GigaOM » file storage

MightyText moves beyond cloud SMS, starts synching photos to the PC

Kevin Fitchard — Wed, 24 Apr 2013 15:02:45 +0000

MightyText may have the word “text” in its name, but its plans are bigger than just synchronizing SMS between your Android smartphone and PC. On Wednesday it launched a new version of its app that will sync your smartphone’s photos and videos with a PC or Android tablet as well.

Does that sound like Dropbox, Google Drive, or any of the numerous cloud storage and synchronization services out there? Well, that’s the idea, said MightyText founder Maneesh Arora. MightyText isn’t claiming to be technologically better than any of those services, Arora said, but it is claiming to be more convenient.

While Dropbox may be a profoundly useful service for storing and managing files, people don’t check their Dropbox folders everyday, Arora said. But MightyText’s customers do engage with its browser apps and tablet apps every day, Arora said, using them as desktop extensions of the SMS clients in their smartphones. Since customers are already receiving and sending text messages through MightyText, it’s a logical place to manage and share their smartphones photos and videos as well, Arora concluded.

As with similar services, photos and videos aren’t actually shipped to the PC, but stored in the cloud. From MightyText’s browser extensions, customers can view the files, send them off as MMS messages to anyone in the phones address book or generate a private link that customers can share through other messaging formats. The smartphone client can be set so it only uploads files when connected to Wi-Fi – otherwise data fees might get out of control for shutter flies.

Arora said the MightyText plans to add other synchronization capabilities in the future. He didn’t give any specifics, but he said the end goal is recreate as many smartphone capabilities as possible on the desktop. For instance, MightyText recently added a battery meter to its apps so customers can track their phone’s charge from their PCs.

The more immediate goal is to expand its reach. It now has 3 million users, and is developing desktop apps for the PC and Mac for customers, which will allow more people to use its services features, as well as an iPad app.

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App.net to launch file storage API so you can host your own photos

Eliza Kern — Mon, 28 Jan 2013 18:30:57 +0000

Needless to say, photo ownership is a sticky topic. Just ask all the people who left Instagram in December over Instagram’s terms of service and the question of photo ownership and rights.

So not surprisingly, one of the biggest champions of personal data ownership and paid services when it comes to social networks is forging an experiment in file storage and ownership. Dalton Caldwell plans to announced Monday that App.net will be launching a file storage API, giving each of its existing users 10 GB of file storage space connected with their accounts, so they can personally host their own photos and files and then authorize App.net apps to access those files.

App.net launched in the summer of 2012, and it’s still a little unclear exactly how Caldwell’s vision for the network is going to play out. He is currently committed to a paid network strategy where users have access to all the apps created on top of the App.net API, including everything from group texting apps to a network that looks pretty much like Twitter. Developers are paid from users subscription fees based on the popularity of the apps developers build.

Central to Caldwell’s thesis is that a paid network creates more value for the developers and gives users more ownership over their data and information. For instance, if you have an Instagram or Flickr account, you upload photos to the services which are then hosted on those companies servers even if you retain copies of the photos yourself. With App.net’s storage API, you would host your own photos in the cloud, and give authorization to different apps to access your photos (just as you give an app access to photos on your iPhone’s camera roll, for instance.)

“It’s like your personal Dropbox,” Caldwell said. “You want to maintain the originals and feel like they’re yours.” He noted that allowing for photo and file apps will be an important part of growing the App.net developer network, which is now fairly focused on text-based apps.

Caldwell said he thinks moving into photo and file storage will provide App.net developers a good deal of flexibility in what they design with the service’s API, and moves App.net into a potentially more useful and lucrative area for both users and developers.

“It’s an attempt to get away from some of the downsides of a siloed data storage,” he said.

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Personal tools lead to practical business

Tue, 07 Feb 2012 07:55:00 +0000

Much of business communication activity still happens in email, but in this day and age that presents a problem. Easy access to and tracking of projects has become more critical as workers go mobile and teams assemble remotely, and right now, the pairing of large files and email takes its toll on speed and storage capabilities, lessening productivity. Simply put, it is essential for businesses to adapt to these changes and others by providing tools that are simpler to use. This report, based on a recent survey of business managers, highlights some of the problematic areas around business content collaboration, and it provides some options for working through them. Companies mentioned in this report include 39signals, Dropbox, IBM and YouSendIt. To see all companies, and to read the full report, sign up for a free trial.

