During Google's I/O developer's conference keynote, it actually slipped in quite a bit of, yes, developer news amongst all the noisy consumer launches. One biggie was the announcement that any and all companies looking for computing horsepower can jump on board its formerly-limited Google Compute Engine, part of the Google Cloud Platform. In order to compete with the kingpin of that space, Amazon Web Services (AWS) and its Elastic Compute Cloud, Google has bolstered its platform with new features, including shared-core instances for low-intensity chores, advanced routing, large persistent disks up to 10TB in volume size and sub-hour billing to keep costs down. It also updated its App Engine hosting service with PHP runtime, calling it "the most requested feature," and launched Google Cloud Datastore to go up against AWS' cloud storage services. All that will surely help Mountain View gain a bigger slice of the multi-billion dollar cloud infrastructure market, and should open up more space for all those apps.

Filed under: Internet, Software, Google

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Via: Techcrunch

Source: Google Cloud Platform Blog

Avid iOS shutterbugs already have Dropbox, Flickr and any number of other internet-based safeguards for their photos, but it won't hurt to have another, will it? Amazon certainly doesn't mind, as its new iOS version of Cloud Drive Photos is built expressly for the sake of uploading shots and viewing them online. Like the Android version, there's no editing or other special tricks -- social network sharing is about the only notable extra. Still, it might be worth grabbing the app if your Cloud Drive space isn't living up to its potential.

Filed under: Cellphones, Storage, Internet, Amazon

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Via: PCMag

Source: App Store

It's time to re-imagine your documents, apparently. Cloud storage service Box just acquired document embedding startup Crocodoc, which specializes in taking Word, PowerPoint and PDF documents and rendering them as HTML5 content inside web browsers and mobile apps. Crocodoc's technology will allow Box to seamlessly integrate document conversion and viewing into its products. The companies also plan on rolling out more features over the next year, including secure viewing, mobile collaboration, form filling and real-time presentation -- sounds like a win-win for all.

Filed under: Internet, Software

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Source: TechCrunch

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.

Filed under: Storage, Internet, Software

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Via: Dropbox

Source: DBX

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.

Filed under: Cellphones, Internet, Mobile

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Source: App Store

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.

Filed under: Storage, Internet

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Source: Toshiba

Smartphone owners have no shortage of cloud-based safety nets, whether it's Google's services, iCloud or any number of file sync providers. Few of these come from the carrier, however, and Verizon is gambling that its now-deploying Verizon Cloud service will serve as a crutch for anyone replacing a phone on its network. The currently Android- and web-only release offers daily backups of the usual media libraries as well as call logs, contacts and messages. While that isn't special in itself, Verizon is also promising cross-platform safeguards: both an iOS app (available "soon") and future OS support should let customers fetch some of their data if they switch platforms. Just don't count on Verizon Cloud as an alternative to established rivals unless you're both loyal to Verizon and willing to spend. Users get a thin 500MB of space for free, and meaningful storage ranges from $3 per month for 25GB through to $10 for 125GB. Should there be little danger of leaving Big Red, though, Verizon's service and a matching Android app update are available today.

Filed under: Cellphones, Tablets, Internet, Mobile, Verizon

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Via: Verizon

Source: Verizon Cloud, Google Play

Although LG jumped into the deep end of the online services pool when it launched LG Cloud last year, it didn't have much to brag about when access was limited to South Korea, Russia and the US. The company is about to broaden its horizons considerably -- it now plans to deploy LG Cloud to more than 40 additional countries before the end of May. While the electronics giant hasn't outlined its plans on a nation-by-nation basis, it's planning a truly worldwide expansion that should include Asia, Europe and Latin America. If your Optimus G Pro and brand new TV aren't already syncing their media in perfect harmony, there's a good chance that they will within a month's time.

Filed under: Cellphones, Home Entertainment, Internet, HD, LG

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Source: LG

Boxee Cloud DVR has been active in only eight markets since its inception as Boxee TV, but it's at last time for the platform to spread its wings. As of now, Boxee's live TV recording service is up and running in the San Francisco Bay Area in beta form; owners just need to update their firmware to start uploading shows. While the company hasn't outlined its plans for other markets just yet, its target of 26 cities by the end of 2013 means that other areas shouldn't be far behind.

Filed under: Home Entertainment, HD

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Via: GigaOM

Source: Boxee (Twitter)

Ever since its official introduction two years ago, MightyText has seemed to expand its laundry list of features on an annual basis. Today is no exception, as the company is now adding "iCloud-like" syncing to its web app. As a refresher, MightyText acts as a client that syncs information between your computer and your Android device, giving you the ability to read and send SMS / MMS, look at your contacts, view your call logs and more from any browser. Now, photos and videos -- along with an indicator and notifications regarding your phone's battery life -- are getting thrown into the mix as well. You can auto-upload (over WiFi and data, though you can opt out of the latter) your multimedia as you capture them, and once it arrives on the web app, it's easily downloadable or shareable, depending on what you want to do.

While the feature is in beta, there's also no limit to how much storage space you use up, and there's no auto-delete function after any amount of time, so feel free to upload to your heart's content. The only setback is that the images are compressed to ease the burden on your bandwidth (and data plan), so you'll want to seek out other services if you need the full enchiladas. MightyText's official statement on the new features is below the break, as is a link to check out their web app.

Filed under: Cellphones, Desktops, Software, Mobile

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Jolicloud's missions have been many over the years, from its initial open-source Joli OS ambitions to its brief stint as netbook manufacturer and now an identity as a cloud-based services aggregator. But one thing's remained consistent for the Paris-based outfit: a willingness to listen to user feedback. This is what prompted Jolicloud to once again update Jolidrive, a dashboard for third-party cloud apps, with search. As you can see from the image above, users will now be able to index any of the cloud-based apps they've integrated into their "dashboard," making the service a truly convenient multimedia hub. This updated search functionality is just the latest in a string of tweaks (e.g., the ability to share and like) Jolicloud's been rolling out to improve its cloud drive in recent weeks -- all thanks to the clamoring of users like you.

Filed under: Internet, Software

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Via: TechCrunch

Source: Jolicloud