Google unveils ‘Save to Drive’ button for websites, streamlines content delivery to cloud storage

Google unveils 'Save to Drive' button for websites, streamlines content delivery to cloud storage

Google Drive may be playing catch-up to its competitors in some ways, but the cloud storage team in Mountain View is forging ahead in others. Today, Big G announced a ‘Save to Drive’ button that allow users to save content directly from websites to Google-fied cloud lockers. Adding the button’s easy, as it only requires a few lines of HTML, and a JavaScript API allows web admins to control their behavior. Folks looking to take advantage of the new button can learn more about it on the Google Developers portal, and as for the rest of us, we’ll just enjoy the fruits of your labor.

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Source: Google Developers blog

SkyDrive celebrates 250 million users

SkyDrive celebrates 250 million users

Microsoft’s celebrating a rather important milestone for SkyDrive: 250 million users, with 50 million of those signing up in just the last seven months since the debut of Windows 8. With the cloud storage service being so tightly integrated into Microsoft’s new OS, it’s no surprise that its popularity has started to skyrocket. And, with recent upgrades to the platform, it’s becoming an increasingly viable alternative to competitors like Dropbox, Google Drive, Box and SugarSync. To commemorate the milestone, Microsoft has a nice self-congratulatory infographic at the source filled with all sorts of fun stats about Redmond and its favored file-syncing system.

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Source: Microsoft

Dropbox to hold its first DBX developer conference on July 9th

Dropbox to hold its first developer conference, DBX, on July 9th

While there’s an abundance of cloud storage services, few of them have dedicated conferences to help developers exploit that online space. Dropbox could well be a vanguard on that front, then — it just announced its inaugural developer conference, DBX. The initial event takes place on July 9th at San Francisco’s very familiar-sounding Fort Mason Center. Along with providing help straight from the source for the Sync API and other coding tools, DBX will serve as the launch platform for “new products.” There aren’t any clues as to what that entails, but we suspect that’s enough of a tease to have some Dropbox diehards booking their flights.

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Via: Dropbox

Source: DBX

Dropbox 2.2 for iOS simplifies photo viewing, supports Dropbox for Business

Dropbox 22 for iOS simplifies photo sharing, supports Dropbox for Business

Android-based Dropbox users got a crack at an even more photo-centric interface back in January; it’s now the iOS crowd’s turn to play. Dropbox 2.2 for their platform makes it easier for them to see their photos, organize them into albums and share them with others. The corporate set will also want the update now that it permits the single sign-ons that make Dropbox for Business tick. Version 2.2 isn’t the most dramatic update we’ve seen, but it should go some distance toward pleasing both shutterbugs and the suits.

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Source: App Store

Microsoft finishes migrating Hotmail users to Outlook.com, adds direct SkyDrive sharing

Microsoft finishes migrating Hotmail users to Outlookcom, adds tighter SkyDrive sharing

When Microsoft took Outlook.com public, it also took on the rather daunting task of moving 300 million-plus Hotmail accounts over to the more modern infrastructure without drawing our wrath. However you feel about the new interface, that transition is at last complete: Outlook.com is now the sole front end for the over 400 million people who use Microsoft’s free email services. Both Hotmail.com addresses and Hotmail Plus accounts will keep working despite the switch, the company says.

To mark the occasion, Microsoft is launching two significant upgrades. It’s adding tighter SkyDrive integration that lets users attach files directly from their SkyDrive accounts, including optimized photo attachments. Those who rely on email aliases will also like that Microsoft has finally let us choose an SMTP server to send messages from non-Outlook addresses without revealing the true source — we won’t have to put up with “on behalf of” tags any longer. Both features are rolling out today.

