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DJI's new backup battery can power small appliances, charge your drone
DJI is entering the portable power station market in the US and Europe with the launch of the Power 1000 and Power 500 designed for users at home or on the road.
Google Photos for web now shows if your images are taking up space
Google has introduced a small but very useful change to Photos on the web.
WhatsApp begins rolling out end-to-end encryption for chat backups
The wait is over. It’s now possible to encrypt your WhatsApp chat history on both Android and iOS.
WhatsApp is testing secure cloud backups for Android users
WhatsApp is testing encrypted cloud backups that would let Android users securely protect their conversations.
Google is releasing a free phone backup tool for iOS
Last year, Google added automatic Android phone backups to Google One, the company’s “membership” program that includes Drive storage, family sharing and a handful of other perks.
Cloud saves are coming to ‘Animal Crossing’ on July 30th
'Animal Crossing' adds Island Backup & Restoration Services to protect players' islands and user save data.
Dropbox can now automatically backup system folders
Dropbox users can now set automatic cloud backups for PC and Mac folders.
Apple reportedly dropped iCloud encryption plans amid FBI pressure
Apple encrypts your iOS device's locally stored data, but it doesn't fully encrypt iCloud backups -- and that was apprently a conscious choice. Reuters sources say Apple dropped plans for end-to-end encryption of iCloud backups (codenamed KeyDrop and Plesio) roughly two years ago. The decision came soon after the company revealed those plans to the FBI, which unsurprisingly objected given its previous pressure on Apple to facilitate access to San Bernardino shooter Syed Farook's iPhone. However, it's not clear this was the reason -- law enforcement's desires may have been secondary.
Google One subscribers get thorough automatic backups for Android phones
If you're a Google One subscriber, there's a new perk to your cloud storage service. Starting today, all Google One memberships include automatic phone backups as long as you own an Android device. The feature builds on the operating system's existing backup functionality, which ensures your texts, contacts and apps are automatically saved to the cloud, to include photos, videos and MMS messages as well. The feature is available to everyone on the same account.
OneDrive makes it easier to backup your desktop clutter
Microsoft rolled out a new OneDrive folder protection feature to its business users in June -- now it's available to regular users, too. The feature lets you choose which folders you want to automatically back up to Microsoft's cloud service -- desktop, pictures or documents -- and it'll keep this activity in sync across multiple Windows 10 PCs, which is handy if you're a fan of downloading files to your desktop.
Gnarbox's mobile video editing drive now comes in an SSD version
Gnarbox broke new ground in portable storage with its first drive, which let pros start editing photos and videos before they've reached a PC. But what if you still want something more powerful? Don't worry, you're covered: the company is crowdfunding Gnarbox 2.0, an updated version with an NVMe-based solid-state drive (instead of the previous model's basic flash storage) as its centerpiece. Hook up a camera through USB-C and you can back up your photos and videos at a rapid 450MB/s, which might set your mind at ease if you have a ton of footage to save. You'll also find a faster processor (an unnamed 2.4GHz quad-core Intel chip) and an OLED that lets you perform some backups without even needing your phone.
Crashplan drops its cloud backup service for home users
If you rely on Crashplan as a remote backup for your computer, you're going to have to find an alternative in short order. Code42 is phasing out its Crashplan for Home service as it switches its focus to business users. The company has stopped offering new or renewed Home subscriptions as of August 22nd, and the service will shut down entirely on October 23rd, 2018. If you haven't moved your files elsewhere by then, you're out of luck. The team is trying to make the transition as gentle as possible, at least. It's extending all Home subscriptions by 60 days to give people time to find alternatives, and it's offering discounts for both its own Small Business tier and a preferred alternative, Carbonite.
Google Drive is ready to back up all the files on your PC
Google Drive just became more useful as a means of protecting those files you can't afford to lose. A few weeks later than promised, Google has released its Backup & Sync app for Macs and Windows PCs. As before, this is a simpler option for safeguarding your data in the cloud -- it merges the photo backup of the desktop Google Photos app with Drive functionality that lets you back up the folders of your choice. You don't have to wonder whether or not your pictures will survive a system crash as well as your must-have documents. The app is free, although you'll need a lot of Google Drive space if you're determined to upload more than a modest amount of content.