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SugarSync Goes Free

Simon Mackie — Thu, 07 May 2009 20:00:25 +0000

Good news! SugarSync, a file synchronization and backup service for PC and Mac (reviewed positively here on WWD), today started offering free accounts (previously the cheapest option was $4.99 per month or $49.99 per year.)

The catch is that free accounts are limited to 2GB of storage, which will be inadequate for backing up large collections of files or music, but for syncing a few big files between machines — accessing project files on the road, for example — it could be very useful.

SugarSync differentiates itself from its competitors (like Dropbox) by offering comprehensive mobile support, with clients for iPhone/iPod Touch, BlackBerry and Windows Mobile devices. The free accounts announced today include access to the mobile clients.

Let us know what you think of SugarSync in the comments.

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Box.net Introduces New Look and Web Documents

Judi Sohn — Wed, 04 Mar 2009 21:00:21 +0000

As these things go, Box.net is an old-timer among cloud file storage options, having been around for four years now.

Without a network sync component like Windows LiveSync (aka FolderShare) and DropBox, Box.net competes by focusing on reliability and accessibility. Once a file is uploaded to Box.net, it’s easy to grab and edit from any desktop browser or mobile device. The service is consistently fast and available. Plans range from free to enterprise solutions. While the free version is functional with 1 GB of storage space, it may be worth the upgrade to the $7.95/month Individual plan for the faster uploads alone. It’s significantly faster than any FTP server I’ve ever used.

After keeping the same look and feel for years, Box.net recently refreshed their interface and introduced the ability to create documents directly on the site.

The new look shows more info about a folder at a glance. Before you had to click on a drop-down menu to work with a file/folder; now most of that info is right in the sidebar. This makes it much easier to collaborate on assets.

They’ve also introduced the ability to create documents on the fly. Previously, you had to create your document in another application and then upload to Box.net. Now, you have no need to jump out of Box.net for simple additions.

It’s not meant to replace Google Docs or Zoho or any on- or offline word processor. For starters, you can’t import or export files. But all the basic WYSIWYG editing functionality is there. Don’t think of it as an online Microsoft Word, think of it as an online Notepad or TextEdit.

Truth be told, the value of this feature is limited. You certainly wouldn’t use it for complex documents. But, if the file is not explicitly shared, it is locked even to collaborators. So it could be useful if you want to write more information/instruction than can fit in the sidebar comments and you don’t want your collaborators to remove or edit the file.

The significant weakness of Box.net is its lack of an offline feature. If you don’t have Internet access, you are not getting to your files. The company has hinted that they have something cooking in that direction, but until then it’s important to keep a local copy of any files that you might have to access on a moment’s notice.

What service do you you use for cloud storage?

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Box.net Releases Very Useful iPhone App

Judi Sohn — Fri, 24 Oct 2008 22:23:13 +0000

Those of you who have been working in the cloud for a while should be familiar with Box.net, an early entry into the now-crowded online storage/file sharing space.

I recently had a nice chat with Community Manager Sean Lindo about what they have coming down the road (and about how we’ve been using Box.net at my day job). One of the projects he mentioned was a new iPhone application that they were waiting to clear the App Store.

I have to admit, I was a bit ho hum at the news. Everyone is doing an iPhone app these days. The app was released today. I downloaded it this afternoon, expecting a rather basic file browser.

I didn’t give the concept enough credit. The reality is better than that.

First of all, it’s fast. Even over a 3G connection, it’s pretty zippy for an app that relies on its connection to the ‘net.

The killer feature of the app that separates it from being just a ho hum file browser is its ability to preview files. It’s not just images. Documents and PDF files render quite nicely in the application, just as they do for email attachments in the phone’s mail application. This will be very handy for those times I need to review a document while traveling. If you tap on a MP3, it launches the iPod application on the phone and streams the file.

The app continually monitors your Box.net account while it’s running, so any changes on either the phone or the server are reflected instantly. Nice.

