What I will tell you changed my life irreversibly. And yes, I'm a chemist, who constantly reads and writes journal articles.
We the academics like brevity, so, here is the secret:
Hardware: Apple's iMac and iPhone
Software: Google Drive, Docs, Gmail
Why Apple hardware?
I switched from PC to Apple in 2013 and never looked back, for these 4 reasons:
- Apple iOS almost never crashes (previously once my Dell laptop hard drive fried and Sony laptop display card crashed, both leading to permanent loss of data and time)
- Apple doesn't need antivirus software (you don't have to worry about why your computer slowed down because it doesn't)
- Apple updates don't force you to wait 12 updates finish before you can unplug your laptop (this is a real story. My Vaio kept me in the office for another half hour until I gave up and unplugged. This was the breaking point, so thanks Microsoft!)
- Apple products are durable and give you what you paid for.
Why Google software?
Our favorite search engine does more than searching:
- Gmail is the best email provider and app with unmatched searching capabilities.
- Google Drive works seamlessly with Gmail, you can attach files without duplicating in your online drive quota. You know what I mean if you also are emailing several drafts of papers, each with high resolution pictures. You can share folders, etc. just like any other cloud drive but the integration with your email is a must.
- Google Docs can edit word files (although I had issues with annotated files) and you can beam back to your colleagues the edited file right away.
- Google Drive can view pdf, ppt and other available formats. (I successfully read and reviewed a journal paper from my iPhone!)
- Documents created by Google software (e.g. gdoc) don't take up precious drive space.
- Any files you generate, update, edit show up in seconds (not minutes like in Box) in every device.
- Google won't try to rob you once you're hooked (hear us Dropbox!)
The (dream) setup
- iMac retina display $3000 in the office
- iPhone 6 with 128 GB $800
- Google Drive 100 GB subscription $2/month
How to use the dream setup
1. Make all your documents online. Once your storage is active, download Google drive software and install it. Then drag all your folders into the Google drive folder in the Finder. It will start uploading all your files online. The initial setup will take time but it's well worth it. I now have 50k files and 63 GB including email on the drive.
2. Install your apps on the iPhone. And make sure you're using the same gmail account when signing in. I'm using a 128 GB iPhone because I will be downloading all my files to the phone as well (for the time being I make them available on the device one by one, when I think I will work on them). Talk about computing on an airplane over the clouds but with an iPhone.
3. Start viewing, editing your documents! One particular advantage I found is when I read a journal paper on my iPhone (thanks to Feedly) and like it, I tell Google Drive to open it (but first reopen the page in a browser if you are on Feedly or Twitter). It then uploads the file, after which I rename, relocate and share with my friends and lab.
Conclusions
Being able to access all your files from your phone makes your life unbelievably easy because now you won't have to promise a colleague that you "will send him/her a file once you get to your computer". I just did it several hours ago in a coffee shop while discussing with a fellow chemist on porous cages.
And since your files are safely stored in the thin air, you will not need to backup every second (although Apple Time Capsule does it beautifully, wirelessly) and better yet, you can use ANY computer to access and work on your files.
I'm sure those who have been Apple fan longer than I am would know a lot more tricks. Please do tell below in the comments. And yes, this post was written on the iPhone with all the image capturing and editing. Amazing times.
Disclaimer: Apple or Google did not pay me for this post. In fact, I'm paying them a lot already!
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