usage feedback allows us to expand our feature set and improve on our shortcomings. Thanks TrueShare Users!
Jason S
I'm thankful for mobile tech, iPods, smart phones, laptops. You can carry more processing power in your pocket, today, then you could get on a desktop 10 years ago. I can play Doom on my iPod, TV on my smart phone, and World of War Craft on my laptop, anywhere I can get a cell phone signal.
Mike M
I'm thankful for Google and the innovations and drive they are bringing to the industry.
Jason R
I am also thankful being asked what I am thankful for and Thankful for that... (Note: Only a tech guy can find Recursion in thanksgiving)
Mike A
I am thankful for Google, for providing answers to all of life's questions.
Thomas R
I'm thankful for the communication applications like Skype that bring us face to face from around the world. And also for applications like YuuGuu that make sharing face time and "screen time" easy as can be.
Eric
As for me, I am thankful for The Internet, software-as-a-service, Text to Speech technology, and having work to do.
Happy Technology Thanksgiving Day to you all.
Posted by Eric Matt on Tue, Nov 24, 2009 @ 04:15 PM
One great aspect of TrueShare that I don't think gets talked about enough is team collaboration.
That is what the TrueShare Unlimited Users feature is all about - Go TEAM!
As far as I know TrueShare is the only online file system that offers unlimited users - which is essential for doing business without constraints!
However, in this blog I'm talking about two other features that make teamwork so smooth in the TrueShare system - Workgroups and Forums. These features work great as stand alone tools, or can be combined for seamless collaboration across your organization.
I'll give you a brief explanation of each feature and then show you how to enhance your team collaboration with both features working together (check out our spotlight features or features page for a more in-depth look).
The Workgroups Advantage
Workgroups really takes advantage of the unlimited users feature of TrueShare. A business that offers each employee, client, or all of the above a user account can easily use Workgroups to organize and delegate. In fact, when you add a user to your TrueShare account, it automatically offers the option to include them in a workgroup from the start.
So why bother with Workgroups? Like User Groups, which allows you to manage groups of user's permissions as a single user, Workgroups allows you to manage user's folder permissions just as effortlessly. Once you add users to a workgroup, they then have access to workgroup specific folders with only the permissions you assign. These specific folders can consist of both workgroup only folders which are only visible to users in the group, and public folders which are visible to all of your TrueShare users if assigned. These folders allow for workgroups to collaborate on files away from other users or in conjunction with them, which is great for security and general organization.
Enhanced Communication via Forums
When conducting business across the country or even across the world, communication between teammates can get lost. Emails get buried and phone calls get forgotten. The easiest way to communicate about specific projects or files is through forums, which have been dominating web communication for over a decade.
The TrueShare forums act like any other forum site or application. Users can create new forums, topics and posts, and utilize standard html text editing for custom formats. The shining feature of forums, however, is the permissions and management system. Within the forum editor you can assign forums to specific users, folders, workgroups, or user groups; you can manage active, inactive and locked forums, and monitor all posts and topics within each forum.
Now lets look at using Workgroups and Forums together for ultimate team collaboration.
Workgroups and Forums Team Up for Collaboration
With Workgroup organization and Forum communication used together in the TrueShare system, teams can collaborate more effectively than before. When assigning users to a forum, one of the options is to assign a workgroup. This allows users who are already collaborating on projects and files within their workgroup folders to communicate in their very own dedicated forums. How could collaboration be any easier and well organized?
Even without the addition of other team facilitating features such as file versioning and folder syncing, Workgroups and Forums provide a superior collaboration experience for big and small businesses, and even students or families, one you can't get with other file sharing and storing services. So if you're trying to organize groups online and are finding it difficult, or are just looking for a service that is dedicated to quality and a superior customer experience, check out the Forums and Workgroups features in the TrueShare online file system. And look out for more blog topics on team collaboration in the future.
