cloudstorage
Latest
Dropbox knows you're an early adopter, gives you a sneak peek of its new Android app
Dropbox knows it's not the only cloud storage option for Android, so the company is handing out an early Christmas present to get more green bots on board with its services: early access to its unreleased Android app. This new version, along with the usual debugging, adds a flood of fresh new features such as: bulk uploads, single-tap access to content and speedy offline entry to your favorites folder, just to mention a few. Fret not, newly minted Nexus owners, the cloud locker service isn't staying away from the creamery -- the application offers full ICS optimization, which is great news for all current and future adopters of the sugary OS. We know you love pre-released bits, so if you think you can handle it, the source link below has a download waiting for you. Update: Dropbox has released it to the Market, so just hit update to grab the latest version or check out the official blog for more details.
SkyDrive and Windows Phone cozy up, apps can now directly integrate with the cloud
Microsoft, in an effort to continue integrating SkyDrive into Windows Phone, made a few changes to the cloud service's API this week. The new adjustments now give third-party Windows Phone apps full access to SkyDrive, complete with the ability to upload and share pictures, videos and docs. These changes were apparently the result of a lot of feedback from developers, and HandyScan just became the first company to show interest by incorporating the new API features into its Windows Phone app. The program, which offers the ability to scan a document or object, now offers the option of uploading these scanned images directly to SkyDrive. Of course, we imagine we'll soon be seeing a flood of developers proclaim their intent to journey "to the cloud." For more about HandyScan or the API, head to the links below.
Fuji Xerox launches $45 a month Dropbox clone
Fuji Xerox is launching a Dropbox-esque cloud service that lets colleagues send, receive, share and print documents with colleagues to tie in with its new range of multifunction printers. The Working Folder service will be able to use a virtual filing cabinet to access documents online or via dedicated Windows, Mac, Android and iOS apps. The service launches in Japan on December 12th and will cost business owners $45 a month to get 10 users access to 10GB of storage -- with the option to spend more if they feel the need to splash the cash.
HP and Box.net team up to offer some business customers some storage some of the time
Fact of the day: Hewlett Packard and Box.net's corporate headquarters are only one block away in Palo Alto, so Meg Whitman could have sealed this deal in a street corner branch of Starbucks. The two companies are teaming up to offer cloud-based collaboration and storage tools to select buyers (but only if they grab the gear via the Smart Buy program). Purchase a HP Compaq 6200 or 6005 Pro Series PC and you'll find 10GB free space waiting for you, plus discounted upgrades. Customers who go for the 8200 Elite Series PC instead, will find a year's free unlimited storage and sync on offer. If that all sounds so exciting that your palms are getting sweaty, head on past the break to find out more.
SkyDrive juices up document sharing and uploading, grabs a HTML5 smoothie afterward (video)
Omar Shahine has sent SkyDrive off to the Microsoft gym in the hopes that it'd trim up ready for its forthcoming update. Users will soon be able to enjoy beefier document management powers, share individual files from private folders, control permissions and post files to Facebook in a couple of clicks. They'll also be able to upload groups of documents whilst navigating the site and best of all, can use the HTML5 file api to drag'n'drop documents in any standards-compliant browser. Slideshows are much improved this time out, and right-clicking fans will be able to edit individual documents and photos inline. The service will purportedly now load in around half the time it did before -- clearly it's been told to shed some of those Silverlight pounds.
Box.net befriends Android, will offer Sony Ericsson Xperia phones 50GB of free cloud storage (update: LG phones too)
How much cloud storage space do you need? 2GB? 5GB? Pah! Box.net scoffs at your puny storage needs, and plan to offer a substantial 50GB of free storage (again) for anyone packing a Sony Ericsson Android phone. While the plans have leaked ahead of schedule, the fine details haven't been hammered out just yet; the official blog tells us that the company's "working to provide this offer very soon to all Xperia customers." When the offer does go live, logging in to (or creating) a Box.net account on any Xperia handset will open the floodgates to 50 gigs of intangible internet storage fo' life. If this keeps up, it shouldn't be long till we're looking at gratis terabytes and are freed of our not-exactly-crippling USB stick addiction, right? Update: Sony Ericsson's not the only one getting gratis cloud storage -- LG owners can snag 50GB for life, too. PR's after the break.
Pogoplug lets Drobo into its Cloud, offers 10GB of 'public' storage to sweeten the deal
Do you use a Drobo for your RAID storage needs? Wish you could access that data from wherever your travels take you? Well then, wish no more! Today the company has a announced a partnership with Pogoplug aimed at getting your Drobo hooked up to the cloud. So long as you've got an internet connection, you'll now be able to use Pogoplug software to privately access your data and multimedia from wherever you may be. Better yet, Cloud Engines is also throwing in 10GB of free off-site storage on its recently minted -- and Dropbox-like -- Pogoplug Cloud service. Curious for info on getting started? You'll find details in the press release after the break along with a cringe-inducing "demo" video reminiscent of The Office to further explain it all.
