It's Too Big!
by Gary Woods

Have you ever tried to attach a file to an email that was so big that your Internet Service Provider threw it back in your face? Well I definitely have. My ISP starts choking at about 8MB and absolutely crumbles to its' knees at 10MB. But there are definitely times that I'd like to send some pictures or a large Acrobat File that is a lot larger.

Enter Dropload (www.dropload.com) a Web site designed to make transferring large files over the Internet a snap. Dropload works like a temporary, one-time Web server, holding files just long enough for someone else to come pick them up. Simply upload a file or files (as large as 100MB) using Dropload's Web based interface, and the site notifies your intended recipient via e-mail. Once that person downloads the file, it's deleted from Dropload's server. And the coolest part about all of this is that it's free!!!

Dropload was launched last year, and there are now more than 72,000 registered users sending between 3,000 and 4,000 files across its servers every day. There are similar sites, such as YouSendIt (www.yousendit.com) and SendThisFile (www.sendthisfile.com) that have appeared on the landscape and some of them offer more storage, multiple downloads of the same file, and pay services.

So, next time you're ISP shoves one of your monstrous attachments back in your face check out the folks a Dropload and see if they can accommodate your File Transfer needs.

If you have any suggestions or questions for me please drop me a note at garyandlaury@santabarbaraproperties.com or see my column on the Internet at http://www.santabarbaraproperties.com or call me at (805) 729-0910