How to seamlessly share data across devices
With more and more devices being introduced into the home, what are some of the best ways to share data and information seamlessly across all?
Whether it's for work or for entertainment, your daily gadget use is rarely anchored to just one device.
Using multiple devices has given people unparalleled access to all the information we need for work, education and entertainment.
The downside often comes when it’s time to share information from device to device.
While the traditional method of using some form of portable storage device can be an option, it is not always convenient or possible when devices are slimming down and losing features like USB ports.
Sharing and organising documents across all your devices
With apps and programs available on most devices, there is now ample opportunity to create documents across your laptop, PC and even mobile devices.
While it is convenient to be able to create these docs as you go, it can be difficult to share, organise and find these docs across all your devices.
To help, Microsoft has Office 365. For a monthly or yearly fee you can use all of Microsoft’s programs such as Word, Excel and PowerPoint across your devices.
The subscription also comes with big Cloud storage so you can save and access your documents to or from the Cloud. This will reduce the need for flash drives or external hard drives.
There are other sites like Dropbox and Google Docs which also provide Cloud storage and file sharing to help you stay on top of your document management.
Keeping on top of login details
Another problem with the use of multiple devices is keeping track of your logins across numerous sites. As it's not safe to use the same password across all your accounts, it can be difficult to keep track of all your logins, especially if you have multiple devices.
Most browsers now come with the ability to track your logins for all of your favourite sites. Signing into Google Chrome, for example, allows you save your logins as you visit sites and then access them as needed across devices.
Lastpass is another service that specialises in keeping track of logins. You can also download this as an app for all of your smart devices to ensure access to your favourite sites wherever you are.
Dashlane and 1Password also offer similar services.
Keeping track of your bookmarks and browser pages
Syncing bookmarks means you no longer have to worry about replicating every saved bookmark across your devices.
Google Chrome browser now allows you to sign in using your Google account and keep track of all your history, bookmarks and saved passwords regardless of device.
There are also programs that allow you to manage bookmarks. XMarks has the added advantage of synchronising bookmarks across multiple browsers.
Diigo is another website that not only enables you to organise your bookmarks but also allows you to share, annotate and make notes about them making it easier to manage your most frequently visited sites.
Manage your memories with smart photo storage solutions
Another great advance in the past decade has been the development of sophisticated cameras and screens within smart devices.
While this has meant that you can capture every aspect of your life in photos, the ability to access them across all devices can be a clunky experience.
Cloud storage options like Google Photos, Apple photos and Flickr have enabled people to access all of their images across all devices from the one location.
The best way to synchronise your messages, contacts and calendars
Another problem when using multiple devices is being able to find all of your contacts, appointments or messages across all your devices.
Photos unlimited! Flickr now offers 1 Terabyte of free storage to all users.
The biggest players in the contact and calendar syncing game are arguably Microsoft, Apple and Google.
As part of the Office 365 and Exchange server offering, Microsoft provides access to Exchange Active Sync, which maintains your calendar, email and contacts.
This will allow you to sync your messages, contacts and appointments in the one place and be able to access them across your devices.
Similarly, Google also offers mail, contacts and calendar apps, which allow you to sync all of your messages, appointments and people across your devices.
Apple also allows you to sync your contacts, mail and calendar but will also share your apps, music and videos across multiple devices using iTunes.
As the number of devices in the household increases, the ability to be able to work seamlessly across these devices will be key to ensuring productivity.
Connecting to the Cloud is a key aspect of this. Ensuring Australia has access to fast internet connections will enable more Australian’s to work across all their devices without constant waiting for slow upload and download speeds.
Check your address to see if you can connect to the nbn™ network.