Dropbox's next move may be to take over your favorite screenshot sharing service, as the latest experimental build of its app adds the ability to upload screenshots automatically to your Dropbox folder. And that's not all! The latest build also adds iPhoto import functionality, which offers synchronization between local iPhoto libraries and your Dropbox account (it's only supported on the OS X version, of course, and only works with iPhoto 7.0 or higher), which are then viewable on the web.

Of course, this stuff may never make it into the next release of the Dropbox app given the beta-esque nature of this release, but it sounds extremely likely that it will given the company's wording. At very least, these features won't hit wide, final-release until some point after the next update (the update after this next one, to be clear). Head past the break for the full, detailed list of additions in version 2.3.12, and to the Dropbox forum to snag the new build for yourself in the source link below.

Filed under: Internet, Software

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Via: MacStories

Source: Dropbox

Dropbox is down -- break out the FTP client. According to readers and Twitter, the service has been out of action for just over half an hour and while you might see the green tick of syncing joy on your PC, we were still unable to upload any new files through both the internet and desktop iteration -- in fact the web interface is completely down. We're not sure if this is a server issue or perhaps a delicious new feature with teething issues, but we've reached out to Dropbox and will update when we hear back.

Update: Looks like you can return to your regularly-scheduled uploading. Still no word on what caused the incident yet.

[Thanks to everyone who sent this in]

Filed under: Internet, Software

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Source: Dropbox

There have been calls for an iPad-native Mailbox app virtually from the get-go -- some of us want to get to inbox zero on a bigger screen, after all. The team has clearly been listening, as the free Mailbox 1.3 update now supports Apple's larger gadgets. While there isn't much mystery in the new version for anyone who has used both Mailbox and other iPad email clients before, power users should appreciate seeing full messages while they swipe away at their inbox. We're still waiting on Mailbox support for other platforms -- and services beyond Gmail, for that matter -- but iPad owners can get some satisfaction at the source link.

Filed under: Tablets, Internet, Software

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Via: Mailbox, AllThingsD

Source: App Store

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.

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Source: Strongbox, DeadDrop

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

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Source: Google

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

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.

Filed under: Storage, Internet

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Source: Western Digital

Mailbox for iOS launched with much fanfare in the winter, but it also drew more than a little flak for its reservation-based access system: it's hard to get jazzed for an alternative Gmail app when you're 297,045th in line to use it. The developer now believes that it has the capacity to handle new users as they come in, so it's pulling back the velvet ropes with its app's 1.2 update. Mailbox isn't just shedding notions of pseudo-exclusivity with the new revision, however. It's also improving swipe speed, introducing more time-sensitive message snoozes and slipping in a handful of minor UI tricks. Although some may lament the sudden rush of commoners into a once-elite club, we'd say 1.2 is an auspicious start to Mailbox's life in the Dropbox era.

Filed under: Cellphones, Mobile

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Via: Mailbox, SlashGear

Source: App Store

Dropbox's gone a little bit more global, adding Russian, Polish, Indonesian, Malaysian, and Traditional and Simplified Chinese language support to its file sharing service. The translated versions are available across Mac, PC, Linux and Dropbox's web interface, with an iOS version apparently in the works and "coming soon." Alongside those language credits, the Android app has also improved how it shows off the entirety of your photo collection, which should make the most of all those instant uploads.

Filed under: Cellphones, Software, Mobile

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Source: Dropbox (1), (Google Play)

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.

Filed under: Storage, Internet

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Via: TechCrunch

Source: Dropbox (1), (2)

Google, Amazon and Microsoft are finally getting the syncing cloud storage thing right. But, Dropbox is still the player to catch. While the rest are still working on actually getting the desktop client stuff ironed out, the iconic blue box is spreading its tentacles across the web. Today Yahoo! announced a partnership that puts the pioneering storage service right in your inbox. Yahoo! Mail is now tightly integrated with Dropbox, allowing you to share files straight from your folders online or save attachments to them. The tie-in comes courtesy of Dropbox Chooser, which also means an end to size limits for email attachments. Anything over 25MB is shared through a Dropbox link, rather than directly attached to your message. If you're a Yahoo! user you should see the new options in your inbox today.

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Source: Yahoo!, Dropbox

We often focus on market share for hardware, but cloud media services increasingly dictate our lives after the devices have reached our bags and pockets. Wouldn't it be nice to know who rules the online media landscape? According to Strategy Analytics' just-published study from the fall, it's Apple's iCloud and iTunes Match that are top dogs in the US at a combined 27 percent of usage -- a not entirely surprising lead when Apple has pushed hard on iCloud's media syncing since iOS 5, and has large swaths of market share in MP3 players and tablets, not just smartphones.

