I have a 50Mb ZIP file full of photos I’d like to send to my cousin, but my email client keeps complaining that the file is too large. Is there another way I can send this file?

I came across this question in a photography forum recently and it seems to be a common question. As camera quality keeps improving and photos get larger and larger, you start hitting limits on conventional techniques for storing and transmitting photos It doesn’t matter if it’s a scan of your business qualifications or a photo of vintage sunglasses. In this case, email is really not the best mechanism for sending large files, especially as a number of mail servers actually implement a mail size quota to stop themselves from getting overwhelmed by large quantities of data.

Luckily there are a number of services on the Internet that can help you out in this case. I like using one called YouSendIt. YouSendIt is a file transmission service that starts with a free offering (which is perfect for this case), but also offers a number of options for larger companies and regular users of large files. Sending the file is as simple as filling in a small form and clicking the Send It button. Here’s an example of what the form can look like:

That was quite easy now wasn’t it. Now the form above starts giving you some idea into the premium services that the company offeres. Besides the free option (where you can send files up to 100Mb in size), they also have 3 tiers of premium services where you can send files up to 2Gb in size, password protect your files, have an area where people can send YOU files and a whole host of other options that can really streamline the way you send and receive large files.