How to Move to the Cloud

Well, it happened.

 

My life reached critical mass, I had lots of things to do in many places, all of which require a variety of internet access, and an infinite amount of patience.

If only I could defrag my brain this easily- Time to get organised

 

Time to move to the cloud …but how to do it without going bonkers?  The subject of my latest post,  I regret to admit, is the reason for a lot of non-blogging.

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The mission was to move everything away from a specific platform (i.e. one laptop) and move it somewhere I can access EVERYWHERE, that would be on the mobile, both laptops, both desktops and at internet locations all over the known universe. Bleh.

Does that sound like a nightmare? It was.  I’m nearly there, though.      

So here goes. 

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1. I have 37,000 emails I need to have access to on my outlook email – how can I access them somewhere else?

 

First of all, I needed to find a way to see my old emails on the internet. As I own a domain, I opened a free google apps account – then took advantage of the free google email uploader.

 

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I faffed about with pointing CNAMEs in the right direction etc and used the help pages quite a bit. Now your domain hosting service should be able to help out  if you’re thinking of doing this too, and they will be the people to talk to if you’re having a spot of bother.  It all worked fine after I’d sorted out the settings, but took AGES to run as there was so much email to upload.  Happily, after leaving it to do its business, I now have a fully searchable online email database.

 

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2. Can I get GMail on the move?

 

I use a Nokia N95  (although its days are numbered, poor thing takes a lifetime to go to “image gallery” now bless it) – and visited the Gmail mobile apps page to download gmail for my phone.  The mobile application for Nokia is now playing nicely with google apps users (if you’re on the mobile reading this, then go here m.google.com) So now I access my Gmail from my phone and any computer with an internet connection.

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Only problem is that it’s still pull, but I’m not too bothered about that at the moment. 

 

3. I add appointments on my mobile phone and while I’m at the computer.  How can I see everything without it all going wrong?

 

Goosync

Now, it so happens that there is a little programme called GooSync which will happily sync your calendar with your google calendar for free. If you want to do other things as well, you’ll have to pay.

(UPDATE – Goosync has now started charging as at 19-10-09 - £5.99 per year for this service. Oh well, there goes the “free”…)

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Once set up  (and GooSync will send you a text message to sort all your settings out) you just go to the Sync menu of your phone, and synchronize your calendar.  Like Gmail on the phone, you have to remember to do it reasonably often - (do let me know if there’s a way to schedule it to sync regularly)  – but it means I can sync my phone calendar without needing a computer USB cable.

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4. What about stuff  like Documents, spreadsheets – that kind of thing…?

Dropbox File Holder

 

Enter dropbox, a brilliantly simple and automatic way of keeping your stuff in one virtual place.

The way this works is you have a “dropbox” folder in, say, “my documents” and anything you store there gets Sync’ed up to your dropbox folder in the cloud, and back down to any other dropbox folders on, say, your other computers when they next connect to the internet.  The whole thing is done quickly and without any drama.

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I have a dropbox app on my (mobile) laptop, and one on my (stationary) monster Mac Pro.  I access my docs on other computers by logging into the service online and accessing my files from there – downloading and uploading as I wish.

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How clever – and great if you are on a work or shared computer and you don’t want to download your dropbox there.

Yes, of course I use Google docs but find that sometimes docs uploaded from Excel/Word don’t really like it up there, and go a bit squiffy.  I love Google docs for the sharing,  but not for the sort of anorak-style colour-coding obsessed spreadsheet madness that I’m afflicted with.

  

Dropbox is completely free for the 2GB version, however if you’re storing video or music, you might feel the need to upgrade to one of their paid-for options with more storage.

 

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5. My infinite things to do list… er, a little help?

 

nozbe project manager

I’ve been using Nozbe for a while, which has a “free 5 project plan” that you have to hunt for on the home page.

Nozbe Project Managment

If you’re a fan of “getting things done” by David Allen (and I am) , you’ll be familiar with the ideas behind this project management site - Although there’s a “nearly there”  ipod touch/ iphone app which accompanies this website where you  sync your “to-do’s” online with your nozbe account, I use Nozbe exclusively on a browser at whichever computer I’m plonked in front of.

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This online project management tool will give you your “next actions” across projects.  This means that once you’ve entered your various (and copious) things to do in different areas – say “music composing”, “home admin” and “holiday planning” - you can see what needs to be done on each project THAT DAY. Really good if you are working on a few different things at once

 

6. What about my contacts?

Everything needs to be sync-able with everything else, so any changes made on one platform have to be reflected in the other. 

Zyb contact sync

 

I’m so close to getting my contacts sorted.  Using zyb to synchronise my contacts from my phone to their internet site is pretty cool, but I’m still working out how to merge the ridiculous contact list on my phone with the laughably giant contact list on google apps.  I also have a gmail account that could do with a bit of a tidy.

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This is the only area where I’m not quite sorted yet - and yes, I bet there are lots of paid-for ways to get my contacts in order and in sync, but I want to do it for free. And not with an iPhone

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So there we have it – a move to the cloud which I’ve nearly managed… please comment if you’ve found something awesome that I’ve missed.