There's a considerably tougher fight involved for just about everyone else, however, including Google. Dropbox and Amazon Cloud Player are almost neck-and-neck at 17 and 15 percent respectively, while Google Drive holds just 10 percent. Music is clearly the driving force, Strategy Analytics says: when audio represents 45 percent of the content on a generic platform like Dropbox, companies ignore tunes at their own peril. Just don't confuse market share with absolute popularity. A full 55 percent of those asked hadn't used a cloud media service at all, which suggests that there's a long road to travel before we're all streaming and syncing our collections.

Filed under: Storage, Internet, Apple, Google, Amazon

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Source: Strategy Analytics

That was fast. It was just a month ago that Mailbox launched its unique (if queue-ridden) email client for iPhone users, and today we're hearing that it's been acquired by Dropbox. While the two aren't explicit about their plans, the Mailbox crew makes clear that a Dropbox union will help scale its client, including to non-Gmail providers and more devices. The team also isn't shy about speculating about what could happen if Dropbox's cloud storage was "connected" to Mailbox. We'll just have to give the new partners some time to produce what could be an alluring software hybrid.

Update: "Sources" are suggesting the asking price was around $100 million. Which... we'll present without comment.

Filed under: Cellphones, Storage, Internet, Mobile

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Source: Dropbox, Mailbox

Although web-based editors like Google Docs are wonderful for writers who don't have a save shortcut hardwired in their muscle memory, they're lousy for anyone who's interested in seeing major revisions on the road to a final copy. Nathan Kontny's new Draft web app might be far more helpful for those creators who work step by step. It lets writers declare given document versions as mid-progress drafts, and offers editing side-by-side with older versions to see just what's new in the current session. The app also avoids some of the lock-in that comes with cloud services by allowing imports and syncing with Box, Dropbox, Evernote and Google Drive. There's no easy way to directly publish online as this stage, but if you're only concerned with producing a masterwork in the cloud from start to draft to finish, Kontny's web tool is waiting at the source link.

Filed under: Internet

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Via: TechCrunch

Source: Draft

In a world that's becoming increasingly swamped with cloud storage options, it's good to see a true, original gangster innovating like the pressure is on. In a matter of moments, Dropbox is going to launch a re-imagined desktop client -- one that promises "more visibility into activity in one's Dropbox, faster access to your files, and a brand new look and feel." The changes here are fairly subtle, but they're ones that power users are bound to appreciate. You'll be able to accept invitations with less friction, see links or albums that people have shared with you, and keep tabs on what's changed in your Dropbox. There's also a newfangled way to share your stuff with a link, right from the Dropbox menu.

Over on the mobile side, notifications for shared folders will also show up on the latest versions of Dropbox's iOS and Android apps (and on the web at dropbox.com/events). Keep an eye on the source link; the new download links should be live any minute.

Gallery: Dropbox's redesigned desktop client (photo gallery)

Filed under: Storage, Internet

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Source: Dropbox

Kids in many parts of the world are growing up surrounded with technology, some from a very tender age. Many schools aren't teaching much if any programming, though, which has led Code.org to make a short film spurring young techies into action. We have a hunch that it might work -- the video has quite possibly the most star-studded collection of men and women explaining how they got into coding and why they like it, including Bill Gates, Gabe Newell and Mark Zuckerberg. There's even endorsements from unexpected sources, such as Miami Heat player Chris Bosh. It's true that most of them have a vested interest in creating future employees, but they collectively raise the real concern that there's a deficit of software and web developers. Catch the full feature after the break if you're looking to persuade a curious child.

Filed under: Internet, Software, Microsoft, Facebook

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Via: PCMag

Source: Code.org

Earlier today, Dropbox rolled out version 2.1 of its iOS app with a trio of enhancements in tow. The update, which requires iOS 5.0 or higher introduces a new PDF viewer, file sorting by date modified, and push notifications for when someone shares a folder with you (which were also recently added to the Android client). Whether you're a Dropbox power user or the casual type, this new software bump should definitely come in handy. If you're a stickler for keeping your apps current and you've got 13.8MB to spare, the update's waiting for you at the source link below.

Filed under: Software, Mobile

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Via: Phone Scoop

Source: iTunes

Although Dropbox made a concerted push into pro-grade cloud storage with Dropbox for Teams more than a year ago, it didn't have a truly centralized place for a team's overseers to keep tabs on everyone involved. An update today brings in a console to make sense of it all. Along with providing a much simpler at-a-glance view of goings on across an entire group, the console lets administrators tighten access limits from user to user: they can prevent people from using their personal smartphones and tablets with the corporate account, for example, and can ask certain people to sign in with two-factor authentication if there's more of a risk. The refresh might rain on the parades of those who want to use their Teams accounts for both work and play, but it's good news for companies that would rather not risk malware or other rude surprises.

