Google has just released a new extension for Chrome through its Chrome Web Store.  This new extension is called Google Drive.  It is a tool that allows users to capture and store web based content using none other than Google Drive.

Once on a webpage you want to save, you simply click the Google Drive icon and you can copy and save the webpage, it’s HTML code or a web archive.  Another cool feature is having the ability to right click on items and saving just those items to your Google Drive.   After upload, Google has new scrolling, % sizing and fit to page options for viewing.  You can also comment on specific areas of the pictures that you have uploaded to your Drive.

If you do a lot of snipping with Windows Snipping Tool, this is a big daddy option that provides you with the ability to do a bit more and keep it web based rather than filling your hard drive.

Can you see yourself using this extension?  What are some applications that you see yourself utilizing this for?

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Running out of storage space won’t be an issue with the new Boxee TV. It’s been proclaimed as the first DVR to offer virtually unlimited storage. They do this by uploading your videos to the cloud, rather than storing those recordings on a local drive. In fact, there’s no on-board storage at all.

In addition to the more traditional DVR function of recording live television, the new Boxee TV also lets you enjoy several streaming services, like Netflix, Vimeo, VUDU, YouTube and Pandora. The Boxee TV is a dual tuner unit too, so you can watch one channel while recording another. By uploading your recordings to the cloud, it means that you can watch your recorded TV shows on screens other than your living room TV. Go ahead and watch Big Bang Theory on your laptop and Game of Thrones on your smartphone.

That’s the good news. The other good news is that the Boxee TV will retail for a very reasonable $99 when it ships next month. The bad news is, because you’re using the cloud, you’ll have to pay the monthly subscription fee of $14.99. Ouch! The initial launch is also being limited to just eight cities: New York, LA, Chicago, Dallas, Houston, Atlanta, Philly, and Washington, DC. They’ll add more markets next year.

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High speeding down the slopes, you cut through a half dozen trees before lifting off and grabbing huge air, you think, shouldn’t I be recording this?  If you did, you have to wait until you get to a computer before uploading your adventure to the world.  That’s not the case if you own the ION Air Pro HD camera. It lets you share your clips in real time to social networking sites.

The new cam will record your rides in full 1080p HD and there’s also an option for snapping 5-megapixel stills. It features a 170-degree wide-angle lens, which is more than enough to record all the action.  The catch is there is no display on it. But there is no need to check whether or not it is recording, just flip a switch and your broadcasting live.   Aside from that critical button, there’s two more; for switching it on and off and taking stills.

Engadget got a their little hands one one, they say that the cam feels comfortable.  Weighing just 123 grams, about 20 less than GoPro in its housing. The new cam also comes with a tripod mount,  memory card slot, HDMI port, AV out all accessible from the rear removable panel.

The realtime feature is not built into the camera itself, you will need to attach a Wi-Fi “Podz” on its rear. You just have to download a free app and you can see what your camera sees (and yes, there is a range limit). The app will allow you to upload clips directly to Facebook and YouTube too.

But that’s not all. You get 8GB of cloud storage. That’s really sweet. Head here to check out a few stills snapped with the cam and check out the first video to know more about it. The second video is a sample and it’s a bit shaky, but you will understand its capabilities.

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The ION Air Pro will be available next month. As for the pricing, it’s £229 (about $365) for the camera alone, £249 ($395) if you are interested in the bike mount and tripod kit, and £299 ($475) for the full Wi-Fi kit.

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In the “Googlighting” video below (which is ironically hosted on YouTube, a Google product), the unnamed company executive accuses the “Googlighting stranger” of turning her employees into “lab rats” for Google Apps. She is visibly concerned that Google will “change your software while we’re using it.” The faux Google rep says that they’re “pioneers” and the the software could “improve” or just disappear altogether.

The crux of the argument is that Google Apps is a “side project” for the search engine and ad sales giant, whereas Microsoft Office is more of a core product for Microsoft. I’m not sure I really buy into this marketing campaign, but it does show that the folks in Redmond, Washington are ready to bear their teeth.

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Going directly against popular services like Dropbox and SugarSync, Google Drive is a cloud service that lets you synchronize your files across computers. This is totally up Google’s alley already, considering that all of its most popular services are already in the cloud. Do you use Gmail? Google Docs? YouTube? This is just an extension of that.

To make matters even more interesting, as with so many other Google Apps, GDrive will likely be a free offering to consumers with the possibility of a paid “premium” account for businesses. Expanding the infrastructure to support Google Drive is a walk in the park for the search engine giant. Expected features include the ability to upload media and enjoy them from any web-connected device, as well as the ability to automatically upload your photos and videos to Picasa through Instant Upload. Sounds like Dropbox’s idea, doesn’t it?

No word on a rollout date, of course, but the beta could see the light of day within the next few months.

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The main reason for the beta is to work out the kinks, but you need users to encounter those kinks for you to fix them. That’s why they’re encouraging more people to get the new Android app. To be fair, you don’t get the 5GB of cloud storage right from the get-go. Instead, you get 500MB on the first sync. After that, you need to automatically upload additional chunks of 500MB to grow your account in 500MB increments. Eventually, you hit five gigs.

