Backup Digital & Paper Documents Online

File123 is an online file storage site that allows you to store not only your digital files, but your paper documents as well. Although there are many online storage sites out there, none (that I know of) help you convert your paper files to digital files — a useful feature for those without a scanner! With File123, you can fax, email, scan or mail in paper documents for storage. Once online, most files can be downloaded in the original or PDF format. In addition, you can search your files by keyword within documents and images (since all files are scanned in with "optical character recognition"), create personalized file folders, and get a complete file history anytime. If you’re worried about the security of this service, File123 says they’ve got that covered, too. They provide up to 256-bit secure encryption from Verisign. The files are securely stored, encrypted and backed up & the data is stored in a fully redundant fashion across multiple servers, ensuring 100% loss-proof data. The files are also stored with encrypted keys which mean that only you have access to your files - not even employees of File123 can access your files! Even if someone were to gain access to these files, the information would be protected and unreadable. The Data Center File123 uses provides document security and disaster recovery where state-of-the-art firewalls protect the File123 servers from outside intrusion. File123 is 100% compliant with Trustee privacy policies and offer toll-free customer support. The company is currently offering a no cost, risk free trial. I just might have to check this one out myself!

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There has been a lot of Google news lately. Funny how it comes in spurts sometimes. First, there was the big Postini acquisition, and now:

• A Google mobile search engine: The Wall Street Journal reported "Google Inc. is developing a new search service for cellphones that will help consumers find and buy ringtones, games and other mobile content"
• Google integrates Google Notebook into the search results. See the "Note this" links everywhere.
• Google Custom Search Business Edition launches - you can put a Google search box on your website - and let visitors access search results from any website or websites that you choose.
• Color your iGoogle page with this iGoogle gadget.

Last August, Sony bought a YouTube-like online video site called Grouper. Today, the company announced that the site has relaunched as Crackle and will now be an online streaming entertainment network. Crackle will feature channels focused on animation, music, comedy, travel, and more. The goal of the site is not to just generate traffic, though - Crackle will be to be a place where wannabe actors, directors, and producers can post clips that may get picked up and turned into TV shows or movies. Says Josh Felser, the founder of Grouper who is now co-president of Crackle: "We’re the only Internet company that’s actually integrated into a studio. We are very focused on liberating the next-generation creator-writer from YouTube; we offer funding, syndication, promotion and a pathway to Hollywood despite cynicism." Now go be famous.

Hey!Cast is a service that makes it easy for you to create video podcast using the company’s Hey!Watch technology. However, that’s not the only, nor the most important, feature of this personal feed creation service. With Hey!Cast, your videos along with videos from your favorites services can then be added to an RSS feed that is created for you. The service currently supports importing from YouTube, Myspace, Google Video, DailyMotion, Metacafe, ifilm, Grouper, revver, Apple trailers, Photobucket, blip.tv, break.com, stage6.divx, Soapbox, Gametrailers, teteaclaques, kewego, wat.tv, & wideo. In addition to videos, content from any blogging platforms, Twitter, Jaiku, Dailymotion, Tumblr, or any websites providing a RSS can also be added to your Hey!Cast feed. You can then subscribe to your feed in your preferred podcast reader. In iTunes, for example, you can add the feed to your subscribed podcast list by going to the "Advanced" menu and choosing "Subscribe to Podcast." In the box that comes up, enter the URL of your Hey!Cast feed. After sycning, you will be able to watch the videos from your feed on your iPod!

The popular U.S. web 2.0 real estate search site, Zillow, has just launched a new feature called "Neighborhood Pages." On these pages, people who live in the selected neighborhoods can upload photos, events, and other information to the site. With the neighborhood pages, Zillow users will learn not just about real estate in an area, but also what it’s like to actually live there. Currently, there are pages for more than 6,500 neighborhoods in 130 U.S. cities. I had trouble finding the neighborhood pages at first, but that’s because I searched for "Seminole Heights" and they have it spelled wrong! You can begin your search for neighborhoods here, a page listing all the U.S. states. As you drill down into the states, like Florida, you will be presented with a list of cities. Click on a city, like Tampa, and you will see the neighborhoods listed in the column on your left. It’s a great feature if it takes off, but I think it could benefit by being better promoted, like being featured on one of the tabs at the top of the Zillow homepage.

If you enjoy this website and would like to read more from me, I encourage you to follow me over to my new gig. I’m doing some writing for Microsoft’s Channel 10, a website for technology enthusiasts. With many contributors, the site covers the news in music, mobility, photography, videography, gaming, new PC hardware & software, and online services. My 10 blog is here, but I hope you will check out the rest of the site’s content as well!

The RSS Ticker is a great Firefox extension for perusing your feeds in your browser. From the extension’s website: "RSS Ticker loads your Live Bookmarks and scrolls their entries across your screen while you surf. It’s perfect for staying informed without having to actively browse entries in an RSS reader.The ticker can be placed at the bottom of the screen (below the status bar) or at the top of the screen (underneath your bookmarks toolbar). Nearly all aspects of the ticker’s display are customizable, including the scroll speed, smoothness, and link width. You can even set a limit for the number of items that appear from each feed." I can see this might be useful for keeping an eye on a handful of your favorite feeds, but I can’t imagine loading my 140+ feeds into this extension. Then again, I’m not sure if I would remember to look at the bottom of the browser from time to time to even get much use out of this…maybe I will read the info subconsciously? (Via Lifehacker)

If you don’t get Twitter, then just move on…this post is not for you. It’s too late for you now. For the rest of us Twitteraholics, however…I found a great blog post on Mashable! about the latest mobile Twitter apps. Tonight I tried both JTwitter and Twitterberry on my T-Mobile Blackberry Pearl. JTwitter did not even load once installed (Java errors galore), but Twitterberry is working just fine. Too bad, because JTwitter looked cooler. Still, I like having another option for Twitter besides traditional IM or SMS.

Books on your cell phone? Cool! Borders has just announced that they will introduce a new service that will send chapters of books to customers’ phones free of charge. These will be sample chapters, sent out before the book is released. A list of books available to be beamed to your phone will be available on the Borders homepage when the service launches. 30 new titles each month will be promoted through this mobile offering. If you choose to purchase the book, you can receive a discount of up to 20% off the retail price. I haven’t seen any announcements as to a launch date, but I’m keeping my eyes open for this one.

So, the banner is (temporarily) gone. I removed the custom CSS so I could update the background with a new theme. When I added the CSS back in, there was a big black bar underneath the banner. Not sure how that happened! Since I’m not a web designer, I will have to research this in order to fix it…unless someone volunteers?

UPDATE: banner back up for testing purposes

UPDATE #2: old theme back up, everything working for now. I’ll have to play around with the CSS later on.