Copy Increases Base Cloud Storage To 15 GB

I’ve written before about Copy, the relatively new cloud storage offering from Barracuda. Apparently Google’s re-shuffling of its cloud storage made Copy feel a little bit of pressure. Not content to let Google take a lead in the war for how much cloud storage different services offer up to new users, Copy decided to up the ante by matching Google. I got an email from Copy with the following last week:

“Hello, fellow Copiers! All free Copy accounts now include 15GB of space. We believe people deserve lots of storage to realize the full benefits of the cloud.“

Copy has decided to jump from offering up just 5 GB of storage for new users all the way to 15 so that they can match what users will receive from Google. Of course, you’ll get an additional 5 GB if you sign up with a referral link. To make the deal even sweeter, this new setting is retroactive as well. If you have an existing Copy account that you created when the company was only offering up 5 GB, you should have received an additional 10 GB.

As you can see from the screenshot above, I have 32 GB of space that I got via bonuses and referrals, while my total storage in the upper right corner is 47 GB. Thus, I have the full 15 GB of base storage. I really hope that all of the different cloud storage providers continue trying to one-up each other, because it’s quickly becoming apparent that the users are the ones who are going to win in this highly competitive market.

Google Hangouts: Unifying Google’s Communication

Storage isn’t the only thing that Google has been unifying lately. One of the biggest announcements at Google I/O this year was the official release of Hangouts. Google had been teasing some of the capabilities of Hangouts for a few months, and the project was called Babel at that time. It was going to be a complete overhaul of Google’s stagnating GTalk messaging platform.

A few people are upset about the fact that Google is moving away from the open XMPP standard that GTalk is based upon. Plenty of others, though, are simply happy to see some improvements to something that hadn’t been improved in quite awhile. Personally, I think if you’re going to be upset about anything you should be upset about the fact that Google confusingly chose to name this new platform the same as the video chat feature of Google+. Regardless, Google is using Hangouts to move away from the traditional instant message setup and instead have something more akin to the dedicated mobile messengers that act similar to SMS. You can use Hangouts like an IM service or you can use them like SMS, where answers are not necessarily expected almost immediately.

Hangouts also includes plenty of features that you would expect to see in any messaging app like Kik or WhatsApp, including group chats. It even has handy little indicators to allow you to track which part of the conversation was last read by each of the participants. As one would expect with the name of Hangouts, it supports video chat like the former Google+ Hangouts feature, too. I’ve confirmed it works silky smooth, even over a less than stellar cellular network. You just have to hope that you aren’t an AT&T subscriber.

Hangouts replaces the GTalk interface that you used to see in Gmail and Google+. My only real gripe about the service is that it has yet to replace the Google+ Messenger app on mobile devices. If I send a Hangouts message to a friend who doesn’t have the Hangouts app installed but who does have Google+ installed, they won’t see it in Google+ Messenger. It’s annoying because it means there is still a disconnect between some of the Google-offered avenues of communication. I’m hopeful that there will soon be an update to the Android and iOS Google+ apps that will remove the Messenger app completely. And if you’re a die-hard XMPP user there’s no need to become too worried just yet. Google has not shut down XMPP services, and you can still communicate with people on Hangouts via your XMPP client of choice; you just won’t get to take advantage of the new features.

Google Drive: More Of A Unification Than An Increase

Just before I/O, Google announced that it would be changing up its current format for storing your data in the cloud. While I think the change is definitely a positive thing, I also think that a few people have been spinning the change in a somewhat misleading way. I’ve seen a lot of claims, most notably the one by CNET, claiming that “Google Drive triples free storage to 15 GB”. This paints a simple picture of your Drive account directly increasing from 5 GB of free space to 15 GB of free space. In some ways it has, but not entirely.

As per the official Google Drive blog, users are not simply gaining 10 GB more than they had before. They had the 10 GB all the time, it was just in Gmail and segregated from Drive. From the blog post:

“So instead of having 10 GB for Gmail and another 5 GB for Drive and Google+ Photos, you’ll now get 15 GB of unified storage for free to use as you like between Drive, Gmail, and Google+ Photos.“

I definitely think this simplification is a good thing. I also think it opens up a lot of windows for people to make more effective use of the storage in the cloud that Google is offering; I know I’m much more likely to be able to use 10 GB for photos and documents than I am for email messages.

On the other hand, I still think it’s important to note the specifics of how this change works; users still have the exact same amount of storage that they’ve always had; the storage has simply been reallocated. It’s an important distinction to make.

NASA to migrate ISS computers from Windows to Linux

Reblogged from The Rocketry Blog:

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Citing stability issues NASA has announced they will be migrating the ISS laptops and PCs from Windows to Linux. Being a long time Linux user and typing this on a Linux system I am happy to hear about this change. Linux has been used in many of the ISS systems but it nice to see the move to the workstations as well.

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This is just awesome news. It's always good to see Linux getting some high profile exposure.