That’s the first bit. The second bit is that the Android app itself comes along with a few upgrades too. For instance, you can set it up so that every photo you take with your smartphone will automatically get uploaded to your Dropbox account. This counters similar functionality I’ve seen with the Google+ app. You might want to keep an eye on your bandwidth, as it’s pretty easy to go over your monthly 3G/4G plan, but hopefully you can set it to Wi-Fi only too.

In any case, the app itself–as always–is free. You can grab the experimental beta in APK form at your leisure.

Soure: DropBox
Via: AndroidPolice

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There is no denying that physical storage is slowly but surely being relegated to the back burner in favor of cloud solutions. One of the largest mobile solutions is without a doubt Dropbox. Dropbox is far from being alone in the cloud storage market, but despite large competitors like Apple’s iCloud, the company has ove 45 million registered users, more than 1 million files saved every five minutes, and paying customers exist in over 175 countries worldwide.

The service started in 2007 and have grown considerably, the company even managed to score $250 million in funding in late October.

Now what is already a great service is getting a little better. The Dropbox Blog recently announced the arrival of its Version 2.0 of the Android app.

The newest version adds many new features to the app, including:

• A “Favorites” feature that lets you star files for quick offline access.
• Bulk uploading so users can select multiple photos and videos to upload in the background.
• The ability to rename files and single-tap access that lets users access any file or folder with a single tap.

The app is also now optimized for ICS support and had numerous bug corrections. Dropbox currently offers 2GB of complimentary space to users or they can upgrade to a Pro account with up to 100GB of space.

If you are looking for a free alternative to get above 2GB, Dropbox does offer a few possibilities. For every friend you invite you can get get 250MB of space for free, additionally students can earn 500MB for each person they invite. Of course you will need a valid student email account and a way to confirm you are in fact a student.

Dropbox is a highly effective cloud storage tools for Android users, and 2.0 is looking even better. Users can download the app from the Android market and start inviting friends immediately to earn more space.

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Basically, the DragonBot is a robotic stuffed animal with Android as its brain. The smartphone docks into its face and effectively functions as the face, showing various expressions by ways of its virtual eyes and mouth. The Android phone is also what controls its articulated limbs and torso. But that’s just the beginning.

It is very good with language, works with visual cues by way of the front-facing camera, and helps children learn all sorts of things. Kombusto is also connected to the Internet, presumably over WiFi/3G/4G via the smartphone inside. Communicating with the cloud, it can gain the collective experiences of all other DragonBots, allowing them all to learn what each individual bot has learned. And you can remotely control Kombusto by way of an app on your Android tablet.

The DragonBot was developed by researchers from Harvard, Northeastern, and MIT, so you know it’s kind of a big deal. They’re also saying it’ll cost less than $1,000, though it’s not clear whether or not that includes the smartphone brain.

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You could say that Electronic Arts (EA) is trying to challenge Steam. You could also say that EA is trying to challenge Apple’s Game Center. The key difference with EA’s Origin game network, though, is that it is designed to work across platforms, including both mobile devices and your PC.

With Origin, you can purchase and download your EA games directly from their store, but it also means that you can challenge your Origin-connected friends to see who gets the highest score in certain games. The social network would also allow you to play these games with your friends in real time, but the kicker is that they don’t have to be on the same platform.

You could be playing Scrabble on your iPhone, while friend A has it on his PC and friend B has it on her Galaxy S. That’s awesome. What’s more, your saved files are stored in the cloud. You can start a game on your iPad while riding the subway, but continue it on your computer when you get home from work.  Whether this would ring true for any free apps you download, or they would have to be specifically developed for the Origin game network.  That would remove many hot titles from the equation.

One of the challenges that EA will have to face is getting this approved by Apple. After all, if you can buy your games directly through Origin, you’re skipping the iTunes App Store and Steve isn’t getting his cut of the profits.

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What are the first products that come to mind when you think about Microsoft? Undoubtedly, it’s got to be Windows and Office. This is very clearly illustrated by the company’s revenue figures, but the bulging vein in Ballmer’s neck is looking to expand their business in, well, business apps.

The business software market is as big as ever, but Microsoft is still some distance away from the big boys in the enterprise arena. So, they’re looking to break in with more “enterprise applications” like ERP (enterprise resource planning) and CRM (customer relationship management) solutions.

The kicker? It looks like Microsoft is really ready to embrace the cloud. This goes beyond the “to the cloud” commercials for consumer media streaming and into the business world, allowing executives on the road to check in without having to deal with locally installed software.

“If we don’t dramatically outgrow Oracle and SAP I’d be disappointed,” Ballmer said. “The move to the cloud is big for this category and we’re driving ahead.”

Let’s just hope this doesn’t become another Zune or Kin fiasco. It is just software, after all, which is really the Redmond, Washington company’s bread and butter.

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