Put Your Head In The Cloud!
By Lori Hope Baumel
Originally appeared in Around Wellington Magazine on October 1, 2015
Photo: Dropox website
If you are a lover of all things beautiful, great and small, then you probably have a cache of at least a thousand pictures stored in your smartphone. For those of you who back up your phone onto a computer or hard drive, kudos! But, simply backing up photos with your computer will only last as long as the hard drive on your computer is alive and well.
Repeat after me:
All hard drives fail.
Again… C’mon now… SAY IT!
“All hard drives fail.”
(Thank you.)
Now that we have that out of the way… Have you ever dropped your phone into the hot tub or the loo? If so, then you know that in this digital age, we must take our photo storage a bit more seriously. Therefore, I am going to urge you to consider backing up your photos, videos or any other important documents onto a cloud-based server. You have many formats to choose from. Some have a limited amount of space for free and some charge an annual fee when you go over the allotted storage amount.
If you’ve ever experienced the frustration of trying to email a large file to a friend or collaborator, cloud-based storage can be your solution. Personally, depending on the project and preference of those I’m working with, I have used the following methods of cloud storage at one time or another. The descriptions below contain edited information taken directly from each cloud-based service website. No, we’re not talking plagiarism… I’ve just done your homework for you. If you’ve made it this far into my article then you can follow directions and save yourself years of worry and stress. Here are the most popular and reliable options:
iCloud
iCloud connects you and your Apple devices in amazing ways. It makes sure you always have the latest versions of your important information—like documents, photos, notes, and contacts—on whatever device you’re using. It lets you easily share photos, calendars, locations, and more with friends and family. It even helps you find your device if you lose it. Don’t have an iOS device or a Mac? You can still get web-only access to create and share documents using Pages, Numbers, and Keynote by signing in to iCloud.com. With web-only access, you also get 1 GB of free storage for any documents you create.
With iCloud set up on your devices, you get an email account and 5 GB of free storage for your mail, documents, photos, and iOS device backups. Your purchased music, apps, TV shows, and books don’t count against your available space.
You set up iCloud on your devices by signing in and turning on the features you want to use on each device. Sign in on your iOS device or Mac first, and then you can sign in on your Windows computer and Apple TV. Before you can sign in on your Windows computer, you must first install iCloud for Windows.
Note: If you are already using some aspects of iCloud with your iOS devices, double check and make sure that your phone, iPad, and computer are all synced up. You can then access your photos and documents from home or on the go!
What’s the best way to set up iCloud? They don’t call it the “Genius Bar” for nothing. Go to apple.com and schedule an online appointment with the Genius bar at your local Apple Store. I have found the personnel at the Wellington Mall Apple Store to be patient and knowledgeable. In a half hour, they’ll have you synced and set! For more information on setting up iCloud go to:
http://help.apple.com/icloud/#/mmfc0f1a3b
And/or
https://support.apple.com/kb/PH2608?locale=en_US&viewlocale=en_US
Dropbox: “One place for all your stuff, wherever you are.”
Dropbox is a home for all your photos, docs, videos, and files. Anything you add to Dropbox will automatically show up on all your computers, phones and even the Dropbox website — so you can access your “stuff” from anywhere. Even if your computer has a meltdown or your phone goes for a swim, your stuff is always safe in Dropbox and can be restored in a snap. Dropbox is like a time machine that lets you undo mistakes and even undelete files you accidentally trash. Over 400 million people around the world rely on Dropbox to help them design buildings, compose music, run businesses, and even coordinate disaster relief. Whether you’re an entrepreneur or a teacher, a photographer or an astronomer, an artist or an activist, Dropbox simplifies your life.
For a wonderful video and more information about Dropbox go to: dropbox.com/tour
Google Drive and Google Docs
Google Drive is one of the most popular cloud storage services available today, offering 15 gigabytes (15GB) of free storage space. If you’ve never used a cloud-based storage service like Google Drive before, take a moment to consider the advantages of keeping your files online. Because files can be accessed from any computer with an Internet connection, Drive eliminates the need to email or save a file to a USB drive. And because Drive allows you to share files, working with others becomes much easier.
For an informative video on Google Drive go to:
www.gcflearnfree.org/googledocuments/1
Google Docs is a free Web-based application in which documents and spreadsheets can be created, edited and stored online. Files can be accessed from any computer with an Internet connection and a full-featured Web browser. For a detailed Google Docs explanation, watch this YouTube video:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eRqUE6IHTEA
Now, stop worrying about all of your photos and files and:
Live… Go… Do!
Top 5 for October 2015
1) The Norton Museum of Art is proud to be the first U.S. venue to present:
This Place: Israel Through Photography’s Lens.
Thursday, Oct 15, 2015 through Sunday, Jan. 17, 2016.
One dozen notable photographers from around the globe spent months creating a portrait of a country so well known, yet so little understood.
