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Dropbox now reports when non-US governments want your data
While Dropbox was quick to embrace transparency reports, it's been pretty opaque about data requests from outside the US. How do you know which countries want your info? You don't have to wonder any longer. The cloud storage outfit has published its first transparency report revealing data requests from beyond American borders. There aren't many at all (just 20 in total), but it's clear that some governments are nosier than others. Half of all requests came from France and Germany, while the rest are spread between nations as far-ranging as Australia and Brazil. The report now covers the number of accounts affected by these demands, too. More detailed stats won't do much to end intrusive surveillance, but they'll at least let you know who might be poking around your online files.
Dropbox finally has an official app for Windows Phone
Microsoft recently made the surprising decision to partner with Dropbox, meaning its walled Windows garden would no longer be limited to OneDrive. Now we're seeing the fruit of that relationship with the arrival of an official Windows Phone client. That means you can now tap into your Dropbox account from any Windows device, be it a phone, tablet or laptop. Heck, it even works on Windows RT. All your favorite features are in tow, including automatic photo backups and the ability to "favorite" s file for offline access. Plus, Dropbox already has tight ties with Office, where you can edit documents directly in the former, or access Dropbox files from the latter. If you haven't already swallowed the OneDrive Kool-Aid you can go download the Windows Phone version of Dropbox now.
Dropbox snaps up CloudOn to help you work online
Dropbox has already done quite a bit to help you get work done in the cloud, but it's increasingly clear that the company isn't done expanding beyond its storage-focused roots. The firm just acquired CloudOn, giving it a team that got its chops building a hefty, internet-based document editing suite. The companies aren't saying what they plan to do together, but it's reasonable to expect beefier internet productivity tools from Dropbox before long. If you're a CloudOn user, though, you'll have to switch to another editing suite sooner than that. CloudOn has already stopped taking new customers, and it'll shut down its service on March 15th.
Dropbox makes it easy for workmates to edit Office files
In November, Dropbox users gained the ability to edit Office files from within inside the app, thanks to a partnership with Microsoft. Now, the company has launched its first set of Project Harmony tools so that groups of workmates can take advantage of that feature -- but only if they're Business users part of Dropbox's early access program. These features, which were first previewed when the company started letting users link their business and personal accounts, can make team projects, well, more bearable than usual.
Dropbox's Carousel app now frees up phone storage for you
Let's say you're about to shoot a video of your child's first steps. You launch the camera app on your phone and you're all set to hit record... but wait, what's this? A message pops up on your phone that says there's not enough available storage. Frantically, you head back to your camera roll, delete a bunch of photos you hope you won't need and rush back to the camera app, praying that you made enough room to capture Junior's momentous occasion. It's a situation that's all too familiar for those of us with limited space on our phones. Fortunately, however, there might be a solution to that, courtesy of a new feature arriving on Dropbox's Carousel app starting today: the ability to free up space on your phone with just a single tap.
Dropbox adds file/folder renaming and Office document editing to iOS app
Dropbox updated its iOS app with several new features, including the long-awaited ability to rename files and folders. There's also a new "edit" option that allows users to edit Office documents in Microsoft's Office for iOS apps and then save them back to Dropbox. According to the changelog, version 3.6 of the Dropbox app includes the following features: You can now rename your files and folders! Swipe right on a folder to see more actions, including rename. We've moved a few things around - there's a new more actions button (⋯) when viewing files On iPhones, the more actions button (⋯) also includes the full file name, size and other details. Edit Office documents and save them back to your Dropbox Dropbox for the iPhone and iPad is available in the iOS App Store for free. It is a universal app and requires iOS 7.0 or later.
Dropbox's Carousel will offer to delete local photos you've backed up
The photo backup features in mobile apps like Dropbox's Carousel and Google+ are there partly to take the load off of your phone -- you don't have to keep every shot close at hand. Wouldn't it be nice if the software got rid of local images when they're merely taking up space? Apparently, it will soon. Dropbox is giving some Carousel users a "sneak peek" at a feature that offers to scrap local photos (after they've been backed up, of course) when your device storage is almost full. It's a simple gesture, but it could save you some time; you won't have to fret over which pictures to delete just to make sure you can snap a few new ones. We've reached out to Dropbox to get an inkling of when this feature will be available to everyone, and we'll let you know if it can provide a timetable.
Dropbox Carousel comes to iPad and web today, Android tablets soon
Ever since the first cloud storage services hit the web, they've been a prime destination for thousands upon thousands of uploaded photos. Unfortunately, many of those services don't have polished user interfaces that allow for easy viewing and sharing -- unless you're just a big fan of file manager-esque folders and list views. In April, Dropbox debuted Carousel, an app that seeks to solve that problem by grouping your images together by date and letting you scroll through endless years of photos and sharing your favorites with friends and family. The service was only offered on iPhones and Android smartphones until today, when Dropbox announced that it's now available for iPads and the web, with support for Android tablets coming in the coming weeks.
