GigaOM » synchronization

So much for a BlackBerry cloud: RIM sells NewBay to Synchronoss

Kevin Fitchard — Fri, 28 Dec 2012 18:43:05 +0000

Perhaps Research in Motion isn’t interested in challenging Apple, Amazon and Google in the mobile cloud services space after all. One year after buying Ireland-based synchronization and cloud storage company NewBay for a reported $100 million, RIM is selling the unit off to Synchronoss Technologies for $55.5 million in cash.

NewBay’s M.O. was to build operators their own branded cloud media management services such as digital photo and video storage, network-based address books, and even social networking. NewBay’s carrier customers, which include Verizon Wireless and several major European operators, could then use that software to compete against third-party platforms like Apple’s iCloud and Amazon Cloud Drive.

When RIM bought NewBay in October 2011, we expected to see RIM create its own cloud storage platform as well. With NewBay now going to Synchronoss, RIM hasn’t necessarily given up on a cloud storage service, but it’s not going to launch it with NewBay’s software. If you think about it though, RIM already runs one of the largest cloud platforms in the world through its core push-messaging apps and enterprise synchronization apps. Maybe buying didn’t work out, but it could always build or partner.

Synchronoss has been on a buying spree. Last January it bought mobile social networking company Miyowa and in July 2010 it bought mobile contact and content management provider FusionOne. Synchronoss is most famous for handling the at-home activations of the first generation of iPhones, allowing Apple to turn iTunes into a mobile-provisioning platform. The company, however, has been gradually expanding into the further reaches of the cloud, focusing on the synchronization of content and data between devices after the initial activation.

Photo courtesy by Flickr user fontplaydotcom

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Huddle goes all Dropbox on users with new Sync service

Bobbie Johnson — Tue, 21 Feb 2012 16:35:30 +0000

There’s no doubt that synchronization has rapidly become one of the cloud’s killer apps, breeding smash hit startups like Dropbox as well as underscoring big services such as Apple’s iCloud.

Now collaboration outfit Huddle is launching its own spin on the idea, with Huddle Sync — a system that grants its users access to shared, synced folders and gives the data to them wherever they are.

The London-based company, which we highlighted last year as one of Europe’s 20 most exciting startups, already offers its users — spread across 100,000 businesses — access to a range of collaboration software. But now it’s adding a virtual folder option that means Huddle workers can keep all sorts of documents up to date and automatically synced between their computers, phones or tablets.

Yes, it’s partially a defensive move against Dropbox’s Teams product, which has been making inroads into lots of companies off the back of the tool’s popularity with consumers. And it’s also a way of heading off threats from bigger players too, including the perennially-rumored Google Drive.

But it’s also taking on a different approach to the issue of synchronization because of its focus on business customers, as CEO Alastair Mitchell explained to me over breakfast last week.

He suggests that there is a significant difference between consumer-style sync — which is largely about accessing one person’s files across different devices — and enterprise-wide sync — which largely revolves around accessing other people’s information. And because enterprise-wide sync is essentially a shared drive that spans an entire organization, there’s a rather large technical problem to surmount: with terabytes of files potentially at your fingertips, how can you sync the whole thing?

The reality is that it’s not only impossible to sync everything, it’s also unnecessary.

Rather than simply pull the data down from the cloud whenever you need it, Huddle Sync runs a smart learning algorithm to find out which files you are most likely to be interested in and then it pushes them to you — saving you time, energy and preventing a company’s network from getting munged by vast amounts of constant synchronization.

Mitchell believes that the process is unique — it has filed for a patent on the algorithm — and over time hopes it can improve to become an utterly failsafe predictor of not only what you’re working on, but what you might need to work on in the future. Interesting move from the fast-growing startup, which also became one of the British government’s approved cloud software providers this week.

