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Dropbox lets users leave comments at specific times in videos
Video editors who collaborate on clips using Dropbox should appreciate a new feature the company is introducing today. "Time-based comments" are exactly what they sound like: users can now drop a comment at a specific time stamp on a video, making it a lot easier to specify exactly where an editor might want a change to be made. As with all other Dropbox comments, you can @ mention specific users to get their attention, making it a bit less likely that a requested change will just sit there without being addressed.
Blockchain company Tron buys BitTorrent
A blockchain startup called Tron has closed its deal to buy the file-sharing service BitTorrent. Neither side disclosed how much Tron paid, but TechCrunch reports the price was around $126 million in cash. BitTorrent's staff will work out of Tron's San Francisco office.
Dropbox's mobile apps make it easier to find, track and share your files
Dropbox finally went public at the beginning this year, and over the last month or two the company has made numerous improvements to a wide variety of its services. The latest to go under the knife are the Dropbox iOS and Android apps, which get a handful of new features today that the company says are focused on helping users stay in sync with their teams when they are on the go.
New Mexico asks BitTorrent what it does to stop child exploitation
New Mexico Attorney General Hector Balderas is worried that technology is enabling child exploitation, and he's putting pressure on the companies creating that technology. His office has sent a letter to BitTorrent asking it to cooperate with an investigation into tech aiding child exploitation. The official wanted to know what BitTorrent is doing to block, monitor and report illegal material in its uTorrent client, and was concerned that the company's Cyber Ghost VPN was helping criminals hide their tracks by securing traffic. He also asked for subscriber counts in the state and the number of people removed so far.
Dropbox's Showcase presentation tools are faster and more flexible
Since going public earlier this year, Dropbox has been steadily rolling out new features to its all-important business customers. Earlier this month, the company's Smart Sync feature had a wide release after several years of testing, and today Dropbox is announcing an expansion of the visual "Showcase" portfolio-sharing tools it introduced last fall. If you haven't seen it, Showcases are meant to be a more distinctive way to share a group of files; instead of just providing links to folders, Showcases feature large images and headers alongside rich previews of the files contained inside.
Google Drive will help you figure out who needs access to a file
One of the tricky things about coordinating an email chain is always making sure everyone has access to the right files, but Google said it's making that easier in Drive. The next time you go to share a document or other file through email or a calendar invite its built-in access checker will be updated to show the names and email addresses of anyone you're including who doesn't already have permission to view it. Apparently it also "will anticipate who needs access to a file and intelligently default to sharing with those recipients only."
Google releases its Android file storage manager to all
Google has filled a big hole in its Android system by releasing Files Go!, its mobile file organization and sharing app. Launched in beta last month, the app makes it easier for Android users to free up space, find files, back them up to the cloud, and share them with other smartphones, even offline. It's one of the linchpin apps of Google's Oreo 8.1 (Go edition), a slimmed down version of Android meant for the less-powerful devices in developing nations.
Mozilla file sharing test wipes files after one download
The files you share online tend to linger around in the cloud. But what if you don't like the possibility that someone might swipe your files after you're done? Mozilla is offering an answer -- it just introduced an experimental website, Send, that lets you send large files (up to 1GB) to someone without worrying that someone else might grab them. Files not only stick around for a maximum 24 hours, they disappear the moment your recipient finishes their download. You don't have to remember to delete the file, or worry about an after-the-fact hack. This concept isn't completely new, but the drag-and-drop simplicity combined with Mozilla's recognition makes it intriguing.
Kim Dotcom asks the Supreme Court to hear him out
Kim Dotcom, the founder of file-sharing website Megaupload, is taking his case to the United States Supreme Court. He's petitioned the highest court in the land to overturn a ruling allowing US authorities to keep $75 million in assets seized during a 2012 raid on Dotcom's house in Auckland, New Zealand.
Free Facebook and Wikipedia inadvertently foster piracy networks
Free-but-limited internet services can help communication and knowledge in countries where just owning a computer is a luxury, but they're not immune to abuse. Motherboard notes that some Angolans have created ad hoc piracy networks by hiding files in Wikipedia pages (which they can access through Wikipedia Zero) and sharing links to them in private Facebook groups (available in Facebook's Free Basics). Wikipedia has tried banning some of the connections used to plant those files, but that has been a double-edged sword -- it also ended up blocking people making legitimate contributions.
