Free Online Data Storage Services.

The much dreaded thought of a hard disk crash and losing all my precious data, files and photos coupled with not wanting to spend money on storage devices and going through the hassles of installation, got me looking for free online data storage services.

Online data storage is a convenient way to archive and share data and is a worthwhile option for anyone who wants to back up files, documents, MP3 tracks and photos. Besides being free, one big advantage of Web-based storage is that it is platform-independent and you can access your files from any Web-connected PC. This is especially useful for telecommuters and business travelers who are tired of transferring files between work, home and notebooks or lugging heavy disk drives on trips.

With many of these sites going beyond just offering mere storage but also application functionality, free online data storage services is a money saving option worth exploring if you want to back-up your files and protect against losing all your precious data due to crashing of your hard disk. The following is a round-up of sites offering free and secure data storage services :

DropBoks.com
Totally free and secure, DropBoks offers 1GB of storage with a maximum file transfer size of any format of 50MB and best of all, no maximum transfer amount limitations. It's simple interface and the lack of advertisements makes it a delight to use. If you don"t have large media files and just want quick and easy access to data uploading and downloading, then DropBoks is the site for you. Works well with both Internet Explorer and Firefox browsers.

DriveHQ.com
If you have concerns about how secure your data is, then DriveHQ is the place for free online data storage where backups are encrypted locally before they are uploaded and without your private encryption key, nobody can read your files. The basic service is free with up to 1GB of free storage and features include automatic synchronization of local folders with online folders, no restrictions to size of files and drag-and-drop functions. DriveHQ is also super fast at uploading data and files.

Xdrive.com
With it's reliable performance and simple file-transfer tools, Xdrive offers free online data back-ups of 5GB for your photos, music, videos and files. It's virtual-drive utility lets you treat your account as another PC storage device.

box.net
With up to 1GB of free storage for home users and a maximum file size of 10MB, box.net is an easy to use service. It's pleasant interface, strong file sharing features, drag and drop uploading functions makes it an attractive online storage facility. A further differentiating feature of box.net is it's widget, which you can put on your MySpace page or blog to allow visitors to upload and download files with a drag and a drop. box.net supports most browsers including Internet Explorer, Firefox and Safari.

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Free Online Books Cataloging Services - Your Very Own Virtual Library.

Being an avid reader and book lover, i must have collected hundreds of books over the years, with some dating back to more than 30 years ago. Overflowing my bookshelves, some are stashed, due to a lack of space, in the store room and i have lost count of both the quantity and type of books i actually had in my collection. It was with this in mind that i started looking for free online books cataloging services and it was a joy to discover that there are several free and comprehensive web-sites dedicated to helping book lovers gain order over their literary tomes, in essence, allowing you to have your very own virtual library for free.

Besides offering free books cataloging services, some of these sites also incorporates a social and networking element where one can share and connect with like-minded book lovers, thus further enhancing the experience for book lovers. The following are some of the more popular online books cataloging sites in recent years :

LibraryThing.com
With more than 19 million books cataloged and over 280,000 members, LibraryThing is currently the most prominent of the lot. Launched in Aug 2005, LibraryThing allows members to catalog their personal collections, keep reading lists and meet other readers with similar interests. Organizing your collection according to your preference, rating of books, tagging, mini-reviews and chatting with other members are some of the other functions available. Nifty tools like their blog widget can pull books in your catalog and bring them into your blog or site. It's intuitive interface together with their massive data base, as a result of their collaboration with Amazon, Library of Congress and over 30 other libraries, makes LibraryThing an awesome and amazing experience for book lovers. The service is free for cataloging of up to 200 books or you can pay just $10 for unlimited cataloging for one year.

