I can’t tell you how many e-mail messages I’ve sent that have bounced back because they’re too large. Frankly, it’s too frustrating for words. But I’ve discovered a much better system.
Online filing cabinet
Windows Live SkyDrive is essentially an online filing cabinet that lets you store and share photos, videos, music and documents. It’s free and easy to use.
To get started, all I had to do was sign up with my Hotmail account and create my Windows Live profile. (If you already have a Windows Live or Hotmail account, you already have a profile.)
Easy to use folders
The page was easy to navigate and understand. The pre-assigned folders are labelled
Privacy protection
Each folder lets you upload images, videos, music and documents from your computer and grants access to specific contacts via their e-mail addresses.
A 130-page Adobe PDF report I put in my personal folder can only be seen by me. (I can access it from anywhere online, without my computer.) I also posted photos in the Shared section, providing access to family and friends by listing their e-mail addresses, giving them reader status and alerting them to the photos by clicking on the Send a link button.
Complete control
You can rename folders (I went with the original Family Photos) and give recipients editor status if you want them to be able to change your files.
I took advantage of this feature when I posted a graphics-intensive Word document for some work associates who might need to make changes to it. That’s the great thing about SkyDrive. It lets you control who can view or edit your files case by case.
Plenty of storage
Uploading five JPEGs at a time took me just under a minute. All in all, I put almost two dozen photos and a series of reports on the site. I used only 0.2 GB of the 5.0 GB that SkyDrive gives me and still had tons of room to keep sharing.
Sheryl Steinberg
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