AOL xDrive with Adobe AIR
I've been an AOL xDrive user for some time now and have a tendency to try out all the latest online file storage concepts as they hit the web. Lately I've been so caught up in my web travels and testing out new options that I hadn't visited my xDrive account lately. For large email attachments the simplicity of Senduit has been a easy and quick choice to make, and uploading Powerpoint presentations into a hosted Google Docs file has been almost painless. The downside to Senduit is that the uploaded file and it's generated link "expire" in a short period of time and people who backtrack through emails and want to download the file again get an error.
So to have a more permanent link solution without filling up people's inboxes with multi-megabyte files, I revisited my old tried and true AOL xDrive account the other day. Much to my surprise and delight, there is now an xDrive Desktop Lite offering that sports an Adobe AIR interface. I'm still in the process of testing it out and am even using the VMware ThinApp SDK to see if I can create a portable, install-free version of the AOLxDDL application (I'll update you on how that goes later - I still don't have the Cisco VPN client done yet...). Anyway, the AOL xDrive service gives you the ability to upload EXE files, MSI installation packages, firmware updates, bios utilities, and all those other types of files you seem to need access to on an irregular basis. Once there the files can be private or shared with others. For ease of use you can group files together into a folder and share the whole folder instead having to mark and share each individual file. Also, for those files you need to save and you're offsite with limited bandwidth, xDrive lets you save files directly from the web to the xDrive storage, avoiding having to download to your PC.
I know, this has been another one of my "storage as a service" soapbox speeches, but one that should be taken into consideration. I also read over on LifeHacker.com that Dropbox, another online file storage offering, is now coming out of Beta so I'll be checking that one out soon as well.
What do you think about online storage and what's your favorite?
Thursday, September 11, 2008
Monday, September 8, 2008
Hulu - the new TiVo?
Hulu may be my new replacement for cable
So the other day my sister made the comment that I'm always posting really geeky, tech-laden stuff that only appeals to tech oriented people and she really never "gets" most of what I post. Ok, so yeah I revel in the deeply technical stuff but have taken Sis's comment to heart and will try to occasionally write about something that has appeal outside of the datacenter. My latest obsession is with Hulu.com. Hulu was founded in March 2007 by NBC Universal and News Corp and is an online video service that offers hit TV shows, movies and clips, and other online destination sites — all for free, anytime in the U.S. Now for some, that's a big rub 'cause Hulu is blocked for viewers outside of the U.S. right now. For all of us good 'ol red blooded Americans though - not an issue so read on.
According to the Hulu.com website, "Hulu brings together a large selection of videos from more than 90 content providers, including FOX, NBC Universal, MGM, Sony Pictures Television, Warner Bros. and more. Users can choose from more than 850 current primetime TV hits such as The Simpsons, The Daily Show with Jon Stewart and The Office the morning after they air, classics like Buffy the Vampire Slayer, The A Team, Airwolf and Married...with Children, movies like Men in Black, Ghostbusters, and The Karate Kid, and clips from Saturday Night Live, Friends and other popular TV shows and movies. "
So why is this my new obsession? I don't have to remember to set the DVR to record a new show or episode that I wanted to catch while I was playing dad taxi to my three lovely children (which I seem to be doing more as they grow older). No, now if I miss Burn Notice or The Office, I can just jump on over to Hulu and watch whenever I get a chance. It's also cool to be able to go back and find some of those old favorite episodes of Married with Children and Miami Vice. This Hulu.com thing has brought me a new problem though - coming up with a better way to stream the video from my PC to the TV. I'll post on that soon as the quest for that solution unfolds.
So, check out Hulu.com and let me know what you think about the content.
So the other day my sister made the comment that I'm always posting really geeky, tech-laden stuff that only appeals to tech oriented people and she really never "gets" most of what I post. Ok, so yeah I revel in the deeply technical stuff but have taken Sis's comment to heart and will try to occasionally write about something that has appeal outside of the datacenter. My latest obsession is with Hulu.com. Hulu was founded in March 2007 by NBC Universal and News Corp and is an online video service that offers hit TV shows, movies and clips, and other online destination sites — all for free, anytime in the U.S. Now for some, that's a big rub 'cause Hulu is blocked for viewers outside of the U.S. right now. For all of us good 'ol red blooded Americans though - not an issue so read on.
According to the Hulu.com website, "Hulu brings together a large selection of videos from more than 90 content providers, including FOX, NBC Universal, MGM, Sony Pictures Television, Warner Bros. and more. Users can choose from more than 850 current primetime TV hits such as The Simpsons, The Daily Show with Jon Stewart and The Office the morning after they air, classics like Buffy the Vampire Slayer, The A Team, Airwolf and Married...with Children, movies like Men in Black, Ghostbusters, and The Karate Kid, and clips from Saturday Night Live, Friends and other popular TV shows and movies. "
So why is this my new obsession? I don't have to remember to set the DVR to record a new show or episode that I wanted to catch while I was playing dad taxi to my three lovely children (which I seem to be doing more as they grow older). No, now if I miss Burn Notice or The Office, I can just jump on over to Hulu and watch whenever I get a chance. It's also cool to be able to go back and find some of those old favorite episodes of Married with Children and Miami Vice. This Hulu.com thing has brought me a new problem though - coming up with a better way to stream the video from my PC to the TV. I'll post on that soon as the quest for that solution unfolds.
So, check out Hulu.com and let me know what you think about the content.
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