Cloud Storage options.

Cloud Storage.  Your options have changed...Again...

Happy Sunday!  When I originally created this blog about a year ago, the cloud scene storage scene  was similar, yet very different.  Since then most, if not all the cloud service providers have upped the ante and now offer more free storage and better options.  CX.com, for some reason, has gotten rid of there free option.  Box.com and Google have greatly enhanced their cloud options, so with all the change occurring I thought it would be a good idea to update the blog, yet again with the most current information for all my readers.  So, here we go, again!

Well start this updated blog with the same five cloud options that I reviewed back in October of 2013.    Those sites are Dropbox, Google Drive, CX, Copy and Box.  Dropbox was one of the first players on the cloud scene, so I’ve been using it for a few years now.  I like the ease with which it integrates with Mac OSX (and Windows), though it does have it’s drawbacks.  CX and Copy are newer to the game.  Copy offers  more storage for free, and like Dropbox have a very good App for your iOS devices.   CX no longer has a free option, which right off the bat would lead me no longer recommend it.   Google Drive is one of the many tools to spawn out of Gmail.  One of the great features of Google Drive is that, if you have a Google account, you automatically get access to Google Drive for free!  The final option that I’m going to write about, Box, has also been around for a few years.  Box is geared toward the enterprise, though anyone can sign up.  Box now gives users 50GB of free storage, thats the most free storage offered.  Also, like the other four, has the ability to upgrade to more storage for a monthly fee.

Let’s dig a little further into the options, we’ll start with Dropbox.  Nothing has changed for Dropbox since the previous update in October.  They have been around longer than the four others here (since 2004), that doesn’t however make them the best option.  Dropbox has a very user friendly interface, and new users start with 2gb of free storage.  It entices you to share Dropbox with everyone you know by offering you 500mb of free storage for everyone who joins based on your introduction, giving you up to 18gb of free storage. Dropbox installs on your Mac (or PC) as well as your iPhone or iPad (or android device).  Once you’ve installed in on your Mac, you can easily transfer files using Finder (a very nice option), or you can log into Dropbox.com from your browser of choice and upload files through it’s friendly easy to use interface.  Dropbox’s features are more limited than some of the others here, but it’s very good at what it does, which is provide you with either additional storage, as well as a place to back up and share your important files.  If the 2gb you get for free (or if you can get your friends/family to join you and get up to 18gb free) isn’t enough, you can purchase additional storage, starting at 100gb  for $9.99 a month, 200gb for $19.99 all the way up to 500gb for $49.99 a month.  Dropbox’s iOS app has been updated to work nicely with iOS 7.  It let’s you download or upload files from your iPhone or iPad, a nice addition and a great way to have access to the files you need, wherever and whenever you need them.  Some other nice iOS features include the ability to share files (rather than having to email or message them to someone), create folders, send a file as a Facebook message, or post to Facebook as well as being able to share via Twitter.  All in all, a nice easy to use interface, potential for 18gb of free space, but from a storage perspective, Dropbox is far behind Drive, Box and Copy.

Next up, Google Drive.  Google is continually adding free storage, and they have really upped the ante with their latest offerings.  Google drive has actually been around since 2005, when it started as Google Docs.  What is now Google Drive, is a nice leap forward.  When I last updated the blog, Google Drive had upped their offering to 15gb of free storage, plus the ability to create documents using Google’s web suite of applications, something not offered by Dropbox, CX, or Copy.  Not too mention, there’s even an online store where you can add apps to your Google Drive, a very nice feature indeed, although let me point out this caveat, most apps require Google’s Chrome browser in order to work.  So if you don’t use Chrome, most of those apps are not suitable for your browser!  Similar to Dropbox, Drive has a nice, easy to use interface, as well as an iOS companion app that gives you access to all your files, wherever and whenever you need, also allowing you to upload photos or videos from your iOS device and share them.    If the 15gb of free storage is not enough, Google has recently changed their upgrade options, yet again, and the changes are better!   You can upgrade from 100GB for only $1.99 a month, all the way to  10TB for a measly $99.99 per month.  In between those options, you can get 1TB at $9.99/month.  Easily the best options of any of the cloud service providers.  Drive let’s you share documents with other Google users (and vice versa), and in my opinion has the best integration companion, Google Hangouts.   With an upgraded interface, tremendous storage options, Google drive is definitely a cloud storage option to consider.

