Bitcasa

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Bitcasa
Original author(s) Tony Gauda
Kevin Blackham
Developer(s) Bitcasa, Inc.
Initial release September 2011
Development status Active
Operating system Microsoft Windows
Mac OS X
Android
iOS
Type Cloud storage
Website www.bitcasa.com

Bitcasa, Inc., is an American cloud storage company founded in 2011 in St. Louis, Missouri.[1] The company is based in Mountain View, California,[2]

Bitcasa provides client software for Microsoft Windows, Mac OS X, Android, iOS and other web browsers. Its product, Infinite Drive, provides centralized storage that includes unlimited capacity, client-side encryption, media streaming, file versioning and backups, and multi-platform mobile access.[3]

History

The company was launched after a product became a finalist at the TechCrunch Disrupt conference in September 2011.[4] In 2012 Tony Lee was recruited as "vice president of engineering"[5] and Frank Meehan joined the company's board of directors.[6] In June 2012 Bitcasa closed their series A round of funding, which totaled $9 million. The company's investors included: CrunchFund,[4] Pelion Venture Partners, Horizons Ventures, Andreessen Horowitz, Samsung Ventures and First Round Capital.[7]

Products and Services

Bitcasa provides client software for web browsers, Mac OS X, Microsoft Windows and mobile apps for Android and iOS platforms. Windows versions include XP, Vista, Windows 7 and Windows 8.

Bitcasa products provide centralized streaming storage so that all devices have simultaneous and real-time access to the same files. Files uploaded from one device are instantly available on all devices. Bitcasa does not require file syncing between devices. Centralized storage eliminates the need to duplicate files across devices or wait for files to become synchronized.[8]

The company has a patent pending for an "infinite storage"[9] algorithm designed to reduce the actual storage space by identifying duplicate content and providing encryption of the stored data.[10][11] According to Popular Mechanics magazine, Bitcasa uses a convergent encryption method whereby a client's data is assigned an anonymous identifier before it is uploaded. If that data already exists on the Bitcasa servers (such as a popular song), it is not uploaded but is instead earmarked as available for download by that client. This protocol is said to reduce upload time.[12] Bitcasa's encryption method reportedly cloaks the data while it is still on the client's computer and then blocks of data are sent by an enterprise-grade AES-256 encryption method to the data cloud for storage.[13] According to ExtremeTech, this service gives users access and ownership rights to their own data.[14]

In a review by Gizmodo of Australia, Bitcasa's cloud service was described as a "winner" that "pricier than its competitors" but supported by Mac, iOS, PC and Android platforms.[15]

Mobile

Users may access their Bitcasa Infinite Drive through mobile apps which are available for iOS, Android, Windows RT, and browsers and support offline viewing of files. The app collects and displays individual media types such as photos, video, music, and documents, independently of the folder hierarchy that they are stored in. Video files are streamed and auto-transcoded based on the device bandwidth. Items may be uploaded or downloaded or shared directly with social media sites. Files of any size can be shared with a web link that can distributed via email, text or IM.

Security

A September 2011 article published in Extreme Tech said that Bitcasa's convergent encryption based system is "mostly" safe but has some risks associated with it. According to the article "while convergent encryption is perfectly secure on the face of it, it is more vulnerable than a private key method." [14]

New pricing and changes

On November 19, 2013 the company announced that its Infinite Storage offering would increase in price from US$99/year to US$999/year. The move sparked an intense reaction from users at the company's forum, even though existing users were grandfathered into the original pricing plan.[16] Reaction from Bloggers was particularly critical.[17][18]

Bitcasa offers two new plans: Premium (100$/year for 1 TB) and Pro (499$/year). The company also informed the customers that the existing users would continue paying the same prices as before while renewing.

Bitcasa also introduced a new developer program providing an API for developers to allow the integration of the Bitcasa storage system in various applications.[16]

See also

References

  1. ↑ http://www.bizjournals.com/stlouis/blog/BizNext/2013/05/bitcasas-tony-gauda-on-boosting-black.html
  2. ↑ Bitcasa, Inc., Bloomberg Businessweek
  3. ↑ Bitcasa brings ‘infinite’ cloud storage to Android & Win 8 with new apps, iOS & Mac coming soon. VentureBeat. Retrieved on 2013-09-05.
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 With Bitcasa, The Entire Cloud Is Your Hard Drive For Only $10 Per Month, TechCrunch, September 12, 2011.
  5. ↑ Unknown author (Sep 17, 2012). "Bitcasa Appoints Tony Lee Joins as VP of Engineering". Manufacturing Close-Up. 
  6. ↑ Staff writer (Sep 25, 2012). "Industry Veteran Tony Lee Joins Bitcasa as Vice President of Engineering.". Journal of Technology. 
  7. ↑ Taylor, Colleen. "Bitcasa Launches Its \u2018Infinite Storage\u2019 App To The Public To Take Down Traditional Hard Drives". TechCrunch. Retrieved 5 February 2013. 
  8. ↑ Bitcasa turns your hard drive into a cloud server with infinite space. VentureBeat. Retrieved on 2013-09-05.
  9. ↑ Unknown author (Nov 27, 2012). "WIPO Publishes Patent of Bicasa". US Fed News Service. 
  10. ↑ Bitcasa Will Offer Unlimited Cloud Storage for $10 a Month, PC World, September 13, 2011.
  11. ↑ Bitcasa gets an early start on IP acquisition, Startups and IP Strategy, September 12, 2011.
  12. ↑ Unknown author (January 1, 2012). "Convergent Encryption". Popular Mechanic. 
  13. ↑ TechCrunch talks to Bitcasa CEO about encryption TechCrunch September 2011
  14. ↑ 14.0 14.1 "How convergent encryption makes Bitcasa’s infinite storage possible". Extremetech.com. September 20, 2011. Retrieved 2013-05-08. 
  15. ↑ Limer, Eric (March 23, 2013). "The Best Cloud Storage Services". Gizmodo. Retrieved 2013-04-10. 
  16. ↑ 16.0 16.1 http://blog.bitcasa.com/2013/11/19/our-new-pricing-and-the-evolution-of-bitcasa/
  17. ↑ http://awildduck.com/?p=2881
  18. ↑ http://cloudstoragebuzz.com/bitcasa/bitcasas-blunder/

External links

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