When the biggest file-sharing site on the internet first came into existence, it was entirely in Swedish and boasted just a few hundred torrent files. But the very first of those, the one that started it all, was uploaded almost exactly 10 years ago and, shockingly enough, wasn’t porn. It was a recipe book.
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Hollywood has been fighting the battle against file sharing sites for years in an attempt to stop what it sees as conduits for piracy. The legal battle surrounding these file sharing sites ended up with Google blacklisting major file sharing sites such as 4Shared, The Pirate Bay, and isoHunt back in 2011. Getting the sites […]
Kim Dotcom has announced he is stepping down as director of the new file sharing service he launched called Mega. We’ve talked plenty about Kim Dotcom, the man who headed up Megaupload and found himself under serious legal assault by the United States over alleged copyright infringement. While Dotcom was fighting US authorities and trying […]
Proximity-based content sharing systems for mobile tend to focus on one-at-a-time transfers — see Android Beam and Apple’s upcoming AirDrop as examples. Google, however, has just patented an interface that would simplify sharing content with nearby groups. Users would only have to drag private items into a public space to share them with everyone inside of a certain range; the reverse would hide those items once again. The approach wouldn’t be limited to files, either, as it could be used for invitations to chat sessions or events. Google won’t necessarily take advantage of its sharing patent, but the concept is simple enough that we wouldn’t be surprised to find it in future apps or Android revisions.
Filed under: Cellphones, Software, Mobile, Google
Source: USPTO
File sharing site The Pirate Bay set sail ten years ago. While the site and its founders have had plenty of
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The Copyright Alert System, more popularly known as the “six strikes” policy, hasn’t exactly received a warm welcome thanks to the disciplinary measures it calls for (like throttled connection speeds). According to Variety, Comcast is currently developing a new way of dealing with piracy that’s arguably less punitive than CAS. In the proposed system, users that have been flagged for illegal downloads via peer-to-peer file sharing services like BitTorrent would be provided with links to legal means of accessing the same content through Comcast’s own Xfinity service or third party providers like Amazon. Unlike CAS, this system doesn’t seem to focus on penalties so much as it would gently nudge subscribers towards legal options. While it’s not likely that the program is intended to replace CAS, it could potentially signal a shift away from an unpopular policy. Though little information is known about Comcast’s plans at this time, we’ll keep you posted as we learn more.
Filed under: Internet
Source: Variety
Cloud storage from the likes of Dropbox and Google is all well and good, but let’s face it — many of our friends won’t venture far beyond Facebook. Thankfully, Pipe is about to publicly launch a file transfer service built with them in mind. The company’s namesake Facebook tool lets socialites send files without dedicated apps, and automatically picks a method depending on whether or not both contacts are online. If they are, they can send files up to 1GB through a peer-to-peer link; a locker will also hold on to as much as 100MB if the recipient isn’t ready and waiting. Pipe doesn’t go live until mid-day on June 5th, but those who want to share more on Facebook than their memories can get a heads-up on availability at the source link.
Filed under: Storage, Internet, Facebook
Via: GigaOM
Source: Pipe
As with most news organizations, a lot of the posts we publish start out as emailed tips from you, our dear readers. But some employees put their jobs on the line when they share info, which, as you might imagine, makes them reluctant to hit send. The New Yorker seems to have a solution that’ll offer a much higher degree of anonymity, stripping IP addresses and other identifying data whenever you upload a file or submit a tip. You create an alias, and all correspondence takes place within a secure environment, called Strongbox. Best yet, the code for this tool, called DeadDrop, is completely open-source, so you can download the necessary software and implement it on your own site, free of charge. More info on both are available at the source links below.
Filed under: Internet
A new cloud-based file system from SpiderOak looks to challenge the likes of Dropbox with a bigger emphasis on privacy. Those familiar with SpiderOak know that the company has been offering a “100-percent private” file environment for some time; the company can’t view any information about the files you upload, whereas other file-sharing sites can access users’ data. The just-announced service, dubbed Hive, merges that encryption cred with a simplified interface. Hive utilizes one main folder for dragging and dropping files, and it automatically syncs data across your devices. Files, meanwhile, can be shared with friends or colleagues as links.
The latest update to the SpiderOak mobile app integrates with Hive to let you manage and view data; the Android version will leave beta on May 13th. As Hive is connected to the company’s broader file service, it follows the same pricing plan: 2GB free or 100GB for $10 a month. For a limited time, though, new users can get 5GB when they sign up and download the app. Click through to the source link for more info.
Filed under: Internet
Source: SpiderOak Hive
Sure, you could see and manage your Google Drive files from within the comfort of your PC / Mac file management system, but you couldn’t publicly share them with friends — until now. Google Drive files are now sharable via right click directly on your desktop, meaning the Drive desktop app now has one more feature that Dropbox already had several years ago. We hope you’ll forgive our lack of enthusiasm for Google’s catchup effort, but it’s hard to get all jazzed up about functionality that should’ve probably been there at launch. Anyway, if you’re not seeing the new feature pop up on your dashboard yet, Google says it’s “rolling out over the next few days.” Hold tight!
Filed under: Internet, Software, Google
Source: Google
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