Now onto CX.  CX has changed things up, and in my opinion, not for the better.  They have removed their free starter option (you do get to try the service for 30 days for free, but that really doest count!).  CX gives you 10GB of storage for $9.99/year.  Not a bad deal, but when your competitors are giving away storage, it's not a good deal by any stretch!   They have 256 bit encryption for those of you looking to keep your stuff as encrypted as possible, they have redundant backups in case anything happens to their systems, and added firewall protection to keep you data safe, all killer features!  Like Google Drive, CX has a group feature that let’s you collaborate with other people (team members, family, friends etc.), though it does not offer video conferencing as of this blog writing.  It also has a nice feature where you can highlight some files as favorites for offline viewing when necessary.  Like the other cloud offerings, Cx’s iOS app allows you the ability to upload photo’s directly from your iPhone or iPad.  CX seems to like the Dropbox idea where you share with friends, and if they sign up you get additional storage, only where Dropbox offers 500mb of storage per person, CX is offering 300mb with the ability to earn up to 6gb additional free storage, giving you a potential total of 16gb free storage.  Unlike Dropbox, CX’s integration with the Mac is not through Finder, rather it has an App you can download, run and pick which folder(s) you wish to sync (very easy to use).  CX has great plans if you wish to add storage.  I’m just going to cover the Personal Plans here, there are additional plans for businesses.  CX's upgrade options have remained the same.  A user can upgrade to 25GB for $4.99 a month.  If that isn’t enough for you, you can go to 100GB for $9.99 a month, and if you still need more, for $21.99 a month you’ll get 250GB of storage!  Seven months ago those options were very good.  Today, with the options you are getting from both Google Drive and Box.com, they don't look all that good.  Your options are not as numerous as with Google Drive, however if you are looking for a good online back-up of pictures or movies (or both), CX is a good way to go!  All in all I still like CX’s online interface, but wish the Mac access was via Finder instead of having to run an additional app to sync your files.  But sadly, I can no longer recommend CX as a viable cloud storage option.  Sorry guys!

Very little has changed for the next cloud storage option, Copy.com.   Copy was created by Networking security specialists, Barracuda Networks, so you can be sure your content will be as secure as possible!  Similar to Drive, Copy starts you off at 15GB of free storage.  Copy has both personal and business options, for the purpose of this blog, I'm only going to cover the personal options.  Beyond the 15GB free plan, Copy now has only one other plan, 250GB for either $9.99/month or $99/year.  They have gotten rid of their 500GB for $14.99/month or $149/year option, perhaps no one was using that much space?  The two options are good, not great .  Your options are more limited than what Google offers with Drive.  The best part of Copy is still its referral plans.  There literally is no option to how much free storage you can accrue!  I've read review of people earning up to 600gb of free storage by inviting their contacts!  That is absolutely amazing!  Copy works across platforms, including Linux.  Most cloud service providers are limited to Mac OSX and Windows.  Copy is even now available on the Windows mobile platform, for those that have Windows mobile phones.  Both Copy.com and the desktop client are very easy to use.  The desktop client integrates with Finder (for Mac), which I love as it makes syncing files and folders a very easy and intuitive task.  All in all (and certainly in my opinion), Copy is a viable cloud service options, that I would recommend.

The last storage option I’m going to cover here is Box.com.  Box started selling cloud storage into enterprises before it opened up to consumers.  Box perviously had been offering 10GB of free storage, which they recently bumped up to 50GB.  There is a slight catch.  You don't get the extra 40GB of storage until you install Box on your iOS device.  But that's the whole point of these cloud storage sights right?  Having your files in the cloud so you can have access to them on your devices.  Like Dropbox, Box has great integration into Mac OSX, where you can access your files through Finder.  Box’s big differentiator is still their ability to allow you to create a document using the Microsoft Suite (Word, Excel and Powerpoint) of tools.  If you do not have a copy of Microsoft Word (or Excel or Powerpoint), it opens a cloud version for you, and automatically saves your work to your Box storage, not your computer.  One thing I don't like about Box, is that it will not store your iWork files!  So if you are a Pages/Keynote/Numbers user, you'll have to export your files to PDF format in order to store them on Box.  To me that's a huge detractor.  In Boxes favor, is that it let's you create a document in Google Doc format!  Little by little we are getting away from the need to own copies of Microsoft Office (or any other office products for that matter).  Because of it’s tight Microsoft integration, Box, in my opinion, offers a great alternative for those users confined to Microsoft Office.  Box has, an easy to use online interface.  Box’s iOS app is very similar to the others, with the same features.  You can tap a file and make it a favorite, which will allow offline access.  You can also upload pictures and video from you iPhone or iPad.  If you are looking for additional storage, now a single user can upgrade to 100GB for only $5 a month.  Not as good as Google Drive's offering, but still fairly reasonable.   There are also many other options for businesses that I'm not going to cover here.

