file-sharing

Checking AirDrop compatibility in OS X Lion

One new welcome feature in OS X Lion is the new AirDrop file-sharing technology. Unlike previous file sharing that required specific permissions setups, protocol enabling, and other configuration, as long as you have an active wireless card, then with AirDrop your system should be able to automatically detect other nearby Lion users and be able to send them files with a simple drag and drop action in the AirDrop window.

AirDrop is a technology that automatically discovers and sets up a quick ad-hoc network among computers over Wi-Fi networks, and provides an interface for file sharing. This is different than … Read more

Managing FTP services in OS X Lion

Apple's sharing services in OS X have included the options for the Mac-native Apple Filing Protocol (AFP), the Windows-native Server Message Block (SMB), and the classic File Transfer Protocol (FTP). These three file-sharing protocols have been useful for compatibility not only with common Mac and Windows machines, but the FTP option has enabled practically any system to transfer files to a Mac. The lack of the ability to enable FTP in the system preferences may seem a bit limiting, but there are ways to get around this and get FTP service back up and running.

Enabling legacy FTP Apple'… Read more

Q&A: MacFixIt Answers

MacFixIt Answers is a feature in which we answer questions e-mailed in by our readers. This week readers wrote in asking about shared parent folders mounting when subfolders are accessed, .DS_Store files appearing on the desktop, which Office versions will work with Lion, where to look up application compatibility for Lion, and whether or not you should install software that came with external hard drives. We continually answer e-mail questions, and though we present a few answers here, we welcome alternative approaches and views from readers and encourage you to post your suggestions in the comments.

Question: Accessing shared subfolder … Read more

Minus: A positive file-sharing experience

When we hear "File-Sharing,", we tend to think of P2P, Torrenting, or even cloud services. Services like DropBox, Fetch.IO, and MegaUpload all support file storage and sharing in some way or another but require a number of steps, such as registration, browsing files, labeling... a process that can easily become messy and time-consuming. Instead, Carl Hu and John Xie strive to remind us of the good ol' days of grade school back when sharing was considered fun, fast, and easy. Their philosophy gave birth to Minus, a Web application that makes sharing files so simple that even … Read more

How to share files of any kind with your Facebook friends

Facebook makes it easy to share a few things: thoughts, links, pictures, and videos. It's not exactly known as a productivity enhancer (quite the opposite), but that doesn't mean you can't get fancy and use it to share other files, like documents, spreadsheets, presentations, and more. Filefly is a great free FB app that lets you do all that. Here's how to use it: 

Log in to Facebook and visit the  Filefly app page (or just type "filefly" into the search bar), then click "Use Filefly" and accept the … Read more

Exclusive: Top ISPs poised to adopt graduated response to piracy

Some of the country's largest Internet service providers are poised to leap into the antipiracy fight in a significant way.

After years of negotiations, a group of bandwidth providers that includes AT&T, Comcast, and Verizon are closer than ever to striking a deal with media and entertainment companies that would call for them to establish new and tougher punishments for customers who refuse to stop using their networks to pirate films, music and other intellectual property, multiple sources told CNET.

The sources cautioned that a final agreement has yet to be signed and that the partnership could … Read more

Fetch.io: Download manager in the cloud

Over the past few years, we've seen a plethora of download servers and utilities that range from the infamous torrent clients to temporary file servers like RapidShare, Megaupload, and HotFile. Torrenting in particular has seen some new improvements in the area of clients; uTorrent (which was eventually acquired by BitTorrent) became one of the most portable, system-friendly clients and Webware sites like Torrific have even eliminated the use of client software altogether.

So how do you top that?

Enter Fetch.io, a cloud-based service similar to the likes of Dropbox but with the utilitarian function of Torrific, as well … Read more

How to create a BitTorrent personal content channel

BitTorrent 8, released last week in beta, contains a sharp new feature that makes it easier than ever to create torrents of your personal files and share them with a personal group of friends or colleagues. The feature implementation isn't expected to change by the time that BitTorrent 8 graduates to its final version, so this How To ought to be viable for some time.

Once you've installed BitTorrent 8 beta (download), take a quick tour of some of the public content channels that come with the program. This part isn't essential, however, it's worth seeing … Read more

Chrysalis brings content distribution to BitTorrent

BitTorrent launched its next-generation torrent client in a public beta today, offering people a unique system for not just sharing content via torrents but also for socializing the experience and turning the tool into one with deep content discovery hooks. BitTorrent 8 beta (download) contains one enormous change from the alpha that launched in March: personal content channels, which streamline the torrent creation and sharing process to allow you to share high-quality versions of your homemade videos, audio, and photos with friends.

As announced at CES 2011, the implementation is unique to BitTorrent, and an integral part of its push … Read more