1 – Dropbox — www.dropbox.com

Dropbox is an online (or “cloud”) file management service that will keep your documents and files synchronized across all your computers and devices.

For example, say you have Dropbox installed on your work computer, home computer and smartphone. Any file in your Dropbox folder will be synchronized over the internet to all three devices automatically, so if you do your Data Analysis homework on your lunch break at work (and save it to your Dropbox folder), you can open the file later on your home computer without having to resort to USB drives or email.

One other advanced feature is the ability to share a folder with other Dropbox users. This way, if you place a file in the folder, it will be synchronized with other users’ Dropboxes as well.

2GB of storage space is free at www.dropbox.com, or you can use this referral link to get 2.25GB of space: http://db.tt/UU2z7Gm (if you already have dropbox and want your link placed here, let me know!)

For even more space, you can upgrade to a 50GB ($100/year) or 100GB ($200/year) account.

2 – Google Docs – docs.google.com

Google Docs is Google’s cloud productivity suite — which basically means their Microsoft Office competitor. In Google Docs, all the documents exist on Google’s servers, so that even if your computer crashes, the document is preserved (similar to Dropbox in #1).

However, where Google Docs differs from Dropbox is that it allows users to edit documents simultaneously and see each other’s edits in real-time. When your team is working on writing a case, one team member can be perfecting the intro, another proofreading and a third adding exhibits, all simultaneously on the same document.

When you’re done with a document, you can always export to Microsoft Word .doc format, or just print directly from Docs. Docs can also be used for Spreadsheets and Presentations, although I do not recommend the Presentations app for Rice students expected to use PowerPoint.

Google Docs is free to use, but you need to have a Google account (such as a GMail or Google Apps account) to log in.

3 – Wolfram Alpha – www.wolframalpha.com

Wolfram Alpha is hard to describe. It calls itself a “computational knowledge engine” which sounds reasonably accurate.

Where it is useful for me as an MBA student is that instead of typing a calculation into my calculator, now with Wolfram I can just copy the equation right out of my Word document and into Wolfram, then hit enter. Take a look at the example below.

This is barely scratching the surface of what Wolfram can do though — for more information visit: www.wolframalpha.com/examples

4 – Doodle – www.doodle.com

Credit goes to classmate David DellOsso for this one.

Doodle is a web application that can be used to poll your team on scheduling issues, such as when the best time to meet and discuss a case would be. It is easy to use and quick to set up. It is also platform-agnostic, so you do not need any particular email account or login to use it.

Doodle

5 – (iOS only) GoodReader — itunes.apple.com/us/app/goodreader-for-ipad/id363448914?mt=8

GoodReader on iPad

This Apple iOS app is best used on an iPad, though it also works on an iPhone.

This app is for reading and annotating PDF and Word documents, such as those many, many Strategy case studies you had to read. You can download the documents onto your i-device while syncing, or you can even download them “over the cloud” from Dropbox (mentioned above in #1).

The only downside? Sometimes reading on the iPad screen can be hard on your eyes. Even with this great app, I still often prefer to read long documents on paper.

Yesterday I posted about how Apple should release a Bluetooth-capable iPod Touch, and though I was technically wrong about the Bluetooth, they did the next best thing. As far as I can tell, the new 2nd Generation iPod Touch supports a wired microphone!

Coupled with the new built-in speaker, the in-line Mic addition makes the iPod Touch a perfect platform for a great Wi-Fi VoIP application (such as this one). The app could be distributed through Apple’s official App Store and would work on the iPhone too!

Apple Store – $79 Premium Headphones w/ Mic and Remote
Apple Store – $29 Headphones w/ Mic and Remote

Tomorrow is an Apple Event, and the company is expected to launch a redesigned iPod Nano and possibly new iTunes software as well. What would really be the smart (and probably pretty easy) thing to do would be to add Bluetooth to the iPod Touch. It would give the Touch a new relevance in an iPhone dominated market, by opening up the device to VoIP applications.

It would also benefit consumers by giving them a more ubiquitious home Wi-Fi VoIP device than the current sporadic offerings, and obviously benefit Apple through greater iPod Touch sales. The only group not thrilled by a Bluetooth-equipped iPod Touch would be the phone and cable companies, who love bundling in overpriced VoIP services with their internet and/or TV offerings.

The Nikon D90 is the first digital SLR with HD movie recording (link) and many compact digital cameras already contain the feature, confirming my prediction that the feature would be the “next big thing” among digital cameras. Now if only they’d add a line-in so I could use an external microphone, I’d be in camera heaven!

More publications are picking up on the fact that the iPhone is probably the next major gaming platform. Now if Apple would just get it’s act together and help instead of hinder developers, we could soon see it surpass a major portable gaming platform. To be honest, I could be just hyping up the iPhone as a gaming platform because I want to use it to play Advance Wars…

On a more ominous note, Comcast is the latest major ISP to begin capping data plans (link). As my friend Matt Buchanan explains here, this will basically kill a number of enterprising new internet-based services. If the rest of US ISP’s follow the trend, you’ll soon have to choose between HD movie rentals, Steam or Xbox Live gaming, and Bittorrent usage (oh, and still remember to leave some bandwidth left over to check your mail too!). Meanwhile, countries who have a more competitive field of ISP’s get options like 1.2gbps satellite internet and may have to “suffer” under a bandwidth cap of 30GB – per day. It is well past time to bring the United States’ internet options into the 21st century, or else this country will be left in the dust.