Written by lifehacker

Working with the same files in multiple places used to be a hassle. You’d have to make sure to bring the file with you, email it to yourself, or save it in a place you could get to it later. Now, there are a number of online file storage and syncing services that will make your data available on as many computers as you like. Here’s a look at five of the best of those services.

Earlier in the week, we asked you which services you used to store your files online, or to at least make your data available so you could get at it anywhere you went. You responded with tons of great suggestions, and while we expected you to highlight Dropbox, we knew it isn’t the only service out there that you use. Here’s a look at the top five, based on your nominations.

Dropbox

Dropbox is clearly the juggernaut of the file storage and syncing service. Its combination of 2GB of free storage just for signing up and huge bonuses for referring friends to sign up as well makes for an attractive and useful file syncing service that gets the job done and encourages you to spread the word about it. Dropbox will deliver your files to you on your Mac, Windows, or Linux system or your BlackBerry, iOS, or Android device with little hassle, and the service offers public and photo folders you can use to store and share galleries or other files with select individuals you share them with or with the world. Dropbox is also host to a wealth of third-party plug-ins and services that integrate with it to extend its features (thanks to its wide open API), and has great LAN support so you can change your files on one computer on your home network and have it instantly on another.

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Box.net

Box.net starts you off with 5GB for free. Install the Box Sync app to sync your files with the web, and install the mobile apps to get access to your files on your iOS device, Android device, Blackberry, Touchpad, or Playbook. Otherwise, you can upload your files to your Box.net account and access them via the web. Download them whenever you like, or use the service as a replacement for (or supplement to) other cloud-based services like Google Apps. Box.net combines the best things about a file syncing service with the best things about a web-based productivity suite.

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Windows Live SkyDrive

Windows Live SkyDrive starts you out with 25GB for free (and allows you to sync 5GB), and with Live Mesh you can sync your local files and folders with your SkyDrive account. If you have a Windows Live account, you already have a SkyDrive account that you can make use of. SkyDrive is especially useful for Windows users, who can configure it to automatically sync any folder on their system (like your My Documents folder, for example) to the cloud for safe keeping, or automatically upload any Microsoft Office documents you create. You can also use SkyDrive and Live Mesh as a remote access utilty, so you can get to files even if they’re not being synced.

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SugarSync

SugarSync is probably Dropbox’s leading competition. The service gives you 5GB for free. The service works just as well (if not better) than Dropbox, and will sync your files and folders from your desktop to the cloud with ease. You can access your data on the go via the web or on your mobile device with the SugarSync apps for iOS, Android, Blackberry, Windows Mobile, and even Symbian devices. SugarSync even aggressively keeps revision histories of your files so you can get old versions of files you may have accidentally changed. SugarSync also makes it very easy to stream music, video, or other media from your account on the web or other devices so you can enjoy it anywhere you go. SugarSync also gives you more control over your files on the web, allows you to open and edit files directly, or password protect individual files or folders.

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SpiderOak

Spideroak is probably one of the most versatile and flexible file syncing and storage solutions available. The service gets you started with 2GB of space, and then puts it to the test by allowing you to sync not only your desktop, but files on your mobile device (not just access via your mobile device, but sync from your device as well), even files on network shares and external hard drives. Refer your friends, and you get an incredible 1GB referral each, which is more than any of the other services offer. Connect SpiderOak with your Mac, Windows, or Linux system, and download the mobile apps for your iOS or Android device, and leave the rest to the service. SpiderOak also keeps revision histories, and metadata for all of your files so you can see when they were created, uploaded, and modified.

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Honorable mentions this week go out toWuala, LaCie’s file sync and storage service available for Mac, Windows, Linux, and mobile devices. Free users get 2GB of storage. Also among the runners up isMinus, a service that used to be a simple image host (and most of its users still use it that way), but has grown to a full-fledged drag-and-drop file storage and sharing service that’s completely free and gives its users 10GB of storage to play with.

Have something to say about one of the competitors? Did your favorite miss the cut and you want to tell the world about it? Let’s hear it in the comments below.

Bonus:This has been making the rounds but I think it’s great 🙂 If you don’t know the connection between these two, well, then you weren’t around in the 80s 🙂

Written by zonealarm

Source

This week, many Facebook users are being affected by a coordinated spam attack that is littering newsfeeds and profiles with violent and pornographic images. Though this most recent breach has prompted an outcry (due to the severely disturbing images), these spam attacks are not new or unusual. With millions of active users, Facebook has become a popular target forcybercriminals intent on doing some damage through spamming, phishing, socialbots, etc. In fact, more than 20 percent of newsfeed links currently open viruses or imposter sites. And though Facebook and social media platforms do try to safeguard users’ profiles, hackers continue to attack the system and are actively coming up with new schemes.

