Hands-on with HP’s online backup app, Upline

HP has entered the online backup space with a new product called Upline. It’s a decent cloud-based backup product at a very good price point, but it has a few frustrating limitations.

The good news first: The software is simple to get started with (critical for a backup app) and the paid plans all provide unlimited storage for your documents, photos, music, and video files (also critical — who wants to count bits when signing up for data insurance?). The system checks for new files by default every 15 minutes, and uploads your data to the HP-run servers in a quiet background process.

There’s a free version that gives you a gigabyte of online storage for a year, but if you’re serious about backup you’ll want one of the paid versions. The least expensive $59/year Home plan gives you the unlimited storage and allows up to three PCs to share the online storage pool. Family plans and small office plans give you individual storage bins, and the business plans also give you an administrator’s dashboard.

The product allows Web-based access to your backed-up files, which is very nice if you want to grab a something when you’re away from your PC. You can also share files via email (recipients get links, not the files themselves) or publish files for public access.

Upline can also back up files to a local device, like a second hard drive, or a server or PC on the local network. I don’t know of other products that handle both local and Web-based backup. It’s a very cool feature.

The product is based on Titanize, which HP acquired when it bought the company Opelin last year. I’ve always thought Titanize was an under-appreciated backup app. Perhaps HP was listening.

Now, the flip side. The biggest turn-off is that Upline does not
backup email files. That’s planned for the future, but backup users
will need it now. Imagine losing your email archive. Enough said.

Another missing piece: System restore. Upline is a document and
media backup product. It won’t store your programs or system settings.
So if your hard disk crashes, you can’t use to rebuild your system.

The app doesn’t offer PC-to-PC sync (see FolderShare, BeInSync, SugarSync),
which to many is an obscure feature, but I think it’s one of the most
valuable data safety and convenience apps you can have on a personal
computer. There’s no virtual drive, like XDrive
has, which makes using the service just a little more tedious than it
needs to be. Also, it’s PC only on the backup side, although any
machine with a browser can view Upline archive pages. There’s no mobile
client. Finally, the search feature seems to only search on file names,
not files’ contents.

Upline is not a perfect backup tool nor a complete integrated
online storage suite. But at this price point, given its unlimited
backup space and its straightforward sharing options, it’s a good deal.

By

Rafe Needleman

–
April 8, 2008, 6:43 PM PDT

Source: Webware.com

——

See also: Mozy and Carbonite.

This review has been updated from the original: Information was added on backing up data to a local device.

$1 billion school computer plan could cost $2 billion

Labor’s $1 billion school computer election promise could turn into a $2 billion plan, with the government talking to states and territories about meeting extra costs.

Deputy Prime Minister Julia Gillard today insisted the plan, announced at Labor’s campaign launch and the centrepiece of its education revolution, remains on track.

Ms Gillard said Labor had always said it would be a partnership between the commonwealth and state and territory governments.

“We are working with our state and territory colleagues and the discussion we are having with them is about us putting an extra $1 billion into the vital task of getting computers in school, and in the delivery of that $1 billion, working with the states and territories on related questions like electricity supply, like, of course, professional development for teachers, like making sure that curriculum is there that embeds the computer technology into learning,” she told Network Ten.

“That partnership will make sure that computers are in schools in circumstances where they can be used.”

Launching the plan during the election campaign, Prime Minister Kevin Rudd said a Labor government would ensure that every student in years 9-12 had access to their own computer at school at a cost of $1 billion over four years.

That would cover the cost of computers and high-speed internet, he said.

The opposition now says the government could have to buy up to 700,000 computers to keep its promise, with schools and possibly parents likely to face substantial extra costs for software, teacher training, networking, technical support and security.

In a report a Sydney newspaper, an unnamed school principal said the Labor election promise appeared to mean the federal government would provide the hardware alone, leaving states with substantial additional costs.

Ms Gillard said the policy was working, with applications closing on Friday night for the first $100 million for schools with the greatest need – those with a ratio of one computer per eight students or less.

Funding applications received in this category covered 90 per cent of schools, she said.

“This is a program that is being met with enthusiasm in schools because they want their children, their kids, their students to have the ability to learn in the modern environment, and that requires access to computer technology,” she said.

Ms Gillard said the states and territories were working with the federal government on delivering that first $100 million by June 30.

She said the government was also working with the state and territory governments on spending the balance of $800 million on computers and $100 million on fibre-optic internet cables to the schools.

“We are working on the ongoing strategic partnership so the computers can be in schools, being used, because we are working together with our state and territory colleagues, and that process is going well,” she said.

AAP

Source: The Age

Five-Megapixel Camera Phones Invade the Market

2008 is shaping up to be the year of the 5-megapixel camera phone. And we couldn’t be more excited.