Posted by Christina Williams on Wed, Nov 11, 2009 @ 03:04 PM
I find that when I am working on a file that follows me through the years or a piece of writing in general, I either end up losing original versions to the black hole on my hard drive, or a folder full of the same file with a different name. I was recently working on my budget spreadsheet at home and realized that I had about 8 tabs in it with various versions of the data. A few examples of tab titles include old, current, 6/30/09, and others. Sound familiar? I think most people find themselves in this same type of situation but are at a loss of how to fix it. So the question is, how does someone go about organizing different versions of the same file, and what tools do they use?
In IT circles, file versioning has been around for quite awhile. Managing the various versions of code during development is a core challenge, one that forced companies early on to come up with a way to easily keep track of changing data. The solution, of course, was file versioning. So what is it? In short, every time you save a file that has been versioned, the previous version isn't overwritten but moved to some other location and archived automatically. Any document or file that changes over time can benefit from versioning, and it saves people from doing the manual version of renaming original files with dates and numbers or using Save As features.
Tools for Quick and Easy File Versioning
Although it's not as popular in a home or non-tech business setting, file versioning tools have found their way into the mainstream. Many new operating systems now come with built in technology that provides a type of file versioning. TrueShare also provides versioning, allowing you to set the online file system to monitor any folders you choose. Whenever you upload a file to a folder in your TrueShare account with file versioning turned on, if that file has already been uploaded, the old version is archived and the newest is put in its place. And if you ever need to access an old version of the file, you can just click on the File Action Menu of the file in question and select Version History. All old versions of the file will be made available for you to download.
With TrueShare's file versioning you can easily keep track of changing data while keeping your online and offline storage clean and organized. You can even sync up folders between your hard drive and your TrueShare account with our Auto Tran feature. Auto Tran will monitor changes in one folder and upload them to the other. If the changes are a revised version of an already saved file then TrueShare file versioning kicks in and organizes it appropriately. Using this method on the budget spreadsheet I mentioned earlier, I can now delete all of my extra tabs and extra file saves making my computer and TrueShare online file system clean and tidy while securing all of the data I care about.
If you are suffering from a similar situation of messy folders and lost file versions, give file versioning a shot. And with TrueShare's file versioning plus Auto Tran, you can store your files and all of their previous versions safely in "the cloud" automatically. I especially recommend TrueShare file versioning to writers like me who need instant access to their hordes of rough drafts and revisions.
Tell us how you take advantage of TrueShare's file versioning feature:
Posted by Eric Matt on Mon, Nov 09, 2009 @ 10:21 AM
...and rightfully so. With so many features and so much flexibility, TrueShare can bridge the gap between countries and continents across the globe.
As the TrueShare file storage and file sharing system grows in feature and function, so does our global user base. On any given day TrueShare is accessed from as many as 50 countries, and in the last 6 months we have had users from over 140 countries and territories.
With cloud computing and TrueShare, the world is any business's oyster. Companies are finding that online collaboration with remote offices, sales forces, and even research teams across the world can be both simple and affordable with features such as TrueShare's unlimited users. Reporters can use automated online transfers to submit stories from the field, Universities can communicate and organize globally with students and faculty and both travelling business folks and vacationers alike can take advantage of TrueShare's superior file sharing and storing capabilities.
Check out the top 10 countries using TrueShare.
- US
- Australia
- United Kingdom
- Philippines
- Canada
- India
- Ireland
- Italy
- Mexico
- Israel
Imagine what a global presence can do for you!
Posted by Christina Williams on Thu, Oct 29, 2009 @ 05:01 PM
How To: TrueShare DropBox
DropBox is one of the applications that come with the TrueShare for Windows software download. TrueShare DropBox is a handy little utility that makes uploading files from your desktop to your online file system quick and easy.
One of the problems that can arise from using an online file system is being forced to always manage them from a browser. Companies usually don't like their employees constantly reaching for a browser because the ability to stray to other websites is always a temptation. With TrueShare for Windows we have worked to minimize this problem. For uploading files straight from your desktop to your TrueShare online file system, DropBox is your go-to app. For browser-free file management and downloading, TrueShare Explorer is the answer.
