How to Office Anywhere Using Free Internet Applications
Taking your work with you anywhere is possible with a laptop and a high speed internet connection. You are no longer tied to your office, because with new, free internet technology, you can office anywhere--at the park, at the mall, at Grandma's house. Here are some steps that allow you to be ready to office even when you're out of the office.
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Instructions
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Download OpenOffice as an office application suite. This is very valuable to have if you don't have Microsoft Office installed on your laptop, and it's free to use. OpenOffice works with Microsoft Office files (like .doc, .xls, and .ppt). It also has similar applications that compete with Microsoft Office's Word, Excel, and PowerPoint.
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Store and access files online through Windows Live SkyDrive. You can store up to 5 GB of files virtually, without having to carry around flash drives. With Windows Live SkyDrive, you can also share files with others (such as co-workers). Another popular alternative is saving a file from your desktop and downloading it (via SkyDrive) on your laptop, so that you always have access to it.
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Carry your bookmarks with you everywhere you go, with Delicious. Sign up for an account with Delicious, and then transfer your bookmarks from your browser to the site. It is secure, and gives you the option to keep some or all of your bookmarks private, or share with others. This is handy if you want to share a specific site with a co-worker, but not all of your bookmarks. You can access them anywhere, and delete and update as often as you like.
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Print to your office or home printer, even when you're not there. Use PrinterShare, which is a free application that allows you to access your printer through the internet.You must run PrinterShare on both your laptop and the desktop that is connected to the printer. When you click print, it will send the page to the printer without any hassle. You don't need to worry about saving files until later.
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Download content for later viewing. If you happen to go somewhere without internet accessibility, you can use Webaroo ahead of time to store websites on your computer. This allows you to surf the internet when you're off-line. You can watch YouTube videos, read RSS feeds, and surf whole websites. It automatically updates when you get re-connected to the internet.
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Tips & Warnings
Back up your files online (at SkyDrive, or even on a web-based email account) in case your system crashes.
Always download from the application's home site, not from an unaffiliated 3rd party site that may be unsafe.
Be sure to have enough space on your laptop for programs like OpenOffice and Webaroo (they take up a lot of space).
PrinterShare prints an advertisement on all free print jobs.