But there’s no need to delete your account. Luckily, there is a powerful defense against social media hackers: you. Because many of these malicious actions require your participation to become active, educating yourself is the best way to fight Facebook hackers. Here are our tips to protect your profile.

Don’t click on suspicious links: Spammers will attempt to flood your newsfeed with links encouraging you to click for special offers, games, or even apps that don’t exist (one popular scam advertised a “dislike” button you could download). Carefully consider what you click on. Note that any link that takes you away from the Facebook site and requests personal information is likely illegitimate.

Don’t accept unknown friend requests: Only add people you actually know. Socialbots (malware that mimics humans on social sites) will create fake profiles and request friendship to gain access to your info. It’s best to stick to contacts you know are legitimate.

Never paste lines of code into your browser bars: No matter how convenient it may seem, don’t copy/paste code into your browser. This is often a ploy that gives hackers power to distribute malware (this is the technique the most recent scam used). Instead, type in the URL address of any site you intend to access. Make sure you have the most up-to-date version of your browser, too. Also beware of popups or requests to install programs such as video viewers.

Police your friends: If you receive suspicious or uncharacteristic messages from your contacts, such as a “sexy photos” post from your mom, verify that they actually sent it. Don’t click the link; report it instead.

Turn on https:// browsing on your Facebook settings: This setting limits the content you can see, but it will protect you against spammers. Go to Account Settings, click on Security, then enable Secure Browsing.

Download Facebook security software: You should already have a full security suite installed and updated (firewall and anti-virus), but you should also protect yourself with additional software. ZoneAlarm’s SocialGuard protects you on Facebook by notifying you if your account gets hacked and alerting you to malicious links—best of all, the trial is free (download here).

Don’t post personal info: Never post financial or personal information that can be used for identity theft or fraud. You can also decrease your chances of being hacked by using separate usernames and passwords for all your social media accounts.

 

Bonus: Where Angry Birds came from…. the big bird + bert is fairly damming I must say. :-p

I love this.
Love, love, LOVE it.

(shared on Twitter by @Trillian_01)

Written by tinybuddha

by Lori Deschene

“Your work is to discover your world and then with all your heart give yourself to it.” ~Buddha

“Big flud strikes Revere!”

That was the headline of the newspaper I made with my sister when I was six. I hadn’t yet honed my skills as an editor, but I knew a good fake story when I heard it.

Eight years later, while wading through my anger toward several people who’d hurt me, I wrote a short book called The Line of the Virtues about the grey area between good and bad. An older coworker at my afterschool job asked, “Are all kids this deep these days?”

Somewhere between six and fourteen, I’d found my calling: I was a writer who liked to tackle weighty topics. Though I took a lot of detours between realizing that and pursuing writing as a career, ultimately, it brought me to Tiny Buddha—my sweet spot for personal and professional fulfillment.

Looking back, I realize I took those detours solely because I was scared. I thought writing was one of those careers that only a few people get to do. I figured it was better not to try than to try and fail, because then I could pretend I wasn’t writing by choice.

I remember the first time I realized I was hiding from my passion. I was 26 years old, and part of a marketing team that was walking across the country to promote a number of fitness products.

A coworker and I got into a ridiculous fight over the meaning of a word. She’d formerly worked as a comedy writer for radio shows—and, for the record, she was right about the meaning. Defending her stance, she shouted, “Don’t you think I’d know? I’m a writer!”

I responded, “Me too!”

Then she argued, “Not really!” Further drilling the point home, she continued, “Just wait ‘til you move to San Francisco and call yourself a writer there. Your MySpace blogs just aren’t going to cut it!”

Since I’d held nothing back from Tom, this hurt—until later when I realized she’d given me a gift. She’d smothered me with the truth, and I had no choice but to acknowledge she was right yet again.

I got a writing job the second day after I arrived in San Francisco. I was writing about senior care, a topic that interested me about as much as the mating habits of ants. But it was a decision to step onto a new path, knowing full well that, at that point, I had no idea where I was going.

This is true for all of us whenever we start doing something new. There are never any guarantees about where it will lead, and that can be a scary thing, particularly if your current situation allows you to comfortably meet your responsibilities.