The Many Features of DropBox
While using DropBox to upload files from your desktop, this utility has some additional features that you may find very useful. Automatically, DropBox opens with the option to stay on top of your other applications. This lets you search for files you want to upload or work with other applications without losing DropBox among open folders and programs. Once you find the files you want to upload, you can drag them from their location and into your DropBox to place them in queue for upload. You can also set the auto upload feature and it will upload the files immediately upon dropping them into your DropBox. You can turn the "Stay On Top" feature off by right clicking if you would prefer to not use that feature. This brings us to the other functions of TrueShare DropBox.
In the right click option menu you will see Add Files, Clear Selected, Clear All, Upload, Settings, Hide Drop Box, Stay on Top, and Auto Upload. The first three are self explanatory, and provide easy manipulation of which files are in the box. Upload is the option you click to immediately upload everything that is sitting in your DropBox queue. If you click upload and haven't selected a folder yet, it will prompt you to do so. You also change your destination folder in the Settings option. Since you log in to your TrueShare account upon the startup of DropBox, Settings will pull your folder tree from your online system so you can easily select the folder you want files to be uploaded to. You can also change the dimensions of the DropBox box, and hide the title bar if desired.
Auto Upload, mentioned earlier, is the true star of TrueShare's DropBox features. If you check this option, any file you drag into the box will be instantly uploaded to your TrueShare account in the designated folder. The text for the file doesn't show up in the DropBox, but you will see the progress bar with larger files. You can easily upload files in mere seconds with this feature, and all without opening an internet browser.
Free Apps Save you Time and Money
Considering TrueShare DropBox is a free add-on application, I can't imagine anyone wouldn't use it. DropBox just sits in my system tray, ready to upload files at any moment. If you already have a TrueShare account and haven't tried out our free apps like DropBox, Explorer, and Auto Tran, download our TrueShare for Windows software today and see how easy it is to use an online file system with these free add-on applications. If you don't have a TrueShare account, sign up for our free 7-day trial and experience a full featured business account with all the bells and whistles with no credit card necessary. You can even download DropBox and give it a spin.
Posted by Jason Sachan on Tue, Oct 27, 2009 @ 02:58 PM
Technology is becoming more and more mobile. With netbooks, smart phones, and MIDs (Mobile Internet Devices), people are able to take there computer and documents with them. One of the problems with having a full sized computer at home and a smaller device on the go is having access to the same programs and data on both devices. In the past that meant physically attaching the two devices and syncing them. As broadband cellular connectivity to the internet has become more available and affordable, using the internet as a means to keep your home and mobile computing in sync has become extremely convenient.
Since Google generates all its revenue from online searching, they are eager to enable any technology that promotes online computing. Not only do they offer services like free mail, calendars, and news, but they actually created a suite of online office applications (word processor, spreadsheet, etc…) called Google Docs that run in a browser and store your documents online. For a time, there was speculation that they were going to become a cellular service provider to promote mobile computing. It turns out they were only working on an open source Smartphone OS, Android. Recently they announced a real shocker when they stated that they were working on a brand new Operating System, called Chrome OS, named after their new browser also called Chrome.
Recently, lifehacker picked up on a story that someone found a new build of the Chrome browser on Google’s servers that appeared to be built for the Chrome OS. No one really knows when Chrome OS will be released, but when it does, what will it mean for mobile computing? Google is trying to marry the internet and the operating system much more closely than it has ever been before. With Google Docs, mail, calendar, voice, and all the other web applications they have created integrated closely with the operating system, mobile computing becomes easier and easier because your data and applications are on the internet, not on your local computer, and always accessible.
Many other companies are following suit and offering online based services so those services are always accessible. Flicker lets you store and manage your photos online. FoodNetwork.com lets you create your own online recipe box. TrueShare is one of those services, but instead of offering a service that replaces one of the traditional desktop applications TrueShare provides an Online File System. This allows you to manage all types of files just like you would on your desktop, but the files are stored in the cloud and always accessible. As Google moves forward bringing the internet to the Operating System, TrueShare is moving forward bringing the file system to the internet.