So quite a bit has changed.  Most of it for the better, in CX's case, not so much.  When you are trying to figure out which one is best,  there may not be a best, like me, you may end up using multiple cloud storage sites.   If you are looking for the most free storage, Box is now the way to go.  If you are looking for the most mature product, Box is again the way to go.  If you are looking for one with the most options, Google Drive should be your choice.  Since all but CX are free,  I recommend trying them all out and seeing which one suits you the best.   I hope the updated blog helps, if you like it or even if you don’t, leave a comment I love hearing from you…
Until next time, Best to you and your devices.

And for more information on The MacMentor, Like our page on Facebook.  Connect with us on LinkedIn and check out our homepage, www.themacmentor.com

Great devices for your iPhone and iPad.

To start off 2014, I decided to not only do an App of the Week post on my Facebook page, but to include a Device of the Week as well.  There are so many different types of devices out there, all you need to do is head to an Apple Store (or online to Amazon) to see a wide variety, ranging from wireless speakers to heart monitors, to home heating systems and beyond.  I decided to highlight one per week, then create a blog at the beginning of the following month to highlight those devices.  Here's my list for January!

First, the Tego Power Grid.  We are all looking for ways to extend the life of our devices, well look no further.  Tego has created a fantastic device.  For starters, it packs enough power to charge your device twice without needing to be re-charged itself.  Can easily be recharged by plugging into the USB slot of a computer.  It's super compact and light-weight, and best of all, is only $59.00.

So if you are one of the many people who always find themselves looking for an outlet to charge their devices, go get yourself the Tego, you'll be happy you did.

The next device that I highlighted in January just blows me away.  For those of you who still don't realize that there is an app for almost anything, check this baby out...Have you ever found yourself looking for a device, or system to help you keep track of your health?  A device or system that won't cost you an arm and a leg, but tracks and monitors you throughout the day?  Well if you fit that description, I've found the perfect device for you!  It's the Fit Systems Arm band by Body Media.  

If you are overweight, and looking for help counting calories, this beauty helps you keep track of your caloric count.  The calories going in, and the calories burned!  Sweet!  It helps you achieve your fitness goals by accurately tracking your daily activities.  Finally, it monitors how well you are sleeping!  As you may expect, the device comes with an App, to help you keep track of things while you are on the go.  So whether its you looking for some help with your health, or someone you know, I highly recommend the Fit Systems Arm band.

Ok...So the first two devices for January were quite cool.  The 3rd device that I highlighted in January is downright HOT!  Now if you are like me, you like your music clean, with rich bass and ultra-clean treble.   There's nothing worse for me than listening to some great music on some cheap speaker system with wimpy bass and treble that's overly tin-ee.  It's challenging to find small speakers that measure up!  We'll the UE Boom wireless speaker, from Ultimate Ears, ROCKS!   It will take the best bass from John Paul-Jones, and play it true.  It will make Miles Davis' horns shine.  All the while pulsating through a Neil Peart drum solo like a full blown set of floor speakers.  Yeah, it's that good!

The Boom starts at $199 (The limited edition Boom, the one right above, is $229).  An incredible feature of the Boom, that's not currently available on any other wireless speaker (that I know of), is that you can connect two Boom's via the Boom App to have totally mind blowing experience!  

So if you love your music, loud and crystal clear, the UE Boom is exactly what you've been looking for.  It can be found online, or at retailers like The Apple Store.

Ok, now for the final January device of the week...