Shelfari.com
Launched in Oct 2006, Shelfari is a book centered social media site which allows members to create virtual shelves for their books, join groups, give recommendations and generally connect with fellow book lovers. As the service is totally free with an unlimited amount of books cataloging allowed, the Seattle-based Shelfari is fast gaining popularity with book lovers.

aNobii.com
Hong Kong based aNobii, while a newcomer, has all the features that LibraryThing has and it's interface is just as intuitive and attractive. Other than allowing avid readers to create shelves to showcase their books and connect with others, aNobii also allows members to buy, trade, swap and lend the books they own. For every book that the member is willing to trade, she/he can set a price or a note to a willing participant. They can also enter details of the transaction such as to whom the book is lent to and when they want it back. Members can also purchase books online through Amazon.com. The service is totally free to members with no limit to the quantity of books cataloged.

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Google's Suite Of Free Utilities And Web Services.

Other than being an Internet search giant and offering e-mail services like Gmail, Google also provides an extensive range of free web services and utilities. From simple applications like Google Notebook to complex Google Maps, it's wide range of nifty offerings enhances the average user's web experience, all totally free and at no cost to the user.

Google Desktop
Just like having your own private little Google server, Google Desktop allows you to find all your information, whether it's on the web or stored on your computer, from one convenient location. Sophisticated and easy to use, Google desktop search is extremely fast, even on large and cluttered hard drives. Once installed, it sits in the background, going through your files and folders and indexes your incoming and outgoing email messages in addition to listening in on your instant messenger chats and browsing the Web right along with you. Just about anything you see and forget, the Google Desktop sees and memorizes for you, plus it operates in real time.

Google Spreadsheets & Docs
A free web-based word processing and spreadsheet program, Google Spreadsheets & Docs helps you to keep track of different versions of spreadsheet or word processor files sent over email. You can import your existing documents and spreadsheets, create new ones and edit them from anywhere. Needing just a Web browser, your documents are stored securely online and allows people you choose to update files from their home computers. A great tool for coordinating group homework assignments and even collaborating remotely with friends on a new business plan.

Google Notebook
A handy utility, Google Notebook allows you to clip and collect information as you browse the web without ever leaving your browser window. You can add clippings of text, images and links from web pages onto your notebook, drag-and drop notes to stay organized, create multiple notebooks and even share it with the world by publishing it. It is also accessible from any computer through your log-in account.

Google Picasa
Why spent hundreds of dollars for expensive graphics software when you can get a top-notch application like Google Picasa for free? This photo editing and sharing program allows you to find, organise, share, edit and add effects to your photos. Fast and easy, Picasa has a beautiful interface and is excellent for touching up photos, slide shows and wallpapers. Editing photos is a breeze and the sophistication of it's tools surpasses many pay-for graphics application.

Google Reader
Without any software to install, Google's web-based feed reader helps you to keep track of your favorite web sites and stay up to date with the latest news and blog content. It's built-in public page allows the sharing of interesting information with friends and family.

Google Talk
Fast, intuitive and fun to use, Google Talk is Google's instant communications service. Offering different ways to integrate real time communications into your online experience, the Google Talk Gadget lets you see who's online and send instant messages from your Google Personalized Homepage, without installing any software. By pasting a code, this same instant messaging capabilities can be also added to your web page or blog and by downloading the Talk Client, you can even make free PC-to-PC voice calls and transfer files to your friends. If you are using Gmail, all your contacts will be organize in the Talk contacts list together with archiving of your Talk chats.

Google Scholar
Dedicated to the search of scholarly literature, Google Scholar provides a simple way to search across many disciplines and sources from peer-reviewed papers, theses, books to research articles from academic publishers, universities and other centres of learning.

Google Earth
Putting the world's geographic information at your fingertips, Google Earth combines the power of Google Search with satellite imagery, maps, terrain and 3D buildings. Google Earth gives you
a wealth of imagery and astronomical information and allows you to explore exotic destinations like Maui and even the Milky Way. You can literally fly to your house by simply typing in an address, press Search and you'll zoom right in.