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NewNet Q4: Platform mania and social commerce shakeout

Thu, 19 Jan 2012 20:39:31 +0000

The fourth quarter may have lacked a dominating big-event product announcement like Q3’s Facebook platform extension or Q2’s unveiling of Google+, but the NewNet world continued to buzz along. In the battle for mind share, everyone wanted to be a platform. Meanwhile, consumer and social technologies continued to gain momentum, and new vehicles for content and service discovery presented both challenges and opportunities for NewNet companies. And it is hard to ignore the overcrowded but growing world of daily deals. This quarterly report analyzes these trends and others, and it also provides a near-term outlook of trends, technologies and companies to watch in 2012. Companies mentioned in the report include Amazon, Facebook and Socialcast. For a full list of companies, and to read the full report, sign up for a free trial.

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NewNet Q1: Content Farms and Niche Networks on the Rise

Mon, 18 Apr 2011 07:01:42 +0000

The first quarter of 2011 saw plenty of competition between various web companies — and some heated tension, too. Content farms generated the most debate, with Demand Media’s IPO attracting attention and controversy and Google making a major change to its ranking algorithm. Facebook, meanwhile, maintained its heavyweight status online, but this time the social network’s impact was centered on social search, unified communications and comment systems. And Facebook’s ongoing dominance raised the question, Is there room for more than one social network? If niche networks like Quora and Color are any indication, the answer is “yes.” Additional companies mentioned in this report include Twitter, Groupon, Microsoft, LinkedIn and MySpace. To see the full list of companies, and to read the full report, sign up for a free trial.

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Mozilla's Weave Sync Tool Hits Version 1.0, Aims for Firefox Users

Sebastian Rupley — Fri, 29 Jan 2010 19:12:24 +0000

After spending years in beta, Mozilla’s Weave synchronization tool is finally out in a new version 1.0. Installable as a free extension for Firefox, Weave synchronizes your bookmarks, saved passwords, browsing history and open browser tabs — keeping all your personal data encrypted.

I’ve been taking Weave for a spin, and have found it to be very intuitive. As is true of XMarks, which works with Firefox, Internet Explorer and Safari — but concentrates primarily on syncing browser bookmarks — Weave is likely to be especially appreciated by users who want to keep passwords, preferences and personal data uniform across multiple devices. The more mobile devices you use, the more you’ll like it. Weave is available in Firefox through the Tools menu, as seen below.

Once you install Weave (you need Firefox 3.5 or greater), you need to sign in and create an account, after which preferences you save will be stored in the cloud. For those who balk at having personal information stored online, there is an option for setting Weave up on a local server.

If you, as I do, favor Firefox (or the Fennec browser from Mozilla), Weave is likely to become your synchronization tool of choice, as it’s especially attuned to preferences that you set in the browser. According to Mozilla’s post announcing it, “future releases of Weave Sync will add support for synchronizing your browser add-ons, search plugins and other customizations and ultimately everything that makes your Firefox and Web experience personal.”

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How I Use Dropbox For Maximum Productivity

Scott Blitstein — Tue, 04 Aug 2009 23:00:33 +0000

The other day, some friends and I were discussing the various productivity tools and services that we rely on to manage our lives and our businesses. The usual question came up, “What application or service do you really rely on the most?”

To answer this question, I wanted to move beyond the standard CRM and invoicing tools which are critical to the day-to-day functioning of my business, and share something that might not be so obvious. The first thing that popped into my mind was file sharing and syncing app Dropbox, and even after more discussion and heated conversation, nothing could change my answer. The benefit of synchronized files and access from any PC is obvious, but as I’ve been using the service it has really become a critical part of my daily process.

Dropbox is a file sharing application that is amazingly simple to use. The installation creates a Dropbox folder on your computer — drop in a file and it miraculously appears on all of your shared computers. Individual folders can also be shared with other users. Here are some ways that I use Dropbox for maximum productivity.

Password Synchronization: With the sheer volume of user accounts I manage, a good password management system is critical. I’ve come to rely on RoboForm for this purpose, and Dropbox makes it dead simple to keep all of my account information and passwords in sync. Just move your RoboForm profile to a Dropbox folder, point all your computers to it and voila — easily log in to any of your sites from any of your computers, and never forget a password again.