When French photographer Frederic Brenner decided to invite a group of the finest photographers in the world to spend time in Israel and the West Bank to create their own portraits of the place, some were intrigued and others were wary of being used for political gain, or were not interested. But Brenner ultimately convinced 11 men and women to accept his invitation to see a land more complicated than headlines suggest. The result is an unprecedented international, creative initiative that, according to photographer Brenner, is similar to the U.S. Farm Security Administration of the 1930s, which commissioned artists who used photography to ask essential questions about culture, society, and people’s lives. Brenner is scheduled to give an exhibition lecture at 6:30 p.m. on Oct. 15 during Art After Dark, and returns on Nov. 19 for a presentation with other photographers who participated.
While acknowledging and paying heed to the region’s conflicts, This Place asks that we look beyond this – that we widen and multiply our lens. It unveils a dozen contemporary photographic viewpoints of Israel and the West Bank, created primarily between 2009 and 2012. Participating photographers were Brenner (France), Wendy Ewald (United States), Martin Kollar (Slovakia), Josef Koudelka (Czech Republic), Jungjin Lee (S. Korea), Gilles Peress (France), Fazal Sheikh (United States), Stephen Shore (United States), Rosalind Fox Solomon (United States), Thomas Struth (Germany), Jeff Wall (Canada) and Nick Waplington (United Kingdom). The combination of these individual photographic sensibilities and approaches act as a heterogeneous narrative and produce not a single, monolithic vision, but rather a diverse and fragmented portrait of this important and much contested space.
“When what is at stake is sharing the origin,” says Brenner, “it seems to me necessary to gather a large spectrum of individuals whose origins, passions, and paradoxical and contradictory perspectives could help us grasp the unbearable complexity of this place and its voices.” The result is this exhibit.
This Place is a rare opportunity to see an international exhibit right here in Palm Beach County. Originally, This Place opened in October 2014 at the DOX Centre for Contemporary Art in Prague. After This Place leaves the Norton Museum, the exhibition will transfer to the Brooklyn Museum of Art, Brooklyn, New York from February 12, 2016 to June 5, 2016
For more information go to www.norton .org
2) Books – This Place (cont’d):
This Place will publish a total of 13 books, including a comprehensive catalog and 12 monographs. Nine of these books have already been released, and the remaining four will be published in 2015. The books include:
– Frederic Brenner, An Archaeology of Fear and Desire (MACK)
– Wendy Ewald, This is Where I Live (MACK)
– Martin Kollar, Field Trip (MACK)
– Josef Koudelka, Wall (Aperture)
– Jungjin Lee, Unnamed Road (MACK)
– Fazal Sheikh, The Erasure Trilogy (Steidl)
– StephenShore, From Galilee to the Negev (Phaidon)
– Rosalind Solomon, THEM (MACK)
– Thomas Struth, Thomas Struth (MACK)
– Nick Waplington, Settlement (MACK)
These 13 books capture the monumental scale of the project, as well as profound and personal visions of each of the participating photographers. The diversity of their perspectives and artistic grammars captures the complexity and dissonance of Israel itself.
3) The Maltz Jupiter Theater Presents Its 2015 – 2016 Season:
AGATHA CHRISTIE – THE MOUSETRAP
OCTOBER 25 – NOVEMBER 8, 2015
BILLY ELLIOT THE MUSICAL
DECEMBER 1 – 20, 2015
THE WILL ROGERS FOLLIES
JANUARY 12 – 31, 2016
FROST/NIXON BY PETER MORGAN
FEBRUARY 7 – 21, 2016
KISS ME, KATE
MARCH 8 – 27
For more information go to:
www.jupitertheatre.org/season-productions
4) For you “reality” show lovers:
The Kravis Center for the Performing Arts Presents
AMERICA‘S GOT TALENT LIVE: The All-Stars Tour!
Sunday, November 1 at 8 pm
Featuring some of the most popular performers from the hit NBC variety competition series, AMERICA’S GOT TALENT, will launch its first ever all-stars tour. Top acts from 10 years of the #1 rated summer reality television series are coming to a theater near you, providing the ultimate variety show experience. The 42-city tour will include some of the show’s most captivating and entertaining talent, including Season 8’s favorite comedian, Taylor Williamson, Season 9’s powerhouse performer Emily West, Season 8’s comedic hand balancing duo The KriStef Brothers, and the memorable “junk rock” performers Recycled Percussion from Season 4, with more acts to be announced soon.
Tickets start at $20
5) A lovely classical afternoon…
Florida Atlantic University Symphony Orchestra Presents:
“Revival”
October 11, 2015 – 3:00 PM
Orchestral music by Bach, Vivaldi, Mozart and Haydn
Tim Shade, conductor.
777 Glades Road Boca Raton, FL33431
Phone: 800-564-9539
Admission: $10 (at the door) – $11.80 via Ticketmaster at:
www.ticketmaster.com/event/0D004EEDECF7A342?brand=fau
Accessibility Information:
Wheelchair Access