Shenehon Online

By: Scot A. Torkelson

While the view of many is that the collapse in the tech bubble signaled the end of innovation in new technology, that is simply not the case. In fact, utilization of the Internet is actually accelerating. The previous trend was a doubling of traffic every six months, but in the last cycle activity doubled in a period of four months. Here are some web only services, mostly free, which are very useful for professionals on the go.

Yahoo Online Briefcase-briefcase.yahoo.com-This feature is an old standby of Yahoo which is extremely useful. The briefcase provides you with the ability to upload any file from your office computer and then download it from any computer anywhere-whether your home computer or notebook computer-via the Internet. There is no need to carry handfuls of disks that can get lost or corrupted. The service is free for up to 30 megabytes, and $8.95 per year for every additional 50 megabytes.

Internet based email-The Internet email services are useful for email that you need on the go, particularly if your email at work is part of an extensive network and not available from outside your office. There are any number of free services, including Hotmail.com (www.msn.com) and Yahoo email (mail.yahoo.com), or Excite email (my.excite.com).

Personal Web Page-The usefulness of your own web page cannot be overstated. If done correctly, you can place all of the web resources which you use on a regular basis on one page. You can also place important email links on the site, including your own, and then use your address as a means of letting others contact you. Based on many surveys, the easiest and most intuitive is the one located at the Page Builder Site: www.geocities.com/v/pb.html. Oh, and it is free up to 25 megabytes of content. This is also a service that can be provided to you from any computer, including the ability to make changes and create your web page.

Fax via the Internet-Do you need to fax documents or receive faxes but lack the equipment? You can send and receive fax documents via the Internet. Using www.efax.com, documents on your computer can be faxed to any fax number; the service also gives you a "telephone number" that is linked to your email address allowing faxes to be sent directly to your computer. The cost of this service is $9.95 per month.

The Old Standbys-Online Address Book and Calendar are completely online. What is best about these services is that they can be accessed in the office and on the road, with all updates occurring in real time for all parties. If you already have an address book it can be uploaded to the online service so there is no need for double entries. Again, all of these services are free. The lead locations are www.msn.com, www.yahoo.com, and my.excite.com.

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