storage

Online storage provider RapidShare is expanding what it offers for its free service -- but it's also scrapped its earlier unlimited plan, even for customers who paid in advance for a longer-term period.

The Swiss company, with more than 50 employees, more than a thousand servers, and the capacity to store several petabytes of user data, announced the change March 12. Paying customers get a choice between a 250GB plan costing 10 euros ($12.96) a month and a 500GB plan costing 20 euros a month. The previous unlimited-storage option vanishes Wednesday.

The change reflects a reality for cloud … Read more

How much do I love Cheapskate readers? So much that even when I'm a little under the weather (cough), I can't help serving up five sweet deals (sneeze) to carry you into the weekend (moan). That's love, people.

1. Storage to go Oh, flash drives, you so crazy. Crazy-cheap, that is. Today only, and while supplies last (not long, I'm guessing), Best Buy has the Kingston DataTraveler Special Edition 16GB USB 2.0 flash drive for $7.99 shipped, plus sales tax. This tiny drive includes Kingston's urDrive software, which helps manage, organize, and back … Read more

It's really a shame that the iPad, or any tablet or smartphone for that matter, comes with such a limited amount of internal storage -- usually around 64GB (OK, there's a 128GB iPad, but it's just too expensive). And after the operating system and apps, the remaining space for digital content is much less than that. This is the reason a wireless storage expander is a must for savvy users who want to carry their entire digital library around with them.

The good news is there is now a relatively big selection of these type of devices. … Read more

Dropbox updated its desktop client for Macs and PCs yesterday, bring added functionality to the Dropbox window you access either via your Mac's menu bar or your PC's task bar.

The old desktop client was good for getting you quickly to your Dropbox folders or the Dropbox Web site, but it wasn't good for much else. With the Dropbox 2.0 desktop client, you get easy access to your folders and the Web site, along with the ability to initiate sharing a file and accept or decline invites without needing to visit the Dropbox interface. Meanwhile, the … Read more

Western Digital Capital, the investment arm of the hard-drive giant, has revealed that it is pouring approximately $51 million into enterprise startup Skyera.

Having previously funded Skyera as the initial outside investor, Western Digital Capital co-invested in the series B round as the two storage solutions makers enter into a joint agreement.

While it wasn't revealed as to exactly what technology the two businesses are going to develop together, it will likely build upon Skyera's enterprise solid-state storage systems.

For example, Western Digital pointed towards Skyera's SkyHawk solid-state storage, which is priced at "an industry breakthrough … Read more

Now that you have learned all about solid-state drives (SSDs) and even know how to take care of one, the only thing left is buying the SSD itself.

Any of the following drives will be a single upgrade that makes your computer feel like new, if the machine is currently running on a hard drive. Some of these drives can prove to be great upgrades even when your system is running on a budget or older-generation SSD. In short, it's upgrade time for many of you out there, especially when most of the drives listed here now cost less … Read more

If one of your resolutions for the new year was to get your hundreds (or thousands) of pictures gathered up in one place and organized for easier browsing, you'll want to check out Everpix.

The service, which started two years ago, can be connected to your Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Flickr, Picasa Web Albums, and Gmail accounts and will pull in pictures from those sources and collect them together in one interface.

It can also be connected to Windows or Mac computers and iOS devices (Android support is in development). Once pictures are uploaded, Everpix analyzes your shots so you … Read more

After almost two months in a beta state, Synology's version 4.2 of its DiskStation Manager (DSM) operating system is now live.

The new version offers a host of improvements for both home and business users, especially in terms of ease of use. For example, Quick Connect -- a feature that quickly configures the router to facilitate the NAS server's Internet-based applications -- now supports the setup of more apps, including Cloud Station, DS File, DS Audio, DS Photo+, and the new DS Cloud app.

DS Cloud adds a Dropbox-like sync service for mobile devices. Other improvements … Read more

Remember the exciting solid-state hybrid drives (SSHDs) Seagate showcased at CES 2013? You can now get versions for both laptops and desktops.

The storage vendor announced today the availability of the Seagate Laptop SSHD drive -- a 7mm-thin SSHD designed for laptops and certain ultrabooks -- and the all-new Seagate Desktop SSHD, the first hybrid drive for desktops. The former is the third-gen hybrid drive from the company, replacing the previous Momentus XT 500GB and Momentus XT 750GB.

Similar to the Momentus XT drives, the new SSHDs (both laptop and desktop versions) come with both solid-state (flash memory, normally used … Read more