Unfortunately, there doesn’t appear to be a way to reorganize files from the app (move/copy between folders) but you can share files with email contacts and upload photos from the phone’s camera.

If you already have a Box.net account, the app will let you get more use out of it. If you don’t have an account, it looks like Box is offering folks a free 1 GB account if you sign up from the iPhone. Otherwise, plans start at $7.95/month for 5 GB of space.

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Vid-Biz: NBC, Local Ads, Praan

Chris Albrecht — Mon, 07 Jul 2008 17:30:20 +0000

NBC Buys The Weather Channel; the peacock, along with private equity firms Bain Capital and the Blackstone Group, have reportedly agreed to pony up just shy of $3.5 billion for the channel. (NYT)

Local Online Video Advertising to Grow; Kelsey Group says revenues will hit $1.5 billion by 2012. (eMarketer)

High School Musician Gets Big Exposure From Online Vid; 17-year-old Palbasha Siddique cracked the Amazon Top 100 MP3 downloads with her rendition of Praan, which was featured in a Where the Hell Is Matt video. (Silicon Alley Insider)

Muslim YouTube Launches; U.S. Islamic organization rolls out MuslimChannels.tv, which will combine UCG elements with Muslim-oriented TV programming from across the globe. (C21 Media)

Holiday Inn Back for More Smart Show; hotel chain has hooked up with blip.tv to release the second season of its business travel web series. (TVWeek)

BBC Proposes Download Function to its iPlayer; service would allow consumers to pre-order single episodes or full series before they air on TV, but shows wouldn’t be watchable until after broadcast. (Digital Spy)

YouTube Gets Entire Revision3 Catalog; full-length shows like Diggnation and Tekzilla now available on the video site. (emailed release) (Disclosure: Revision3 produces The GigaOM Show.)

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Dead Man Dancing

Om Malik — Mon, 30 Apr 2007 11:50:30 +0000

The founder’s reprieve between funding rounds never feels long enough. Way too often, you find yourself in a room asking your investors to pull out their checkbooks again. Recently, one of my investors tried to cheer me up: “Listen Matt, you aren’t a real entrepreneur if you haven’t run out of money a few times.”

I wish the mood was always so jovial. But I was not having a good week. This round of funding was going to be different, because this time I had no more money of my own to put into the company. That makes a big difference to certain investors. I didn’t know if my angels would be willing to put up more cash, and I had no where else to go.

The bank owned my home (I had already mortgaged it twice), my credit card debt was building up (again), and the company’s commercial bank balance dwindled dangerously close to zero. I had no idea how I was going to cover the month’s payroll and people won’t work long for companies that can’t pay them. I had put everything I owned into this ship and it was in danger of sinking.

So what did I do? I went salsa dancing.

It just so happened that this same week a close friend had asked me to go out to a local salsa club with him. It was important: He was supposed to meet a woman there, and he needed his wingman. In the past I would have shut down my social life to focus on the company crisis, operating in panic mode for days on end until I came up with a solution. This time was different: I had been in and out of the fire enough to know that I could go out for the night to try to relax for a few hours and the sky wouldn’t fall.

As we walked to the club, I outlined the current state of affairs at my company, and explained how dire the scenario had become. Throughout the night, he asked me repeatedly, “Seriously, Matt. What are you going to do?” Here was a guy with a stable 401k plan, who shreds his mail and takes long, careful periods of planning before making any major life decisions. When it comes to risk taking we are polar opposites. He looked at me in the way that one might look at a man whose fate is sealed. You could see it in his concerned—and confused—eyes: “I’m looking at a dead man. A dead man who has gone out dancing.”

I actually found myself consoling him that I would be okay. I told him the truth: I was scared shitless and really couldn’t see through to the other side of this one, but I knew I’d pull through. I knew this because I had done it before and there simple wasn’t any other option: I wasn’t going to die or starve to death, so there could be worse problems to face. I raised my drink to my friend.

“I will tell you this: If you want to be an entrepreneur, you better learn to be able to sleep in the fire. I’ll take that along with the danger of failure over going each day to a job with no reward any day, no matter how safe that job might be.”

