file

Cubby out of beta, offers free 5GB accounts to all

Remember Cubby? It's the new file-syncing and -sharing service from LogMeIn (makers of my longtime favorite remote-access tool).

Cubby's been running a closed, invitation-only beta for some time, but I've got good news: now it's an open, no-invitation-required beta. That means anyone can sign up for a free Cubby account, which includes, among other things, 5GB of cloud storage.

But hold on a sec -- this isn't just another Dropbox wanna-be. For starters, the latter gives you only 2GB of free storage; Cubby gives you 5GB. And for each friend you refer who signs up, … Read more

Transfer files and more with Cyberduck, but at a price

With a name like Cyberduck you might be wondering what type of app this is. Most people will not guess that Cyberduck is an open-source FTP browser designed for file transfers. At $23.99, Cyberduck has to provide a lot of capabilities to compete with free FTP systems.

As an FTP download and upload client, Cyberduck works well. The interface is clean and easy to work with. You can browse through folders and preview files in a Quick Look window, and you can also launch editors from within the Cyberduck tool to make changes to files. Unlike most FTP tools, … Read more

How to restart a FileVault-protected Mac remotely

OS X's encryption service, FileVault, originally stored users' home folder contents in encrypted disk images. In OS X Lion, FileVault now uses Apple's new CoreStorage volume manager to encrypt the entire disk. With CoreStorage, the OS configures a small hidden partition with a preboot welcome screen that looks like the standard OS X log-in window and contains user accounts that are authorized to unlock the volume and cause the system to load and automatically log in to the account specified on the preboot screen.

Unfortunately, while more secure and while offering a relatively seamless experience when sitting at … Read more

Transfer files from computer to mobile iDevice with iFile

iFile is an app designed to allow you to move files from computers (even between different operating systems) and your iPhone or iPad. The iFile app is available from iTunes for $1.99.

To use iFile you need to connect your iPhone or iPad to a Wi-Fi network, then open the iFile app and record the IP address it is using. Then, on your Mac, Windows, or Linux computer, open a browser window and enter the IP address as the URL. If the two can connect cleanly, an upload window is displayed. From there, select the file you want to … Read more

RIAA condemns research that shines positive light on pirates

Researchers recently presented a paper that suggested U.S. pirates buy roughly 30 percent more music than those who do not file share. The Recording Industry Association of America wasn't best pleased and has responded by stating the research is "misleading."

Originally reported last month by TorrentFreak, the research came from the American Assembly, a public affairs group affiliated with Columbia University.

Joshua Friedlander, RIAA's vice president of research and strategic analysis, decided to refute the study in a blog post on Monday:

Some commentary has misleadingly reported that people who use P2P services like BitTorrent … Read more

How to add emoji icons to file names in OS X

Emoticons have become some of the most commonly used symbols when communicating using computers and cell phones. Starting with combinations of text characters, smilies evolved into emoticons with the development of Unicode fonts that include complementary images for common smilies. For instance, applications like iMessage and iChat in OS X will make use of emoticons, automatically substituting an image of a smiling face from an emoticon font if you enter the ":)" text for a standard smile.

If there are other emoticons you often use, then you can use the system preferences to set up your own global text … Read more

Perian lays most file formats under QuickTime 9 or earlier

Perian is a software app that makes viewing your media files easier. Basically, Perian enables QuickTime application support for a wide variety of media files. Perian is available from several sources, but not the App Store when we looked. It installs easily as long as you have no software already installed that can conflict with Perian.

Perian supports a variety of file types for both video and audio files. All the standard file formats are supported, but there's a ton of less-commonly found file formats supported by Perian, too. Perian works without you realizing it is there. When QuickTime … Read more

Download YouTube videos with automatic format conversion

MovieSherlock is a YouTube downloader for the Mac platform. When you see a YouTube video you want to save locally, you invoke MovieSherlock and it handles the download for you. MovieSherlock can convert formats, as well as provide search integration. The Lite version of MovieSherlock sells for $14.99, while two more-powerful editions sell for $24.99 and $39.99. There is no free evaluation version.

The MovieSherlock interface lets you type in the name of a video you would like to watch, and it will search YouTube for the content, download it, and launch it in a player. Converting … Read more

Illegal file-sharer gets slapped with $1.5 million in damages

The damages award against illegal file-sharer Kywan Fisher will most likely send him to the poor house. Illinois federal court Judge John Lee ordered Fisher to fork out $1.5 million to adult entertainment company Flava Works this week, according to TorrentFreak.

Flava Works sued Fisher for sharing 10 movies he'd previously paid for via BitTorrent. The damages award amount was reached by fining Fisher $150,000 per movie. This is the largest damages award ever ordered in a BitTorrent case.

Flava Works caught Fisher sharing its movies by tracing the illegal copies he was accused of sharing back … Read more