House Of Cards – A Netflix Must-Watch

If you’re a Netflix subscriber then you owe it to yourself to watch House Of Cards. The first season of the series cost Netflix $100 million dollars, but seems to have been worth it. In more direct numbers, it helped Netflix to expand by adding 3 million new streaming subscribers. However, it also showed that the Netflix model could work; it’s a hard demonstration of the fact that Netflix can produce their own high-quality content, and that content can be released all at one time (rather than on a weekly basis like traditional television) without having a negative impact on the business.

House Of Cards initially appealed to me in the same way that Mad Men did, which is to say that it didn’t appeal to me at all. A series about a Congressman seemed amazing uninteresting to me as a person who is normally disconnected with politics outside of major elections. Just as was the case with Mad Men, though, I heard nothing but rave reviews about how well done House Of Cards was. Adding in that David Fincher was involved in the series and I love his work in Fight Club and The Social Network, I decided to finally give the show a chance.

Needless to say, the only thing I was disappointed in was myself for waiting as long as I did. The series covers the idea of a classic power struggle and manipulation, and it succeeds with flying colors. While the series obviously focuses on politics, it does so in a way that you don’t have to be a political junkie yourself to follow along, making the series nicely accessible to most viewers. It’s a drama that pretty much anyone who has an interest in dramas could easily appreciate.

Along with a phenomenal plot and character development, as well as its unique status as a Netflix-exclusive title, House Of Cards proves itself to be fairly groundbreaking in a few other areas as well. It makes some subtle yet very interesting statements about the current state of the news media today, its evolving landscape, and its inability (for better or worse) to break from some of the more established doctrines of modern businesses. It also has an interesting take on how integral text-based communication has become these days. For many people, texting has become the de facto medium for staying in touch. It’s something with which film and television directors have struggled to cope with, as filming a phone call is far easier than filming a thread of SMS messages. House Of Cards has taken a fairly simple yet elegant solution to the problem, thus allowing even texting to make for compelling material.

Overall, even a week after I finished the first season of the series I’m still reeling over how well done it was. As is only fitting, the first season ends on a cliff-hanger, leaving fans yearning for the next season. I can only hope that it comes sooner rather than later and that Netflix is able to maintain the amazing level of quality that House Of Cards exudes in all aspects. I feel confident in saying that this is a series that it is worth subscribing to Netflix to see.

Slacker Windows 8 App

When it comes to apps on Windows 8, users are pretty limited in their options. Nowhere is this more true than for streaming music. Much like on Windows Phone, it seems that a lot of the major players in the streaming music space, such as Pandora and Spotify, have yet to embrace Microsoft’s platform. While there’s now Nokia Music, which is on my list of apps to try out, the only real heavy-hitter available is Slacker.

The Slacker app has a nice, clean interface that fits well with the Windows 8 Modern UI. At the far left of the app is the information on the currently playing track, what station it’s in, and your controls for the music. Basically everything you will use the most often is readily accessible there. Scrolling further to the right will show you information on other stations you’ve set up, some of Slacker’s more popular pre-configured stations, etc.

You can also snap Slacker to either side of the screen, as is an option with most Modern UI apps. You basically get a sideways version of what you see in the screenshot above, as it focuses on the controls for playback. It’s handy, but I don’t typically find myself changing tracks in Slacker frequently enough for a snapped app to be necessary. It’s easy enough to Windows + Tab back over to it.

Unfortunately, there’s where I start running into some problems. The Slacker app tends to be more than a little buggy. It’s not uncommon for me to switch from the desktop over to Slacker only to have it crash the instant I do. Likewise, I’ve experienced crashes with both Loving and Banning tracks. The app will hang for a second or two, and then I’ll find myself kicked back to the Start screen. It isn’t a deal-breaker, but it’s been annoying enough that if I song I really enjoy is playing I almost hesitate to Love it for fear that I won’t get to hear the rest of it. Instead, I’ll just wait until the last second or two of it is playing before I risk pushing the button.

Those complaints aside, I’m really glad that Slacker has taken the time to support the Windows platform, both on PCs and mobile devices. I use their app quite regularly on my desktop at home, and overall I’ve been pleased with it. It has even made me start using the Slacker app on my Android phone, too, so that I can have the same stations that I’ve set up and configured across both devices.

Skype Integration Coming To Outlook.com

Last year Microsoft announced that its venerable Windows Live Messenger Service would be eclipsed by the recently purchased Skype. Users were prompted to sign into Skype with a Microsoft ID so that ID could be linked to an existing Skype account. If you didn’t have an existing Skype account, users can now just create a new one by trying to log in with an un-paired Microsoft ID.

Earlier this week, Microsoft unveiled that Skype integration would be coming to Outlook.com as well. Just as you can go to Outlook.com to chat with your Live Messenger and Facebook contacts, now you can chat with your Skype contacts as well. But the integration goes well beyond chatting; you can do audio and video calling with Skype, too.