Let’s face it, the crummy, submegapixel imaging chips crammed into most phones today take awful-looking photos. The iPhone’s 2-megapixel camera is an improvement, but even its photos look crummy next to a standard-issue digital camera from five years ago.

Thankfully, most handset manufacturers are realizing that a phone with an integrated 5-megapixel camera makes for a much more satisfying device. In fact, some of these gadgets look more like cameras with integrated cellular data technology than phones with added-on digital imaging sensors.

Here are a few of the 5-megapixel camera phones on display at CTIA Wireless this week. We had a chance to play with a lot of handsets at the conference, but these phones stood head and shoulders above the others.

LG Viewty
We first saw this camera at CeBit earlier this year. It has one of the finest cameras ever integrated into a cellphone. The shutter speed is phenomenal and colors are true and vibrant — even under the harsh halogens of the Las Vegas Convention Center.

Samsung Soul
No, it won’t be available in the United States right away (those cheese-eating, deodorant-eschewing Europeans get it first), but it does come with the requisite 5-megapixel camera. Plus it also includes a vibrant OLED display right above the keypad.

Sony Ericsson C902
This way-too-thin, way-too-pretty handset also first appeared at CeBit. It contains useful picture-taking apps like face detection and a program Sony Ericsson calls “bestpic” technology, which lets you fire off nine pictures in rapid succession and then pick the one that looks best.

Nokia N82 Black Edition
Yes, it’s just like the silver N82 released earlier this year and yes, it still sports the same specs: auto focus, Carl Zeiss lens and Xenon flash. And yes, its image quality is still dead-on gorgeous. But hey: It’s black!

Samsung F480
This is sort of a clone of the much-maligned, perpetually delayed LG Prada phone we first saw at last year’s CTIA. It’s gorgeous, sports a full touchscreen interface, snaps lovely 5MP pictures with its built-in LED flash, and will be sold in the United States sometime this year.

We wouldn’t mind carrying any of these handsets around in our pockets. In addition to their quality cameras, many are mated with super-speedy HSDPA (high-speed downlink packet access) for retrieving wireless data, quad-band capability and innovative upgrades like OLED screens. All that adds up to a lot more than just cellphones with cameras haphazardly slapped on them. For the first time, instead of hiding our camera-phone pics in the darkest, most inaccessible recesses of a Flickr account, we might feel like blowing these pictures up and actually showing them to our friends.

The LG Viewty is one of several 5-megapixel camera phones unveiled at CTIA.
Photo: Isaac Brekken/Wired.com
Source: Wired

Apple to New York City: Bite Me

The Big Apple has a new logo, and Apple says: Drop dead.

At issue is the emblem for New York City’s GreeNYC campaign, which has started to appear around the city on bus shelters, hybrid gasoline-electric taxicabs and even Whole Foods shopping bags.

The GreeNYC logo shows a stylized apple with a stalk and a leaf. It bears a resemblance to Apple’s famous logo — a resemblance Apple says infringes on its trademark.

The city has applied for a trademark on the logo, but Apple has filed a formal opposition (.pdf) obtained by Wired.com.

The Cupertino, California, company calls for the trademark to be denied, claiming the city’s logo will confuse people and “seriously injure the reputation which [Apple] has established for its goods and services.”

New York says: Getdafugoutaheya.

“The city believes that Apple’s claims have no merit and that no consumer is likely to be confused,” says Gerald Singleton, the intellectual-property lawyer representing the Big Apple. “This well-known city is using its new design in a variety of contexts that have absolutely nothing to do with Apple Inc.”

Apple, of course, is no stranger to trademark disputes, but has typically been on the receiving end of infringement claims. Apple Corps, holder of the Beatles’ business interests, battled the company for years over its trademark. That legal spat was finally resolved last year, with Apple walking away with the entire brand and an apparent agreement to license certain trademarks back to Apple Corps.

Cisco Systems also filed suit over Apple’s use of the iPhone trademark last year, and both companies finally agreed to share the iPhone name.

“When you talk about trademark infringement, the key issue is likelihood of confusion,” says Beth Goldman, an attorney at Heller Ehrman and head of the firm’s San Francisco trademark group.

Trademark protection extends to sight, sound and meaning, Goldman says, and if a company can prove there’s confusion over such matters, it may very well have a case.

In the case of very famous marks or logos, there’s also the issue of dilution, she says, when someone else uses it in a manner that blurs or tarnishes the trademark.

Dilution is harder to prove with a logo, Goldman says, as it’s not usually descriptive of a product. Nevertheless, the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office will consider such arguments.

