Q: I am composing songs for an album with a friend whose family just moved to Germany for several years (his father is in the military). What’s the best way to exchange audio files so that he can start working without waiting for an entire 80MB file (or several files) to transfer to his Mac account?
A: The simplest way is to compress the files using Stuffit or ZIPit, then use a utility such as SimplyRAR. It will split the files into a number of equal-sized files that will be automatically uncompressed and rejoined after the file has been uploaded to his computer (follow the directions included with the utility). You might also try iChat’s file-transfer feature – just drop the file onto your friend’s name, and it will securely move a file from your Mac’s desktop to his, regardless of where he is on the planet.