Now for some chocolate.

 

Working Lunch TNG

Yes, for some reason, I’m going to be allowed back into BBC2’s Working Lunch studio this Tuesday, despite the proliferation of awful puns the last time I was on screen.

This time I’ll be talking to Declan about CES, the consumer electronics show, and the technology that was shown during the exhibition.  I’ve just finished editing some footage including Windows 7 screenshots which hopefully will be displayed in the background of shot.

 

Windows 7 taskbar

 

CES 2009 – battery! Nooooo

How incredibly ridiculous, I left 1/2 of my UK/US adaptor in the hotel, which means I’m on the clock with a minor uploading drama!  So the video might or might not make it up there, with 32 minutes remaining, it’s anyone’s game.

Coffee!! I need Coffee!!

Highlights so far have been a proliferation of newer, greener display technologies (hold tight for OLED on the vid) and an emphasis on mobile content consuming, including a projector that’s been built into a phone.

In fact, the phone-projector from Samsung (using DLP technology) was the gadget I featured for BBC Click during filming last night, that’s going to be broadcast on BBC World, and perhaps even on the internet site too, which is very exciting.

RSS Readers / Can’t see the link? Click here

Today I’ll go to my appointments on the show floor armed with my (fully charged!) camcorder, and later I’ll meet with the rest of the BBC Click team.

…and tonight I might be attending the Sony Online Poker party which last year had Fire-Eaters and Acrobats as well as many different food stations.

Below are a few piccies from Flickr uploaded earlier:

In front of 150" TV!

Samsung Mini Projector - up to 50" screen size

bottom phone is also a projector - to be featured on BBC Click

See you soon!

 

 For those of you who missed me on the BBC’s Working Lunch programme:

LJ and Declan on BBC2 Working Lunch - click pic to view the vid (if it's still there)

(RSS Readers / can’t use the link? Click here  )

Here’s a still shot from my performance on BBC2, where I manage to squeeze 2 puns into under 2 seconds.

I’m not proud of that.  (OK, OK, I am…)

 

Quick Click Blog

View from Click Towers

…And the reason I’ve been so utterly busy is partially explained by the picture, which is the view from BBC Click’s offices at BBC TV Centre!  Wow!

I’m putting together some packages (which is what we call the 4-minute features in the programme) which will be transmitted across the whole world!

Some of the more techy readers may well have seen me pop up on a couple of episodes already – and you’ll be able to see me on the iPlayer on the coming edition, talking about gadgets with Spencer Kelly, Click’s main presenter, in the soon-to-be-revealed Click Lab.

I am chuffed to bits to be at the BBC!!!!!  As I (and others) would say on Twitter: “Woop!  Woop!”

 

Digital Winter 2008

I just realised I haven’t blogged for ages, mainly due to the fact that my feet haven’t touched the ground in the last week and a bit.

So what follows is a very, very brief digest of what I’ve been up to, one post at a time:

DIGITAL WINTER 2008 TECH EVENT

This is basically where a bunch of companies have stalls which show you their latest gadgets, and sometimes their flagship products as well.  Siemens showed their new concept solar-powered dect phone too.

Sandisk's new Sansa Fuse at the top, and its mini cousin, bottom

There was so much food and cake available, but I’d stuffed myself with sushi on the way there, annoyingly.  Secretly I was dying for a nice cup of tea and a chocolate biscuit – but this was no time for confectionery or patisserie, it was time for some serious gadget-hunting.

The technology was suitably diverse, so here are a few highlights of the event.  Have a look at Sandisk’s Sansa Fuse (at the top) which has 4GB inbuilt memory, and a slot for a micro SD card for future expansion. 

… and the red ones have a great Ferrari-style paint job, which doesn’t have any bearing on the performance of the product, but looks nice.

 

           Next up…

Power Traveller's Solar Gorilla Laptop Charger

…a look at the Solar Gorilla from PowerTraveller, a gigantic solar panel which you can use alongside their battery to charge up your laptop - you can also use a mains adaptor with the battery if you’re stuck in the dark, and get about 6 hours’ worth of laptop life from a full charge.  The MacBook Pro is there for scale.

In fact, I have the miniature one of these, the powermonkey which I use for charging my mobile – although the larger product on display is probably better suited for use in remote areas that catch a lot of sun, i.e. anywhere except London.

 

                                  And Finally….

Veho 200x USB Microscope with 2p coin on screen

…the USB microscope from Veho, one of the more amusing products on display.  You can see on the screen a 2p coin magnified 200 times from the coin underneath the microscope.  Yes, *of course* I stuck my fingers underneath, you can see the ridges and everything. 

For one secret and hideous moment I wondered whether this would be a useful beauty accessory for facial excavation and then decided against pointing the device at a particularly good spot on my cheek in public, what with wanting to look like a serious technology journalist and all, although I can’t resist adding that you’re either a squeezer or a leaver in this particular field.

So Digital Winter was quite fun.  If you want to see these pics a few minutes after I’ve taken them, then please feel free to subscribe to my Flickr Stream, where I’ll upload them from my N95.  I promise not to upload any pictures from the microscope.