There simply isn’t a one-size-fits-all formula for discovering what you’re passionate about and then transitioning to a new career. That being said, I’ve learned a few things about doing what you love for work—and I’ve learned that a lot of what I previously believed simply is not true.

MYTH #1: DO WHAT YOU LOVE AND THE MONEY WILL FOLLOW.

If there’s one thing that holds us back from pursuing our passions, it’s the fear of not being able to take care of ourselves (and our families, if we have them). It’s what keeps us in unfulfilling jobs: the guaranteed paycheck that’s enough (or, even harder to walk away from, more than enough).

But this idea ignores the fact that succeeding in anything requires a great deal of work and uncertainty. Risk is always part of the equation. For everyone who has made a good living doing something they enjoy, there are countless other equally talented people who were not able to do it.

This doesn’t mean we shouldn’t pursue our passions; it just means we’re more apt to feel satisfied doing it if we define success in terms beyond financial gain. That might mean we need to live on less. It might mean we need to balance our passion with other work.

Of course, you may create a situation where your passion becomes lucrative; if it wasn’t your strongest motivation, it will be icing on the cake.

Do what you love and enjoyment will follow. Do what you love and you will feel more fulfilled. Do what you love and the money will seem less relevant. These things I’ve found are true.

MYTH #2: LEAP AND THE NET WILL APPEAR.

It’s just plain scary to leap, especially when you have no idea where you’ll land or how. A lot of us get caught in the planning stage because we want to know with absolute certainty we won’t make a mistake we’ll one day regret.

So we wait, we gather information, we imagine all possible outcomes and plan to avoid negative ones, and generally anchor ourselves with good intentions that, in some cases, never lead to action.

John Burroughs wasn’t entirely misguided with this idea—it motivates us to get going, since it suggests we can have faith that we won’t fall flat on our faces. But the reality is that we sometimes we will.

What’s important to realize is that we are strong enough to get back up if this happens, and we can do it knowing that every fall is valuable. Every time a net doesn’t appear, we learn a little more about how to weave one for ourselves. We also learn to be comfortable in the drop, which, if we’re honest, is where we always live. Life is uncertain, whether we take large risks or not.

It’s not just the leaps that dictate our success; it’s our capacity for soaring through the unknown, and our willingness to learn from the landing.

MYTH #3: DO WHAT YOU LOVE, AND YOU’LL NEVER WORK A DAY IN YOUR LIFE.

With any job or business, you often need to do things you wouldn’t choose to do. I love writing and chatting with people on the blog and social media pages, but I don’t particularly enjoy marketing—and I’m not a big fan of pitching myself for future opportunities. These two things always feel like work, as do the many administrative tasks that keep this site running and growing.

But that’s not the only reason doing what you love can feel like work. There’s also the inevitability that most tasks feel different when they become things we need to do to earn. In a related post, blogger Clay Collins referenced a 1956 psychological experiment  that showed people are more likely to find intrinsic motivation when they’re paid very little to do a task. When the monetary compensation increases, suddenly the money becomes the motivation, and as a result, it feels less enjoyable.

I suspect this comes down to freedom: we tend to best enjoy the things we feel we’re doing entirely by choice. Since work, in any form, requires commitment that supersedes our moment-to-moment whims, we need to know going in that even the most enjoyable paths will have their ups and downs.

If we can do this, we’ll be far more apt to stick with something when it doesn’t meet the romantic image we may have visualized. That’s what it means to do what you love for work: to remember that even if it’s something you’re passionate about, there will be some aspects that feel less exciting than others.

MYTH #4: ANYONE CAN DECIDE AT ANY TIME TO DO WHAT THEY LOVE.

This may seem contrary to conventional wisdom, but I’ve learned that it it’s not always smart to drop everything and follow your passion. I’m not saying we should get stuck in the waiting game—forever analyzing, planning, and stagnating. It’s true that we can start incorporating our passions into our lives at any times.

I’m suggesting that sometimes we need to do a little legwork first if we want to turn our passions into careers; and that legwork is different for everyone depending on their circumstances. Flexo from Consumerist Commentary made an interesting argument using Maslow’s hierarchy of needs.

Our physiological needs, like air, food, water, and sleep, are on the bottom of the pyramid. Above that, there’s safety, which encompasses finances, job security, health security, and physical safety. Above that, our social needs, including love and family. Above that, esteem, encompassing self-respect, accomplishment, and recognition. And lastly, at the top of the pyramid, there’s self-actualization.

