Hasta La Gadget!

Cloud storage services like Dropbox are great not just for backing up data but for sharing files with other people as well. BitTorrent is developing a similar service, with two notable exceptions: it’s completely free, and there is no centralized “cloud” storage. It’s called BitTorrent Sync, and it uses the revolutionary peer-to-peer (P2P) protocol to sync folders across multiple devices.

If you’ve already tried a cloud file storage service, you won’t have a problem using BitTorrent Sync. First, download the BitTorrent Sync program. It has Windows, Mac and Linux versions, with mobile apps coming soon. Then open the program and use it to generate an access key for each folder that you want to sync. The key is just a random bunch of characters. BitTorrent calls the key a “secret”.

I’m sure you get the idea: if you want another computer to sync a folder from your computer, simply install BitTorrent Sync on that computer and then enter that folder’s secret to authorize the sync:

You can also generate read-only folder keys (other computers can copy files from that folder, but they can’t add or remove files) as well as one-time use keys. Here’s a short discussion about BitTorrent Sync from a recent Tekzilla show:

You can download and use BitTorrent Sync for free. I think this is a much better use of P2P compared to BitTorrent Bundle. It’s a great alternative to cloud storage because it’s completely free, even if you intend to synchronize or share terabytes of data on a daily basis. If you’re creeped out at the thought of leaving copies of your data on a remote server, then BitTorrent Sync is a great backup solution as well.

[via Forbes]

Slowly but surely Leap Motion is making its way toward a commercial release. Today, the company has announced it’s moving into the next phase of beta testing and that it will be opening up its developer portal to the public later in the week. While this still won’t get folks a Leap device any faster, it will let them dig into Leap’s tools and code base in preparation for when they finally get one. The move marks a shift from the company’s previous SDK-focused beta to a consumer-focused one that’ll serve to refine the UX in Windows and OSX. Within each operating system, there will be two levels of Leap control: basic, which essentially allows you to use Leap in place of a touchscreen, and advanced to allow for more 3D controls enabled by Leap’s ability to detect the pitch and yaw of hands in space.

CEO Michael Buckwald gave us this good news himself, and also gave us a preview of Airspace, Leap’s app store, and a few app demos for good measure. As it turns out, Airspace is a two-pronged affair — Airspace Store is showcase for all software utilizing the Leap API and Airspace Home is a launcher that keeps all the Leap apps that you own in one convenient place. There will be 50 apps in Airspace at the start of the beta, with offerings from pro tools and utility apps to casual games, and we got to see a few examples.

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Perfect for those of us lacking the confidence to write in pen the first time, this pencil features a miniature broom head eraser on the end so you can just sweep away incorrect crossword puzzle answers, and poorly solved Sudoku puzzles. At almost $9 for a single pencil you’re going to only want to sharpen this thing when it’s absolutely worn down to a nub, but with ten times as much eraser as a standard pencil, you’re free to make plenty of mistakes. [Artori Design via designboom]

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The new Snapchat for iOS app brings SnapKidz version. It is basically an offline mode that lets users under the age of 13 use all the features without enabling them to add friends or send and receive snaps.

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It’s time to get in line, citizens of planet Jay-Z. Samsung has a deal with the artist which allows a total of one million users to get in on the album before it’s official drop: July 4th for those members of the public that wish to participate in the pre-drop hype. What the deal between

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