Storage

You can now edit text files right from Dropbox app

Christian Zibreg ∙ June 28, 2017

Cloud storage provider Dropbox today updated its app on App Store with the ability to edit text files right from the mobile app. Now when you browse the files in your Dropbox, simply view any text file then tap a new Edit icon to enter the app's new built-in text editor.

When done editing, tap Save to save the changes directly to the text file in your Dropbox. No more emailing the file back and forth. The bast part is, no longer do you need to use a third-party editor just to make a few quick changes to a text file saved in your Dropbox.

Aside from the built-in text editor, Dropbox for iOS version 54.2 has gained a new auto-capture function. When scanning documents, simply focus on the document and this feature will take a picture automatically.

Dropbox for iOS is a free download via App Store.

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Google prepping new app for backing up your Mac to Drive

Christian Zibreg ∙ June 15, 2017

Are you a fan of Drive, the search giant's cloud-storage service? If so, a new app from Google will soon let you back up any folder(s) on your computer to Drive and keep them in sync.

This is welcome news because Drive's current desktop client does not allow for selective sync of any folders that don't live inside of the Google Drive folder on your Mac or Windows PC.

The forthcoming Backup and Sync app is better integrated with your computer than the existing client and will replace it on Wednesday, June 28.

According to the search firm, Backup and Sync is intended to “help everyday users back up files and photos from their computers, so they’re safe and accessible from anywhere”.

As mentioned, you'll be able to continually back up any items found in custom folders on your computer, like the Desktop, Photos, Documents and so forth.

Backup and Sync will replace Google's existing desktop uploader for Photos, too.

Basically, you could use the new app to back up and sync your entire Mac account's home folder to Drive and use Google's powerful search engine via Drive's web interface to quickly identify that needle in the haystack you were looking for.

However, you'll probably need to upgrade your cloud storage to keep your Mac safely backed up to Drive. Each Google account gets 15GB of free Drive storage versus Apple's 5GB free tier.

If you need more storage, you can upgrade to one of the paid Drive tiers:

100GB for $1.99 per month 1TB for $9.99 per month 10TB for $99.99 per month

And here are Apple's recently refreshed iCloud storage upgrades:

50GB for $0.99 per month 200GB for $2.99 per month 2TB for $9.99 per month

Google Drive for Mac and Windows is available via google.com/drive/download.

Google Drive for iPhone and iPad is a free download from App Store.

Do you use Google Drive? If so, are you looking forward to backing up your Mac to the Google cloud? If not, what's your preferred online service for storing files, documents and other data?

Tell us in comments!

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Box introduces macOS client for its cloud syncing service

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated October 17, 2018

Cloud-storage service Box has (finally?) decided to provide a native macOS client app for its Apple customers. The new app, currently in public beta, is available at no charge at box.com/resources/downloads.

With the Box Drive app, users can access Box files on their Mac, natively integrated into the Finder, as well as easily share and collaborate on documents and more. You can edit like you would any local file and have the app save it automatically to the Box cloud, with the enterprise-grade security protecting everything you do.

According to the company, the app includes the following features:

The cloud doesn’t fit on your hard drive. While it's super convenient to sync files to your desktop, the amount of syncing you can actually do is limited by your hard drive space. So while you'd like to access ALL your files (especially your team files), more often than not, you end up syncing only a subset of your files, which limits the amount of work you can actually do straight from your desktop. Storing work on your desktop is risky business. IT teams have been pulling their hair out for years, because they haven’t had proper visibility or control over how files are being accessed, shared, and managed. Plus, if your computer was ever lost or stolen, there wasn’t much you could do about the work files that went along with it. Network files shares were great—20 years ago. Teams are clamoring for greater mobility, easier collaboration, and better compliance–and network shares just can’t keep up. Not to mention the constant maintenance, unpredictable growth, storage sprawl, and never-ending costs that come with them.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hl6eKWkTYVI

Apple's new Files app on iOS 11 features built-in support for a number of cloud-storage service, including Box, Dropbox, Google Drive, OneDrive, iCloud Drive, Adobe Creative Cloud and more.

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Apple cuts 2TB iCloud tier price in half

Christian Zibreg ∙ June 7, 2017

Apple has made some changes to paid iCloud storage upgrades.

Having nixed the previously available one-terabyte tier, the company has now made its flagship two-terabyte plan more affordable than ever.