Keybase promises secure file sharing that's easy and free
Keybase, which provided people with a way to encrypt the messages they send, has branched out into file sharing, and it works quite differently from services like Dropbox. You can create two types of folders with the Keybase filesystem: a public folder anyone can access and a private folder that can only be accessed by authorized people. The developers' announcement says everything you throw into the public folder (/keybase/public/yourname) is signed. Viewers will see the contents of that folder as text files, unless they're images -- you can see samples of public folders on this page the team put together as proof of concept.
Lenovo fixes basic flaws in one of its bundled apps
Lenovo's software security headaches aren't quite over yet, it seems. The PC maker has fixed an a slew of glaring flaws in a file-sharing app, ShareIt, that comes bundled with both its Android and Windows devices (including IdeaPads and ThinkPads). How glaring? For a start, the Windows version had an extremely obvious password ("12345678") hard-coded into the software -- anyone on the same WiFi network could connect just by guessing, and you couldn't even change that password if you knew the problem existed. ShareIt on both platforms also sent files without encryption, and the Android version would default to creating a password-free WiFi hotspot when you chose to receive files.
Hightail's new Spaces make it easy to annotate any kind of file
Remember YouSendIt? Late in the last decade, you probably send or received some big files through the service, perhaps of questionable legality. Regardless of how pirates may have used it, the company found success with businesses -- but as online storage became more and more of a commodity, the company rebranded as Hightail and started focusing on collaboration around those shared files. Today, the company is officially unveiling its new vision for collaborating on work projects, called Spaces. It's been available in Beta, but now everyone can give it a shot.
Dropbox Teams will offer a host of business features to free users
Dropbox for Business is an increasingly important part of the company's revenue stream -- there are more than 130,000 businesses using the service -- but there are many more people out there using the company's more consumer-focused free service and its $9.99 monthly subscription plan. Millions of those users are in fact using their personal Dropbox accounts to get work done, as well -- so now Dropbox is going to offer a set of tools to make it a lot easier for individuals and smaller businesses to use Dropbox with a team of co-workers. In fact, that's the name of the new service that launches tomorrow: Dropbox Teams.
BitTorrent reportedly laid off dozens of employees
According to Buzzfeed, BitTorrent drastically reduced its US workforce on Thursday. Multiple anonymous sources reportedly confirmed that about 40 of the company's 150 domestic employees were sacked yesterday morning. BitTorrent has struggled to turn a profit over the last couple of years. Despite its ubiquitous name recognition and multiple profit-sharing partnerships with major musical acts, the company never quite shook the "pirated media" stigma with mainstream consumers. It also offered a string of peer-to-peer based products that never really went anywhere. I mean, do you remember Bleep, BitTorrent's P2P messaging app? No, of course you don't. BitTorrent reportedly made the cuts in order to streamline its business and focus on Sync, a cloud storage system based on it's peer-to-peer file sharing system. Update: Bittorrent PR has issued a comment on the reported firings. We've recently realigned resources based on a regular evaluation of the business. Regrettably, this did include some employee departures. The business however, remains healthy, profitable and growing.
Pirate Bay co-founder Peter Sunde released from prison
Authorities can't keep the entire Pirate Bay crew under lock and key, it seems. Just days after the arrest of Fredrik Neij, Peter Sunde has been released from prison; he spent only five months behind bars rather than the originally intended eight, albeit in a high security wing. Sunde is focused primarily on "sleep, eat and travel" at this stage, so it'll be a short while before we know exactly what he does next. However, media executives probably won't have reason to panic any time soon. He was pouring most of his energy into legal services like encrypted chat (Heml.is) and micro donations (Flattr) before the police caught him, and it's likely that he'll pick up where he left off. [Image credit: SHARE Conference, Flickr]
Amazingly fast and file transfer with Send Anywhere
I don't typically think of moving files between devices as being very difficult. Then again, I'm an old geezer and remember "sneakernet"-moving files by physically carrying them around on floppy discs because there was no network. It's really not that hard to transfer files anymore and there are lots of ways to easily send them pretty much wherever we want. Send Anywhere, however, surprised me with a different approach to secure, point-to-point file transfers between computers or mobile devices. The Send Anywhere app is free and requires iOS 5.0 or later and is compatible with iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch and is also available for Android, Windows, and on the Mac through the browser. The iOS app is optimized for iPhone 5. The app claims to have been created for "simple, unlimited, instant file transfer." That's still needed in a world where not everyone is using an iOS device. Between iPhones and iPads you can use AirDrop. You can also just email or transfer many files using SMS, or use Dropbox (but then again, not everyone does). Considering that, as well as file size limitations, it really is useful to be able to send a single file one device or computer to another, directly, without uploading