Wanted: low cost or free collaboration software

[William Krick]

A musician friend of mine asked me if there is some way he could
share his cooledit projects (multi-megabytes) with another person
through the internet.


i.e. he is a guitarist, his friend is a drummer, they want to put
a track together without being physically in the same room.


He has a broadband connection (cable modem with a dynamic IP). The
machine with the files is connected to the cable modem through a
router. The machine is running Windows 2000 Professional.


Conceptually, I understand that there probably needs to be:
1. some sort of server software running on his computer
2. ports opened on the router and forwarded to his machine
3. the same configuration on his friend's computer


His requirements (in order of importance)...
1. Easy to use.
2. Secure. He doesn't want hackers on his machine.
2. Cheap (or free) if possible.


What is the best way to go about making this happen?
Thanks in advance for any info that leads to a solution
....
Krick

 

[bryce.yates]

There are a few options available.

1. On the machine running Windows 2000 pro you can install FTP
services (free) that will by default run on port 21. There are many
ways to secure this. one way is to set the permissions on the FTP
folder so that only a certain account has access. You can also change
the default port that is used.

This solution is easy to use, free and can be secure. The downsize is
the setup and securing process can be complex if you are unfamiliar.

2. This is also an FTP based solution but instead let someone else
worry about the configuration. There are many hosted FTP sites
available on the internet. Some are for free. Search google and see
what you find.

3. Get an invite for a Gmail account (free). Google Email account.
Loadup the GmailFS component (free) and the email account appears and
acts like a drive on your computer (very easy). The only limitations
to this is 10mb file size, but the mailbox will let you store up to a
Gig of data. let me know if you are interested in this solution and I
can set you up with an invite.

Good Luck.

Bryce

 

[Fred Marshall]

Check to see if either of your ISPs is already providing you with ftp
service.
If so, you might use that.

Fred