Ad: Manage updates with the Download App
ie8 fix

media-sharing

Verbatim MediaShare NAS goes Mini

If you like the MediaShare NAS server but are discouraged by its rather large size and heavy weight, there's now an alternative. Verbatim announced today the mini version of the home NAS server, aptly called MediaShare Mini Sharing Station, that's just about one-third the size of the MediaShare.

Unlike the MediaShare that comes with built-in storage, the MediaShare Mini manages to stay "mini" by offering only four USB ports, into which you can plug USB external hard drives and turn them into the storage space of the home network storage system. This makes it very similar … Read more

Sharing made simple

We review a lot of peer-to-peer file-sharing applications, and many of them are pretty similar. After all, there are only so many things a P2P program can do, and only so many ways that you can arrange those features. With CitrixWire, however, we've discovered a P2P program that is entirely identical to another, which is a first for us.

We had just finished evaluating Addax, another P2P program, when we launched CitrixWire. We were struck by a sense of deja vu. True, Addax's skin was yellow, while CitrixWire's was green, but since both programs are skinnable, we … Read more

Refresh alerts come to Facebook's home page 'stream'

Well, this is helpful. On Friday evening I noticed that my Facebook home page was displaying a "Show (number) new posts" alert after I left the site open for a while and some of my friends have posted new status messages, links, or what-have-you. This is something that had been notably missing when Facebook debuted its redesigned, "stream"-focused home page this spring.

It looks like this went live earlier this week, per Facebook's official blog, but it doesn't appear to have rolled out on everyone's accounts immediately (I tend to leave a … Read more

Facebook: Photo data loss was temporary

Considering all the horror stories we hear about photos hosted on Facebook and people, you know, losing their jobs over them, maybe this isn't such a bad thing: The social network acknowledged in a blog post on Sunday evening that 10 percent to 15 percent of the billions of photos it hosts were affected by a storage problem, replaced by a question mark.

But they aren't permanently gone, the post by engineer Evan Priestley insisted. "We've already repaired about one-third of affected photos and expect to complete repairs on another third tonight," he explained. "… Read more

Social network Multiply goes premium

Multiply, a social network that has done a fine job of flying under the radar since its 2005 launch, has announced a new paid-account program that focuses on media storage. Called a "digital scrapbook," this premium feature will cost $19.95 annually.

Members who opt in to the "digital scrapbook" program will be able to store high-resolution photos, as well as videos up to 20 minutes long. They will also be able to surf the site without ads.

Multiply has also launched a tool that automatically uploads photos and videos to a private "locker," … Read more

Nokia launches Ovi digital media, folds in Twango

Nokia acquired media-sharing start-up Twango last year, and now it's finally doing something with it.

Twango has been folded into Ovi, a new brand for Nokia's mobile Web services such as gaming, social networking, and mapping.

"The Twango brand will be a fond memory," a blog post from Twango director of service development Jim Laurel reads. "We are now Share on Ovi."

Nokia made the announcement Monday, though Laurel's blog post is dated last Monday, February 4. Go figure.

Twango originally pitched itself as a more functional alternative to photo-sharing sites like Flickr; … Read more

Nokia buys media-sharing site Twango

Media-sharing site Twango updated its Web site on Monday to announce that it's been chomped up by cell phone manufacturer Nokia. With its cool new toy, Nokia hopes to make it easier for handset owners to share multimedia content among desktop, Web, and mobile platforms.

"The Twango acquisition is a concrete step towards our consumer Internet services vision of providing seamless access to information, entertainment, and social networks--at any time, anywhere, from any connected device, in any way that you choose," said Anssi Vanjoki, Nokia's executive vice president and general manager of multimedia at Nokia, in … Read more

Kaneva: MySpace + Second Life mash-up

Part social network and part 3D virtual world, Kaneva also throws in a dash of YouTube, with media sharing for pictures and Flash video. I received news of the service today, but Kaneva has been kicking about since late 2004. Essentially you begin with a standard social-network profile, then earn prestige points to work your way up a site leaderboard until you're invited to join the 3D social world, which launched its beta in April of last year.

Points are given as rewards for adding content to your profile and interacting with other Keneva members. Once you join the … Read more