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TiVo introduces 500 GB Premiere, slashes prices of on XL, Elite, and service packages
Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Corporate News, Home Entertainment, Hot Deals, Storage,
TiVo has just announced that its replacing the 320 GB TiVo Premiere with a newer 500 GB model, netting buyers an additional 65% more storage. The new units start shipping on March 25th. In addition, the company has also lowered prices on the rest of its hardware lineup, as well as on the service plans as well. Here's the new pricing for the Premiere, Premiere XL, and Premiere Elite:
- TiVo Premiere $149.99: Records two shows at once and up to 75 hours of HD content
- TiVo Premiere XL $249.99 (reduced $50): Records two shows at once and up to 150 hours of HD content
- TiVo Premiere Elite $399.99 (reduced $100): Records four shows at once and up to 300 hours of HD content
As for the service plans, here are the new, lower costs:
- The TiVo monthly service fee is now $14.99 per month, with a one-year commitment, making it lower on a monthly basis than most cable offerings
- Multi-service discount pricing is now $12.99 per month
The new 500 GB TiVo Premiere can be purchased in stores, or directly from TiVo.com.
Gallery: TiVo introduces 500 GB Premiere, slashes prices of on XL, Elite, and service packages
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Apple closing iWork.com beta on July 31, points users to iCloud
Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Apple, Internet, Storage,
Apple has just announced that it's closing down the iWork.com beta in light of the fact that iCloud has become the company's de facto standard for cloud storage and sharing. It's certainly interesting, since iCloud doesn't yet have all the features that iWork.com has, namely talking about document storage and sharing, as well as the ability to download the stored document in a variety of formats on the fly. Maybe that'll be changing soon? iWork.com users have until July 31, 2012 before the service is shuttered. Full text of the email that Apple sent to iWork.com users after the break.
Click to continue reading Apple closing iWork.com beta on July 31, points users to iCloud
Gallery: Apple closing iWork.com beta on July 31, points users to iCloud
Microsoft releases SkyDrive app for iPhone, Windows Phone
Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Smartphones, Handhelds, Microsoft, Storage,
Microsoft on Tuesday unveiled a version of its SkyDrive cloud service for Windows Phone and the iPhone.
The move, Microsoft said in a blog post, comes as people increasingly need access to files on-the-go.
"As devices proliferate, having a great experience on the Web is only one piece of a pretty complex puzzle," Microsoft's Mike Torres wrote. "People are choosing where to put their files based on how portable and accessible they are across the various devices they use; therefore, it's critical that we continue to extend the SkyDrive experience to the devices you use every day."
To that end, the most recent version of Windows Phone, known as Mango, included deep integration with SkyDrive via the Pictures and Office hubs, allowing for the sharing of photos via text, email, or IM, for example.
But users wanted more, Torres said. "Many still want the full SkyDrive experience from Windows Phone, including tasks like browsing their entire SkyDrive, sharing links to folders or files, deleting files, and creating folders." As a result, phones running Windows Phone 7.5 can now download the SkyDrive app from the Windows Phone Marketplace and do just that.
For those on iOS, the same app was also released in the App Store. See the video above for more.
Click to continue reading Microsoft releases SkyDrive app for iPhone, Windows Phone
Gallery: Microsoft releases SkyDrive app for iPhone, Windows Phone
Seagate: Momentus XT hybrid SSD-HDD drive is 70% faster
Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: PC / Laptop, Storage,
Seagate began shipping its next-generation hybrid drive on Tuesday, the Momentus XT, which Seagate claims is three times faster than a "traditional" hard disk.
The drive, which combines solid-state storage with a traditional rotating hard disk, holds 750GB of data and caches 8GB of data on the built-in SSD. It builds on the original Momentus XT, which was awarded with an Editors' Choice, adding the 6 Gbps SATA interface that was one of the original's weak points.
Seagate claimed that the new Momentus XT drive is nearly 70 percent faster than the prior Momentus drive version. It uses adaptive memory—moving frequently used data to the SSD cache—and a related technology that Seagate calls FAST Factor.
Consumers can buy the 2.5-inch drive for $102 at Amazon, Canada Computers, CDW, Memory Express, NCIX, Newegg, and TigerDirect, or buy an OEM notebook with a built-in drive. Seagate said it had six OEM partners, but didn't name them. It's also difficult to say whether the drive's availability and price will be affected by the Thai floods, which has caused evidence of price gouging, even as Seagate's outlook has slightly improved.
Click to continue reading Seagate: Momentus XT hybrid SSD-HDD drive is 70% faster
Gallery: Seagate: Momentus XT hybrid SSD-HDD drive is 70% faster
How to access your iDisk after upgrading to iCloud
Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Apple, Internet, Storage,
Today my brother asked me how he could access his MobileMe iDisk now that he had upgraded to iCloud. I told him that he should just look in this Finder, without realizing that iDisk is gone for many MobileMe users who've migrated over to iCloud. However, there's still a way to get to your iDisk (at least, until Apple pulls the plug on MobileMe for good next year!):
- Open Finder and press ⌘K (Command + K)
- Enter 'https://idisk.me.com/yourMobileMeName' as the Server Address (without the quotes)
- Click the Connect button
Your iDisk should mount in the Finder, although it may ask you for your MobileMe password first, if it isn't saved to your Keychain.