In keeping with my music theme, my next device stays in the music genre.  I've attended more concerts in my lifetime than I can remember.  I followed the Grateful Dead for a bit in the early 90's, have seen more than my share of Dave Matthews shows as well.  I always wanted to record my concerts, but never had the right equipment.  Well look no further my friends.  Let me introduce you to the IQ5 Stereo Recorder.  

The iQ5 is a high quality stereo condenser mic.  Perfect for recording your favorite concert, or your child's first piano concert.  The iQ5 has a rotating device that allows audio recording with the optimal left-right stereo orientation, regardless if you are using it horizontally or vertically.

The Zoom has a companion app that allows you to record in linear PCM, 16-bit/44.1kHz format for CD-quality audio, that accurately captures the music and spaces.  It even records in compressed AAC format when you need smaller faster data transfer.  

Now I realize that to most of us the kHz and AAC compression won't really matter.  It was more for the audio files that read my blog (ha ha ha!).  All the rest of us need to know is that it records well, and can record in compressed format if you need to!  

So there are my choices for January's Apps of the Week.  The Tego Power Grid, The Fit Systems Arm band, The UE Boom Speaker, and finally the iQ5 Zoom recorder.  Keep up with my February Apps of the Week on my Facebook page, http://facebook.com/theMacMentor, then comeback early March and I'll have another blog post for the February App/Device of the week choices.

Thanks to all for reading...and if you have a favorite App/Device let me know about it!

Until next time, Best to you and your devices!

Camera Apps for your iPhone.

Happy New Year!  I hope you all had a safe and happy 2013 Holiday season.  To start off 2014, I wanted to introduce you to some awesome Camera apps for your iPhone.  Now you may be thinking, why on earth would I need additional camera Apps, when my phone comes with a Camera app, right?  Well yes, your iPhone does come with a nice, basic Camera App, but how would you like to add some super cool camera features, and make your iPhone an even better camera?  I've got just the Apps to help you out!  My favorite feature of all these apps, is ease of use!  When I'm out and about taking photos, the last thing I want in a camera app (or any app for that matter!), is for it to be challenging to use!  That being the case, it will get deleted from my iPhone immediately!  There are three apps I want to introduce you to with this blog:  Camera+, VSCO Cam, and Pix.  They are all great apps, I recommend you download all three and see which one (or ones) you like the best.  Each has different editing features, and different sharing options, so go to the app store, download them and let your 2014 picture taking, photo editing fun begin!  These are hardly the only three camera apps available, and they aren't the only camera apps I use, but they are three great ones

If I had to pick a favorite camera App it would be  Camera+.  It's got some wonderful options, it has been around for a few years now, and is currently on version 5, and my favorite, the App costs all of .99 cents!  Seriously, I would buy this app for $10 it's so good, so for .99 cents this is a complete no brainer!

Using Camera + is super easy, and can make a novice photographer look like a seasoned pro!  Some of it's awesome features include:  Touch Exposure and Focus - Simply tapping on the screen allows you to set the exposure separately from the focus (very cool!), allowing you to control how light or dark your picture comes out!  Nice...:).

Shooting Modes - There  are five different modes you can shoot with, Square, which let's you take pictures to better use on various Social sites.  Normal mode.  You can use the Stabilizer feature of the app to steady your iPhone and get the best possible picture.  Theres a Timer feature that will help you get the best selfies possible...Burst mode which will allow you to take pictures is rapid succession.

 Digital Zoom - The Apps zoom gives you up to 6X (notice the bar on the right side of the screen capture below, at 6X) the zoom with advanced digital processing that gives you awesome photos!

Front Flash - How about this cool feature?  Ever wish your iPhone had an available front flash?  Well with Camera + it now does!  Horizon Level - to assist you in taking the most level photo possible.  You'll notice on the screen capture above, the white bar in the middle, that's your Horizon Level.  Clarity - This awesome feature shown below and available through Lightbox, analyzes your photo, makes several intelligent digital adjustments that magically bring out the best in your photos!  That is awesome!

Effects - Camera + comes with some incredible effects to enhance your pictures.  Theres Scenes, which let's you add Flash, Backlit, Darken, Cloudy, to name just a few (have a look again at the above screen cap, it's also in Scene mode).  Then there's Crops, which let's you crop to Square mode, 3x2, 4x3, 4x6 etc etc etc.

