The
world of Miami lawyer Noah Bender encompasses work, home and
something you could call virtual space.
Wherever
he is, Bender stores and retrieves files and contacts over the
Internet - just as though it were stored to a hard drive. By
telephone, a mechanical secretary reads him his e-mail and appointments.
Bender accomplishes this by subscribing to www.ureach.com, a
Web site that allows anyone who registers to store files, set
appointments, look up e-mail, send faxes, ``chat'' with clients
and use a personal 1-877 phone number.
Best
of all, the service is free and one of a proliferating number
on the Net.
The
sites are known as virtual desktops. Click on your own Web page
of icons and the programs work as though stored on your computer
- only slower if you have a dial-up connection. Virtual desktops,
like a centralized filing system, are particularly valuable
to people who work on different computers at home, at work and
on the road. All you need is an Internet connection. Without
having to configure anything, you sign in and fetch e-mail,
open essential files and keep them current from anywhere.
For
students and others who have access to a personal computer but
don't own one, they can maintain a personalized communications
and filing system.
Programs
vary. Some emphasize file storage and access. Others work like
personal organizers. They can provide personalized home pages,
bill-paying service, customized news reports, free e-mail, safe
chat rooms for kids and programs for organizing your life. Uploading
files to your virtual desktop works as if opening files from
your own hard drive. The programs contain extensive help files,
are relatively simple and remain secure from peeping eyes.
Most
services are free, unless you want extras such as more storage
space or more telephone time. The range of programs is rapidly
expanding.
``They're
useful if for no other reason than to store your files in virtual
space,'' says Bender, who tried several virtual desktops and
stuck with www.ureach.com. He likes ureach, he says, because
``every month they come out with more and more features.''
Among
the sites and services:
www.magicaldesk.com
for PCs, www.imagicaldesk.com for Macintosh.
Features:
Functions as a personal information manager. Five free megabytes
of file storage, e-mail, calendar, to-do list, bookmarks, notice
board of magicaldesk messages and frequently asked questions,
desktop of 18 boxes to customize. Can add search engine, a thesaurus,
link to shareware site, CNET news, other functions. Customizes
views of calendar, which can be shared with others, and address
books, with fields for professional and private contacts.
Add-on:
Twenty extra megabytes of storage for $5 a month, 50 extra megabytes
for $10 a month, five extra e-mail accounts for $10 a month.
Special
services: MagicalViewer, which is free for three months and
then $5 a month, allows viewing of 250 file types even if the
computer user doesn't own the program to which they belong.
MagicalSync synchronizes files and bookmarks between hard drives
and Web folders. There also is a magicaldesk for Palm Pilots
and cell phones that have access to the Internet.
www.ureach.com
Features:
Works as a personal information and telecommunications manager,
providing subscriber with toll-free telephone number with first
30 minutes monthly free, and free voice mail, address book,
to-do list, appointments, e-mail, fax, 30 megabytes of storage,
public and private chat rooms, personal Web site. By dialing
the phone number from anywhere nationwide, the computer can
read back voice mail, e-mail, entries from address book, to-do
list, appointments. User can reply, forward messages, e-mail,
fax. Imports/exports address book from/to Palm Pilot, Outlook,
Outlook Express, text files.
Add-on:
One hundred minutes additional telephone time for 10 cents a
minute, 500 extra minutes for nine cents a minute, 1,000 minutes
for eight cents a minute.
www.yahoo.com
Features:
Works as personal information manager with customized content.
Customized home page, customized Internet browser, linked to
free Internet service, free e-mail, instant messaging, 10 megabytes
shared and private storage space for files and photo albums,
address book, stock quote alerts, calendar, chat rooms, music,
online clubs, games, file synchronization, e-mail greeting cards.
Special
features: E-mail and moderated chat rooms for kids. Bill-paying
service, automated and scheduled reminders, computerized payment
book, free for first three months then either $2 per month plus
40 cents per payment or $7 a month for up to 25 payments. Business
Web site with assistance building, $30 a month.
www.idrive.com
Features:
Works as a storage drive for file and photo album storage and
management. Fifty megabytes of shared and private disk space
for storing hard-drive files. Unlimited space for storing Web
files. Free bookmarks, drop box for receiving files from others.
Add-on:
Extra 25 megabytes storage space added on free by storing files
from www.mp3.com, extra 30 megabytes storage space added on
free by storing files from www.epitonic.com.
Special
features: Free Filo program for taking and storing ``snapshots''
of Web pages. Free Sync synchronization program, automatic or
manual updates of any files, folders between hard drive, Web
site.
Virtual
desktops typically are supported by advertising.
Their
popularity is expected to soar when more Internet users buy
high-speed access, which means they will be able to run Web-based
programs swiftly, without noticing that they are on the Internet
and not within the computer.
Additional
virtual desktop sites include (www.) jump.com, visto.com, xdrive.com,
eorgan izer.com, personable.com, desktop.com, drive way.com,
swapdrive.com, freedrive.com, freedisk space.com
