Web Tools for File Sharing and Conversion
posted in technology, web 2.0 |Nowadays, users have web-based options in situations where files need to be transferred. File sharing services abound; the problem becomes selecting from among them. When you look at these services a little deeper, you’ll find that they vary quite a bit in what they offer–from free, basic, and/or unsecured to premium, secure, and/or customizable services. Some also have simpler, more intuitive interfaces and require fewer steps to be performed in order to share files.
As with anything else, the service you choose to use will depend on your needs. Fortunately, many people have already offered opinions and insight regarding the morass of offerings. Below, I have listed a few posts that offer recommendations; then I list my own preferences.
File Sharing Posts:
ExtremeTech’s 5 New Ways to Share Files–ExtremeTech compares Filecrunch, Pando, Tubes, Windows Live Folders, and YouSendIt.
MakeUseOf.com’s File Sharing Round-up: The Only Ones You need–MakeUseOf.com highlights five file sharing tools (Drop.io, Adobe Share, AllPeers, Pownce, and DivShare) that are evaluated in terms of features such as ease of upload/organize/access, anonymity, and browser integration.
Mashable’s Online Storage: 80+ File Hosting and Sharing Sites–Mashable proffers a list of more than 80 of the leading file hosting services with brief annotations. The list of services are separated into the following service categories: online backup, sending services, and storing/sharing services.
Master New Media: How to Send Large Files without Email: Best Services Online–Robin Good’s three pages worth of services and two pages of comments with additional services should provide enough file sharing options for anyone. The article nicely delineates what each of these file sharing services offers and what security features are available (compression, encryption, secure site). Also, see the more recent Master New Media article detailing Eatlime’s file sharing services entitled How To Send Very Large Files Across The Web: Eatlime Does It.
File Sharing Tools I Like and Use:
Eatlime: It was the “Eatlime Does it” article that got me to revisit the file sharing tools that are available out there, and I have to agree that Eatlime does have a lot to offer. A few quick points about EatLime:
- Free file sharing of large files up to 1GB in size
- Numerous file formats supported
- Ability to add and send multiple files at once
- Sharelink enables sharing data even as files are downloading
For the price (free), EatLime seems to have a lot to offer filesharers.
Adobe SHARE (beta): Another service that I like to use for file sharing/hosting is Adobe SHARE. SHARE launched in 2007 and remains in beta. The flash-based SHARE offers a superb visual and organizational interface (for those who don’t need the visuals or the diversity of file formats, then Google Docs performs many of the same functions). In a SHARE account, users can preview multiple file types (PDF, images, SWF, Open Office, Microsoft Office) before downloading them. The My Library section keeps track of all the files that a user has uploaded and shared.
In order to share with Adobe SHARE, you do need to register with Adobe and receive an Adobe ID. Registering entitles you to 1GB storage, and there is no limit placed on the size of any single file. Sharing privileges for uploaded files may be set to either open access or limited access (selecting limited sets access to only those you specify, but those users must also have an Adobe ID in order to view the shared files).
File Conversion
Now say that the problem is not how to get to the file, but how to get the file to be useful (i.e., in a format that is accessible for the computer you’re on and the software it has). The following online file conversion tools might come in handy when you find yourself faced with this situation; none of the tools mentioned require downloading and installing software on your computer.
KoolWIRE: “free file conversion service via e-mail.” Get files converted to a different file format by sending them as attachments to a specified e-mail address (e.g., from Word, PowerPoint, Excel to PDF: pdf@koolwire.com; from PDF to Word: doc@koolwire.com; from WAV to MP3: mp3@koolwire.com; from MP3 to WAV: wav@koolwire.com). Once Koolwire receives the file, they convert it and send it back to the sender.
YouConvertIt: Enables converting many media file formats (text, image, audio, and video). To convert a file, users type in their e-mail address, browse to the file to be converted, choose the resulting format, and click “convert.” The file is converted and a link to download the converted content is emailed. Currently, there doesn’t appear to be a limit on how large the uploaded file can be. YouConvertIt also has file sharing service capabilities like those tools mentioned above; just enter the recipient’s email address and you can upload the file to share without converting it.
Zamzar: Converts Word files to PDFs, Works files to Word, etc. Zamzar handles text, image, audio, and video file format conversions. The steps involved for conversion are similar to YouConvertIt. Multiple account options exist: free, basic, pro, and business. The maximum file size that can be uploaded for the free account is 100MB. Zamzar was listed in the WebApps category as one of PC Magazine’s Top 100 Undiscovered Websites.