You can now get a whopping two terabytes of storage in exchange for a pretty competitive monthly fee of just $9.99 per month, or half the previous asking price of $19.99 per month.

As mentioned, the 1TB plan that used to cost $9.99 per month has been eliminated. The 200GB $2.99 per month and the 50GB $0.99 per month tiers have remained unchanged. The free tier is still limited to just five gigabytes of storage.

According to Apple's iCloud webpage, the following storage tiers are now available:

5GB for free 50GB for $0.99 per month 200GB for $2.99 per month 2TB for $9.99 per month

The new pricing is available in all markets.

You can use iCloud storage to store your entire Photos library, backup all the Apple devices you own, synchronize files between devices, keeping other files in your iCloud Drive, store your iCloud Mail message archive and much more.

And with iOS 11 and macOS High Sierra, Apple customers can now share a 200GB or 2TB iCloud storage plan with family members, if they like.

“Now you can share an iCloud storage plan with your entire family, notes Apple. “Choose 200GB or 2TB and give everyone space to store photos, videos, documents and more.

You can upgrade your iCloud storage directly on your device in Settings → General → Storage & iCloud Usage, then tap Manage Storage under the iCloud section and hit Change Storage Plan. On a Mac, go to System Preferences → iCloud → Manage for these options.

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How to clear your web browsing cache in Chrome, Safari, and Firefox on Mac

Anthony Bouchard ∙ Updated December 19, 2022
Chrome settings on Mac

Over time, web browsers accumulate website data from everyday browsing. Known as cache, this data collection helps browsers load web pages more quickly, so these files don't have to be re-downloaded when you revisit the same websites in the future.

Unfortunately, cache is also the main suspect when diagnosing issues loading websites, and it can also eat up valuable storage space on your Mac. That's why in this tutorial, we'll show you how to delete cache and cookies in three of the most popular web browsers: Apple Safari, Google Chrome, and Mozilla Firefox.

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Issues with your Apple Music subscription or iCloud storage? You’re not alone

Christian Zibreg ∙ April 19, 2017

As acknowledged on Apple's System Status webpage, an unknown percentage of Apple Music subscribers have been experiencing issues with their subscriptions since Tuesday, ranging from the inability to download tracks for offline listening to being unable to connect to the service at all.

According to complaints on Reddit, some folks are also being greeted with a “Cannot Connect to iCloud” error message when attempting to upgrade or downgrade their iCloud storage plan.

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Apple just doubled iPhone SE storage without raising prices

Christian Zibreg ∙ March 21, 2017

As part of announcing iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus (PRODUCT)RED Special Edition in a new vibrant red aluminum finish, Apple this morning said that iPhone SE, its most affordable handset ever, is now available with double the storage at the same starting price of $399 in the United States.

The new 32 and 128-gigabyte capacities have replaced the previous 16GB and 64GB models of iPhone SE which are no longer sold. The new 32/128 GB iPhone SE models will be available beginning Friday, March 24 from apple.com and Apple Stores.

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FolderUsage: see how much storage space is being used by apps within folders

Anthony Bouchard ∙ March 5, 2017

Have you ever wondered how much storage space the apps inside of a particular folder on your Home screen are using? If so, you might be interested in a new free jailbreak tweak called FolderUsage by midey.

With this tweak installed, you can use a simple swipe-up gesture on any of your folder icons and this invokes a pop-up that displays the storage space being occupied by all of the apps contained within it.

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Synology NAS will take your media and file storage to the next level

Timothy Reavis ∙ Updated May 7, 2018

In this information age, data is more prevalent than ever before. Even the average user tends to require more storage now than ever to keep their photos, videos, music, and documents in a safe and easily accessible location. The cloud is an increasingly popular solution for saving and sharing data, but security has been and will continue to be a concern with storing personal information on a third party’s servers. Additionally, users who deal with slow internet speeds or bandwidth caps have reasons for not fully relying on a cloud service that extend beyond privacy concerns.

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WhatsApp gains offline message sending, overhauled storage usage screen & more

Christian Zibreg ∙ January 24, 2017

Facebook-owned WhatsApp was refreshed on App Store this morning with a few new features. Bumped to version 2.17.1, the iPhone application now lets you queue up messages while offline to be delivered when the device regains an Internet connection.

WhatsApp's storage management screen has been redesigned and now allows you to selectively delete specific media file types on a per-chat basis.

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