The
AARP Web site is located at
"AARP"
used to stand for "American Association of Retired Persons" but they
quit using their long description in 1999.
You
do not have to be an AARP member to use their free online storage services.
They
have massive brand identity and "goodwill" so people who are afraid
of using the Internet are often more willing to view and download files that
are stored at the AARP Website than from other free storage locations on the
Internet.
The
aarp.org Web site does not offer paid accounts so, unlike most other free
storage locations, you will not be nagged to upgrade your account to make them
some money!
The
key features for a free account at aarp.org are:
Total
storage space for photo files in "My Photos" = 100 Megabytes
Total
storage space for video files in "My Videos" = 100 Megabytes
Total
storage space for online journals (=text notes) stored at the aarp.org Website
= not stated
Maximum
single file size = not stated
Maximum
monthly bandwidth = not stated
The
maximum monthly bandwidth is the total amount of data that you (and others that
you designate) upload to, and download from, your free account.
"aarp.org"
does limit the type of files that you are allowed to store:
You
can only store .jpg (.jpeg) files in "My Photos".
You
can store .avi, .mpeg (,mpg), .wmv, .and .flv files in "My Videos".
The
home page of the "aarp.org" Web site looks like this:
To
get yourself a free account, click on the red "Register" button that
is about 1-inch down from the upper right hand corner.
After you
get yourself an account, click on any blue "Log In" button which will
also be near the upper right hand corner of most of the pages at the
"aarp.org" Web site:
Enter your
e-mail address and your newly-acquired password.
Then click
on the blue "Log In" button.
Click on
the "Online Community" button on the upper grey navigation bar:
Then, click
on "Photos" to view and upload your photo files or click on
"Videos" to view or upload your video files.
Next, click
on the "Add Photos" to upload your photo files.
For each
.jpg or .jpeg photo, you can select whether this specific photo file is to be
"Public", "Friends Only" or "Private" If it is
"Public", anyone on the "World Wide Web" can view it. If it
is set to "Friends Only", only "aarp.org" account holders
that you designate can view it. If it is set to "Private", then only
you can view the photo file, after you log into "aarp.org" with your
e-mail address and password.
For an
example of a photo that has been set to "Public", go to
http://www.aarp.org/community/fchao2/photo/
The photo
that we made "public" was taken by Liz at "Biosphere 2" in
Arizona last month.
aarp.org
gives each member a mandatory "public profile" Web page. Ours is
located at
http://www.aarp.org/community/fchao2/
and it looks like this:
We have
chosen to suppress all personal information from displaying on this page.
If you are
as "shy" as we are, here is how you can "sanitize" your
"public profile" Web page:
Go to
It looks
like this:
Click on
the blue "LOG IN" button. It is near the upper right hand corner of
the page.
Type in
your e-mail address and password in the "Registered Already?"
section.
Click on
the blue "LOG IN" button.
Click on
the "My Profile" hyperlink that is under your first name. The
"My Profile" hyperlink is near the upper right hand corner of the
page.
Click on
the "Settings" button under the silhouette portrait.
Add a
checkmark to "Hide my AARP.org community profile from search
results".
Click on
the blue "SAVE CHANGES" button.