The Lab where you can add Clarity, Rotate, Straighten, and Tint and Duotone to name a few.

Filters where can add awesome filters like Retro, Special, I Heart Analog and Hollywood.

Finally Frames, where you can add some killer frames to your already killer photographs...

The next feature I'm going to cover in Camera + is Lightbox  - Lightbox is a unique way to sort through your photos, delete the ones you don't want, and save your fav's to your iPhone's Photo App.  Camera + has some other great features.

You can share your photos to your favorite Social networks, it even syncs with iCloud so you can take pics all day with your iPhone, and edit on your iPad (there's an iPad app as well).

So these are some of the great features that come with Camera +.  There are also 2 in-app purchases available (both at the low, low price of .99 Cents as well).  Not only do I highly recommend Camera+, and I use it very often to take pics with my 5S...:).

The next App up for review is VSCO Cam, from Visual Supply Company.  VSCO Cam is right on par with Camera + for awesome iPhone camera apps.  Not only does it have a ton of great features, but it's also super easy to use, and makes it easy to share with your favorite social sites as well.   It let's you edit basic elements like temperature, cropping, contrast, exposure and rotating natively.  You can also easily apply a any of the fantastic filters.  Now this is my only gripe with VSCO Cam, it has too many in-app purchases, some that cost $5.99, others costing only .99 cents.  That said, it's still a fantastic way to take and edit pictures with your iPhone.  One of my favorite features in this app, is VSCO Grid.  The Grid is a publishing platform for your photos, to showcase your pictures to everyone that uses the VSCO Cam app.  It also allows you to discover other great photographers that are using the VSCO app, which could be another fun and interesting way to connect online.  

Increased Control - As in the Camera + app, VSCO also has Separate Focus and Exposure rings to give you better control of your photos. When you are in camera mode, simply tap the screen to activate these features (the red circle on the screen capture below).

Editing - Once you've taken your photos, VSCO allows you to easily edit them.  In the first screen capture below, at the bottom, from left to right, the icons are Exposure, Temperature, Contrast, Rotate and Crop.  Simply tap on the desired effect, and you'll quickly and easily be able to change the look and feel of of your photos!  The subsequent screen caps show additional editing options.

Before and After - If you're not sure you want to keep the edit you've added, you can easily compare your edited photo with the original by simply pressing down on the edited image while in Edit view.  Library - Each picture you take saves into the VSCO Library and can also be moved into the iPhone's photo App library.  

You can also share to various social sites like Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, Weibo, or you can email the photo to anyone you choose!

As you can see, VSCO is a great tool, similar to Camera +, but with it's own unique characteristics.  I highly recommend this app for your photos as well!

The last camera app I'm going to review today is Pix.  I'm relatively new to Pix, but I love it!  It's got a very easy to use interface.  As you can see by the screen capture below, you have two options when you enter the app, Camera or Select from existing pictures.

We'll start with the Camera.  The camera itself is basic, with less features than either Camera+, VSCO, or the Camera app that comes with the phone.  There's no grid, no HDR option, no setting the focus or exposure.

The fun begins once you've either taken the picture, or chosen a picture to edit from you iPhone or iPad library.  Now, you've got hundreds of editing enhancements, and you can use multiple enhancements per picture.  The first screen capture you see below is a picture from my library with no enhancements.  

The first set of enhancements, the left most icon (blue wand) gives you over 30 different various enhancements that can be used alone, or  together.  Simply tap the enhancements you'd like to use, on the next screen capture below I've chosen the Cartoon 3 and Toaster enhancement options.  Pix allows you to have three enhancements at a time from the Blue Wand icon.  Pick the ones you like, then you can save that new picture, or share it.  Now if you don't like the enhancements you've chosen, simply tap the enhancement and it will go into the garbage and be removed from that picture

The 2nd icon from the left, sort of looks like a film strip, gives you additional fun enhancements for your playing pleasure.  These enhancements can not be used together, only one at a time however.   Everything from adding snowflakes to your picture to adding cool Smoke, to making your picture look old fashion using the Old enhancement.

The next set of enhancements, the Square icon, is for framing your picture.  There are 20 plus frames you can choose from, from a Christmas frame, to a Corkboard frame (on the screen capture below), to a WhiteEdge frame.  To pick the frame you want, simply tap it.