Posted by Christina Williams on Mon, Oct 19, 2009 @ 02:03 PM
Wave Hello to Google Wave
As some of you may have heard, Google Wave started its first ‘wave' of beta testing. Wednesday September 30, Google sent out over 100,000 preview invitations to developers, businesses, universities, and early bird beta testers who signed up first. Some of these users were even encouraged to nominate other people to receive early invitations, because Google Wave is much more useful when someone you know is using it too.
What exactly is Wave?
It's Google's new real time communication platform. It seems that not only searches are going real time, but also the web itself. With Google Wave you can keep track of email, videos, instant messaging, social networking, wikis, tweets, documents, and projects, all within a single in-browser application. It is organized in a hybrid email inbox / instant messaging layout that allows you to easily see who you are connected to, and what is going on in your wave. Some of the features of Google Wave are:
Wiki-style editing- Waves are editable and viewable just like any wiki article, though privacy settings do exist.
Real time typing- See what others are typing, character by character, as they edit a wave.
Playback- If you gain access to a wave late in the conversation or editing, you can play it back to see how things came about.
Gadgets and robots- Both are extensions, gadgets being more like add-ons or widgets and robots being more like the automated bots of our instant messaging past.
Embedding- You can embed a wave anywhere, from websites to blogs.
These are just a few of Google Wave's features, and as you can see they are unlike anything we have seen before. Whether that's a good thing or not, time will tell. But the best functionality of Google Wave I have seen is by far the open source capabilities.
Wave Open Source
Because Google supplies a standard of operation using an extension of XMPP also called the Open Wave Federation Protocol, anyone can build a custom Wave system and become a wave provider. A key feature of this protocol is that waves are stored on the provider's servers. This means we could set up a wave server here at TrueShare, and provide Wave services to our customers as well as Wave integration into the TrueShare system.
Google also plans to release the Wave source code so the public can develop extensions such as the gadgets and robots discussed above. Much like Firefox, there will be an extension library where users can access these extensions for use in their waves. One example of a truly amazing gadget is Ribbit, which will allow for coworkers to enter their phone numbers (which are kept private) so when someone clicks the Start Conference button, it dials all of the numbers. Teams can then hold a conference call while collaborating on documents inside of a wave.
With Google Wave in beta testing, it's easy to get excited about the future of online communication and collaboration. It could be a great leap in technology that takes over the way we do business on the internet, or a giant flop of confusing innovation that the world is not ready for. I see great potential in Google Wave, and believe its success lays solely on the shoulders of the extension developers.
If you want to get a sneak peek at Google Wave and see what all the hype is about, sign up to get an invitation at https://services.google.com/fb/forms/wavesignup/.
Or if you'd just like to get a more indepth explaination, let the creators of Wave from Google show you in this video (1 hr 20 mins long).
So what do you think about Google Wave? Will it be the future of online communication?
Posted by Christina Williams on Mon, Oct 19, 2009 @ 09:27 AM
TrueShare File Encryption - Words for the Wary
Security is always a concern when sharing, storing, or hosting your files online. Understandably there tends to be an apprehension about storing your work or personal information online where it is perceived that hackers, viruses, and prying eyes can get at it. Businesses especially desire to protect their important files and sensitive documents. TrueShare understands this concern, which is why we go to the effort of making sure your online storage is more than safe with SAS 70 and HIPAA compliant procedures.
Never worry about file security again because TrueShare protects your files by encrypting them during upload and download transfers, and while at rest on the TrueShare servers, as well as employing numerous other security steps. Even your personal information such as usernames and passwords are encrypted using a one way RC4 or MD5 method so that no one, including TrueShare employees, has access to your files, login information, or credit card information.