Pogoplug Cloud offers 5GB of free mobile storage, a home for your Beatles collection
Is that 2GB of free storage from Dropbox just not enough to house all of your mobile music habits? Don't fret, as Pogoplug Cloud now offers 5GB of secure space for all your storage, sharing and streaming needs. The service offers Dropbox-esque folder sharing and automatic uploads for all those vacation pictures without time lost to manual syncing. If that's not enough extra space for your coveted Jericho episodes (and the Season 3 comics), you can spring from the 50GB and 100GB paid plans at $9.95 and $19.95 per month. You'll also be able to post your cloud activity, should you so desire, to Facebook, Twitter or Google+ via native smartphone apps. All of the aforementioned services are available now via the coverage link below -- after you install the free Android or iOS app, of course.
Logitech Alert Video Security System gets Dropbox support, lets you park 100GB of footage in the cloud
We liked Logitech's Alert Video Security System when we took it for a week-long spin last year, which at that point allowed remote access to live HD camera footage, and video stored on your PC. But a new partnership with Dropbox adds cloud storage to the equation, letting you boot video directly to the web to supplement the PC- and microSD-based options already in place. Packages are available today, and come with 2GB of storage for free, 50GB for $10 per month or 100GB for $20 per month -- Logitech isn't exactly giving away the service, but when you consider that a bare-bones Alert system costs $300, those virtual add-ons sound a bit more reasonable. Jump past the break for the full rundown from Logitech, and get ready to beef up those passwords -- having your email account hacked is one thing, but you certainly don't want anyone watching you at home, in real-time or the past.
GDrive test page pops up in Google search, inches closer to an actual product
The GDrive leaks and rumors have started up again in earnest, really for the first time since 2007. The service seemed to destined for the dustbin when Docs started accepting any type of file, but in September hints started dropping that Drive may be resurrected. The latest interesting, if not entirely telling development, is a link to a "test page for Platypus (GDrive)" that pops up when you Google "Writely," the online word processor that eventually became Google Docs. Those with more robust memories may remember that Platypus was the codename attached to Google's cloud storage solution back when it was originally being dogfooded. Clicking on the link takes you Google Docs, just as any Writely.com URL would, but that does line up nicely with what we've heard about Drive being a rebranded Docs -- potentially with a file syncing component. Hopefully the Mountain View crew will take the covers off this bad boy soon -- we can't take much more of this mystery and intrigue stuff.
Razer Synapse 2.0: take your fussy gaming setup wherever you go
Ever go to a LAN party and find it's taking too long to get your gear set up the way you like? Probably not, especially if you own a Razer or other gaming mouse that stores your preferences on its internal memory. Still, it would be far easier if your tweaks were stored in the cloud and available everywhere -- which is the thinking behind Synapse 2.0. All of your button, axis and sensitivity adjustments will be available for you to pull down and use with the company's range of peripherals if you're at home, the LAN center or at work (after hours, of course.) The service is currently in internal beta but 500 lucky Razer Naga owners will get access to the second beta if they sign up at the source link below. There's also a press release -- scroll down at 5600dpi and click "Read More."
Kindle 3 gets software upgrade, ready to soar into the cloud
Amazon has pushed out a new update for the Kindle 3, now operating under the alias of the Kindle Keyboard. This gives the well-buttoned e-reader access to some of the cloud features found on its freshly unboxed younger brother, and includes the ability to view any archived documents, notes and highlights you've added to that intangible pile of books and articles. You'll need to tether the Kindle to your PC, point your browser towards Amazon, and download the file corresponding to the right region and model. Excitable annotators can grab the upgrade now at the source link below.
Box rides on iCloud's coattails, offers 50GB of free cloud storage to iOS users
No, your eyes don't deceive you -- Box is offering 50GBs of free storage inside its cloud for iOS users -- just like it did for TouchPad owners back in June. Anyone who downloads the latest version of Box's app for iPad and iPhone will receive their massive lot for data storage after registering a personal account (existing accounts can join in on the fun as well). To make better use of that extra space, Box will also be bumping upload capacity from 25MB to 100MB per file and baking in AirPlay support. Look, Box is obviously skitching on iCloud's tail, but it sure seems like a crazy good deal considering that space is yours "forever." The promotion will last for 50 days, officially starting at 12AM on October 14th -- although, we're already seeing the update on our end. Full details in the source link.