anything to some server. There's also the matter of security. Email and SMS are "in the open," meaning that the contents of their messages are easily readable by others. If you are concerned about privacy and security, you need to take extra measures. Send Anywhere uses SSL and a 6-digit key for standard transfers and offers enhanced security keys as well. Files are transferred, not stored on any servers. All transfers are only available for a limited time, the default being 10 minutes. That's all good news. To use Send Anywhere devices do need to be online for transfer files. It does not use any direct networking, like Bluetooth. But both devices are on the same local network then your file will not travel out onto the larger internet. It's not often that a piece of software surprises me, but Send Anywhere managed it. I loaded the free app on both my iPhone and my iPad and then transferred photos between them easily. I then visited Send-Anywhere.com on my Mac. I dropped a file into the Send box and clicked the Send files button. Here's where the surprise hit me: there was my iPhone listed as under "Nearby devices." Very cool (NOTE: your device must be turned on and the app launched for this to work). A simple click on my listed phone and I instantly received a notification about the file. That little bit of unexpected nicety was a pleasant surprise. I was more skeptical about the QR code. I typically find them annoying and useless, but with this app they actually serve a useful function. Say that you and an associate are together and she wants to send you a file. Using Send Anywhere on her device she can display a one-time-use QR code and you, using your device with Send Anywhere, can use your camera to capture the code on her device and initiate the file transfer. Slick. It works great, but it may be overkill. If you're together and both have the app launched you should be able to detect each other. Or you could type in the short code number. It worked, but it may not be necessary. There are, however, considerable limitations to Send Anywhere, largely due to how files are used on most mobile devices. iOS is built to largely give you access to desecrate files outside of specific apps. With Send Anywhere you can send and receive photos, videos, and contact records, but that's about it on iOS devices. You can send files that you've received from someone else, but not a file that you might have somewhere else on your device. You can't send music, but you might be able to receive it if sent from another device, although you won't be able to move it to your Music library. I was able to successfully send photos and PDFs between iOS devices and my Mac and it was very easy. I was not able to successfully send a Pages document. I tried sending different Pages files multiple times from my Mac to my iOS devices and each time the transfer ended with an error. I could successfully send and receive Microsoft Word documents between devices. I'm forced to conclude that however surprising and nifty this app is that there's really not much use for it. If you do find that you need to frequently transfer files between devices and can't easily do it with email, SMS, or through online storage like Dropbox, then you might find Send Anywhere useful. I'm certain that you'll find it well made and very easy to use.
BitTorrent Sync lets you share folders on your PC using web links
Yes, cloud services like Dropbox make it easy to share folders through public directories and links, but you still have to put those folders in the cloud in the first place. Wouldn't you rather share them straight from your PC? BitTorrent hopes to make things that direct with its big Sync 1.4 update. Now, you can share folders with others just by giving them web links; you don't have to wait for the files to reach a remote server, or rely on Sync's slightly more obtuse Key system. You don't have to sign up for an account, either, and you can still limit access to prevent others from messing with precious documents. About the only headache is that your recipient needs Sync, although BitTorrent promises that it will walk first-timers through the process.
Pirate Bay co-founder Peter Sunde caught after two years on the run
A Swedish court convicted Pirate Bay co-founder Peter Sunde for copyright infringement back in 2012, but he never served his eight-month jail sentence -- despite an Interpol warrant, the piracy advocate has been living in Germany for years. His freedom has come to an abrupt halt, though, as police arrested him this weekend at a farm in Sweden's Skane region. It's not clear why Sunde was in the country that wanted him behind bars, but TorrentFreak suggests that he might have been visiting family.
Droplr's speedy file sharing now starts at $5 per month with unlimited storage
Droplr members wondering (and worrying) about the company's switch to a pay-only service now know just how much it will cost to keep sharing files. The developer has announced that its Droplr Lite tier will start at $5 per month, or $50 per year; if you want customization, image embedding or password-protected sharing, you'll need to shell out $10 per month ($100 per year) for Droplr Pro. Existing users get a 30 percent discount in return for their loyalty. There are a few strong incentives to pay whether or not you're a longtime customer, though. All members now get unlimited storage, with uploads increasing to 2GB each. You can also sign up for a new $10-per-person Business tier with collaboration features, and individual subscribers can knock 10 percent off their bill with each person they refer. There's even a Droplr for Mac 4 app update launching at the same time with a redesigned menu bar item, improved searches and a sharing shortcut. The pricing changes take effect immediately, but everyone gets a 30-day free trial to help make their decision. Whatever your feelings about paying up, you can find out more at the source link.