Simple Network Sharing: For some of my home or small business clients, particularly those using laptops away from their offices, Dropbox is often a better solution for file sharing than setting up a shared network folder. The built-in versioning functionality is really handy and the ability to access files when away from the home or office is much appreciated. When the client returns to the office or checks in from a coffee shop, any changes to the files they are working on are automatically pushed back to the other users on their network.

File Distribution: I’ve set up shared Dropbox folders for a number of my clients and find it a great way to distribute reports and other information to them. The “push” of the information to them removes the need for them to seek out or retrieve the data that they need. It also makes it really easy for them to share files back to me, without needing to worry about email limits and such. Because there are no new interfaces to learn, it also has a very shallow learning curve. This makes adoption for the less tech-savvy much easier.

The fact that Dropbox is so easy to use and so flexible makes it a great addition to my services toolbox. Dropbox is free for up to 2GB of storage with monthly plans available, up to $19.99 for 100GB.

How are you enhancing your productivity with Dropbox? I would love to hear about your creative uses for the service in the comments.

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Easing the Pain of Moving to a New Windows PC

Meryl K Evans — Tue, 30 Jun 2009 23:00:45 +0000

I love technology, but not when it comes to switching PCs — moving all the data and applications from one Windows machine to another is not always as easy as it could be.

I thought I’d share some tips gleaned from my latest move to a new desktop. My way isn’t necessary the best way, but it may give you some ideas when it comes time for you to make the switch. Here are the steps that I took.

Back up your data. Use an online backup service like BackBlaze or Mozy. (Solo web workers should have an offsite backup solution, anyway) I also have an external drive that does nothing but back up my computer’s data. The free built-in Microsoft Windows Synctoy took care of my syncing. Make sure you synchronize everything, including the data on any mobile devices.
Take a computer inventory. Run System Information for Windows (SIW), Magical Jelly Bean Keyfinder and Belarc Advisor. Save the output files in Gmail or someplace where you can access it from any computer. These free applications create a list of installed software, license keys, hardware inventory, network information and other details. These apps are all free.
Put the computers near each other. This makes the move easier and allows you to check what’s on the old computer and install it on the new PC and compare the setups. It’s also worth checking which apps are used frequently. While the inventory software lists all the installed applications, you might not need to exactly duplicate your setup. The key is to get the important and most frequently used tools and software installed so you can get up and running on the new machine. Then, if you find you need one of the apps you didn’t move over to the new machine later, you can install it. Don’t pressure yourself to get everything installed.
Install the applications and tools. Dig up all your software, download the ones that don’t have a CD/DVD and download updated software. Some of my software (Palm Desktop, for example) is so old that I didn’t bother using the original CD/DVD to install it. Instead, I went to the companies’ web sites to download the latest versions.
Share folders over the network. Turn on network file-sharing by opening Explorer. Find the folders you want to copy to your new computer, right-click the folder and select “Share.” Look for the option to share the folder (it’s different in Windows XP and Vista). Doing this, I shared the folder with all my work documents so that I had instant access to the documents I needed without waiting for the online backup to do its job. The online backup application then restored the rest of the files.
Copy the data from old to new.
Start using the new computer. I plan to keep the old computer nearby for a little while so if I run into something I need to customize or verify, I can look at it and update the new computer accordingly.
Set up a backup system. Whether you used one before or not, put a backup system in place. Even new computers mess up and you never know when some disaster decides to make life harder for your home. It can happen. I was in my grandparents’ house when it caught fire.

Having many of my applications and data in the cloud made this the easiest and fastest desktop transition ever.

What other ways can you ease and speed up the transition from old computer to new?

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Getting My Data From Anywhere

Charles Hamilton — Sun, 14 Jun 2009 13:00:27 +0000

These days, when I leave my office — even if it’s just to go down the street to the grocery store — I know that I can grab my cell phone (a Treo 755p) and have my contacts, calendar, to-do list and passwords with me. They’ll even be up-to-date, if I’ve remembered to use Missing Sync to update my phone recently! And my email is always available, as I use IMAP with Google Apps.

Thanks to my smartphone, I don’t carry my laptop very much, unless I’m doing a presentation or going on an extended trip. But it’s nice to have my desktop sync with my laptop, so that it’s ready when I need it. And that’s where things start getting complicated.

