Working online is one of the blessings of our time. it enables us to work from virtually anywhere in the world, provide an internet connection is available. But what happens when one or more of the companies we rely upon quits their service or goes belly-up ? How will you get to your data, recover your e-mail and how will people reach you if the online webmail gets bombed ?
WebworkerDaily also thinks about this. They suggest not storing valuable information online, but only lightweight information that will have no mening to anyone that gets his hands on it. Personally, I don't store much online. Most of my valuable info is on usb sticks or in my treo - the rest is online. Zoho, the company that has made several online applications including a full-featured office suite, has come up with a solution to this : Software that installs locally and syncs all your stuff between your computer and the online application. The official purpose of this software was to enable you to work offline with your online documents, so this is a bonus if you catch my drift. Zoho currently offers a plugin for MS Office to do this as well as their Virtual Office Suite which installs locally.