Useful Web Applications

When my parents were in school, there was no such thing as the internet. (At least as we know it today.) Things were a little less complex, and they only had to worry about checking their answering machine (if that), and maybe keeping track of the mail for correspondence.

Today, we have so many ways of communicating and tracking our data. Being a graphic designer, not only am I keeping up with tons of email and voice messages, but I need a place to keep my files and have them available to me wherever I may be. 

A few of my favorite web applications for keeping up with everything includes:

Gmail

My email client of choice is www.gmail.com. A great search function, tons of storage, and the ability to filter and tag my mail makes it easy to find exactly what I need. I can also access it from anywhere I have internet access --- my phone, laptop, or even a coffee shop computer. If I need to download messages I can always set it up to be accessed from Apple's Mail.app client. 

Dropbox

At www.getdropbox.com, you have instant access to 2GB of data storage that syncs across multiple computers and also gives you web access, once again. It's super easy to set up and get started. I love this service because I can upload papers, edit them at home, and they are synced back to the web where I can grab them in the library and print away. Instead of worrying about where I put my flash drive, as long as I sync my files to Dropbox I have them everywhere I go. 

Remember The Milk

I'm a big fan of organization and making sure that I know what I need to do next. I still have many kinks and issues to work out as far as my own organizational plan goes, but Remember the Milk is a great "task management" application. I can add tasks, sort them by days, reschedule them, and even get a text message on my phone when a certain task is due. This helps me ensure that I'll never overlook something important. 

These applications are only a few that I use daily. Of course, you must use them efficiently to really be of help to you, but once you get the hang of them they are great.