They will provide you with a voicemail number, which is a perfect way to keep from having to give out your cell phone number, and still have the messages come in to you when you are on the go. They also allow you to use much of the websites features with your existing number too.

The website is very similar to their gmail site, and is one of the simplest interfaces I have ever worked with, without losing features.

The website is available at: https://www.google.com/voice

BONUS: I currently have a couple of invites that I want to share. I am looking for people to tweet about this site/post on twitter. Post a link to your twitter page on here (in the comments) and the top sharers will be rewarded with an invite!

Dropbox is a Cloud based file synchronization service that will keep a folder on your desktop (or desktops) in sync with the website.  The service all works seamlessly, as long as you have the program running in your system tray.

It allows you to backup 2GB worth of data while under the free plan, and has various paid options to meet the needs of larger file limits.  2GB is definitely enough for documents and possibly a small amount of music.

It also works on Windows, Linux or Mac OS operating systems so it is something that can be utilized by anyone.  This is something I would like to see a mobile platform created, for Blackberry or Android to be able to have access to those files anywhere.

To start using Dropbox visit: http://www.getdropbox.com/

Google Docs

Google Docs is an online (Cloud) application that allows you to view edit and create documents, all through your browser. It shines in the fact that it is tightly woven into it’s other web based apps (gmail for example) which allows you to view a Word or Excel document right from your email. It is 100% free and is a great example of a free product that can be seen as MORE functional than it’s offline counterparts.

The only thing that you lose is a few of the more advanced desktop features.  Honeslty, though, the list of features that Google Docs offers is getting larger and larger by the day.  Google has set up a feature request page, if you do find something that you would like added to the app.  The link to is is here: http://docs.google.com/support/bin/request.py?contact_type=featuresuggest

To get an account, all you have to do is go to: http://docs.google.com and either choose register, or login with your google/gmail account. (doesn’t everybody have one of those?).   From that point you will be on the main screen where you can open a saved document, create a new document, or simply upload an existing document.

So go out there and enjoy this free Cloud App.  Feel free to rate the app at the end of this article and leave any feeback in the comments section!

To put it in the most simple form Cloud Computing is just using applications that are more internet driven.  A great example of this is Google Docs compared to Microsoft Office. Traditional programs (like MS Office) run locally.  You load the program and create a document that is saved on your local computer.  What “Cloud” applications are doing for the world are allowing you to have the file saved online, instead of (or in addition to) locally.

There are a TON of free applications and services out there that I plan on highlighting – ones that are designed for netbooks, or that I have tested as compatible with netbooks.  I plan on highlighting Cloud services alongside desktop applications.   Look for the compatibility rating, on a scale of 1 through 10.