Work From Anywhere and Any Computer

Can you work without having your computer and the files that are on it? Do you need to drag your laptop with you to get work done?

I have actually never worried about it too much, I have always brought my laptop with me. But my laptop is not working and I am logged in on a desktop that has absolutely nothing of mine on it. I thought that my day will be a complete waste but I was pleasantly surprised on how much of my life is stored in the cloud. Within 10 minutes I was able to have access to everything that I need. This now makes me think that a netbook or the next generation Macbook Air might do everything that I need.

I have broken this down to see how it all worked out. I had to download few apps and extensions, other than that everything was available just by logging in.

Email and Calendar

Gmail – I don’t think I need to explain this. Log in and all you email is there. The same as on your home desktop or your personal laptop.

Calendar – Same as gmail, really one and the same.

Documents:

Google Documents: Once again this is available just by logging into your gmail account. Over the past year I’ve switched most of my documents and collaborations here. The best part is that you don’t need to send drafts back and forth. You can give access to the others and everyone can edit from one place. If you don’t use or haven’t tried it, you should.

Communication:

GoogleVoice – Love the service. Check out the video below.

Skype: Call and chat with family and friends internationally.

Browser:

Google Chrome: Sync with my account. Imports all bookmarks and bookmarklets. They don’t import the extensions, but I’m sure that will come soon. I had to download few that I use.

Files and Storage

Dropbox – Syncing of files across different computers or access everything from their website. This can be your backup to your files as well a great place to keep all the files and documents that you need anywhere you go. I also back everything on my computer with another service.. I know it’s an overkill but I’d rather be safe than sorry.

What is Dropbox?

Access to Passwords:

1Password:  I use 1Password, I think it’s the best thing out there. Now that they have an android app my life is mush easier, before this I could not get into my accounts when  I was away from my computer. (Every password is different on each site that I use. And anyone who knows me knows that means I am SOL if I don’t have this app with me.)

Social Media Management:

Tweetdeck: My de facto social media management app, I use it on my phone and on my computer. It is not as seamless as the Hootsuite web based site, but for some reason I like using it better. I guess it’s just my personal preference.

Hootsuite: I’d say it’s the best option for web based social media management, you log in and everything is the way you left it.

Music:

Pandora, Grooveshark, Last.FM: I use all these sites, with Pandora and Grooveshark getting 95% of my attention. I think I will cut out Last.FM totally. I use Pandora when I want to hear random songs and don’t care exactly what I listen to. On Grooveshark I can be more specific with what songs I want to listen to.

Not saying that the sites listed above are the best, just the ones I know about and like. Would love to hear anything that I could add to this list to make it better. Thanks!

Main Photo by Lost in the RP