NYC & Company, the nonprofit responsible for the city’s official tourism website, applied for a trademark on the new logo on May 14, 2007. The company and its lawyers have filed a counterclaim asking that Apple’s trademark registration for its apple logo be canceled.

Apple did not immediately respond to Wired.com’s requests for comment.

The GreeNYC campaign is intended to promote “environmentally friendly policies and practices” and “economically sustainable growth.”

The next step in the Apple-New York City trademark scuffle, according to trademark lawyers, will be to commission a series of independent surveys — what are known as mall-stop surveys — to gauge people’s reaction to the new logo, in order to see whether Apple’s opposition holds any merit.

“The ultimate arbiter is the consumer,” Goldman says.

Singleton says the dispute will play out over the next six to nine months, before a final decision is made by the Trademark Trial and Appeal Board of the patent office.

Image: NYC & Company partnered with Whole Foods last March to launch limited-edition 100 percent organic cotton shopping bags. The bags, which feature the new GreeNYC logo, are causing mass confusion and ruining Apple’s good reputation, the computer company argues in a trademark-infringement filing.
Source: Wired

Dell: Even More Layoffs to Come

Dell’s analyst meeting is over and the outlook is rough. Executives at the meeting seemed confident in the PC-maker’s ability to reach its $3 billion in cutbacks by 2011, but words were minced when it came to layoffs (and there are apparently more coming).

“We’re decreasing our head count,” CEO Michael Dell (pictured right) told the crowd of analysts. “It’s declined in the past two quarters and it will decline again in the first quarter. And we will go past the 8,800 target previously discussed as we achieve everything that I’m outlining today.”

Unfortunately, Dell didn’t provide a hard number for the additional layoffs.

Meanwhile, the market has cooled off on Dell’s rebound plans. According to Goldman Sachs analyst David Bailey, it may take the Dell longer to bounce back than most people think.

“With visible progress in Dell’s turnaround unlikely until later this year (at the earliest) and the macro environment making its transformation more difficult to execute,” says Bailey, “we think there are better opportunities in hardware — specifically Hewlett-Packard Co.”

Ouch.

Photo: Flickr/Charlie Brewer

[Via AP]

See Also:

• Dell to Lay Off Another 5600, Close Plant
• Dell Dumps Kiosks; Refocuses on Retail Expansion and Direct Sales
• Dell Invests in WPP’s Marketing Magic
• Dell Adds Staples to its Retail Distributors

Source: Wired

EBay Would Be Nuts to Sell Skype

If we’re to believe the rumors, Google is considering a Skype acquisition. Or partnership. Or something big!

And while we don’t doubt Skype would make a hot little trophy for Google, we’re not sure what eBay would get out of a deal right now.

TechCrunch’s Michael Arrington says he’s heard “low-level rumors” that the companies are talking. And while it’s not necessarily a new one (the rumor has been around at least since autumn 2007), Arrington predicts a partnership or outright acquisition will be announced in the “near future.” Most industry watchers think the move would make sense.

“I would suggest that Google is intensely interested in Skype, not only for the opportunity to revolutionize mobile telephony and the trillion dollar telecom industry, but as a foundational layer for scalable web services,” Steve Jurvetson, managing director of Draper Fisher Jurvetson told us by email. (Venture capital firm Draper Fisher Jurvetson was an early investor in Skype.)

But what’s in it for eBay? Okay, even if the company overpaid, and even if Skype hasn’t generated a fat return, the online auction site already took a $1.39 billion impairment charge on the deal; it cleaned house and shuffled management around (Josh Silverman was named CEO of Skype in late March) and eBay management seems to expect big things of the business. For the fourth quarter, Skype revenue was up 76 percent year-over-year, to $115 million, and the user base hit 276 million.

“While we were disappointed in the writedown we announced in October, it’s important to remember that Skype is an extremely successful four-year-old . . . During the last two months of the year, the new leadership team at Skype has done a fantastic job. Skype is exiting 2007 much stronger than it was even this summer and the team is excited about the year ahead,” said eBay CEO John Donahoe, during the last earnings call.

“I don’t expect them to sell it,” says Susquenhanna Financial Group analyst Marianne Wolk. “But I would expect them to partner with Google — that makes much more sense.”

Photo: Flickr/Malthe
Source: Wired

Sucks to Be MySpace, Facebook

It’s been a rotten day for social networks. Fox Interactive Media, parent company of MySpace, is kicking chief revenue officer Michael Barrett to the curb, and according to a couple reports, the division may not meet annual revenue expectations.

Just two months ago, News Corp. chief Rupert Murdoch said he was confident that Fox Interactive Media would meet its annual $1 billion sales target, based on second-quarter “momentum.”