Folder level encryption
For that extra level of security on a project or group of files, TrueShare offers folder level encryption. Each folder in your TrueShare account has the option to have its contents encrypted. This option uses the Rijndael algorithm method of encryption with the key size of 256 bit. This is the same method adopted by the US government, standardized in the Advanced Encryption Standard (AES.)
Peace of mind with TrueShare
Even if you don't require a Fort Knox of security on your files, rest assured that TrueShare is constantly working to keep your account safe. Your files are encrypted at the front end, back end, and everywhere in between to ensure HIPPA and SAS 70 compliance.
To read more about our security measures, take a look at our Security White Paper. If you have any questions or concerns, be sure to contact our customer service at 1-877-700-4999 or support@trueshare.com.
Posted by Christina Williams on Fri, Oct 02, 2009 @ 11:03 AM
As computer technology expands and grows, there seems to be a stream of new terminology to go with each forward stretch. First ‘online' was innovation, and then ‘cloud computing' became the king of internet buzz words. But the one word I have been seeing most recently is ‘real time search.' My first thought as I began to see this phrase used more often was how can a search be anything but a search? A search is a search is a search. But as I looked into the meaning of the term, I noticed that there actually is a difference, and it is quite a handy (and fun) tool to have around.
What is real time search and where did it come from?
Real time search is looking for material that is published in real time. Ideally, this means there is no time delay between when the material is composed and when it is published, and ultimately when you discover it via a search. There is some debate between what is considered real time-if taking a few minutes to compose something and hit the publish button counts, or if it must be pushed to the internet in a matter of seconds. I personally believe in the 5 minute rule when it comes to real time. After 5 minutes, any information or material ceases to be current.
The advent of real time searching is generally attributed to that ever so popular website called Twitter. After all, what could be faster than typing a 140 character message in a box? Not much, which is why Twitter practically invented real time material and real time search with their own Twitter Search engine. This engine allows you to type in your search topic and be presented with the most recent tweets concerning that topic. But just because Twitter invented real time search doesn't mean tweets are the only real time material. If you're looking for a bigger selection of real time results, you'll have to use a different search.
Real time search utilities
Beyond Twitter material such as tweets and twitpics, there is a wealth of additional real time content such as recently published blogs, Facebook status', Digg articles, news articles, FriendFeeds, videos, and much more. As a result, many new real time search services have been created to aggregate these content sources. Here are a couple of them:
- Collecta - Its best feature is the preview pane to the right that displays any result you click on with a ‘share result' option for each. It also offers an API for application development.
- CrowdEye - Pulls only from Twitter, but separates tweeted links from actual tweets which is very useful. It also allows you to easily retweet any result, and displays the tweet volume of the topic you searched.
- OneRiot - Deals with mostly article links, shoving tweets kind of to the side. But it does offer the option to sort by ‘Pulse' or ‘Realtime.' It also offers an API for application development.
- Scoopler - Pulls up your live search results and a popular tab that highlights content from the topic you searched.
All of these sites not only pull up real time search results, but update them as you are looking so you don't have to refresh the page to get more recent ones. The one that does this the best in my opinion is Collecta.
Big Search engines and real time
Recently the search giants Google and Bing have acknowledged the significance of real time search with their own strategic offerings. Real time searching is powerful and relevant. After all, how could something that happens in real time not be relevant? And what company doesn't want to know the hottest topics for this week, this day, or even this minute?
Bing made the first move coming out with BingTweets. While it is a step in the right direction, they have yet to incorporate other real time material, and also have yet to combine this new real time search with the regular one in a seamless manor. Google has also caught on, introducing Hot Trends to its giant search empire. Apparently, if you search a topic that is in its Hot Trends, it will pop up with a graph at the bottom of your results showing the popularity and other stats (I have not been able to get this feature to show up yet).
It seems that real time search has become less a thing of the future and more a thing of right now! Ok that was cheesy, but it's true. This is a technology that will stick with us just as cloud computing and the concept of being online has. So until big search companies catch up with this real time trend, I suggest using some of the great sites listed above for your real time searching needs.