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 I'm a fan of My Yahoo (my wife likes iGoogle). I like being able to log onto any computer and get fresh news. The problem with both is that they're really not "My" stuff. It's just a presentation of news headlines, stock quotes, TV listings and other existing content I've requested. Of more value to me are my digital possessions such as contacts, documents, music, appointments, etc. Most of this data is on my desktop and laptop PCs, but I want it to be in the cloud (on the Net) so I can access it from any PC, phone or web connected device. Starting today this is possible, using a new free service called SyncWizard.
SyncWizard is the creation of Ajax13, a small company I started a couple years ago and first introduced after they created a full-featured, browser-based word processor.  They also built an entire web based desktop - ajaxWindows. While both were innovative technology, I didn't think these were solving a specific consumer problem. Consequently they turned their focus to moving personal data up to the Internet and making it available to any web enabled device.
As the cost of electronics declines it's increasingly likely that people have more devices (multiple PCs, mobile phone, Kindle, eeePC, etc) in their digital life. Every device should have access to your personal data. This is what the SyncWizard service and software makes possible. With a couple clicks SyncWizard takes your contacts, appointments, music and documents and zaps them onto the Net. Once on the Net you get a custom page called "My Stuff". Using this web site all your personal information is in one password protected place available from any net aware device. If you connect with a phone then you automatically get a version for your phone. Connect on a PC and you can edit nearly any piece of data, not just view.
SyncWizard is a next generation data maintainer which goes beyond dumb backup you might be familiar with. Rather than gather all your files and throw them into a big pile in the back which is a hassle to access, SyncWizard makes your data available from anywhere. It's not a backup, but a 'cloud-up' because it's putting all your data into the cloud allowing you to access it more easily. You get the safety of an extra copy but the versatility of anywhere access. At launch Microsoft Windows and Mac users (Linux version is coming shortly) get the added benefit of instant syncing of all changes. If any contact, appointment, document, etc changes on your computer it will immediately be loaded to your My Stuff area. Simply install the SyncWizard software and forget about it.
A unique design choice of SyncWizard is to store your data with industry leaders, rather than store it ourselves. All your contacts and calendars are stored at ScheduleWorld. Documents (word processing, spreadsheet and presentation) are stored with Zoho. Music is put into your personal locker at MP3tunes. Each of these companies is an industry leader who specializes in one area and acts as much more than just a storage provider. With Zoho you can edit any document right from your browser. At MP3tunes you can play all your music on any net radio. Using ScheduleWorld you can sync to many modern phones and stay in sync with Outlook and Thunderbird.
Once people start to expect and demand that their devices have access to their digital possessions (it's my bet this will be sooner rather than later), it will be important for "My" page leaders My Yahoo and iGoogle to start offering individuals a connection to their own digital lifestyle. Rather than restricting information and content just to sports scores and stock picks, they will need to enable My Documents, My Pictures, My Music and whatever else people deem a necessary part of their digital world. And just seeing that data is there is not good enough -- they'll want to open, view, edit, print, save, and share it.
| What My Yahoo and iGoogle should really look like |
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Go to www.syncwizard.com and try it for yourself. It's free, registration takes only a few seconds and the process to get you to your "My Stuff" page (depending on your bandwidth) takes only a few more. From there all the data that you use every single day will become accessible and remain up to date in the cloud, and you'll get a new homepage loaded with your own stuff. My Yahoo and iGoogle are nice, but I feel that my own data is what the real MY is all about.
--MR
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