“Another key to our unique positioning, Fox Interactive Media is experiencing accelerated operational and financial momentum,” he said during News Corp.’s conference call. “These results add confidence to our $1 billion revenue and 20 percent margin targets for this business this year.”

Now some loose-lipped FIM insiders tell TechCrunch and SiliconAlleyInsider that the division could fall short of projections by $100 million.

(Incidentally, Facebook is also short a chief revenue officer since Owen Van Natta left the company in February.)

It wasn’t a great day for Facebook, either. The company now has to defend itself in court in a lawsuit in which Mark Zuckerberg has been accused of stealing computer code from ConnectU, a similar social network, according to Bloomberg.

Photo: Flickr/benchilada
Source: Wired

Adobe Partners With CBS, MTV for Downloadable Episodes

Adobe has partnered with CBS and MTV to finally bring its ad-supported video service to market, reports Reuters. The Adobe Media Player-powered project entered beta back in September, but with content providers lined up and public trials now underway, the service should be going live as early as the second half of 2008.

The setup is simple. Viewers will be able to use the service to download or subscribe to automated downloads for their favorite CBS and MTV shows like “CSI,” and “Real World”. The Flash-based interface then allows viewers to watch the encrypted shows at their leisure offline, complete with integrated ads. In short, the content providers get to monetize their offline content and users get the video-on-demand experience courtesy of Adobe’s player.

It sounds like a win-win, but in reality, projects like this are often riddled with issues. NBC launched a similar service (NBC Direct) not too long ago that was widely panned. Of the laundry list of problems, two of the biggest were how long content was available for download after airing (seven days), and the brief amount of time available to watch the downloads (48 hours).

Ironically, both of those issues had less to do with technological hurdles than with content licensing. So, if this joint venture is subject to the same labyrinthine licensing restrictions, then it’s likely to follow a similar path. However, if the content partners are able to leverage Adobe’s Media player to grant viewers liberal (and hopefully mobile) access to their ad-supported content, then they could be on to something. We’ll see at launch.

See Also:

• NBC Provides Downloadable Shows, Sheer Frustration
• Updated: CBS Zags With Short-Form Video Site EyeLab
• CBS Interactive President Explains Hulu’s Mojo
• MTV Networks Announces New Online Initiative
• MTV Networks, mywaves Partner for Free Mobile Video

Source: Wired

Microsoft Threatens to Go Hostile on Yahoo

Microsoft says Yahoo has three weeks to negotiate a decent deal, after which time Microsoft is going to get medieval on its ass.

The company sent out a letter to Yahoo’s board, whining about how there hasn’t been any meaningful progress in negotiations, and in the meantime, the equity markets are tanking.

From the letter:

If we have not concluded an agreement within the next three weeks, we will be compelled to take our case directly to your shareholders, including the initiation of a proxy contest to elect an alternative slate of directors for the Yahoo! board. The substantial premium reflected in our initial proposal anticipated a friendly transaction with you. If we are forced to take an offer directly to your shareholders, that action will have an undesirable impact on the value of your company from our perspective which will be reflected in the terms of our proposal.

But as we seem to recall, Yahoo did respond to Microsoft in February — its consistent message has been that the Microsoft offer “substantially undervalues” the company. And while Microsoft argues that a hostile bid will have “an undesirable impact” on Yahoo, a hostile proxy battle is the surest path to mutually assured destruction. Microsoft shares have already fallen more than 10 percent since the company first sprang its unsolicited bid on Yahoo, and market research has shown that it can take years before companies recover from a hostile proxy battle. Nothing good can come of it — it’s an expensive distraction that could result in a mass exodus and leave both companies worse off than they were before.

Photo: Flickr/TaranRampersad
Source: Wired

DocSyncer Unveils Public Beta

A few days back, David posted the tantalizing news about DocSyncer, which syncs your Microsoft Office documents with Google Docs. Alas, the service was in private beta testing at the time, meaning you had to request an invitation. As of today, however, DocSyncer has reached public beta status, meaning anyone with an e-mail address (and Google Docs account, natch) can have at it.

DocSyncer supports a wide variety of file types, including Word, Excel, PowerPoint, RTF, HTML, and OpenOffice. (I didn’t find out about the OpenOffice support, which isn’t mentioned anywhere on DocSyncer’s home page, until just now. Kinda kills the need for the OpenOffice.org2GoogleDocs extension I mentioned the other day.)

Unfortunately, during this beta phase, only your Desktop and My Documents folders can be synced. I keep the bulk of my Office files elsewhere, so I can’t yet take full advantage of DocSyncer. That’s a shame, because I’m really excited about this service. In fact, I’ll be surprised if Google doesn’t buy it outright, as it has the potential to take Google Docs to the next level.

By Rick Broida – BNet

DocSyncer – https://www.docsyncer.com/