Tech companies ask the Senate to pass surveillance reform law
Google, Apple, Microsoft, Twitter and Facebook. Normally these companies are mortal enemies. But, when it comes to curbing government surveillance, they're all on the same page. They've joined forces to form the Reform Government Surveillance coalition. The group is calling the US Senate to pass the USA FREEDOM Act, which could go up for vote as early as this week. The bill would enact a number of important reforms regarding the government's collection and use of data. For one it would end the practice of bulk metadata collection from the internet. It would also demand greater transparency from both the government and the tech companies themselves.
Microsoft adds free editing, iPhone version, and Dropbox to iOS Office apps
The universe of productivity apps on iOS expanded considerably when Microsoft announced its iPad versions of Word, Excel and PowerPoint back in March 2014. Without an Office 365 subscription, however, users were limited to read-only file access; not terribly productive. Even with the addition of a monthly subscription option in September, many of the millions of people who downloaded Office apps on iPad couldn't do much in the way of content creation. Today the landscape shifts again as Microsoft has enabled basic editing and file creation in the free Office apps, no Office 365 subscription required -- although "advanced" editing features and PowerPoint's presenter view remain reserved to those with an active Office 365 Home or Business subscription. Otherwise, anyone with a free Microsoft login can use the apps at will. Those apps now also have a new home on iPhone, with optimized UI for the smaller screen devices. The same free/subscribed split applies to the iPhone versions, but basic copy editing and modification are accessible to all. Microsoft has also expanded the cloud storage options for Office iOS by adding Dropbox support -- see the partnership announcement from earlier this week -- alongside MS's OneDrive (which itself got a big boost for paying users with the rollout of unlimited storage). There's also a preview Android release of Office, and a logical commitment to Windows 10 Touch versions down the road. There's always the risk of some user confusion when freemium apps are feature-limited, and that's especially true of productivity apps; there may be a takeaway of "the iPhone version of Office can't do X" when in fact it can, if you choose to subscribe to Office 365. With some careful UX work and a clear message about what is and isn't enabled for free users, Microsoft may be able to avoid this trap and deliver a great tool for many iOS aficionados. Update: word from the Office team is that if users try to use the advanced features and go beyond the free core editing/viewing/printing documents and basic PowerPoint presentation tools, they will hit a paywall. When that happens, they will get notified that what they want to do requires an upgrade to an Office 365 subscription -- which they can purchase immediately in-app.
Engadget Daily: G Watch R review, life on the International Space Station and more!
We get it: You like the G Watch R's circular display, but aren't sure whether it's the one. We can help. Read on for our G Watch R review, the ins and outs of life on the International Space Station, and the rest of our news highlights from the last 24 hours. Enjoy!
Microsoft Office will soon tap into your Dropbox
Microsoft would just love it if you used OneDrive for all your document storage needs, but let's face it: loyalties to rival cloud services run deep. That's why, in the spirit of compromise (or acknowledging user demand), the folks in Redmond have inked a curious deal with Dropbox. Over the coming weeks, you'll be able to access your Dropbox files from your Microsoft Office apps, and edit those Office documents from within the Dropbox mobile app. That's just the tip of the iceberg, too, as Dropbox is working on connecting its website to Microsoft's Office Online tools and prepping a Dropbox Windows Phone app for a launch within the next few months. It might seem a little odd for Microsoft to so openly embrace an apparent rival, but the company can't deny the facts. Dropbox currently has over 200 million users dumping their files into accounts all the time, and Microsoft isn't trying to beat them over their heads with word of OneDrive's superiority this time. No, it's meeting people on their cloud-based doorsteps with a terribly useful feature, and it just might win some new fans because of it.
Dropbox adds support for TouchID
The advent of TouchID is making it easier than ever to trust other people to use your phone without worrying if they're snooping through your files. Dropbox for iOS has been updated for iOS 8 users to support TouchID unlocking. With the service set up, launching the app requests a fingerprint scan before you get access to your files. The update also brings support for the iPhone 6 and 6 Plus, allowing users with those devices to utilize every inch of their larger displays. In addition to those upgrades, the app has fixed a bug that caused problems when previewing RTF files in iOS 8. You can find the latest version of Dropbox right now for free in the iTunes store.
Dropbox's iOS 8 app adds support for Touch ID
Not to be outdone by Microsoft's recent refresh of OneDrive, Dropbox has now made its iOS app compatible with Apple's fingerprint-scanning technology, Touch ID, as well. You'll need iOS 8 in order for the feature to work, but chances are you're already running the latest and greatest software from Apple anyway. Aside from adding the ability to unlock the application by way of Touch ID, Dropbox also updated it to support the bigger screens of the iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus -- something that owners of Apple's newest smartphones will definitely appreciate. Now someone tell Google to hurry and do the same for Drive.
