27

Mar

Transferring Large Files Finally Made Easy: YouSendIt.com

Posted by: Jeremy Reither

Every now and then you come across one of those programs or websites or applications that truly makes your life easier. Sometimes in a big way…sometimes just a little. Some people call those things “killer apps.” As in, “this application is killer.” Personally I think that term is lame – sounds like some kind of surfer-tech lingo. But until I think of something better – here’s a killer app that’s made my life just a little easier:

YouSendIt is a web application that allows you to send large files quickly and easily, without worrying about filling up the recipient’s e-mail inbox. You enter the recipients’ email addresses, upload the file, and click ‘send’. YouSendIt stores the file on their server and e-mails the recipients a link to the file, which is available for download for 7-14 days, depending on whether you use the free or paid service.

And that brings me to the best part – it’s free.

You can send up to 100MB for free…and the file will be available for download (meaning the link e-mailed to your recipients will work) for 7 days. Pay as little as $9.99/month and you can send files up to 2GB, which will be available for 14 days. There are other account options explained on their website.

If you have the technical know-how and have access to a web server you can use something called “FTP” to do essentially the same thing – but YouSendIt provides security measures to protect the files you’re sending, and also simplifies the sending process by sending a confirmation e-mail as soon as the file has been uploaded.

Until a buddy told me about YouSendIt, I was essentially using my $250/year GoToMyPC subscription to transfer files between computers. Granted, I was also using GoToMyPC to execute those files on the destination computer…but I eventually came to the conclusion that I could do without that ability. In other words, all I needed was to be able to e-mail large attachments to myself and to others. YouSendIt fit the bill perfectly, so I cancelled my GoToMyPC account, saving me about $125/year (I signed up for the $9.95/mo YouSendIt premium service so I can send larger files). But more importantly, I’m saving time. YouSendIt is a specialized service built to send files, so it’s a lot easier to use than FTP or GoToMyPC, and doesn’t require any special software on your computer. Okay, I admit it – maybe “killer app” is appropriate here.