Category Archives: File Management

ZeroPC Makes Cloud Information Management Easier

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Posted in Android, Document management, Evernote, File Management, iPad, Mobile and tagged , , , , ,

I am starting to see more about cloud desktops: virtual operating systems that you access through your browser that look like your normal desktop computer.  ZeroPC caught my eye because it offers some of the information management tools that I think are important for lawyers managing information with cloud-based services.  It has the added benefit of additional tools although it is not rich enough a desktop OS for a lawyer to rely on.

ZeroPC does an excellent job of relying on your pre-existing accounts and passwords.  When I signed up to ZeroPC, it used my Google account – which has a very strong password – rather than creating a separate username and password.  I prefer cloud services that employ this method because I trust mature cloud providers over more recent ones.

The service uses your Web browser and I was able to use it with Chrome on both my desktop and tablet.  You are presented with a Windows-like desktop when you access your account.  Unlike remote connection resources like GotoMyPC, where you are accessing your own computer, this is a virtual desktop running on a cloud server.  There is a button where the Windows Start button would be and icons on the desktop.  This is a cloud service, though and it enables you to manage your information across multiple services.

One feature that I like is the storage management.  You can connect your ZeroPC account to cloud file synchronization services like Dropbox, Box, Sugarsync, and Google Drive.  Once connected, you can move files from one account to another from within the ZeroPC interface.  I recently looked at another site that does the same thing.

Storage Dashboard in ZeroPC shows all of your accounts. It aggregates information to show you available space over all of your linked accounts, as well as used/unused space in each individual service.

ZeroPC does a good job treating multiple resources as one.  You can attach multiple e-mail accounts in the same way., creating a unified inbox.  It will auto-configure Google and Yahoo! mail accounts but you can add other IMAP mail servers as well.

It also provides another feature that I think can be powerful:  cloud search.  There is a search box at the bottom of the screen, on your virtual task bar.  When you search for files with the box, it searches across all of your connected cloud services for results.  This is not new – I’ve discussed both Cue Up and CloudMagic before – but ZeroPC has done a good job of providing it as part of a much more functional environment.

Search results from Evernote, Google Drive, and other cloud storage using an Android tablet and Chrome Web browser

This approach to a cloud desktop would seem to be useful for someone who had a variety of cloud-based resources that could be connected using ZeroPC.  It is distinctive because they not only provide the connections but a familiar interface in which to use them.  It appears to be based on a Linux operating system, and comes with a simple text editor, image tools, and other applications, like the tablet-familiar ThinkOffice productivity suite.  If you want to view a document, you can open it using the Google Docs viewer, for example.  There is even a Web browser on the desktop so that you do not need to open a second window or tab.

There is a free version so you would have to watch how much information you were transferring or storing in the extra space ZeroPC offers.  Paid versions offer additional benefits and features, mostly in the areas of bandwidth and storage space.

Saving Your Research

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Posted in Add-on, File Management, Google Chrome, Research Management, Research Notebooks and tagged ,

Evernote offers a great way to clip information while you are in the midst of a research project.  Microsoft OneNote can also help you to get organized.  A new extension for Google Chrome users enables saving of elements of a Web page or the page itself directly to Google Drive.  It’s called Save to Google Drive, naturally.

If you haven’t already committed to another research tool, and are heavy into the Google-verse, this seems like a great option.  Since Drive synchronizes to your computer, it means you can easily open up the content when you’re offline.  It has less of the organizational functionality of the research notebooks but that may be a boon for people who aren’t used to tagging or adding metadata to content.

Better File Management on Windows

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Posted in File Management, Windows and tagged ,

MakeUseOf had an interesting, brief review of an automation utility for Windows called Hygeia.  They compare it to IFTTT.  Some of its functionality sounds like Auto Hotkey, which you can use to create small macros to automate simple processes.

Hygeia caught my eye because of the ability to set up rules to manage files.  You can set up folder watchers, and when something happens in a folder, it can trigger an event.  It can also keep track of when you rename or delete a file.  On its own, I can see some minor file management benefits but if it was paired with a cloud file sync service, like Dropbox or Box, you might be able to do things like grab a file that is synchronized down to your computer and place it in a folder that isn’t synchronized.  This might be useful if you’re wary about placing all of your files in the cloud, but occasionally use Dropbox to upload a file remotely and have it sent back to your computer.