Dropbox passwords posted online and millions more might follow
If you haven't activated two-factor authentication on Dropbox yet, you may want to do so now, just in case you end up finding your credentials posted on the internet. A document posted on pastebin earlier contains 400 Dropbox usernames and passwords, which the poster claims are just a tiny fraction of a massive hack that compromises up to 7 million accounts. The poster has been asking for Bitcoin donations in exchange for more accounts, and by the looks of it, he got enough money, at least, to post another batch of log-in credentials within the same day. At the moment, it's still unclear how the hacker(s) got a hold of the usernames and passwords, but the cloud service told Engadget that Dropbox itself has not been hacked. Update: Dropbox again stated that it has not been hacked, this time in a blog post, and says security measures are in place to detect accounts compromised with log-in info stolen from other sites.
Dropbox bug wipes some users' files from the cloud
Cautious types will frequently tell you not to rely on cloud storage as your only backup, and a handful of internet denizens have just learned this the hard way. Dropbox has confirmed that a bug in some older versions of its desktop apps deleted the files of some people who turned on Selective Sync, which limits cloud syncing to certain folders. Typically, this would happen after a crash or forced reboot, making a bad problem worse -- at least a few users found that they'd lost years' worth of content through no fault of their own.
Dropbox for Android can now move your cloud files to an SD card
If you're a longtime Dropbox user on Android, you've probably bemoaned the lack of SD card support. What good is having gobs of cloud storage if you can't use all the free space you have on your own phone? At long last, though, Dropbox has released an Android update that lets you export files directly to external storage. It's a simple addition, but it's potentially a big deal -- you no longer have to worry about downloading that multi-gigabyte video so long as you have a card with enough room. The upgrade is already available in Google Play, so go and grab it if you're eager to fill up your device.
Wunderlist now lets you attach Dropbox files to tasks
Wunderlist has long been a popular choice for folks looking to wrangle both individual and collaborative to-do lists. With today's update though, the productivity app gets a major boost from Dropbox. When creating a new task, you can attach files from that cloud-based repository, and they're accessible right from the to-do list. From an item's detail menu, simply clicking the paperclip or Dropbox icon allows you to hunt for the file(s) you'll need, added as links for easy grabbing later. Update a document that's attached to a task? No worries. It'll automatically sync, ensuring that the latest version is available when needed. As TechCrunch notes, this is Wunderlist's first third-party integration and it's one that'll save some time searching for and opening up files. TC also reports that Evernote and calendar syncing could be next up. If you're anxious to give it a try, the new version is available now on iOS, Android and on the web.
Equil Smartpen 2 captures notes, sketches with a real pen
For a lot of people, there's no substitute for taking notes with a pen and piece of paper. You can draw, annotate, write, and organize your information in a real notebook. The problem comes when you want to get some of that information into a computer, at which time you usually have to transcribe your handwritten notes and then try to recreate your drawings or scan them. Well, the Equil Smartpen 2 (US$169, pre-order on Indiegogo) wants to change all that by giving you a comfortable ballpoint pen that captures all of your writing and sketching on plain paper, moving it to either a Mac app (Equil Note, free) or one of several free iOS apps (Equil Note HD for iPad, Equil Note for iPhone, Equil Sketch HD for iPad, and Equil Sketch for iPhone. Design The Equil Smartpen 2 reminds me of some pens that I've received as handout promotional items ... and I mean that in a good way. It's triangular in shape, wider than your usual "stick ballpoint pen", and has a good feel to it. The point where your fingers hold the pen is made of a translucent white plastic that tapers down to the pressure sensitive tip, while the rest of the body is made of a white plastic. Looking close up at the pen, you notice several things that clue you to the fact that this is not just a plastic pen. There's a small grey rectangular button on one side, and near the top you'll find a glowing white LED and a pair of charging contacts. The entire pen fits into what's called a "Charging Cradle and Convenience Case" that holds not only the charger for the device, but the receiver for the pen. That receiver is a small 3-inch long rectangular box that slides out like a drawer from the charging cradle. Folding around the triangular charging cradle is a magnetically-secured cover similar to Apple's Smart Covers. There's even a pop-out cap for the pen, which should help the pens last longer as they won't dry out. It's a very attractive package. Equil will be selling the devices singly or in two-packs; we received a two-pack (two pens) for the review. Functionality For me, the real test of the Equil Smartpen 2 was going to be on how well it worked. I've tried a lot of "smart pens" over the years, and to be honest I was pretty skeptical about how well this device would capture text and sketches. My first test was with my iMac, which is running OS X Yosemite beta. Upon pulling the little receiver out of the charging cradle, I noticed a previously hidden switch for setting modes. It has three positions: one marked with the Bluetooth symbol for shutting