BeInSync (www.beinsync.com) is one software that can solve the problem of file transfer once and for all. The concept is simple: create a secured P2P network between two or more computers, and automatically synchronize files and folders among these computers. For example, if I wish to have my 'My Documents' folder available both at home and at the office, I simply add it to BeInSync and it is kept in sync between the two computers over the Internet. The alternative would have been using file transfer software such as FTP programs, using VPNs and so forth.
I find WS_FTP (www.ipswitch.com) to be a good, solid file transfer program. I've had problems with CuteFTP and other applications, but this one seems more robust. Unlike applications such as BeInSync, it is not seamless and requires a working knowledge as to what an IP address is, etc. It is, however, recommended for administering Web sites and similar activities.
Yes, all IM clients can transfer files between buddies. Assuming no firewall problems (MSN is good at fixing that) you can transfer virtually any size file. In reality, IM clients are not the most easy nor the most reliable way to transfer files. What's more, IM requires the other party to be present in order for the file to be transferred to or from that party.
XDrive, Streamload and other applications offer you a sort of a "network drive" - storage space on the vendor's server. This enables you to easily upload files to the network drive in order to share, transfer or backup your files. Cons: you obviously need to pay for the storage space provided to you, and it's not cheap.
Need to transfer large files? You can also do it the hard way, by physically carrying it with you. The most convenient way for doing that is USB thumb drives, available from practically all retailers. Naturally, you could also burn CDs, DVDs, use Zip drives, etc. I put my money on the less labour intensive solutions that are described in this site, though.
If your requirements are limited to sharing or transferring photos, there are many nice applications available to you: Picasa's hello (www.hello.com, bought by Google), OurPictures (www.ourpictures.com), Pixpo (www.pixpo.com), ShareALot (www.sharealot.com), etc.
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Remote access resources - www.pc-remote-access.net
All you need to know about remote access applications.
Data synchronization - www.tusync.com
Remote access links - http://remote-access-applications.blogspot.com
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Do you need to initiate file transfers on a regular basis? AutoFTP would do it for you. Check out www.primasoft.com/ftp_service.htm. It's a little pricy for the average user, though.
iFolder (www.ifolder.com) is now an open source project. It is a server-client system which lets you share files across multiple computers and with other users. Benefits are backup, file sharing and remote access. In this respect, it bears some resemblence to BeInSync, only BeInSync (www.beinsync.com) does not require a server installation since it's all Peer-to-Peer.
Pando (www.pando.com), a new product still in beta, offers a cool way of transferring any size file or folder using a P2P client.
ToToExpress (not sure if I get the name yet...) is a web-based service that offers content producers such as musicians and photographers a way to collaborate, share and deliver their work. Using the product, one can send and receive large files. According to the comany's Web site, this saves a lot of time and money media and courier fees. Pricing ranges from $25 t0 $90 per month (dependent on the storage space allocated to you). Check out
www.totoexpress.com.
As you might have heard, the new Google Desktop supports remote access and file sharing (and therefore can be used for file transfer). All-in-all, a cool, free piece of software, but personally, I think I'll pass. When using these two features (as well as multiple computer search) all your data resides on Google's servers! This is a major privacy issue, as I don't want my bank account details on anybody's server but my own. Still, if you'd like to try it check out desktop.google.com...
