RT @billhandy – Free Software Every (PR) Student Should Have [link to post]

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RT @billhandy Free Software Every (PR) Student Should Have [link to post]

– Posted using Chat Catcher

A few additions and notes:

Online file backup, preferably automatic:
1) Mozy – free 2 GB of automatic backup (no one wants to lose their term paper the day before it’s due.. unless the paper really sucks.) Backup all docs, photos, etc.
2) SugarSync – free 45 day trial of 10 GB, automatically syncs multiple PCs, handheld devices, etc. You can access your files on an iPhone, Blackberry, etc. Not free after 45 days, but still pretty sweet. Also includes online photo galleries, file management (with an online editor, etc.).
3) Google Docs (mentioned above)- good for group projects to edit files simultaneously, but I really prefer my files primarily offline (Yes, even Google can– and has– had outages.) Picasa is a decent free photo backup.
4) Windows Live– Windows Live Photo Gallery offers free photo backup of 500 photos per month. They also have SkyDrive to backup online documents. And, their latest efforts are an online “version” of Windows– sort of.

Offline back up–
Sometimes the internet fails. Backup your crap online, such as with the free Mozy, but also have some sort of local back up (CD, external hard drive, flash drive, etc.). I’ve had cloud computing files become either corrupt, inaccessible, or lost due to provider outages. Not that often, but happens– better to be over-prepared.

Offline E-mail Backup-
1) Thunderbird, Outlook, etc.– it’s always good to keep a local backup of your e-mail. Though rare, even Gmail account s have been permanently and completely lost. Losing years of e-mail blows.

Portable offline apps–
1) Sometimes you’re stranded without internet (or, at least, fast internet). Portable flash drive apps are handy. There are some that are word processors (including portable Open Office), some for web development (NVU software, a handy skill to have), some for basic image editing (GIMP). PortableApps .com and others are great resources. While you’re at it, back up some of your main files on a flash drive. You can even run a small operating system from your flash drive (DSL, Damn Small Linux) or “take your home desktop with you” with MojoPac (free trial, not sure if the full version is free anymore. This helps to run your applications in protected computer labs, etc. that don’t allow local installs).

2) If your line of work is in crisis communications or event planning, consider keeping a list of “crisis messages” on your (password protected) flash drive. That way, if you have to cancel an event, class, or some dire tragedy ensues, you have messaging that is already approved by your boss(es) that can be immediately sent to the media.

The only thing I’d add is a solution to the music needs of those dreaded all nighters. The solution, of course, is either Pandora or Last.fm. I prefer the later.