I’m not advocating recklessness here, or attempting to romanticize the dangers of risk-taking; businesses are not built on irresponsible behavior. That is often how they are lost. Sure, I decided to go out dancing, but this doesn’t mean my problems weren’t in the back of my mind all night, because they certainly were. My business and my home were at risk – but large problems like these follow an entrepreneur everywhere they go.

What every founder needs to grasp is that there is a line between attentive concern and freaking out. There is a balance between letting a danger move you to aggressive problem solving, while not letting the stress break you down. I went home after an enjoyable night at the club, picked up my pen and put in some serious time cranking out as many creative solutions as I could muster. Then I turned off the light, crawled into bed, and fell asleep. I woke up the next day rested and ready to drive forward.

I survived. My investors didn’t give in to my funding pleas right away. They sent me away a few times and held my feet to the fire as the clock wound down. I remained calm, listened to their requests, and managed to work with them without “going Chernobyl” in the boardroom. Through remaining calm I came out the other side with signed checks and my company in tact.

The lesson here is that an entrepreneur has to learn to be able to live with fear and uncertainty – learn how to sleep in the midst of a fire. If we can’t handle the stress of high pressure situations with calm, our companies don’t have a chance.

Oh, I almost forgot: the girl my friend was supposed to meet that night eventually did show up… with her husband. Had I stayed home wringing my hands over my funding crisis, I would have missed the chance to razz him about it these last six months. (A nice reprieve if ever I had one!) So remember this: Some things in life are worth taking a break for.

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Introducing the HTC Advantage and Shift

James Kendrick — Mon, 26 Mar 2007 16:00:00 +0000

HTC just announced two devices for the US market, the Advantage which has been discussed for a while and a new device they’ve managed to keep under wraps, the Shift. The Advantage is the Windows Mobile based PDA with a a detachable keyboard, 5 inch VGA screen, and a slew of connectivity options, such as UMTS/HSDPA/GSM/GPRS/EDGE, Bluetooth 2.0 and WiFi. Whew, that’s should just about cover all the bases. You’ll also find a 8 GB hard drive, 256 MB ROM, 128 MB RAM, and a miniSD slot. The HTC Advantage is the same device that has been released in Europe as the Ameo. That little keyboard connects to the PDA magnetically which is innovative to say the least.

The HTC Shift looks very much like the Advantage but with some key differences, it has a 7 inch screen and runs Vista Business. This puts it squarely in the realm of the UMPC and it looks like the Advantage just slightly larger. The press release doesn’t give up too much information about the hardware other than the screen size and that it comes with a 30 GB hard drive. The Shift offers the same connectivity options as the Advantage. It’s not clear if this is a convertible or has some slide hinge mechanism for the screen. In the press photo below we see it running the Flip 3D utility which I believe requires the ability to run Aero Glass.

“The HTC Shift is combining the power of Windows Vista with advanced connectivity in a sleek mobile computer design,“ said Bill Mitchell, corporate vice president of Microsoft’s Windows Mobile Platforms Division. “HTC and Microsoft have been innovating on smartphones for years, so it is exciting to see them bring that experience and innovation to mobile computers.”

The Shift is to be available in Q3 with pricing announced at that time.

Press release after the jump.

Issued by: High Tech Computer Corp.
Issued on: 2007 03 26

For Release 11:00am EDT

HTC Defines Mobile Computing With Introduction Of
Shift and Advantage

Mobile computers set to deliver ultimate experience by combining innovative designs with powerful functionality and connectivity

ORLANDO, FL — March 26, 2007 — Today, at the Cellular Telecommunications & Internet Association’s (CTIA) WIRELESS 2007®, High Tech Computer Corp. (TAIEX: 2498; “HTC”), the world’s leading provider of Microsoft® Windows Mobile®-based smart devices, announced the expansion of its product portfolio to include two new groundbreaking computing devices that focus on providing users with the definitive mobile computer experience.

The HTC Shift brings the full power of Windows Vista and advanced wireless connectivity into an innovative and compact design that is sure to create a new paradigm for mobile computing. The HTC Advantage delivers extreme portability that leverages the mobile office strengths of Windows Mobile 6 and advanced wireless connectivity in one of the smallest mobile computer designs available.