LogMeIn Adds File Storage Sync Called Cubby

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Posted in Apps, File Management and tagged ,

Techcrunch has an interesting review of LogMeIn’s new file sync service, Cubby.  I haven’t seen the service yet but it looks like most of the others, right down to the free 5 GB starter storage.   One big difference is that, while you can sync from your computer to the cloud, you can also synchronize just between your own computers.  This cloudless option is reminiscent of Crashplan’s backup, where you can either use the cloud or rely on your own hardware.

Cubby is still in beta but it would definitely be worth taking a look.  There is an iOS and an Android app for mobile access.

Managing Cloud Files in the Cloud

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Posted in File Management and tagged , , ,

Otixo is a way to create seamless file sharing between multiple cloud accounts.  If you are using cloud services to manage your files, you may also have created more than one account with one service.  Otixo attempts to provide a single management layer for those accounts.  The best known – Dropbox, Box.com, Sugarsync, Microsoft’s Skydrive, Google’s Drive – are just the tip of the iceberg.  The latter two are free with your broader Live.com or Google.com accounts.

My personal experience is to use one account for personal files that are synchronized between my home PC and any mobile devices I use.  A second account is used to synchronize specific, non-personnel content from my work computer to the cloud.  In this way, using one service or the other, I can keep a cloud copy of work I have in progress or that is already completed.

I tried out Otixo to see how it worked. It was easy to add multiple cloud accounts and, once created, I could shift a file from one to the other without having to first download it to my computer.  This is not something I do often but I can see how it would be useful.  It means you’re making a copy of a file but – if you’re on an unencrypted mobile device, for example – it means that copy is not leaving an encrypted environment.

Otixo creates a single management dashboard for your cloud file synchronization content.

Otixo has has the ability to share resources from more than one account in what they call a space.  Say, for example, that I was working with colleagues and some of my files were in Google Drive and others were on Dropbox.  Rather than having to move those files to a single resource, I can create a single resource that can incorporate the content from the original sources.  The activities function shows the latest activity the space.  You can select collaborators with which to share information.

My use of cloud storage is relatively limited to providing a backup point of access.  Otixo’s tools aren’t really relevant in that environment since I’m not moving content around.  Another possible  use would be if you are changing from one service to another and just want to drag your content over.  Otixo charges for bandwidth used but free accounts start with 2 GB of transfers a month.  If you are managing your information across multiple cloud file services, it could fill a management need in simplifying your access.

GMail Search with Your Personalized Web Search

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Posted in Document management, File Management, GMail, Google, Search and tagged , ,

You can join the GMail Search field trial to give this one a try.  Google will now return content within your Google Mail and Google Drive accounts to the right of your Web search results.  This is similar functionality to that of the cloud search tools like Cue and Cloudmagic.

If you have turned off search personalization, you need to turn it back on.  You should also consider using an ad block extension, since the personalized search results will appear below the ads on the right side of the screen.

Google Mail and Google Drive results for “cloud computing” from my personal accounts.

I am still playing around with this function.  To be honest, I don’t have that much in my Mail or Drive accounts, since I tend to use other cloud storage services.  I’m going to beef up my content in the Drive to see if I see any additional results.  This will help me determine whether it’s problems with the personalized search or lack of content that is resulting in the very uneven appearance of Mail and Documents items.

On a somewhat unrelated note, I noticed when I was testing this feature out that Google is defaulting to returning Google Drive matches if you type a search that includes documents in it.  This actually suits me better, since it means I can activate a Drive search just when I want it, rather than when Google thinks there’s something that matches.

Google Search returns matches from Google Drive at the head of your Web search results if you end your query with “documents”

Save Attachments to Google Drive with Chrome Extension

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Posted in Add-on, Document management, File Management, GMail, Google Chrome and tagged ,

A lot of things going on in the Googleverse that can improve your Google Mail experience.  The oldest in the backlog of items I’ve been meaning to write about is an extension that allows you save e-mail attachments directly to your Google Drive account.  You have always been able to View or Download to your local machine.  If you are using your Drive space, though, or want to have the attachment accessible for editing in Google Docs, this can be a handy shortcut.