Whether you need to send a high resolution photo to a client or a flashy new video your co-worker, your average email service is just not going to be able to handle it. Most email services allow you to transfer 10MB at any given time and you don’t always know that your recipient even has that much available - all you know is that you have to get the files to them. Unless you both are very comfortable with FTP, you are going to have to find a better way to get the files from Inbox A to Inbox B in a timely manner.

There are plenty of applications available to help you move those big files - ranging from the free and easy to the expensive and decked out with extras. Here are the highlights on 13 services you can use to move big files: (more…)

Alex Shalman, known for his Practical Personal Development site, is today’s Essential Tools feature.  Alex is a full-time student, working on his Masters Degree, and his passion for personal development is evident in every aspect of his writing. His most popular posts include Seven Questions that will Change your Life,  How to Make Everything the Bright Side, and The One Decision that will Change Your Life.

Alex’s Essential Tools for Success in his own words:

Microsoft Outlook and OneNote - This great little tool that integrates both my personal and work e-mails allowing me to respond as quickly and effortlessly as possible. In addition, Outlook provides me with a great place to store my contacts and calender entries.

Ever have anything important to right down? I do, and I trust OneNote to store everything I need. This application provides tabbed browsing, categories, folders and search features. In addition, you can set passwords up on choice pages in order to maintain maximum privacy for your most private writing. I never journal without it!

Olympus Digital Voice Recorder - Whether I’m recording a lecture in school, or making a ‘note to self’ while driving, I’m never found without this tool. This is my secret to never losing a great idea! You would be surprised how many ideas you get, and then forget, while being in the most obscure locations and doing the oddest things.

Firefox - The only way to browse. Between cocomment, pagerank, alexa rank, and a myriad of other little plugins, I use Firefox for all my browsing needs.

Adobe Photoshop and Dreamweaver - My number one choice for image editing. If you see something sparkly or shiny on my site, chances are I used Photoshop to edit it. Dreamweaver is the way I edit and upload all the code and images
that I like to fidget with on the site.

These are my essentials, that I basically use on a daily basis. Keeping me connected, updated, and creative.

Thanks to Alex for sharing his favorite tools! What’s in your essential toolbox?

Most Wednesdays I feature a single blogger/online professional in my Essential Tools series, however, this week I am going to do it a bit differently. Rather than inviting and featuring one individual, I have gone through my reader and bookmarks to find some essential tools posts that others have published.

• 10 Small Business Finance Tools I Can’t Live Without - Rich McIver’s post at Performancing.com features tools that help small businesses and freelancers manage the money side of their businesses more efficiently so they can focus on the things they do best.
• Recent Essential Tools feature, Chris Garrett, takes things a few steps more in his post Top 10 Tools I Can’t Live Without.
• Eric Miller shares an extensive list of Essential Graphic Design Tools
• Web developers will love the tools Elmer Thomas Jr.  highlights - from database design, version control, Flash and much more.
• Angela at melange takes Chris G.’s lead and shares her Top 10 Tools list - I’ll be checking some of them out in more detail.

If you have published a list of your favorite, essential, must have or can’t live without tools for online success (I use this term loosely), please be sure to leave me a comment and I will add you to this list.