“The introduction of the HTC Shift and Advantage continue HTC’s long history of innovative, precedent-setting devices,” said Peter Chou, chief executive officer of HTC. “These new devices bridge the gap between being mobile and being in the office, giving customers new choices for how they work, communicate and live.

With nearly a decade of experience designing and building pioneering smartphones, HTC is extending its mobile convergence leadership into a new mobile computing category created by the introduction of the HTC Shift and HTC Advantage. The company is now doing for mobile computing what it did for mobile phones, adding powerful functionality and advanced connectivity in compact and innovative designs.

HTC Shift

Unveiled at CTIA, the HTC Shift combines the power of Windows Vista with an innovative QWERTY-based keyboard design and 3G-connectivity. The days of compromising productivity for portability are gone. The HTC Shift provides all the power, functionality and connectivity the busy professional needs in a sleek design that is half the size and a fraction of the weight of what they lug around today. Similar in size to a couple of DVD cases, the HTC Shift comes with Windows Vista Business, includes a brilliant 7-inch widescreen touch display and a 30-gigabyte hard drive. Packed with advanced connectivity, the HTC Shift features high-speed global connectivity with Tri-Band UMTS/HSDPA, Quad-Band GSM/GPRS/EDGE, Bluetooth 2.0 and Wi-Fi. A multimedia maven, the HTC Shift leverages Windows Media Player 11 to provide easy access to music, videos and photos.

HTC Advantage

Developed from the ground up to be extremely portable, the HTC Advantage liberates the traveling executive from their bulky notebook PC. The HTC Advantage packs powerful productivity features into a unique and innovative design that is small enough to slip into a jacket pocket or purse. Based on Microsoft Windows Mobile 6, the HTC Advantage includes Microsoft Office Outlook Mobile for quick access to email, calendar and contacts and Microsoft Office Mobile enabling the creation and editing of Microsoft Office documents. The HTC Advantage includes a thin, magnetically connected QWERTY keyboard and advanced connectivity with Tri-Band UMTS/HSDPA, Quad-Band GSM/GPRS/EDGE, Bluetooth 2.0 and Wi-Fi. In addition, the HTC Advantage enables powerful navigation capabilities with built-in GPS navigation. Other features include:
• 5-inch VGA touch display
• HDD 8GB, ROM 256MB, RAM 128MB
• miniSD™ card slot
• HTC VueFLO™ for easy navigation
• 3.5mm Stereo audio jack

Pricing and Availability

The HTC Advantage will be available through Amazon.com and other retailers this summer. The HTC Shift will be available in the US and Europe in Q3 2007. Additional details, including specifications, pricing and availability will be announced when available.

About HTC

Founded in 1997, High Tech Computer Corp. (HTC) designs, manufactures and markets innovative, feature rich Smartphone and PDA Phone devices.
Since its establishment, HTC has developed strong R&D capabilities, pioneered many new designs and product innovations, and launched state-of-the-art PDA Phones and Smartphones for mobile operators and distributors in Europe, the US, and Asia. These machines are available as HTC devices and as products individually customized for operator and device partners.
HTC is one of the fastest growing companies in the mobile device market. The company is listed on the Taiwan Stock Exchange under ticker 2498. For more information about HTC, please visit http://www.htc.com
# # #
The names of actual companies and products mentioned herein may be the trademarks of their respective owners.
Media Contact
Jason Gordon
HTC America
425-679-5337
Jason_Gordon@america.htc.com

Susan Schmitz
Waggener Edstrom
(425) 638-7000
susans@waggeneredstrom.com

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Why wait for iTunes 4.9, when you got Bad Apple

Om Malik — Sat, 18 Jun 2005 20:35:48 +0000

Folks who are waiting for Apple’s iTunes 4.9 with built-in Podcast support should take a gander at BadFruit.com’s BadApple plugin. The developer of this plugin is going to add support for all sorts of podcasts, not just Apple approved podcasts. It is right now a Windows-only plugin. Essentially it mimics the Music Store experience and helps you find the right podcast. Here is an FAQ with all the information. Since it runs on Windows, I have not tried it. If you do, let me know what you think? I am still in fog from a very busy week, so please excuse for lack of details!

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