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Source: Outlook Blog

Toshiba Canvio Connect drive backs up mobile devices through Pogoplug

Toshiba Canvio Connect drive backs up smartphones, shares files remotely

While we’re used to connected hard drives that share their contents with phones and tablets, the reverse isn’t common — why don’t many of these drives safeguard our mobile content from the start? Toshiba is as baffled as we are, so it’s launching its Canvio Connect portable drive with handheld access in mind. While the USB 3.0 disk has no built-in networking of its own, a software bundle for Macs and PCs (we’ve confirmed that it’s Pogoplug) lets travelers back up photos and videos from their Android and iOS devices, reach the drive’s files through the internet and partake in 10GB of free cloud storage. The new Canvio can also serve as a traditional external drive for computers, although it’s still improved in that space when the enclosure is about a third shorter than that of its predecessors. Toshiba expects the mobile-savvy Connect to arrive in mid-May at prices ranging from $99 for a 500GB model through to $190 for a 2TB version.

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Source: Toshiba

WD SmartWare Pro automates backups to both Dropbox and external drives

WD SmartWare Pro streamlines backups to both external drives and Dropbox

We’re used to external hard drive makers offering some kind of backup software to add value, although it’s usually forgettable for the experienced users among us — what we erase while we’re busy setting up Windows 8 File History, Time Machine or a cloud service. Western Digital thinks some cloud integration of its own will get us looking at its new, standalone WD SmartWare Pro app. While the client can automatically back up file changes to a local drive as they happen, it can also schedule backups to both the drive and a Dropbox account. The extra-cautious can backup that Dropbox account to the external disk, and the whole affair isn’t limited to the company’s MyBook drives, either; just about any old USB storage will do. It will cost a minimum of $30 ($20 on sale) for a three-computer SmartWare Pro license, but those who want both physical and cloud-based safety nets might consider the money well-spent.

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Source: Western Digital

SugarSync for iOS gets an all-new design, multi-platform search functionality

SugarSync for iOS gets an allnew design, multiplatform search functionality

It wasn’t too long ago that SugarSync overhauled a couple of the apps it serves on different platforms, but for whatever reason the iOS version wasn’t included in that round of updates. Today, though, the cloud-based storage service is releasing a new version of its application for Apple devices that brings a fair bit to the table. Chief among the improvements is a completely redesigned UI that, according to the company, aims to provide a more consistent experience across all the apps it currently offers.

iPod touch, iPhone and iPad users will also now see a new feature which allows any saved file on SugarSync to be searched from within the app, while “Open In” integrates deeply with the OS to make it easier to open / save docs via other services. SugarSync is also quick to point out that there are many more iOS features in the works (such as labels for folders), but we’ll have to wait until a future release for those.

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Source: App Store

Dropbox for Teams becomes Dropbox for Business, adds single sign-on for good measure

Dropbox for Teams becomes Dropbox for Business, adds single signon for good measure

As often as Dropbox has been courting serious cloud storage users with Dropbox for Teams, it doesn’t feel that the name reflects the company’s loftier ambitions — so it’s giving the service a rebranding. Now called Dropbox for Business, it’s pitched more directly at the suit-and-tie set. There’s more than just talk involved in the new strategy, though. The shift also sees Dropbox build in identity management from five providers so that Dropbox users don’t have to sign into the service if they’re already logged in elsewhere: they can hop on to the corporate Active Directory service, for example and have Dropbox ready for action soon after. We doubt that the new moves by themselves will sway IT managers, but they may help would-be users who’ve been on the fence.

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Via: TechCrunch

Source: Dropbox (1), (2)

Box for Android scores new sharing and media playback options

Box for Android scores new sharing and media playback options

Box subscribers that are enjoying the cloud service on an Android handset or slate can’t complain about lack of updates to the app, and the same goes for those on one of the other platforms. Today, however, it’s Box for Android that’s on the receiving end of some more practical and valuable features, with version 2.1.5 bringing additional options to the app’s shared link permissions and the ability to (finally) preview media files. It’s worth nothing, though, that while all users can sample audio recordings on the go, the video feature, on the other hand, will only be available to folks with a Box Enterprise account — and mum’s the word on whether or not we can expect that to change at some point in the future. Either way, we’ll leave you with the vid after the break for now, which lets all interested (and curious) parties see the new bundle in action before they potentially get going with the download.

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Via: Android Central

Source: Google Play