RemoteStorage
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Pogoplug Team lets businesses tap into their own 'personal clouds' for $15 a year per user
Last we heard from Pogoplug, it had unleashed its Series 4 hardware (its current device for making any of your drives network accessible). Today, the company, known for its pursuit to make the cloud more "personal," has shifted its gears back to software, aiming directly at businesses with a new service dubbed Pogoplug Team. On basic level, Team is similar to the software-based version of Pogoplug, enhancing the experience with goodies like multiple accounts and full customization to match your businesses' look. Interestingly, Pogoplug isn't including storage options for Team's pricing scheme, but instead charging $15 a year for each user (minimum of three required) -- meaning your users dictate the amount of storage space needed with their own computers and drives, rather than utilizing remote servers as with other major services like Google Drive or SkyDrive. Better yet, current Pogoplug users can upgrade to Team if they're interested. Curious for all the details? There's a nifty press release just after the break.
Pogoplug Mobile shares media with iOS
Pogoplug, maker of a popular line of remote storage solutions, has introduced Pogoplug Mobile, a remote storage device that lets you access your media using your iOS and Android device. The device connects to a USB hard drive or an SD card and uses your home network to serve up the content of that drive. The mobile device can access these files through a web interface (my.pogoplug.com) or a native application available in the App Store or Android market. You can stream videos, listen to your music collection or view your photos while on the go. Pogoplug Mobile is available for pre-order on Pogoplug's website. It's expected to arrive on October 1 for $80. [Via Electronista]
Amazon Web Services' GovCloud puts federal data behind remote lock and key
Uncle Sam's been making his way into the cloud, spurred on in part by the inherent billion dollar cost efficiencies, and Amazon's looking to help with the move. The Seattle-based company recently announced the launch of its new AWS GovCloud, a federal government-only region that offers a remote server solution for organizations bound by high-level data constraints. The service makes use of FISMA, FIPS 140-2 compliant end points, SAS-70, ISO 27001, and PCI DSS Level 1 security controls, providing a secure host environment that adheres to stringent "regulatory and compliance requirements," and restricts physical access to the US-only. NASA's JPL and the US Recovery and Accountability Transparency Board are just two of the 100-plus government agencies already employing AWS' remote servers, with more destined to join Washington's velvet-roped cloud. Jump past the break for Amazon's official PR spiel.
Next PS3 update rumored to add 'Online Saving' for PlayStation Plus users
Say it with us, finally a PS3 firmware update that actually does something useful! We've grown so accustomed to Sony refreshing the software on its console just to spite jailbreakers that we almost started to believe that's all the word "update" entailed. But, here comes Kotaku with word that v3.6 of the PS3's firmware will come with a neat little addition: saving games to the cloud. This seems a very logical step toward delivering Sony's overall goal of giving users a holistic, integrated experience. Indeed, during the NGP presentation, guest speaker Hideo Kojima specifically referred to saving your PS3 game on the console and resuming it on the Next Generation Portable. "Online Saving," as Sony's reputed to be calling it, would be the conduit through which that can be realized, though it doesn't appear like it'll come for free. Kotaku's sources indicate it'll be part of the PlayStation Plus subscription, at least initially. Still, we like cloud storage, and if it means never having to see another hard drive again, we're all for it.
SugarSync client for Mac reaches beta
The cloud storage and sync offering from Sharpcast, SugarSync, has released a public beta of its OS X client today, complementing the existing Windows, web and mobile (WinMo + Blackberry, iPhone coming soon) clients. The Mac client and the Windows client appear pretty much the same, but once you set up your sync you don't have to look at the client UI very often.SugarSync is a for-pay service that extends your local files seamlessly to your other computers, to a secure webpage, and pretty much to anywhere you think they ought to go. CEO Gibu Thomas describes SugarSync as "get my stuff everywhere," a supercharged and cross-platform version of .Mac iDisk synchronization. Our colleagues at Download Squad have checked out the service in detail, and there's a good writeup at webware.com as well. To use SugarSync, you can define a set of folders to sync, photos to share, "Magic Briefcase" files that live in the cloud and sync down on demand, click and go -- then the defined content will be available on all your computers. With both "full sync" and "light sync" modes, you can leave rarely used files on the SugarSync side and only retrieve them as needed (great for those MacBook Air users hungry for storage). You can also selectively share photo galleries or other content via the web UI.Once you get past the 45-day, 10 GB of storage trial period, you can use the discount available through 4/15 to get a half- off data plan (starts at $25/yr for 10 GB, up to 250 GB for $250/yr).The advantages of SugarSync for backup, specificity of synced items, and a supported client may make you give it a look as an alternative to iDisk, or to cloud solutions like OmniDrive, JungleDisk or other clients for Amazon's S3 that require you to roll your own synchronization plan.%Gallery-18835%
Cablevision postpones networked DVR
Under heavy pressure in the form of a lawsuit filed by nearly all of TV land's major content providers, industry giant Cablevision has announced that it will delay the rollout of its networked DVR offering until the service's legality is confirmed in court. The lawsuit, filed by the four key networks and their parent studios, claims that Cablevision's plan to store customers' recorded swag on their own servers as opposed to local set-top boxes constitutes a retransmission of copyrighted material, and therefore violates pre-existing agreements the company has with its providers. Cablevision, on the other hand, argues that networked DVR services are only facilitating "fair-use" of their broadcasts by consumers, who have already paid for any programs they intend to record. The outcome of this suit will be closely monitored by other players in the cable industry as well, because a victory for Cablevision would allow Cox, Comcast, et al. to begin offering their own remote storage -- good news for consumers, but perhaps bad news for our old friend TiVo.
