Tag: cloud storage

Posted on

Amazon Gives Prime Subscribers Unlimited Photo Storage

amazon cloud storageFollowing on the heels of Microsoft delivering unlimited cloud storage for Office users, Amazon is getting in on the no-limits game.

Starting today, Prime subscribers get unlimited photo storage, even while uploading full resolution photos. Using Amazon’s Cloud Drive app, you can set up automatic back up and uploading on Android and iOS, but even pics manually uploaded through your browser will count.

The stock free file storage for non-photo uploads remains at 5GB.

Not a bad little perk for Amazon’s yearly subscription service.

Amazon Cloud Drive

Posted on

Microsoft & DropBox Partner for Windows Phone App and Office Integration

BLOG-Office-Dropbox-Blue-BlogLooks like we’re about to see a little mutual backscratching between former rivals.

Microsoft and DropBox are teaming up for a “strategic partnership”. Office integration will be opened up, so users will be able to view and edit any files saved online in DropBox. This means we should see updates to Office apps, hopefully with more Android compatibility.

Windows Phone users will also score in the deal as we’ll finally get an official DropBox app. Moving forward with Microsoft combining their apps for Windows 8 and Windows Phone, hopefully this DropBox app will also go cross platform.

App updates should drop “in the coming weeks” and online integration should happen early 2015.

I suppose a little cooperation between former cloud storage rivals never hurt anyone right?

Posted on

Microsoft Unleashes Unlimited OneDrive Storage for Office365 Users!

OfficeUNLIMITED_SISU_finalBrandedThe cloud storage wars rage on! This is really helpful for me as I’ve got promotional DropBox space expiring this month, but I am an Office365 subscriber!

Starting today, if you’re paying for the monthly version of Office, you will now receive unlimited storage from Microsoft, with no restrictions for Home, Personal, or Student customers.

To put that in perspective, DropBox or Google Drive will cost you $9.99 a month for 1TB of storage, OR you could pay $9.99 for 5 PC’s and 5 tablets to have monthly access to Office, one hour of Skype calling, AND unlimited cloud storage through OneDrive.

Not bad at all. You can read all the deets on Microsoft’s OneDrive blog.

Posted on

Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella Unveils Office for iPad

Microsoft CEO Satya NadellaIt’s been years in the making. We’ve seen teases and rumors, and now it’s officially arriving on iPads DATE.

Microsoft Cloud For MobileMicrosoft’s new CEO Satya Nadella took the wraps off the app we all knew was coming today during his first public address. Stressing the five to ten year outlook for Microsoft, Nadella shared his ideas on changing computing form factors not resembling the machines we use today. User interactions, apps, services, and cloud computing defining the future of our interactions.

Microsoft Office powerpoint For Mobile giant tabletGeneral Manager for Office Development Julia White discussed the solutions Microsoft are developing to serve the crossover between corporate applications and consumer applications. Showing us a highly touch optimized version of the Office Suite for iPad. Continue reading “Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella Unveils Office for iPad”

Posted on

It’s a Cloud Services World. We just pretend it’s about the hardware…

server rack front panelsWe all like to speculate about what’s coming down the pipe, what “THE FUTURE” will look like. One thing is becoming abundantly clear however, a good chunk of what’s coming is going to be delivered via networked, over the air, services. AKA The Cloud.

I know, shocking revelation. I’m sure none of you saw that coming, which is why it’s a good thing you read this blog, as I’m pretty terrific at delivering the obvious. All joking aside, we’re seeing some pretty exciting trends, and a few concerning ones.

Storage & File Delivery
This was essentially a proof of concept that basic data intensive services could work online. Putting larger files onto a server for easier delivery than email or “sneaker-net” style solutions. From YouSendIt to DropBox and everything else in between, we’ve flirted with the cloud primarily to sync and share information. It’s only been recently that data networks have gotten robust enough to offer…

Media Services
We’ve had Youtube for about nine years now. It’s made such a profound impact that it’s difficult to remember the internet without it. Of course, the push for HD video, and then competing services like Netflix and Hulu, really took hold over the last couple years. Online streaming radio is hot right now, and improved sharing and creation tools have lead to…

Collaborative Services
It’s not enough that we can upload a document. Multiple people can now work on it at the same time instead of emailing revisions back and forth. It’s not enough that I can vlog in front of a webcam, I can now broadcast to a live audience with multiple participants and have that automatically added to my Youtube channel.

So What Comes Next? Continue reading “It’s a Cloud Services World. We just pretend it’s about the hardware…”

Posted on

Microsoft’s Christmas gift for Windows phone users!

062How awesome is it to be a Windows phone user? Pretty awesome since Microsoft just gave out an extra 20GB of space for Skydrive for Windows phone users! More space for your Skydrive is always a good thing! I received my email yesterday and I am pretty stoked to have the extra FREE 20GB for pictures as I take a lot! Check your email, and thank you Microsoft!

085 Continue reading “Microsoft’s Christmas gift for Windows phone users!”

Posted on

Dropbox improves folder sharing for Android app users

dropbox mobile-shared-blogpost-image-v2I’m so happy to see this.

I’ve been stuck in situations using the Dropbox app where I’ve needed to create and share folders with people, and the experience hasn’t always been seamless. Often I’d just wait until I could get to a proper computer to finish the job, but now it looks like I wont have to do that anymore. Dropbox is cleaning up the quick actions on sharing and creating folders in their Android app. If you’re burning through a lot of cloud storage on DB like I am, this should be a welcome improvement to the service.

I especially appreciate the new folder settings page for controlling permissions and user options. Greatly appreciated.

Go hit the update on Google Play! It’s only available for Android users at this time, with word that iOS should get an update soon.

(via Dropbox Blog)

Posted on

Western Digital owned HGST turns to Helium for 6TB hard drive

western digital helium hgst he6 6tb hard driveIf you want BIG performance you have to start looking at exotic builds.

Storage is a big deal right now. Consumers routinely pick up thousands of gigabytes for cheap, and we’re all flirting with cloud storage which requires companies to run tons of redundant back ups. We’re creeping up on the maximum density per platter that physics will allow for packing info on a spinning disc, but other concerns can limit hard disc storage as well.

Namely air turbulence.

Yep. High performance drives spin up quickly. That 7200RPM badge on the side of your drive is commonplace these days, but that’s still pretty incredible when you think about it. Every second the platters are rotating 120 times. Those platters are designed around a certain fault tolerance and thermal envelope. Run them too hot too long and they’ll fail.

We’ve already posted about the new “shingled” array that Seagate and WD will look to use to pack more info on a drive, but that comes with certain sensitivities. Also, with each improvement in storage density comes the risk of losing even more data in the event of failure. HGST looks to improve run time and durability by hermetically sealing the drive in an envelope of Helium.

Helium is lighter than air, so there should be less resistance and turbulence. Less turbulence means less power is needed to spin the drive up, which results in less heat generated and a cooler operation temperature. Cooler temps should deliver long life cycles. It’s a very interesting solution for providing a more robust storage architecture. This kind of big storage affects every kind of service we use online today from social networking to streaming video.

HGST says the drives are “generally available now”, but bxpect the first applications to be for corporate storage. I wouldn’t be surprised to see these drives trickling out into consumer grade workstations next year.

Full PR after the jump. Continue reading “Western Digital owned HGST turns to Helium for 6TB hard drive”

Proudly powered by WordPress