 

SlingMedia Release Sling Catcher

…Last week I found myself perched up on the roof of myhotel in Bloomsbury, London, to hear about a new launch from the people who brought us the Slingbox - the device which allows you to watch your own telly from anywhere in the world with decent internet access.

So here’s the video from that freezing cold day, thank goodness I got to go inside.

Listen out for the incredibly tenacious police chase that’s all over the audio, not even Logic 8 could get rid of that triumph of law enforcement.

RSS Readers / Can’t see the link? click here

And do click here for more info on SlingCatcher.

That evening I went to the Harvest Twestival, and I’ll be editing up a video about Social Networking soon which incorporates some footage from this event.    Thanks to Ben Matthews and Bright One for allowing access for the interviews!

 

Nero 9 Suite and Move It Launch

Yes, we’re AVIn’ it large here at Geek Chic – lots of video for tech lovers! The second one is of Nero’s launch of their fabulous Move It software, alongside a release of Nero 9.  In fact, instead of just being known for burning software, Nero are moving into something they call “Liquid Media”, which is a rather nice way of describing the way we use video, photos and music in the digital age. 

Let’s face it, we’re not fussy where we consume media these days, be it on different platforms such as mobile phones and iPod-type devices, or just plain and simple online streaming like iPlayer on our laptops.  It’s a quick and dirty world, media-wise.  Content is king, it matters less how we ingest it, as long as we manage to input copious amounts of glorious gluttonous entertainment into our heaving brains, day and night, it’s never enough, and it never will be.

But I digress (as usual).

So here is Patrick Peeters, Nero General Manager, EMEA, telling us what it’s all about:

If you want to know more about the Nero Software, pop here to Nero’s site. 

The software looks promising, and anyone who has ever tried to encode from one device to another will appreciate the simplicity afforded by a rather nicely skinned “drag and drop”-style  video format swapper.   I have my fingers crossed that they will create templates that are optimised for the Archos players, which will hopefully be added to their already generous selection of codecs.

Back into the editing dungeon now for a few more vids, and a lot more tea.

 

Skype Video Interview with Josh Silverman, CEO

I’ve been editing like a wild thing! Just uploaded video from the Skype 5th Birthday party, in case you wanted to know what went on that night – Apologies for the slightly dodgy audio, the acoustics were not the best in a London nightclub with the New Yuricans playing at full volume during the individual interview section, although I did do a little tweaking.  I really liked the fact that Josh from Skype used words like “Woolly Mammoth” in conjunction with Voice-Over IP software. 

Here’s a bit of his speech and the interview.

RSS Readers/Can’t see the vid? click here

Nero has just launched some new software yesterday, including Nero 9 and a fabulous new program called “Move It”  – I got to see it first last week (it’s been under embargo) and I recorded some vlog footage for your delectation.  I may even be able to post the video up today if I drink enough tea to fuel the computer.

P.S. Rather bravely (some might say idiotically), I decided to play with the registry in Vista, being inspired by Techware Labs’ post  – much to my amazement, my computer now starts up quicker, although I would be very, very careful and BACK UP if you also have an irrational urge to poke around in your PC’s private areas…

 

Skype is 5!

F-f-f-freezing c-c-c-cold d-d-d-drink, p-p-p-please

After a short bout of being a bit poorly (dodgy tummy, I won’t elaborate unless you’d like me to…) I found myself recovering with Blue Drinks at Skype’s 5th Birthday Party, held at the Absolut Ice Bar, in central London. I took my good friend Decabbit along, you’ll see her in my flickr pics.

The venue’s gimmick is of course the Ice Bar, where guests are served drinks in what is essentially a gigantic freezer set to -5 degrees C.  The glass you can see was made of ice, as were the seats, the bar itself and various sculptures.  I caused great amusement by attempting to send out a twitter microblog from my N95 mobile phone with my increasingly numb fingers, heroically taking off my protective gloves in the name of blogging.

Believe it or not, Skype is only 5 years old – and we were duty-bound to celebrate with blue drinks, blue cakes and a sneak peak at Asus’ Skype Device (not out yet), below.

The current President, Josh Silverman, delighted us with some amusing Skype Stats, some of which might make it into the mini-video I’ll be editing together tonight.

Not yet out, Asus' Trek Communicator style Skype-type Thing

 

I took a stealth pic of this skype device from Asus, which isn’t even out yet – I’ve sent an email to my contact at Skype to ask for the proper name of it as my caption is, quite frankly, poor.  

Oh, and meet Robin from WeAreSocial in my shot, ha ha, as the evening has gone on, and a few more blue drinks have disappeared.

It turns out that I met Robin once before at the Moo print party in Brick Lane.  

… poor chap – I said embarassing things whilst being covered in mini stickers (long story) and I also told him more than once of my desperate and immediate desire to go to my favourite curry house across the street because I was starving.  Despite that previous meeting, he still came up to say hello.  What a good bloke.

If you want to see the other piccies, please feel free to click on my flickr stream above, or click here for the full set on flickr.