Attractions In West Miami - Five Ways Tech Can Help Students Save Money

Source         - http://shopping.yahoo.com/
By               -  Marc Saltzman
Category     - Attractions In West Miami
Posted By   - Inn and Suites In West Miami

Attractions In West Miami

Students today have enough weighing on their minds – and wallets. But just because they’re tight on cash doesn't mean they should be without some cool technology. In fact, picking the right tech products can actually save a student some money in other areas.

Impossible, you say? Asleep in class, are we? The following is a look at how technology can help save students some cash as they head into the classroom this fall.

Video calling

College students away from home can keep in touch with their family and friends back at home – for free – with video chatting services like Skype, FaceTime or Google Hangouts. In other words, why pay long distance fees to your telephone provider when you can chat for free, and with video, over the school's Wi-Fi or a cellular connection. Actually, smartphone cameras and webcams might just save a long distance relationship (use your imagination). For free audio calls, there are also many VoIP apps -- like NetTalk, Viber and MagicJack -- you can use to make free phone calls over Wi-Fi.

Free software

Don’t blow your budget on expensive software to remain productive this semester. There are dozens of free downloads for your computer or smartphone that won’t cost you a dime. For example, you can download free productivity suites – such as Libre Office, OpenOffice.org and Kingsoft Office – which include a word processor, presentation maker, spreadsheet creator, and more; these work with a number of operating systems and are available in multiple languages. There’s also free photo editors (like Gimp), video converters (e.g. Handbrake), antivirus tools (including Avast, Avira and AVG), and more.

Cloud storage

Rather than pay for an external hard drive, “cloud” services like Dropbox, SkyDrive, iCloud, SugarSync and Google Drive offer between 2 gigabytes (GB) and 7GB of free online storage, per account. Bitcasa and Zoolz offer even more. Plus, you can access these password-protected files from any online device in the world. Uploading all your important documents, photos and music protects your data from local threats, such as theft and damage. TeamViewer and Splashtop are also recommended (and free) software for PCs and mobile devices that let you log into your computer remotely from any other online-enabled computer or smartphone -- and access your files as if you were sitting in front of it.

Convergence is king

Many gadgets today perform more than one function. Examples include an "all-in-one" printer that scans, copies and faxes (and reads your camera’s memory cards and USB sticks); smartphones, which are like digital Swiss Army Knives, as they’re also a music player, camera, camcorder, GPS and gaming device; and a laptop (as it's also your TV, radio, phone, gaming console and so forth). Actually, with the latter, those who live in a dorm room must rely on their computer for everything – entertainment, productivity and communication; using a laptop or desktop as a television, stereo system and gaming rig is a lot more affordable (and space-saving) than buying individual devices that do one thing.

Assess your needs

A final thought is to keep in mind you don't need to break the bank on a pricey laptop if you're only using it for basic school-related tasks, like writing essays in a word processor, searching for info on the web or accessing your Facebook account. While the sales clerk at your favorite electronics retailer might try to upsell you, it is possible to spend only a couple hundred -- instead of a couple of thousand -- on a back-to-school computer. Some students on a tight budget stick with a tablet and pick up an external keyboard for typing up assignments, but a laptop gives you a larger screen (better for multitasking), many ports and more memory (storage).