So here’s a list of what I need to get my job done. I need event scheduling, instant messaging, file sharing and online storage, source control, writing, and screen sharing.

As nature would have it, the first thing I look at is cost. If the tool is free or has a low cost-to-value ratio, it’s a no-brainer for me. The next thing I consider is the maker, who made the product, what kind of history and user-base do they have, and do they give me a competitive advantage. I also like an open-source product, being a developer I like to dabble in what others have done; I’m a little curious. Lastly, I need something that lets me work online or offline with no degradation. After weighing all of this, I’ve compile a pretty comprehensive list of tools that not only I benefit from, but I think absolutely anyone can benefit from.

• Event scheduling – I use GCalendar. The cost-to-value ratio is great; it’s free. And it allows me to schedule events, share them, and send invites, plus it’s accessible anywhere at anytime with its integrated desktop and web interface. The greatest feature in my opinion is the mobile sync which allows two-way syncing between your calendar and mobile phone.
• Instant messaging – Yahoo messenger is my choice. Like GCal, it’s free. It also offers a web interface, and desktop and mobile package. This tool let’s me stay in touch with anyone without raising my phone bill. It’s quick, easy, and offers a lot of value in collaborating with clients and colleagues.
• File sharing and online storage – NomaDesk is my favorite product for many reasons. First is ease of use. I simply navigated to www.NomaDesk.com and downloaded, installed, and setup up everything within a matter of minutes. I needed something other products couldn’t provide in one package. First, security, they provide password protection and 256-bit encryption. A feature called Theftguard will erase the data from your computer while in the hands of the thief. Reliability is part of the package in that NomaDesk instantly backs up files the moment they’re changed. It also syncs that file to every computer in your virtual network so everyone works off the most recent copy. All these features increase my productivity tenfold. And the cost-to-value ratio is phenomenal. Plans start at $15 a month with unlimited storage. Online or offline, the integrated desktop client or web interface will cover you either way, and still allow you to collaborate and stay in sync.
• Source control – Subversion. It’s open-source, it’s free, and it’s a great product. I need a reliable and quick repository for keeping my source files safe. Subversion does that with great versioning and ease of use.
• Writing – GoogleDocs is a great writing tool. It’s fast, friendly, and like other google products, it’s free. I’m tired of paying enormous licensing fees to Microsoft. GDocs provides a great product at an unbeatable value, and it does everything you need it to do.
• Screen sharing – Since I collaborate from all over the place, with people from all over the world, I need a solid screen sharing device so clients can get a good picture of what’s going on. WebExNow offers everything you need to collaborate remotely and at a reasonable price. They have some unique price plans as well, like the pay-as-you-go plan which makes using it a bit easier on your wallet.

When collaborating I’m typically doing it from some remote site, and I’m not always online, so I need tools that offer the most in what they do. These tools provide the features my team and I need to stay productive.

FTP (File Transfer Protocol) is widely used to transfer large files between computers– both by consumers and in a business environment. By using FTP, one party needs to upload a file to a server and the second party then needs to access this same fileserver to download the document. FTP is a well known tool everybody uses for exchanging large files through the Internet.

In using FTP to share large files and collaborate on projects, you are immediately confronted with the technical limitations and boundaries of this tool:

·  It’s hard to set up an ftp site for filesharing

·  Once you have set up your ftp server to share files, you are confronted with firewall issues, which make you or the people you share files with, can’t always access the shared files.

·  It’s hard to manage access to the ftp server, especially if more than 5 people are connected to the server

·  You have to be connected to the internet to access your shared files

FTP is a great tool to get files from one computer to another, which is a perfect solution if you want to transfer a batch of files. You won’t directly view or edit a file on another computer through FTP.

File sharing with your business partners, customers, peers or friends has become easier with the online virtual file serverby NomaDesk. The superiority of this virtual collaboration software lies in its features. This Virtual Fileserver allows you to share, edit, and synchronize business documents even when you are not connected to the internet. You can share files with a team of up to twenty five people anywhere, at any time.

FTP file share with NomaDesk

With NomaDesk at your disposal, geographical boundaries can no longer disrupt your workflow. Unlike other FTP server software, NomaDesk doesn’t require further investment in an additional HTTP-server or database configuration. These are automatically included in NomaDesk making it more user friendly and cost effective.

NomaDesk stores all your data on its Virtual Fileserver (VFN).

You and your team can access the NomaDesk workspace across different time zones and geographical locations. With this replacement for complicated FTP solutions, there is no need to connect to a corporate network to share business files.  If you need remote desktop file share NomaDesk saves the documents in your machines hard drive.

User Friendly FTP File Sharing Software

NomaDesk is the most efficient FTP File Sharing Software and is extremely user-friendly.

This is because it allows you to use a simple web browser like Internet Explorer. It seamlessly integrates into Internet Explorer. The NomaDesk workspace appears as a Windows® drive.

Safeguard your files against creating a congested network or a hard disk crash

NomaDesk makes Teamwork faster, safer and effortless. No files will ever be at risk.

NomaDesk is superior to other Collaboration Software with features like theftguardintegrated into the online software for data protection. Data integrity and high end security features are part of the Nomadesk Virtual Fileserver Network. (VFN)

Want to experience free and secure file sharing with NomaDesk?

Visit the website www.nomadesk.com and download it now.

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You can download a free trial on www.nomadesk.com - highly recommended.

A great Microsoft Office replacement

OpenOffice is a free fully fledged office application suite, complete with a word processor, spreadsheet, database and presentation graphics program.

OpenOffice is a suite of office software, including a fully featured word processor, spreadsheet, database and presentation graphics program that are all compatible with Microsoft Office, along with an HTML editor, a maths and a drawing package. You can also export as the free open office document format, which is compatible with other office suites such as Lotus Symphony Suite.

And best of all, it’s free. You can download it at the Open Office Website

Openoffice is a complete office suite for everyday use, it’s completely free and will give you all the tool you need to do almost anything you need, it’s divided into various programs:

Calc: a spreadsheet like Microsoft Excel… with the possibility to write spreadsheet as a PDF.

Writer: the Word processor similar to Microsoft Word and even has almost all the functions word has.

Impress: It’s the counterpart of Microsoft Powerpoint.

Base: the brother of Access, a database.

Math: mathematical tool used to create formulae, You can use this program to embed them in other documents like the one created with Writer (the word processor of the suite) or you can export everything to PDF for better compatibility.

Draw: a vectorial program