iPhone Update 1.12

Our first update has just hit the App Store. This is what's new:

• Resolved login issues for accounts created before 2008: This should affect some of you who could not log in to the app.
• Improved viewing of large pictures: Some of you reported that you could not view large pictures. This is now resolved.
• Minor bugfixes

If you find bugs or have feature requests, feel free to add them to our bugtracker (switch to the project 'mobile'). Thanks!

Effective Usage: Why PhD Students Use Wuala

The following posting is written by our guest blogger, Thomas Kaufmann, a PhD student at the Laboratory for Electromagnetic Fields and Microwave Electronics at ETH Zurich, Switzerland.

Some days ago I submitted my dissertation at ETH Zurich. Simulations were performed in MATLAB, the document was generated with LaTex, and the graphics were built with Inkscape. For me it was important not to be bound to one place during this creative writing process. I had my desktop computer in the office, a powerful laptop to run simulations and a small ultra-mobile netbook with a very long battery life. Using the sync option in Wuala, I always had a current copy on my local disk space. When swapping from one computer to the other, I just had to wake up the machine, wait a few seconds and continue working seamlessly. The fact that I did not have to worry about updating my data every time I swapped computers, and have a backup in case of theft allowed me to concentrate on the actual writing.

The use of Wuala allowed me to work in the office, on trains, at home, and even in a holiday apartment in Zermatt, where I stayed with friends for a week. In combination with a mobile internet stick, I had my whole data at hand locally and could continue literature research and connect to more powerful computers at ETH.

One of my co-examiners is located in Australia. He and the other examiners had to have access to the document during the review process of the thesis. With Wuala, I could simply put a new version on our shared group folder. He would put comments and corrections in the PDF file with Adobe Acrobat Pro, and thanks to the time difference I had all his contributions at hand the next morning. The comment function in the shared group allowed me to point out details and particular things to look at, which is readable for all group members.

Within half a year after starting using Wuala, I moved my data management went from pure disaster with different versions of documents and code cluttered on several computers to a well-functioning, highly flexible and reliable solution. The simplicity and flexibility of Wuala outrank the functionality of other tools such as SVN or rsync for my application. After my experiences several people in my research group started using Wuala as well.

(Image by mortsan, License: CC BY 2.0)

iPhone, Android & Co.: The Answers On The Go

Our iPhone app has triggered a lot of feedback, downloads and ratings. We even made it to the Top 15 in the Swiss App Store! Most of your comments and reviews were very positive and a lot of questions were asked. In this posting, I'd like to address some of them:

When is the Android app coming?
Very soon. We're planning on releasing it April/May.

When is the iPad app coming?
We will start working on the iPad app after having released Android.

As a workaround you can use the iPhone app on the iPad.

When will you support Windows Mobile 7 or Blackberry?
Our priority is an Android and iPad app.

I can't seem to be able to log in to the iPhone app, what should I do?
This is most likely due to the fact that you have signed up a long time ago and have not changed your password ever since. Please change your password (and do NOT forget it). You will then be able to log in to your account on the iPhone. If you do not want to change the password, we're working on a fix for the next update.

Can I access files in my groups?
No, not yet. We are working on it. This requires additional work as the app encrypts the files directly on your phone.

Can I upload files?
No, not yet. We are working on it. This requires additional work as the app encrypts the files directly on the phone.

Can I access my friend's files?
No, not yet. We are working on it. This requires additional work as the app encrypts the files directly on your phone.

Can I share files?
Yes, you can. You can send a file directly by email. Click on the file and choose the 'paperclip'.

Where's the manual located?
Go to About > Help.

I do not want to log in each time. Can I save the password?
Yes. Go to your settings on your iPhone and choose Wuala. Enable 'Sign-in automatically'.