Gallery: How to access your iDisk after upgrading to iCloud
Google Music brings MP3 store, free cloud storage for your tracks
Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Corporate News, Google, Music, Storage,
Google on Wednesday officially unveiled its music product, dubbed Google Music, which will let users store songs in the cloud for free and buy tracks directly from the Android Market.
Google's Jamie Rosenberg, director of digital content for Android, said Google Music is an expansion of Google Music Beta, introduced earlier this year, making it a "full end-to-end service."
"It's about the cloud, about the Web and about mobile," he said.
Google Music, accessible via music.google.com, is open to everyone in the U.S. now on the Web and will roll out to mobile users in the coming days. Users can store and stream up to 20,000 songs in the Google cloud for free, and add any selections they don't have by buying them from the Google Music store.
Google Music will allow users to share songs with friends, who will be able to play that song in its entirety once.
Google said it has sealed deals with more than 1,000 music labels, including Universal Music Group, Sony Music Entertainment, and EMI, as well as indie labels, like those from Merlin. In all, Google promised access to 13 million tracks, 8 million of which are available now.
Click to continue reading Google Music brings MP3 store, free cloud storage for your tracks
Gallery: Google Music brings MP3 store, free cloud storage for your tracks
5 things you should know about iTunes Match
Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Apple, Features, Music, Storage,
The first member of Apple's iCloud family that requires separate payment is here: the $24.99-a-year iTunes Match. The service will store any and all music in your computer's iTunes library up to Apple's servers and make it accessible to any of your iOS devices or computers running iTunes.
Though the free iTunes in the Cloud has existed since the launch of iOS 5 on Oct. 12, that service only covers music you've bought through the iTunes Store.
Apple's iTunes Match examines your song collection and determines whether Apple's servers contain a copy of each tune, in which case no upload on your part is required, and you can download a high-quality 256 Kbps AAC iTunes Plus version of the songs onto any device or computer you've signed into using the same Apple ID.
But for those who still have lingering questions about iTunes Match, here are a few more details:
Click to continue reading 5 things you should know about iTunes Match
Gallery: 5 things you should know about iTunes Match
iTunes Match now available to all for $25 per year
Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Apple, Music, Storage,
Apple his finally released iTunes Match, alongside the iTunes 10.5.1 update, which allows subscribers to store their entire iTunes music library in iCloud, accessing it from any Apple device that they're signed into. The release comes about two weeks later than excpected, as Apple had announced that the feature would go public before the end of October. You're limited to 25,000 tracks, although iTunes purchases don't count towards that limit in any way, and all your music will be upgraded to DRM-free 256 kbps AAC files. Who's signing up?
Gallery: iTunes Match now available to all for $25 per year
Apple misses iTunes Match launch date - what happened?
Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Apple, Internet, Software, Storage,
Apple has missed its own deadline to launch iTunes Match, a service that lets users store their entire music library in the cloud, or the iCloud, for access through any iOS device or computer.
Apple CEO Tim Cook announced the iPhone 4S (see our iPhone 4S review) in early October, and iOS 5 and iCloud went live several days later. The final piece of that puzzle, iTunes Match, was expected to launch at the end of October for $24.99 per year, but here we are on November 2 with no iTunes Match in sight.
With iTunes Match, users can store their entire music library in the cloud, or iCloud, for on-the-go access to your music from any iOS device or computer.
A portion of iTunes in the Cloud went live in June during Apple's Worldwide Developer Conference (WWDC), while a developer version of iTunes Match was released in late August; Apple even reportedly wiped out developers' Match libraries, fueling speculation that a launch was imminent.
Click to continue reading Apple misses iTunes Match launch date - what happened?
Gallery: Apple misses iTunes Match launch date - what happened?
Carbonite 5.0 brings new backup plans, introduces local backups
Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Corporate News, PC / Laptop, Storage,
Online backup provider Carbonite today announced the release of version 5.0 of its eponymous software, along with two new premium-level plans.
The new plans are HomePlus, which will run $99 per year, and HomePremier for $149. Both add local backup capability, for faster, full-system restoring from external drives connected to your PC. On top of that, the HomePremier edition adds a Courier service, which means Carbonite will ship a recovery disk in case of data loss. Carbonite continues to sell the Home version for $59 a year for one computer with unlimited storage.
Two brands get most of the mindshare when it comes to online backup: Mozy and Carbonite. For a long time, these were also the two major providers of "unlimited" storage backup, meaning no matter how much data your PC held, it would be stored and protected on the service's remote servers. Since Mozy discontinued its unlimited storage plan, Carbonite is the biggest name in this game, though there are other unlimited plays, such as the newer Backblaze.
Click to continue reading Carbonite 5.0 brings new backup plans, introduces local backups
Gallery: Carbonite 5.0 brings new backup plans, introduces local backups
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