Filed under: Storage, Internet

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Via: TechCrunch

Source: Dropbox for Teams

The lives of devs eager to take advantage of storage in the cloud are about to get a whole lot easier thanks to Dropbox's new Sync API. The tool streamlines the process of integrating with the service, offloading most of the heavy lifting onto Dropbox itself. Now, that's not entirely new, since Dropbox has been open to other app makers for sometime. The big sell here are the actual syncing capabilities. Until now, apps have been able to tap into your online well of files, but syncing has always been a dev-implemented process built on top of the existing APIs. The downloading, storing, change tracking and uploading were all the responsibility of the developer. The Sync API does away with the much of the set up work and allows the creation of apps that simply sync across platforms without any hacking or jury-rigging. Apps can simply ask if you want to sync with Dropbox now and the act of creating and maintaining a folder won't necessitate any further user input (though, it still can if the dev so chooses). The API is available today, and the first program to take advantage of the private in-app Dropbox client, Squarespace Note is awaiting approval before landing in the App Store. For more, check out the blog post at the source.

Update: As some of you may have noticed the source link was missing. Sorry for the inconvenience.

Filed under: Storage, Internet

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Source: Dropbox

Microsoft is no stranger to industry flak, but it's always better to give than to receive, right? Steve Ballmer thinks so, and in a recent Bloomberg interview, he took a second away from talking up the new Office 2013 to smite Dropbox, saying that the 100 million users it boasts "sounds like a pretty small number to me." He recovered slightly by adding "I'm not beating on Dropbox," only to follow it with the finishing blow: "They're a fine little startup and that's great." We doubt anyone else would call Dropbox a startup at this point, but Microsoft's chief can't be seen complimenting a SkyDrive rival now, can he? After having to defend the user stats for Redmond's Yammer, he was also quizzed on the undying native Office for iPad rumor, to which he had "nothing to say," apart from "we'll see what we see in the future." If these snippets aren't quite enough, then head to the source link for the full interview. Ballmer may be a little less shouty these days, but it's good to know he's still capable of delivering the odd high-caliber burn.

Filed under: Internet, Microsoft

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Via: The Verge

Source: Bloomberg

Dropbox is rapidly bulking up its Android app's photo sharing strength after lavishing some early attention on iOS. A newly posted refresh for the Google-friendly version lets photographers mass-select whole albums' worth of images quickly to share with anyone, whether they're Dropbox users or not. Android users who've been eager for parity just need to swing by the Google Play source link to get their fill.

Filed under: Cellphones, Storage, Mobile

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Via: Dropbox

Source: Google Play

Samsung has been enraptured with Dropbox and its cloud storage since last year, and we're quickly learning that it's a long-term love affair. The Korean firm is expanding its integration with Dropbox to not just include another smartphone, the Galaxy Grand, but also its 2013-era PCs (now that Windows 8 has support) and Smart Cameras. Details of when the integration comes, and exactly how it works, aren't forthcoming just yet. It's safe to presume, however, that a large part of Samsung's technology this year will put online sharing front and center.

Filed under: Desktops, Cameras, Laptops, Storage, Internet, Samsung

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We've been hearing talk of a Dropbox app for Windows 8 since the OS's big debut back in October, but there's now finally some good news for Windows users who favor the cloud-storage service. The Dropbox app is now available for both Windows 8 and Windows RT devices, offering all the basic features you'd expect (and not much more), including the ability to share files with with Windows 8's Share Charm. Windows Phone 8 users, on the other hand, still have some waiting to do for an official app.

Filed under: Mobile, Microsoft

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Via: The Next Web

Source: Windows Store, Dropbox Blog

When music streaming app Audiogalaxy announced its acquisition by Dropbox earlier this month and closed signups we feared the worst, and now it's been confirmed: the service is shutting down entirely on January 31st, 2013. It had previously announced subscribers would have access to their mixes until the end of this month, but after another month they'll have to move to a service like Google Play Music, or possibly self hosting with Subsonic or something similar. The original blog post mentioned a desire to bring "great new experiences" to Dropbox's 100 million plus users so we may see some of those features again, soon. As for the service itself, Founder Michael Merhej relaunched it just over two years ago after version 1.0 -- a web-based music file sharing service that eclipsed its competitors during its run from 1998 to 2002 -- was squeezed out by RIAA pressure, so we figure anything is possible in the future.

Filed under: Software

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Source: Audiogalaxy (Facebook)