The Star icon lets you save the enhancements you've just created as favorites to use again with other pictures, a feature I truly like.

The last icon, the lightning bolt is super cool as well.  When you tap it, it randomly picks the enhancements for the photo.

The last icon to discuss is the blue + icon, at the top right of your screen.  When you tap it, five other icons appear.



The first icon, (in the first screen capture below) Home, takes you either back to the camera, or lets you select from other pictures in your library.  The 2nd icon, the down arrow, let's you save your picture either in the original size, or Optimized size.  The third icon (2nd screen cap), is your sharing icon.  This allows you to open the picture in other Apps from your iPhone, or if you've got a 5 or 5S, you can AirDrop the picture to another device that has AirDrop capability.

The next icon the reverse arrow,  lets you undo any changes that you've made.

The last icon, the i lets you report any errors back to Pix, so they can fix!

So as you can see, Pix, like VSCO and Camera+ is a very cool, very useful camera enhancment app.  It may not have quite as many features as VSCO or Camera+, but it certainly does have some great ones, and oh yeah, did I mention that Pix is free!  That right there is an awesome feature!

So go out and download these cool apps, use them, have fun with your pics and let me know your thoughts on them.  If you've got other camera Apps that you use, let me know what you like and why.

Until next time, best to you and your devices, especially your camera!

More Tips and Tricks for Mavericks...

So I hope you enjoyed my earlier blog that went over a handful of new features for Mavericks...there are so many that I could be doing this every week for the next 8 weeks or so...Here I've listed 9 more that I think are important, and very good additions...I hope you feel the same.

Keychain Sync...
iCloud Keychain is a new feature that lets your OS X keychain sync with your iPhone/iPad, allowing you to autofill your passwords regardless of which device you are on.  It's quite easy to turn this feature on, simply go to System preferences > iCloud, then check Keychain.

Upgraded Mission Control
If you are like me, and  run multiple apps at once, I sure hope you have become accustomed to using Mission Control.  If you use multiple displays, you'll love this new addition to Mission Control.  You now have the ability to not only drag windows from one display to another, but to also drag full-screen apps from one display to another.  Simply drag the apps full screen thumbnail to whichever display you desire, and it will assign the app to the selected display!

Website Notifications

When Mountain Lion was introduced, along with it came the Notification center for the Mac.  Now, with Mavericks, you can get notifications from websites and you don't even have to be in Safari!  Notifications are managed within Safari > Preferences > Notifications.  

Delaying App Updates

Did you ever have a situation when you were in an app and you got notified that there was an update and you needed to exit the App immediately in order to perform that update?  Well no more...:)  You now have the ability to delay updates is a restart is required.  You can choose either to update immediately, or "Try in an Hour", "Try tonight", or "Remind me tomorrow".

Do Not Disturb...

Finally, DND is available on the Mac!  Now, just like on your iOS device, you have the ability to choose what time you wish to be left alone!  DND is set up simply by going into System Preferences > Notifications > Do Not Disturb.  You can pick which hours you wish to be left alone, or if you are connecting to TV's or other projectors, you can turn DND on in those instances as well.  You can also choose to stop  FaceTime calls from coming in when DND is on...

Send Messages through the Notification Center

If you'd ever wished you could send an iMessage from the Notification Center, well your wish has come true...now, if you have turned on the "Share Buttons" in the Notification Center you can do just that.  Simply click the iMessage button, type the recipients address, then the message and hit send and you can now text directly from the Notification Center!

Finder Tabs

Tabs have been around in Safari for a while now, and I don't know about you, but I've wondered why Apple hasn't introduced tabs in Finder?  Well, wonder no more!  You can create Tabs in Finder!  Wahoo!  While in finder, simply press command + T, and just like in Safari, you'll have Tabs!!

Re-enable your Library Folder!

Not sure what Apple was thinking when they removed the Library folder in OSX Lion, but you can now un-hide the folder.  Simply navigate to your home folder, and press Command + J

Editing your Tags

New with Mavericks is the ability to Tag files (instead of labels).  You can also change the Name or meaning of these tags by going into Finder > Preferences >Tags, then double clicking whichever tag you wish to rename.  

I hope you are enjoying Mavericks, lots of cool new features, I'll be posting more in the coming weeks!

Until then, best to you and you devices!