off Bluetooth and just capturing pen motion with the pen alone, one marked "Other" for Mac OS X, Windows, and Android, and another marked iOS. The receiver is clipped to the top of the page of whatever you're writing on. If you happen to be using something like a Field Notes notebook or Moleskine, you can just clip it to the page, write and draw, turn the page, and clip it onto the top of that page. That receiver is able to determine the bounds of the page and tells you when you're getting too close to the top or the bottom by flashing a red light. I believe it's using some sort of infrared connection with the pen, as there is a function in the Mac app to determine if you're getting either radio frequency or infrared interference. Pairing the device to my Mac was simple - it just required holding down a power button until a tiny blue LED flashed, then using the OS X System Preferences to complete the pairing. At that point, I fired up the Equil Note app. The app design is flat and very "Yosemite-like", with individual documents combined in collections. The piece of paper you're writing on is represented by a blank piece of "paper", and there are on-screen buttons for changing the ink width and color, switching between a pen, brush and highlighter, selecting or "lassoing" a section of transcribed writing or drawing in order to delete or move it, a tool for typing notes or annotations onto the page from your Mac keyboard, a tool for grabbing a small photo of yourself to insert into the notes, and another tool for selecting the color of virtual paper you want to write on. For any note, you can add as many pages as you want. You can select the paper size (Letter, A4, A5, B5, B6 or custom), add tags to a note, name the note, or share it with a number of services. Equil Note has built-in integration to Evernote, and devices can be synched via either Dropbox or iCloud as well. One interesting in-app purchase for Equil Note is the addition of handwriting recognition packages for a number of languages. Those packs run $5.99 each, or all languages can be installed for a single $19.99 purchase. I did seem to have some issues with getting the receiver to stay paired and connected with my iMac - I'm not sure if that's an issue with OS X Yosemite or if the app just isn't happy with my Mac, but twice I had to eliminate a pairing and re-pair to get things working again. After trying out the Mac app for a while, I switched over to the iPhone version of Equil Note to give it a try. It's similar, and the app is very well done. I actually had an easier time getting the iPhone app to pair with the device and then connect to the app then I did with the Mac app, but both worked equally well, providing almost instantaneous "reflection" of my writing and drawing on the screen of the Mac and the iPhone. What I was able to ascertain during my testing of the Equil Smartpen 2 is that it works, and it works very well. Most of the other devices I've tried either required expensive special paper, had a pen that didn't actually write on the piece of paper, or were so slow in transmitting the pen strokes to the computer or device that they were worthless. Not so with the Equil Smartpen 2. One thing I really find to be useful is that you can shut off the Bluetooth connection altogether and just capture your writing with the pen and receiver. Later, when you're near an iPad, iPhone or Mac (or those other devices...), you can sync up the receiver to them and transfer the captured writing to your computer for sharing. I was not able to test the handwriting recognition, so I don't have any idea of the accuracy of the software that's used. There are some gestures that can be turned on in the software to make your life a bit easier; one lets your double-tap the wake button on the pen to get a new blank page started, while two others let you navigate back and forth between pages by holding down the button and circling the pen clockwise or counterclockwise. Right now, as part of the Indiegogo funding campaign, you can get an Equil Smartpen 2 for $60 off of the regular retail price of $169. For $109, you're getting a single pen with the very cool charging/receiver dock. They also have a $199 special that gets you the 2-pack, so you'll always have a pen charged up and ready to write. By the way, the pen is supposed to last about 8 hours on a charge. Conclusion The Equil Smartpen 2 is the first pen-to-computer input device that I'd actually consider purchasing. Between the well-designed and implemented hardware and the incredibly well-done Mac and iOS apps, it's obvious that a lot of hard work and thought went into the creation of this accessory. There are a few small annoyances with Bluetooth pairing that should get fixed, but otherwise, this is a solid product right out of the starting gate. Rating: 3-1/2 stars out of 4 stars possible
Apple gives PCs access to iCloud Drive before Macs
iOS 8 might working its way to iPhones and iPads, but Apple's long-awaited desktop refresh, Yosemite, is still receiving the final tweaks before it launches to the public. One element that features prominently between both platforms is iCloud Drive, Apple's own version of Dropbox. It's now available to mobile users, but Mac users can't enjoy its file-syncing features if they're using older versions of OS X. However, and this doesn't happen often, Windows users can get in on the action before their Mac-toting counterparts. In an updated version of the iCloud for Windows, Apple has added full support for iCloud Drive, letting PC owners interact with their files and documents from the comfort of their desktop. Mac users, of course, will enjoy additional iCloud features when Yosemite launches in the coming weeks, but for now, Windows users with iPhones and iPads can enjoy a very rare period of privileged access.