My desktop’s a Mac mini, and my laptop’s a Toshiba Libretto U105 (which was a netbook before they started calling them that) running Windows XP. So how do I synchronize my data? It can be done, but it’s harder than it should be.

Contacts. I use the Apple Address Book, and sync it to my Google Contacts with Googaby. On the laptop, I use Thunderbird with the gContactSync add-on.
Calendar. I set up several calendars through Google Apps. I’ve subscribed to the calendars in both Apple iCal (on the Mac) and Mozilla Sunbird (on the PC). Alas, the future of Sunbird is unclear at the moment.
Passwords. I use SplashID because it syncs flawlessly with my Treo, although I’ve also been experimenting with LastPass, which is better at filling in some web forms, but is a bit obtrusive for my taste.
Bookmarks. For those of us who use Firefox, Weave will probably be a great system someday. But right now, it’s too experimental: It only supports the upcoming Firefox 3.5, and it has a tendency to stop working at random intervals. In the meantime, I’m reluctantly using Xmarks — which strikes me as trying to do too many things. If you turn off all of the options except bookmark syncing, the Firefox add-on seems to work fine. But the Safari version is hard to install and obtrusive. (I mostly use Firefox anyway, so I turned Xmarks for Safari off.)
Files. Dropbox. It’s easy. It just works.

If you’re wondering how all of these programs get along, well, they do, mostly. Googaby slows my Mac to a crawl when it’s updating, but it doesn’t update very often. Dropbox and Missing Sync work perfectly, and without getting in the way.

So why don’t I just use the web interfaces of all of these programs, and not worry about syncing?

It’s nice to have local backups in case Google goes down (which it does occasionally) or if my Internet connection goes south (which is does more often than I would like). Google Gears helps, but it’s not as smooth as having local copies of everything.

Both Apple Mail and Thunderbird make it much easier to manage and transfer messages between multiple accounts. Gmail Manager is a great way of accessing multiple accounts through Firefox, but it doesn’t let me drag and drop messages between accounts, like I can in Apple Mail.

One of these days, we might be able to use any computer, any browser, and get to our own “mobile desktop.” Glide is working on such a system, as are Xcerion, although neither system is complete.

In the meantime, syncing basic data between computers is much too complex. As long as desktop applications are more robust than their web counterparts, sync will be needed, so let’s hope easier and more user-friendly systems are on the way.

How do you manage data in multiple locations?

Image by stock.xchng user flaivoloka

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Evernote Adds Universal Sync

Mike Gunderloy — Wed, 24 Dec 2008 19:00:00 +0000

We’ve looked at note organizer Evernote before, and liked what we saw. Th combination of desktop and web clients, text recognition, and the promise of universal information availability, make it very useful as a general-purpose place to store, well, everything. A new feature, introduced just in time for Christmas, makes it even more useful: universal file synchronization.

Evernote already synchronized copies of its own notes across as many installations as you cared to have – Windows, Web, Mac, or mobile. But attachment synchronization was limited to a few file types that it natively understands, such as images and audio. Now, you can attach any file you like to a note, and have that file transported to every installation, as well as available through the web interface.Attached documents can be edited directly from Evernote, and changes will be synched back to all of your copies (with warnings of conflicting changes). The new feature is available only to Evernote Premium subscribers, who pay $5 per month or $45 per year for the privilege. But if you’re already using some other utility to share files between your various computers, it’s worth looking at whether you can make Evernote both your note-taking and your sharing application.

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AMD Won't Offer Netbook Chips

Stacey Higginbotham — Tue, 22 Jul 2008 18:35:49 +0000

AMD isn’t going after the mobile Internet device market that Intel and other chip vendors are eying. AMD’s senior VP and chief marketing officer, Nigel Dessau, told eWeek, “What we are saying is that we are a smaller company and we have to focus on what we do well at this point. We are watching that segment rather than playing in it, but as it matures we’ll see where it goes.” Sounds like a good plan for AMD, which already has chips that might work for Netbooks and needs to focus on righting itself.

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