Sadly, this appears to be a staged rollout, so it isn’t available to everyone right away. They don’t seem to allude to this point until the very end of the blog post:

“When the Skype preview arrives in your Outlook.com inbox, we hope you try it out and let us know what you think!“

I’m still waiting for the integration to be included in my account. I was also a little disappointed to see that a browser plugin would be required; I was hoping maybe Microsoft would have broken out some HTML5 voodoo to make it work natively in your browser. I’m also curious as to how the plugin setup will impact third party browsers. All of the demonstrations on Microsoft’s blog and in the video above are just for Internet Explorer. I’m curious if versions of the Skype plugin will be available for Firefox and Chrome as well.

Versus, the Japanese Cult-Hit, Gets Sequel Confirmation

Reblogged from Another Castle:

The over-the-top action-horror mash-up that featured zombies-with-weapons and reincarnated samurai masters will finally be receiving a sequel some 13-years later.

The film's original director Ryuhei Kitamura revealed the news at a premiere for his new film, No One Lives, in Tokyo where he spoke of the film and of the film's lead actor, Tak Sakaguchi's retirement. "The lead actor is retired, but I'll get him to make a comeback.

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I had completely forgotten about this movie, and I actually have a copy of it. It's completely ridiculous, but it's hard to go wrong with the samurai + zombies combo. I'd be interested to see what they do with a sequel.

Fringe Now Available For Streaming On Netflix

I really missed out when it comes to Fringe. I didn’t start watching the X-Files-esque series until it was part of the way through its 3rd of 5 seasons. While I was hooked on the show from that point onward, I was still missing a lot of the back story that became critical later in the series. Fortunately, myself and other Netflix subscribers now have a way to catch up on the show. Early in April the first 4 seasons of Fringe became available for streaming.

Considering that the 5th season just ended in January of 2013, I’m assuming/hoping that it will eventually be available for streaming as well. The Blu-ray release isn’t until May 5th, so I would expect to see the final season appearing on Netflix until well after that. As long as it gets there eventually, though, I’ll be happy.

Why Windows 8.1 Shouldn’t Bother With A Taskbar Start Button

The latest series of rumors surrounding Windows 8.1 (codenamed Windows Blue) include the idea that the Start button will make a triumphant return to the Windows operating system. While normally I wouldn’t pay too much attention to rumors and the Start button has not been seen in any of the plethora of Windows 8.1 leaks, enough fairly reliable sources have reported on it as a very likely outcome that it’s hard to simply look the other way. The key for me, though, is what was reported by The Verge on how exactly this Start button will function:

“We understand that the button will act as a method to simply access the Start Screen, and will not include the traditional Start Menu.“

Again, this is still rumor but it makes sense to a degree that this is what would happen. Microsoft wants to push the Start screen on users as part of creating a unified interface for users across PCs, tablets, and phones. They don’t want to completely reverse their decision to abandon the traditional Start menu. However, they also want to appease the masses that have thus far been unfavorable to Windows 8. The IDC even went so far as to blame Windows 8 for the general slowdown in global PC sales. It seems safe to assume that the company would want to do something to make their new operating system more appealing.

However, I personally dislike the idea re-adding a Start button to the taskbar in Windows 8.1 if all it does is take users to the Start screen. The reason for this is that it just exemplifies another issue in Windows 8; there are too many redundant ways of getting to the same areas of the OS. It really makes the Desktop and Modern environments feel like disparate systems that have been smashed together. This is a perfect example.

There are already three ways to get to the Start screen from the desktop in Windows 8. I can access the Charms menu (mouse in the lower-right corner or Windows + C), I can hit the Windows key, or I can use the pop-up in the lower-left corner (mouse in the lower-right corner or Windows + Tab). Do users really need another way of accessing the same screen? I don’t think that any of those three options could realistically be removed in order to make the process less convoluted, either. You need the Charms menu because that’s how every Modern UI app functions. You can’t take away the Windows key because that’s also been a central feature to Windows and especially Windows 8. Likewise, you can’t take away the lower-left option because the Windows + Tab menu is the principal way of moving between Modern apps.

If the rumors turn out to be true, I really feel like Microsoft is just scrambling in this instance to appease users regardless of what the outcome is for the operating system. Windows 8 has plenty of problems, as I’ll be the first to admit. In the grand scheme of things, though, access to the Start screen via a taskbar button is incredibly minor compared to the other issues I’ve written about. I feel that Microsoft either has to 1.) completely backtrack and re-implement the Windows 7-esque Start menu for the desktop or 2.) leave the taskbar in Windows 8.1 the way that it is in 8. If they implement a Start button that simply goes to the Start screen, users who want a traditional Start menu still won’t be happy, and power users who are already familiar with the Windows 8 paradigms will be frustrated by Microsoft’s lack of direction. When it comes to pleasing half of the people or none of them, I know which decision I would make.