Even though it is totally free, Dropbox is one of our very favorite web applications here at Gadgets and Technology News.

We’re constantly surprised though by how many of our readers have never even heard of Dropbox so I decided to write a review to explain what Dropbox is and how you can benefit from it.

In short, Dropbox is a safe and secure disk drive in the sky where you can keep copies of your documents, photos and videos.

To get started with Dropbox, you simply sign up for a free account and download the software to your computer. This then gives you an additional folder (often on your desktop) and any files you put in this folder are automatically saved to your ‘disk drive in the sky’.

So why is this useful?

Here’s just a few ways that we use Dropbox…

1/ A Secure Backup

Too many people have all of their important files, photos etc on their computer but with no backup copy. If your computer dies… and they easily can do … or your hard-drive gets corrupted, then you could lose everything on your computer. All those important holiday photos gone forever as well as emails, downloads and important documents with no way of recovering them.

There are of course lots of ways of creating an automated backup (such as with an external hard drive or an automated online backup service such as our favorite Carbonite) but many don’t want the extra expense of this and so simply don’t have any backup!

With Dropbox, you can simply copy all of your important documents to your Dropbox folder and as if by magic, you have a backup of them ‘in the cloud’ which you can retrieve at any time and from any computer.

2/ Your Files Available to you Anywhere

Not so many years ago most people were lucky to have one computer. These days many people with have all or a selection of a desktop, a laptop or netbook, an iPad or other tablet, and an iPhone or other Smartphone (which is essentially a tiny but powerful computer).

So, what happens if you have a file on your desktop computer but need it on your iPad or iPhone?  Again this is where Dropbox comes in!

Once you have your free Dropbox account you can download the software onto any computer or laptop, and access your files from there. There are also apps for iPhone, iPad, Android and Blackberry so you can access your files from there too. And with the Dropbox website you can even access your files from any computer anywhere in the world as long as you can get internet access.

3/ Share Files with One Person or Lots of People

If you have a number of photos or large files that you need to send to a friend then what do you do?  Many people will try to email them but often email hosts have a 10MB limit and it can take ages to do too. Maybe you could put them on a CD or memory stick …. but not so easy if your friend lives hundreds of miles away!

With Dropbox, you have two options:

1/ Within the Dropbox folder on your computer you can create a subfolder that you can easily and securely give access to your friend (or a number of friends). Any files you add to this subfolder will be accessible to them immediately and they can also add files to the folder on their computer that will be accessible to you.

It’s perfectly secure though, as only the person or people that you have given authority to will be able to access the subfolder and of course they will only be able to access that subfolder and not anything you put in your other Dropbox folders.

2/ Within your Dropbox folder there is a subfolder called ‘Public’. If for example you put a photo in this subfolder and then right-mouse-clicked on it, you would be given a public link to that photo.  For example, here’s a public link to the Gadgets and Technology News logo:  http://dl.dropbox.com/u/1360536/New-Gadgets-Logo200w.jpg    Once you have this link, you can give it to anyone you like and they will be able to download that file. You could for example, email the link to a number of friends so they could download your photo.

So there are three great uses for Dropbox. There are certainly more that you’ll discover when you join but I think that’s plenty to get you started. It’s totally free so please do give Dropbox a try… we know you’ll love it as much as we do!

As we said Dropbox is totally free for up to 2GB of storage space but we’ve got a special link that will give you a further 250MB of space for free too.

Just click here now to get your Free Dropbox

Mobile Web Pro by Kevin Koop and David Cisneros

Review by Chris Towland, Gadget Editor

Everyone knows that the mobile web use is just growing and growing on a daily basis. Pretty much everyone buying a phone wants the internet capability that the iPhone and Android phones bring to the table. When we then add in the web browsing capabilities of the iPad and other tablets and it’s easy to understand why more and more internet useage is moving from the pc and laptop to mobile platforms.

One area where this change is causing problems is with business websites.  Even though in excess of 67% of smartphone users claim to have used their device to look for a local business’s location info, a very small percentage of business websites look good or are easy to navigate on a mobile phone.

This can of course equate to lost customers for the business! For example, someone looking for a nearby restaurant on their mobile phone finds your website vut can’t move around the site easily to find your address or phone number. They eventually leave your site to find another restaurant whose address they can easily find. Something as simple as this can mean the difference between a profit and a loss for small businesses.

A very cost effective solution to this problem comes in the form of Mobile Web Pro by Kevin Koop and David Cisneros.

At a price of less than $10, Mobile Web Pro provides six professionally designed mobile templates that can be added to any website. The code that comes with the templates means that if someone views your website on a desktop or laptop computer then they see your normal website whereas if they view the same site on their phone then they will see the new mobile version of your site.

This allows you to direct them straight to the information that a mobile user is looking for which is usually address or telephone number. In fact, the mobile templates will even let your visitor simply press a button on your website so that the person can telephone you automatically.

