Storage

Dropbox moves to become your first choice for all storage

Dropbox moves to become your first choice for all storage

dbx-press-datastoresYou might know Dropbox as a great way to share documents amongst each other. And it is. You can drag and drop files from your computer into your Dropbox and have them both on your computer as well as in the cloud. And if anyone changes the document, or adds something to your folder, you get it immediately. Dropbox was one of the first services to launch a solution to integrate cloud storage and your computer storage. And together with their very intuitive user interface, that has made them a market leader. But the vision of Dropbox goes beyond just saving your documents.

At their developer conference, Dropbox has introduced a new set of developer tools for their new Datastores API. Essentially, this turns Dropbox from an application into a platform that software developers can use to integrate the use of Dropbox into their apps. That means that the storage will no longer just be used for documents and pictures. Software builders can now also use it to store your contacts, your text messages, your game progress, or your progress in your Bible for instance. You can then switch over to another device altogether and have the same information at your fingertips.

This idea is not new. Already, iOS devices synchronize certain apps and Google has provided synchronization between several of its services across Android devices and even computers. However, the Dropbox solution could be the first to be absolutely independent of the platform or the device you are using. And that makes it an interesting solution for software makers who see their users switch from iOS on their iPhone to Android on their tablet and to a new Windows Phone for instance. Three platforms that have not really integrated together, can be brought closer together for users through the Dropbox interface.

The Dropbox option is an interesting one. It means that the transition of the data you are using will be seamless for users. If you are developing software, that might give your app a great advantage over other apps that do not have that flexibility. And if you are an average user, that ties in well with your personal use of Dropbox where you store things in the cloud that you want to be able to use seamlessly. Regardless of your device or your location, you can always get to your Dropbox. Now we will have to see whether Dropbox will come to you.

What things would you like to easily share between devices? Have you ever been frustrated by information that was available on one device, but not on the other? Tell us in the comments.

The price of storage: get 20Gb free, or 1Tb if you like pictures

The price of storage: get 20Gb free, or 1Tb if you like pictures

copyThe past week has seen a rise of storage opportunities. Last Thursday I tweeted about Copy. It is a new dropbox competitor that has decided to show off that storage has become cheaper and cheaper. Where Dropbox, Google Drive and Skydrive only start you off with a measly 5Gb, Copy jumps in and gives you 15Gb to start with. If you use a referral link from someone, you can get an extra 5Gb which brings you up to 20 free gigabytes. A good start. And whenever anyone uses your personal link to register, Copy gives you an extra 5Gb of storage. Without a limit. With three people using my link, I am now up to 30Gb. But Chris Pirillo got his bonus storage up to 10Tb. Now that sheds a whole new light on free storage. I do not even have 10Tb worth of harddisk space in my house…

And as we are on terabytes of storage, Flickr has released its all new and revamped service yesterday. Where the old service limited people to just 200 photos and seconds of video, the new service is like a self-help, free for all, storage bonanza. Now they offer 1Tb of storage for your photos for free. And all the annoyance you get is some ads on the pages. I have been a long standing Flickr Pro member and I love their new look. The photos are presented better, there is a much improved timeline and I finally enjoy going to the Flickr homepage to see what my friends are doing, instead of looking at their activity in my Facebook or Twitter timeline. However, as a Pro member, I do feel left out in the cold a bit. I have my subscription until October 2014 and all that gives me is unlimited space, no ads and detailed stats. I am certain I will not be touching that 1 Tb limit this year, I seldom look at the stats and I haven’t got a clue how many ads they show, so that could not be too bad. So, if you are a free member of Flickr, or if you are just starting out, just don’t pay for anything. I am sure that by the time you have filled up your 1Tb (that would allow for 500,000 very high resolution pictures) they will come out with a free 10Tb upgrade.

Storage has become cheap. So, go and create, take up space and claim it. After all, it is free and easy.

And if you want to get 20Gb of online storage for free, click this link: http://copy.com/?r=UhTwO6 (and give me some 5Gb extra in the process, thanks!)