Flexo suggested that pursuing our passions is akin to self-actualization, and we’re best able to do that when our basic needs are met.

History has proven this isn’t universally true. Some of the most passionate, successful people are those who have sacrificed many of their needs to push toward one all-encompassing goal.

But the bottom line remains: not everyone has the luxury of dropping everything and taking a massive risk right now. If you have a family, you may need to do extensive planning to transition to a new field. If you live paycheck-to-paycheck, you may need to overlap your current job with your passion in order to eventually make a living through the latter.

This may seem discouraging—or it could seem empowering if it motivates you to take an honest look at your current situation and make a plan based on what makes sense given your unique responsibilities and needs.

We all have different advantages, some based on good fortune and some based on choices we’ve previously made. We can only ever start from where we are. If we have the strength to play our hands, instead of questioning why we don’t hold different cards, then we can decide at any time to work toward doing what we love.

It’s not as simple and catchy as the American Dream, but it’s a far more realistic representation of what’s possible for us.

The important thing is to remember that so much is still possible. We all deserve to enjoy the way we spend our days. If we’re willing to dream, work hard, learn, and navigate uncertainty, we all have the potential to do it.

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Before you go: My good friend Scott Dinsmore, a Tiny Buddha contributor and founder of Live Your Legend, just launched a new course called Live off Your Passion: An Unconventional Guide to Finding Passion and Getting Paid to Do Work You Love. It includes more than a dozen expert video interviews and numerous free bonus items, including Tiny Buddha’s Handbook for Peace and Happiness.

You can get 30% off until this Friday at midnight—and Scott’s offering a money-back guarantee to anyone who doesn’t make money in a new career after taking his course. I rarely promote online courses, as I wouldn’t take most of them, but I’ve been impressed and inspired by Scott, and I believe he will help a lot of people! You can learn more about the course here. (I am an affiliate, meaning a portion of sales made through this link will help support Tiny Buddha.)

Photo by kmlb*

Bonus: If browsers were guns.

You can read this article from here

Bonus: We are running out of time

Bonus: FYI 😉

Collected by socialspew

The goofy kids over at Canv.as started an awesome thread asking for ‘pre-Internet’ memes. I shudder at the thought of a life without the Internets, but somehow that’s the way we lived. Before we had LOLCats, Turtle loving zombie kids, and animals that gave advise – us old folk had to find other juvenile ways of entertaining ourselves. I’ll go ahead and say that not all of these are necessarily before the days of the web, but they definitely were used the same. Here are 18 of my favorite.

Bonus: ¡Genial!

Collected from AskReddit

being a cook in a restaurant has nothing to do with creativity and everything to do with speed and efficiency

don’t overcrowd your pans. putting too much food in a single pan will decrease the heat more than you want

a single good sharp knife is much more valuable than a whole block of knives

you should always have lemons, onions, garlic, vinegar, oil, and butter in your kitchen
to get green vegetables to stay green, we blanche them, it’s the only way that they wont look grey and lifeless after they’re cooked

fat and salt are your friends, there’s nothing unhealthy about them when you eat them in the right amounts

the most flavorful cuts of meat are the ones that scare you and you’ll never purchase them
don’t add milk to scrambled eggs, creme friache, if possible

most (not all) restaurant cookbooks dumb down recipes for you

at fine dining restaurants, nothing ever goes from a pan or pot to another without going through a fine mesh sieve (chinois)

if it weren’t for illegal labor, you would never be able to eat out

the gap in flavor between vegetables in season and out of season is astronomical

if you get pressured to buy a more expensive wine or made to feel like an idiot by a sommelier, you’re eating at the wrong restaurant

be nice to your butchers and fishmongers, they’ll let you know what’s what

Don’t stir rice when its cooking.

If you want to bake an apple pie from scratch, you must first create the universe.

Timing is by far the most important skill to master. Remember food will continue to cook AFTER it is pulled off heat, if it is done while on heat by the time it gets to a plate it is overcooked. Good knives and good cookware are worth the cost. No electric heat if you can avoid it.

Butter makes everything taste better.

If you get some egg shell in your eggs, the best way to scoop it out is with another piece of shell. Sticks to it like a magnet.

Bonus: Angry Birds Most Spectacular Event Ever!

Collected by runt-of-the-web

Young Love

Raising The Dead

It’s A Wall Street Miracle!

That Took An Unexpected Turn

God Is Dead, And We Have Killed Him

Why Was She Searching That In The First Place?

He Had It Coming