Windows 10's smart backups may be going away
When Microsoft introduced File History with Windows 8, cautious PC users were happy: it gave you a Time Machine-style backup that let you recover older files if you made a mistake. You might not get to take that feature for granted, though. Users trying a leaked Windows 10 Insider Preview build have discovered that creating new File History backups is "no longer supported." Provided this change sticks, you might lose the feature by the time the Fall Creators Update hits your PC. We've reached out to Microsoft to see if it can comment, but the find is already raising a question: if File History is going, what (if anything) is replacing it?
Apple will fix iOS 10's easier-to-crack device backups
Apple has been big on strong encryption lately, but it's not immune to making missteps. Security researchers at Elcomsoft have discovered that iOS 10's local encrypted backups (that is, the ones you create in iTunes) use an older password protection algorithm that's much easier to crack than the one used in iOS 9 -- about 2,500 times easier, according to the team. If intruders can get to your iTunes backups and use a brute force cracking tool, they could have a much simpler time breaking the security and getting access to sensitive info like account passwords or your Health app data.
Google Photos for Android gets a manual backup option
Sometimes a seemingly small update can have a large impact on your favorite app. That might be the case with Google Photos, which has just received a manual backup option for Android phones and tablets. Before, you needed to specify whether the app should be uploading your photos over a WiFi connection, or at any time using a WiFi or mobile network. If you have a plan with a strict data cap, you're probably using the former -- but sometimes, just sometimes, you'll want to break that rule in order to quickly sync and share your smartphone snaps. Well, now you can.
Tesla is launching new Powerwall home batteries in 2016
Tesla's Powerwall was a big success from the moment that Elon Musk launched it last year. In fact, the device is sold out until mid-2016, and may have already hit $1 billion in sales. It turns out there was a lot of pent-up demand -- if you have solar panels, the device's giant battery lets you run your house after dark, and if you don't, it provides a reliable, long-lasting backup. Even though the first-gen Powerwall only started shipping a few months ago, Musk admitted at a private function (in the video below) that "we are coming up with the version two of the Powerwall probably around July or August of this year."
Google Photos saves space by deleting images you've already backed up
Google Photos is a handy way to backup and organize images, and starting today, Android users are getting new features to help with the task. First, a "Free Up Space" option in the Settings menu will automatically delete photos stored on your mobile device that have already been backed up in the cloud. To make sure that you don't delete any copies that you might need on your phone or tablet, you'll have to confirm the action before it happens. You'll also be able to nix any photos stored on your device's SD card from inside the app so they won't continue to be visible there. On the web, you can opt for the smaller "High quality" setting after photos have been uploaded in "Original quality." Doing so not only saves space with smaller files, but those files won't count against the storage cap like the full resolution images do. The new features are hitting the app today on Android devices, so you should see the changes soon.
WhatsApp for Android will use Google Drive to back up your data
The more we rely on our smartphones for every facet of our lives, the more risk there is of losing important data if your phone gets lost, stolen or destroyed. Android already has some backup services built in, but the massively popular chat client WhatsApp has just announced a partnership with Google to make sure its 900 million users don't lose anything important to them. Starting today, WhatsApp users on Android will have the option to back up their entire WhatsApp history right to Google Drive. The backup will include chat histories, voice messages, photos and video, and you'll be able to restore all of that data to a new phone when you set up WhatsApp.
Google Drive will soon back up your phone's photos
Now that Google+ is splitting up into individual services, where will you go to back up your phone's picture library? To Google Drive, apparently. Android Police has discovered that the latest version of the cloud storage app on Android has preliminary code for an eventual photo backup feature that would behave much like Google+ or the standard Photos app. You'll have an easier time sharing your files on the big screen, too -- there are hidden mentions of Chromecast streaming support. These features may not go live in the next release (Google sometimes leaves pre-release code hanging around for a while), but they're likely coming sooner rather than later.