Why can't the Wuala app play certain file formats (AVI, WMA, etc.) directly?
Per default the iPhone only supports the following formats:

Audio formats: AAC (8 to 320 Kbps), Protected AAC (from iTunes Store), HE-AAC, MP3 (8 to 320 Kbps), MP3 VBR, Audible (formats 2, 3, 4, Audible Enhanced Audio, AAX, and AAX+), Apple Lossless, AIFF, and WAV
Video formats: H.264 video up to 720p, 30 frames per second, Main Profile level 3.1 with AAC-LC audio up to 160 Kbps, 48kHz, stereo audio in .m4v, .mp4, and .mov file formats; MPEG-4 video, up to 2.5 Mbps, 640 by 480 pixels, 30 frames per second, Simple Profile with AAC-LC audio up to 160 Kbps per channel, 48kHz, stereo audio in .m4v, .mp4, and .mov file formats; Motion JPEG (M-JPEG) up to 35 Mbps, 1280 by 720 pixels, 30 frames per second, audio in ulaw, PCM stereo audio in .avi file format

Any other format requires a conversion of the original file. Wuala cannot do this on the server side, because all user files are encrypted on the client. On the iPhone, certain 3rd party applications can be used to playback files in other formats than the ones supported officially.

To finish off, I'd like to add a funny detail: After having answered too many questions related to 'When will you release an Android app?', I accidentally called our mobile developer 'Android' instead of Andrei. Oops.

Introducing Wuala For iPhone and iPod touch

Great news today: We're excited to have released Wuala for iPhone and iPod touch. The app is available in the app store - download it now!

What Took Us So Long
The answer is simple: It's the encryption, baby! Wuala is based on Java (Java doesn't work with the iPhone, remember?) and encrypts and decrypts your files directly on your computer which clearly differentiates us from other online storage services. This means that we had to rebuild Wuala's encryption for the iPhone, which took some time. But it was worth it: We can now proudly announce a fully encrypted iPhone app which encrypts your data directly on your phone, while your password never leaves your device. Therefore, no one - not even we as the provider - can access your files.



The Goodies
The app allows you to view and browser your files on the go. You can flip through a presentation, enjoy a slideshow or read a PDF. In addition you can easily share files with your friends and colleagues by attaching a picture or a link to your email. Specific files can be saved for offline access, so you can always access the files even though you're not connected to the internet.

If you have any questions be sure to read the FAQs or the manual which is directly integrated in the app itself. Send us your feedback to feedback@wuala.com - we're eager to listen. Before I forget, we're working on an Android app, stay tuned.

A Better Sharing Experience

With today's update called Fluntern (yes, we're still naming our releases after the city districts of Zurich), we have tweaked the sharing dialog making it easier for you to share your files with friends and colleagues.

Basic Sharing
You can now share your files with just two clicks. Instead of showing different sharing options, we have decided to focus on two options.

1. Select the folder you want to share and right-click on it.

2. Choose By Secret Weblink or With Friends.

The option Secret Weblink creates a web link which you can send to your friends or colleagues. Anyone who is familiar with the correct link can access the folder, regardless if they are registered for Wuala or not. A new window will open showing you the web link. Click on Copy to copy the link and send it to your friends by email, put it on Facebook or paste it into your chat window.

The option With Friends lets you share your folder with your Wuala contacts. A new window will open where you can select your contacts in Wuala.

Advanced Sharing
In order to simplify the sharing dialog, we have removed the different tabs, focussing on only one single dialog.

1. Select the folder you want to share and go to File > Sharing & Access. A new window will appear.
2. Define how you want to share the folder:

Shared: You can share the folder with your Wuala contacts or you can enable web access to the file. By enabling web access it is possible for anyone familiar with the correct link to access the file. This is very convenient if you want to share folders with contacts who are not registered for Wuala.

Public: Public folders are visible for everyone. This means that they are accessible for anyone, regardless if they are a Wuala user or not.

Feel free to watch our short tutorial or consult our FAQs for further questions on how to share your files.

Computer Hoy Ganador Calidad 2011

Spanish computer magazine Computer Hoy has just awarded us with the 'Calidad' (quality) award. We are the proud winner of their online storage review, right before Dropbox, DiscoDuro Online, SugarSync, iDisk, Fichero des Archivos, Google Docs, LiveSkydrive and Ubuntu One.

Hint: If you live in Spain, be sure to get a copy of the premium edition of the latest Computer Hoy...

Wuala at SXSW 2011

From March 11 - 20, Dominik will be at the SXSW Conference in Austin. He'll be attending SXSW Interactive before joining the SXSW Trade Show with LaCie. Be sure to look out for him, shoot him a line or pass by at Stand 237, 239 and get some Wuala goodies!