These are challenging times for the U.S. and global economy. It is a very real, serious problem that affects people from all walks of life, from Wall Street to Main Street. Thank goodness, though, for technology.

While U.S. lawmakers hunker down to pass a bill that will rescue a fledgling financial sector, it’s interesting to take a step back and see how the web helps us in small, but real ways during these challenging times. As a leading provider of web services ourselves, we’d like to highlight how the web helps people do fun and productive things, saving valuable bucks in the process. Here’s a few ways:

Groove for Less

Just because times are tough, you can still get your groove on. Services like Pandora or Simplify let you stream tunes from the web or your own music library for free so the music never has to stop. Rock on, as you were.

Share Funny Moments & Keep in Touch

Whether you need to put longer hours in the office, can’t travel as much or want to save on postage, it doesn’t take much to keep in touch with friends and family wherever they are. Take some pictures with your trusty digital camera or your cell phone and share them. You can easily store them online for free (and back up precious memories in the process) and e-mail direct links to your photos to anyone (without worrying that they’ll get bounced back) using Box.net.

Need to tweak those photos? You don’t need to buy fancy, costly photo editing programs. Just use free web-based services like Picnik. They have all the editing tools most people need, and you never have to leave your browser in the process.

Going over that text limit? Keep everyone in the know using something like Twitter. Hey, those text messages can add up pretty quickly!

And of course, you can share photos and stay in touch with Facebook. Create albums and update the “what are you doing” status on your profile to your heart’s content.

Get Work Done, without Expensive Software

It’s tough to get along without a modern, reliable software suite for doing word processing, presentations, spreadsheets and all that good stuff. The good news is that you don’t have to run out and buy the latest packaged software suite that’ll cost you at least $120 and change. Free web services like Zoho and ThinkFree let you view, create and edit productivity files for home, school and work. And of course, Box.net lets you share them easily, for free.

Collaborate with Colleagues, sans the Airfare and Extra Check-In Fees

Nothing beats working with people face to face. But with gas prices that won’t go down anytime soon and airlines charging you for even thinking about them (okay, that’s just a joke), there are lots of great services for doing presentations and online meetings complete with slideshows, audio and even video, all without leaving your desk. WebEx, for example, has won over lots of customers for its simplicity and flexibility. While it might be fun to travel, rack up those frequent flier miles and bounce ideas with your co-workers in London in person, you can do it for a lot less with the web.

You might want to take a look at a free web service from EchoSign, which lets you send, approve and sign contracts electronically. Save money, save paper and be green! You can’t lose.

And of course, if you’re working on a project with co-workers across the country, Box.net helps you share and collaborate on just about any file easily, tracking versions to make sure everyone is on the same page.

Buy Less Expensive “Netbook” Computers

Sometimes a computer upgrade can’t wait. You need one for work and play, no matter what. The power of web-based applications and file storage/sharing services has given birth to a whole new class of inexpensive, but powerful computers in the form of “netbooks.” Everyone from Dell to HP to Asus have introduced models for as little as $349, which are all designed to tap into the web. Since you can store files online and use them in rich, free web-based applications, these computers don’t have to have the most powerful processors or large local hard drives. You can stay connected, work and play, all for less.

Keep Those Finances in Line

Times like these also call for smart money management and - you guessed it - you don’t need to spend a dime on great software to help you keep track of your finances. A great service called Mint provides powerful tools for setting budgets, tracking investments, reducing debt and helping you realize other ways to save your money.

Have Your Own Suggestions?

Of course, this is a partial list. There are tons of ways the web and good, free technology can help people save money and keep on keepin’ on. If you have other ways, feel free to post a friendly, helpful comment below.

Don’t Forget to Smile

In the meantime, don’t forget to smile, laugh and recognize the joys of life everywhere. Need some affordable laughs? Check out free clips online of The Colbert Report. Some of my personal favorites include watching Stephen Colbert get bad advice from Gorlock his alien financial advisor. There’s also that time he suspended his show in light of our financial crisis, only to “suspend the suspension” moments later.

No matter what, the show must go on, right?

It all starts somewhere. Whether you’re a doctor, an artist, a lawyer, an entrepreneur or a budding student, someone has taught and provided you with valuable lessons and inspiration that have guided you along the way. For most of us, that someone has been a teacher. And let’s face it - society couldn’t function without all the dedication and hard work teachers put in each day, all around the country and across the world.

That’s why we’re especially proud to share a story of how one teacher uses Box to help her do all the things she needs to teach - and inspire.

Mary, a high school teacher in Houston, took time out of her normally busy day, compounded by the recent aftermath of Hurricane Ike, to tell us how she uses Box.net.