Included in Mobile Web Pro are:

• Six different mobile web templates, each in seven style versions (giving you 42 different looks for your mobile site.)
• The Mobile Detect script that decides if the user is on a mobile device or pc and gives them the correct website.
• Twenty five tutorial videos that will ensure you can quickly get the templates set up and working on your business site.
• A 30 day money back guarantee.

In my view these templates will help anyone to quickly make an effective, professional looking mobile website for their business and all for the price of a few coffees.

I’m unsure as to how long the special pricing will remain but currently it is available at The Warrior Forum.

With the release of Facebook’s new Timeline profile layout only days away, FreeTimelineCovers.net launches to provide a range of quality Facebook Covers free of charge.

Free Timeline Covers is an application that allows users to search through a database of Facebook Covers that are organized by tags, decide which cover to use, and finally install the Facebook cover. The site launches with the ability to not only install a cover manually by following a few easy steps but has also created an auto-uploader that interfaces with Facebook’s new Open Graph API, making installing a Facebook cover very easy.

The creators of Free Timeline Covers enter the scene with an impressive history since the Myspace days by offering Myspace Layouts and to most recently offering Twitter Backgrounds for Twitter users. “We know what users want, they want access to a large amount of free covers and most importantly they want to be able to express themselves through the cover that they have so carefully selected. On top of all that, this process must be easy and fast,” say the owners.

While Free Timeline Covers has just launched, the site already has a range of categorized Facebook Covers including artistic, celebrity, colorful, holiday, nature, pattern, simple and more. They are also proud to announce that in just a short 24-hour period, they have already served over 500 users by allowing them to express themselves through timeline covers. The creators are excited with the new Facebook Timeline profile as it allows users to express themselves through a single image and are proud to be serving the Facebook Community

Today, Happy Cloud, Inc., the leading provider of cloud-based on demand video game digital distribution technology, and Playrix® Entertainment, a top-tier casual games developer and publisher of such titles as Fishdom™, 4 Elements™, Call of Atlantis™ and others, announced that they are partnering to bring Playrix’s casual games library to Happy Cloud’s on demand game distribution platform. Happy Cloud’s technology virtually eliminates the need to wait for download and installation on Playrix’s titles, creating a frictionless try-to-buy experience that allows users to pick up and play.

“Casual game makers used to face a tradeoff between rich graphical experiences, which make the game bulky and slow down delivery, and easy accessibility. Happy Cloud is demonstrating that you can have both,” explains Eric Gastfriend, VP and GM of Happy Cloud. “With Happy Cloud, it only takes a few seconds to start playing Royal Envoy™, which is a 200 MB game. This is going to enable casual game developers to imagine a new class of casual games where simple, addictive play mechanics are enhanced and differentiated with richly detailed 3D worlds.”

Today, five Playrix titles will be unveiled on Happy Cloud’s digital game store at http://www.thehappycloud.com: Royal Envoy™ Collector’s Edition, 4 Elements™, Fishdom™ 2 Premium Edition, Call of Atlantis™, and Gardenscapes™. Happy Cloud works by buffering a small part of the game on the user’s hard drive before starting the game, and then using intelligent branching and caching algorithms to deliver the game content from the cloud as it is played, similar to video streaming technology. Games are pre-installed and pre-packaged on the cloud, eliminating the need for installation on the user’s end.

“We’re excited about offering our titles on new platforms and new technologies to reach new audiences,” says Igor Bukhman, Co-founder & President, Products at Playrix. “We’re impressed with the Happy Cloud experience on our games and we think our customers will be, too.”

The five Playrix titles on Happy Cloud’s website will be offered on sale at 30-50% off until the end of the week. Happy Cloud and Playrix invite users to try out the on demand experience with free demos offered at http://www.thehappycloud.com.

On Sale at The Happy Cloud Until 8/20:
4 Elements™: 50% Off
Royal Envoy™ Collector’s Edition: 30% Off
Fishdom™ 2 Premium Edition: 30% Off
Call of Atlantis™: 50% Off
Gardenscapes™: 50% Off
Defense Grid: Gold (Hidden Path Entertainment): 50% Off

It’s a sad day not just for Apple fanatics and the company but the entire gadget world. The former Apple CEO Steve Jobs has died of pancreatic cancer at the age of 56. Steve Jobs is the mastermind behind Apple’s iPhone, iPad, iPod, iMac and iTunes.

“We are deeply saddened to announce that Steve Jobs passed away today,” read a statement by Apple’s board of directors. “Steve’s brilliance, passion and energy were the source of countless innovations that enrich and improve all of our lives. The world is immeasurably better because of Steve. His greatest love was for his wife, Laurene, and his family. Our hearts go out to them and to all who were touched by his extraordinary gifts.”

Apple’s Website also includes a short memo to Jobs.

Steve Jobs will certainly be remembered in the computing world. Here’s an inspiring message from Steve Jobs himself during the Commencement exercises at Stanford in 2005.