Oh Internet… I love you!

Last week I decided to finally play around with Gmail and Shutterfly to see what the deal was and if they would work for me. I know everyone and their brother are already on the Gmail bandwagon and everyone else is already backing up and printing all their photos on Shutterfly, but just in case you are like me and are a bit slow sometimes getting in on the newest internet craze, I am here to tell you that using these two sites are a must… at least for me 🙂

Gmail (i.e. Google Mail)

Why Gmail? Well, Why not? I mean, what is there not to like about virtually limitless storage?!?

On Friday I routed all my email accounts through my newly set up Gmail account then added my new Gmail account to my Mac Mail (also works perfectly with Outlook for PC users!). My Mac Mail and my Gmail now sync with each other seamlessly and I have an online backup of all my emails. Speaking from someone who has lost everything when her old PC crashed… having a backup saves a ton of heartache! Also, if I happen to be away from my computer, I can just hop online from any computer and check all my emails from all my accounts in one place… and as a bonus… Gmail is super easy to use and keeps all those SPAM emails far far away. I am loving the “conversation view” where Gmail groups all replies with their original message, creating a single conversation or thread. So wonderful!

Sign up for a Gmail account at http://mail.google.com

Shutterfly

Can I just say how much I am loving Shutterfly?!?

Most photo sites limit your storage of photos and charge you once you have added too many. Not Shutterfly.

You all know that Kenny and I love taking pictures and we have a ton. I was looking for an online backup for my photos when I came across Shutterfly. I thought that Shutterfly was only an online print shop for your photos, but I was so wrong. It is a great place to store your pictures, create slide shows, albums, photo books and more. I can’t believe I didn’t use this sooner.

The main thing (besides limitless storage of photos) is the fact that Shutterfly has a great plugin for iPhoto, making uploading photos so simple. They also have an amazing program called “Shutterfly Studio” for Windows users for organizing and uploading photos.

Again, if my computer crashes, I now have an online backup of all my photos with Shutterfly.

They also give you a fun little web page so you can share your photos with friends and family. You can choose which uploaded albums you want to share and set permissions so only people you want can see them. You can check out ours at http://kennyandjen.shutterfly.com/. I am still working on adding and editing photos, so forgive me if it is bit rough.

Anyway if all goes well I should have all my photos backed up by the end of the week. I will also be using our public Shutterfly page to post recent pictures and trips for all of you guys, so you might want to bookmark it 🙂

Sign up for Shutterfly at http://www.shutterfly.com

I love finding things like this online. Are there any programs or web pages that you use that you can’t live without? Let me know.. I am ready to get on the bandwagon:)