Google Maps and Street View
View maps, get driving directions or search for local businesses and services through Google Maps and with the latest launch of Street View, it's latest Map function, users can now "tour" various cities at street level. Street View allows users to check out a neighbourhood, match addresses to buildings and remotely visit a city. By clicking on directional arrows in the photographs, they can even move along and explore a street.

iGoogle - Personalized Home Page
Google offers the ability to create your very own free and personalized iGoogle page that brings together Google functionality and content from across the web on a single page, giving you at-a-glance access to key information. On this self-designed page, you can choose and organize content such as your latest Gmail messages, news headlines, stock quotes, weather forecasts and movie showtimes. A great and useful freebie to have.

Related Post : Free Online Book Cataloging Services

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Great Articles About Freebies In The Web.

Taking a break from my usual routine of posting on a particular freebie category, today's post highlights the excellent articles about freebies in the Web that i have come across and would like to share with readers. Some of these articles were used as research material for some of the posts in this blog and i hope that you will find the information in these articles just as useful :

- PC World's 101 Fantastic Freebies

- PC World's 15 Great Free Utilities You Never Heard Of

- PC Magazine's The Best Free Software

- Kylescove's Best of Free Software

- Digitalscrapbooking - Where To Find The Free Stuff

- Lifehacker's Where to Find iTunes Freebies In One Place

- Web Designer's Raiders Of The Lost Photo Clipart

- Freebies For Writers

- Bittbox's Tutorial on The Fastest Way To Find High Quality Freebie On The Web

Related Post : Tips For Downloading Freebies - When "Free" Isn't Really Free.

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Free Games Downloads.

With gaming becoming increasingly expensive because of monthly subscription charges, yearly fees, costly PC graphics cards and peripherals, and with new releases that can go for hundreds of dollars a pop, free games together with free music, movies and videos, is an essential home entertainment freebie. But surprisingly, my search for truly free gaming download sites was not an easy task. Most do not offer full-featured games downloads that are completely free and more often than not, you will find game demos and registration are usually required. Despite these, you can still get some good and free games downloads for your entertainment needs :

MiniClip.com
A personal favourite of my daughter, Miniclip.com is one of the largest online games site with hundreds of spyware-free arcade games, sports games, massive multiplayer games, action games, puzzle games, flash games and many more. An extremely popular site with free downloadable games that are actually fun, of high quality and easy to use. Their games archives include the full range of casual games to hard-core massive multiplayer games.

DownloadFreeGames.com
Needing no registration and with hundreds of ad-free, spyware-free games to download, this is a great site for free games. While most of the games are at the low end of the spectrum ( board, card and puzzle games), there are quite a few of fast-paced arcade-style games. However, not all of the downloadable games are full-featured versions with some of the "free version" downloads being time-limited demos.

Gametop.com
Another great games site with hundreds of PC and arcade games that are totally free to download but are ad-supported.

Fileplanet.com
While not all the games here are totally free, Fileplanet.com has one of the largest download archives of patches and demos. In addition, gamers can sort through downloadable videos of games in action, read reviews and previews of current and upcoming games. Registration is required and you can get free downloads of full-featured games like Far Cry.

Fileshack.com
FileShack.com runs an extremely fast, streamlined download library that hosts some of the largest downloads, with files 500MB and larger, of demos and patches. Registration is free and it has a wide range of games from Action, Strategy to RPG.

Worthplayingfiles.com
With a simple Google-like interface, WorthPlaying enables you to search for games by keyword. No registration is required and you can download free full featured games like Command and Conquer, demos and trailers. Games categories includes Action, Adventure, Racing, Simulation, and RPG.

Filefront.com
Simple and intuitive, FileFront's collection of the 50 newest downloads, listed in reverse-chronological order, are a quick way to find something new. Each download is tagged with an icon that identifies the type of file, for example, a demo, a map, a screen saver or a utility. Registration is required and you can get the latest files on the hottest PC and video games and browse thousands of files and videos uploaded by other members.

Related Post : Free Music Downloads & Streaming

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