Apple reportedly trying to add movie streaming to its iCloud
Apple's iCloud may have only just launched but according to rumors reported by the LA Times and Wall Street Journal, it's already negotiating with Hollywood to add movies to the service (funny how things have changed in five years.) The timing is particularly curious because Apple, along with Disney, is one of the notable holdouts from the movie studio-backed Ultraviolet scheme with similar buy once / stream anywhere aspirations that just hit the streets this week. However, according to "people familiar with the matter" it could allow Ultraviolet access on iThings via app, while also bringing its usual media lock-in magic by also throwing in streaming copies of any flicks purchased on iTunes, but only on its own hardware. Recently activated streaming of purchased TV shows to the Apple TV shows the cloud's potential, but we'll have to wait for deals to be signed before that North Carolina datacenter puts Hollywood's best on its to-do list.
iCloud opens to the masses, iOS 5 lurks near
Desktop or mobile access to Apple's iCloud will still require the absolute latest versions of OS X Lion and iOS 5 that haven't been officially released just yet, but you can get into the website right now. Line jumpers may have noticed the site opened up to all a few hours ago, and now the design has changed, dropping the beta tag for this more inviting storefront. Hit the source link below to check it out for yourself (we've got the full breakdown here), but have your Apple ID and password handy. [Thanks to everyone who sent this in]
NC State researchers team with IBM to keep cloud-stored data away from prying eyes
The man on your left is Dr. Peng Ning -- a computer science professor at NC State whose team, along with researchers from IBM, has developed an experimental new method for safely securing cloud-stored data. Their approach, known as a "Strongly Isolated Computing Environment" (SICE), would essentially allow engineers to isolate, store and process sensitive information away from a computing system's hypervisors -- programs that allow networked operating systems to operate independently of one another, but are also vulnerable to hackers. With the Trusted Computing Base (TCB) as its software foundation, Ping's technique also allows programmers to devote specific CPU cores to handling sensitive data, thereby freeing up the other cores to execute normal functions. And, because TCB consists of just 300 lines of code, it leaves a smaller "surface" for cybercriminals to attack. When put to the test, the SICE architecture used only three percent of overhead performance for workloads that didn't require direct network access -- an amount that Ping describes as a "fairly modest price to pay for the enhanced security." He acknowledges, however, that he and his team still need to find a way to speed up processes for workloads that do depend on network access, and it remains to be seen whether or not their technique will make it to the mainstream anytime soon. For now, though, you can float past the break for more details in the full PR.
Adobe reveals Creative Cloud, links Touch Apps to Creative Suite with 20GB storage
Dropbox just not doing the trick for your design work load? Perhaps Adobe can help. The company has announced Creative Cloud, a "hub for viewing, sharing and syncing of files created by Adobe Touch Apps and Adobe Creative Suite." Included with the service is 20GB of cloud storage, which will probably get you through that web design project you've been putting off. After the first of the year, Adobe expects its cloud to include access to applications software (apps too), digital publishing / business services and a global creative community for inspiration and feedback. Also unveiled were Touch Apps, a set of six applications designed to make your tablet a design machine -- if you're down to work on that small of a screen, of course. You'll have to wait until November to find out just how much the Creative Cloud will set you back, but in the meantime check out the source link for more details.
'Humanity toward others' extended to Windows with Ubuntu One cloud storage
Are you a Windows user in need of yet another cloud storage option? Lucky for you, after a long-running beta, Canonical's Ubuntu One client has officially debuted on Microsoft's platform. First introduced with Ubuntu 10.10, the service offers 5GB of free storage, with file syncing across multiple machines, ala Dropbox. Android and iOS clients are already available. If you need more space, how about 20GB for $29.99 a year or $2.99 a month? And if portable tunes is your game, you can have that same 20GB along with music streaming apps (similar to Google Music Beta) for $39.99 a year or $3.99 a month. Click the source link to engage in some cross-platform storage.
Google Drive could finally be ready for launch, may just be rebranded Docs
GDrive, GDisk, Google Drive - whatever they're calling it these days - is coming. At least according to our friends over at TechCrunch. The service has not just been a rumor, but an actual product since 2007. Sadly though, it never made it past the dogfooding stage. The internal cloud storage tool for Googlers has been highly anticipated, but in 2010 it seemed like the final nail was put in its coffin when Docs was turned into a makeshift replacement with the ability to store any file. Well, Google Drive still exists, and speculation is that Google Docs will eventually be rebranded as Drive and relaunched with non-Docs file storage moved to the forefront. What's more, it's rumored that there will be a desktop syncing component, similar to Dropbox. Of course, the image above (from a Google-sponsored presentation) and recently discovered mentions of Drive.Google.com in Chromium don't necessarily mean anything. But, if Google actually plans on taking this Chrome OS thing seriously, Drive seems like a natural companion service. For now though, we're just going to have wait patiently to see what, if anything, comes of these latest rumblings.
San Diego Supercomputer Center launches world's largest academic cloud storage system
A new cloud storage system may not exactly be big news these days, but it is certainly a bit more noteworthy when it's the San Diego Supercomputer Center (or SDSC) behind it. That new service, simply dubbed the SDSC Cloud, also isn't your ordinary cloud storage system -- it's designed specifically for academic and research use, and it's said to be the largest of its kind in the world. That title comes from an initial raw capacity of 5.5 petabytes, which the SDSC notes is scalable by "orders of magnitude to hundreds of petabytes," and which is accessible at sustained read speeds from 8 to 10 gigabytes per second (also promised to be improved over time). Those interested in signing up can do so right now through an application process, with rates starting at $3.25 a month for 100GB of storage. Additional details are in the press release after the break.