Computers, desks and papers oh my!

In addition to creating lesson plans, keeping order in the classroom and teaching itself, there’s a lot of behind the scenes work Mary has to do, especially when schools have to keep close tabs on budgets to maximize investments. One of those things is tracking and sharing detailed inventories of supplies and purchases she makes for the classroom with Box.net. She documents technology and furniture purchases, complete with serial numbers and district ID number tags. Whenever necessary, Box helps Mary share and access this information easily, in one centralized place that’s always up to date.

Archives and storage limits - something’s gotta give

Teachers have their own homework, like archiving a seemingly endless stream of paperwork and communication. This includes documenting efforts to help students having difficulty in class and various communication with parents. They have to keep it all somewhere and are often given limited network space to archive it. Mary says the dreaded e-mail from a system administrator telling her she’s over the limit always arrives at the worst time. To cope with tight storage limits and still maintain a complete body of documentation, Mary keeps an archive using Box.net, where it‘s safe, secure and easily accessible.

The Inspiration Part

With school supplies recorded and important parent communications archived, Mary also uses Box to share large digital images with students in her visual arts class. Since she teaches art history, painting, drawing and sculpting, the ability to share visual examples with her students is critical. Many of these examples come from the web and Mary only gets to search and browse for them at home. To share them, Mary uses Box to store and manage folders of great image examples she can pull up and share in the classroom. Not only is it easier than e-mailing herself examples one by one, but it helps Mary get around those pesky network storage limits.

We salute Mary and all the hard-working teachers around the world. We’re happy that Box can help make things just a little easier so teachers like Mary can do what they do best. She’s quick to point out that she’s not the only one: “…teachers are finding all sorts of amazing things to do with your system.”

Mary, we think yours is pretty special. Thanks for sharing!

At Box we strive to make your content accessible anytime, anywhere. This not only refers to storing your content for easy access, but also allowing you to work on your files entirely from within the browser. That way it doesn’t matter what computer you’re on, for you are not limited by the software available on your computer.  With integrated services such as Zoho and Picnik, you may edit your spreadsheets, documents, images, and other file types online, without ever having to download the file.

Today we have exciting news, thanks to some updates by our friends at Zoho. After a long wait (thanks for the patience), you can now work with Microsoft Word 2007 files. Moreover, you can now edit PowerPoint presentations! As you collaborate on projects with your friends and colleagues, you may share and edit Excel research files, Word documents, and as of today, work on your PowerPoint presentations without ever leaving your web brower.

Users who currently have the Zoho OpenBox service will already see these new enhancements. Just upload a Word 2007 or PowerPoint presentation, right click on the file or select the file menu, and then select “Edit with Zoho.” Your file will then be opened in a new window for you to edit the content freely and save back to your Box account.

To learn more about the various services integrated into our platform, please visit our OpenBox Services Page.

This post was written by Jeremy Glassenberg, Box.net’s Platform Manager.  You can Jeremy by emailing jeremy [at] box.net.

This week, Dell introduced the Inspiron Mini 9, taking the emerging class of “netbook” laptops by storm. Beyond its slick and classy looks, the Inspiron Mini addresses a lot of pent-up demand for notebooks that emphasize ultra-portability, a super low price of entry, and being the user’s ultimate buddy for surfing, e-mailing, chatting and social networking. And it all comes with the quality and reliability users expect from the Dell brand.

As part of the launch, Dell partnered with Box.net to provide all of its Inspiron Mini users with free online storage to store all their important files safely and securely, be it productivity documents, PDFs, videos, photos, and just about anything else. Inspiron users get 2 GB of storage absolutely free by signing up for a Box.net account through a direct link on their snazzy new notebook. In addition, Box is offering affordable plans for users that need as much as 25 GB of online storage.

Obviously, Box is excited to partner and be associated with one of the most respected companies in the PC industry. But we’re even more excited to play an important role in a new class of machines that cater to users’ online, always on-the-go, gotta share this latest (insert photo, link or document here) right-now kind of lives.

Box.net has become a leader not because of the fact that we offer users online storage - though that’s obviously part of our core. Box has addressed users’ needs to access, share, and collaborate with friends and colleagues wherever they are, whatever applications or web services they use, and on any PC or mobile device they use - simply.

With Dell’s new Inspiron Mini, we can say that the “netbook” class has truly arrived and is here to stay. And Box.net gets to help all these users store, access and share files that are at the heart of their digital lives. It’s going to be hot.

Coverage Updates:

Check out the Dell blog for their perspective

Want to win a Dell Mini?  We’re doing a contest at Techcrunch right now…  check it out.  We’ll probably give away some to our readers in a newsletter soon.