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Dropbox Ends Unlimited Cloud Storage Following Google Change

Dropbox Ends Unlimited Cloud Storage Following Google Change

Given a spike in illegal behaviour, Dropbox is discontinuing unlimited space in its Expanded plan, which is geared at businesses.

Dropbox Ends Unlimited Cloud Storage Following Google Change
Image Source: yugatech.com

As Other sites made similar adjustments to reduce storage capacity, it noted in a blog post, that it has seen an increase in people using Advanced plans “not to run a business or organization, but instead for purposes like crypto and Chia mining, unrelated individuals pooling storage for personal use cases or even instances of reselling storage.”

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While there will of course be legitimate outliers when it comes to unlimited storage plans, Dropbox says bad actors “frequently consume thousands of times more storage than our genuine business customers, which risks creating an unreliable experience for all of our customers.”

yahoo.com

The organisation claims that establishing a list of acceptable-use limits is impractical since it currently holds standards that forbid abusive behaviour. Because of this, Dropbox is switching to a regulated approach.

Effective on November 1st, the firm will progressively transition current subscribers to the updated Advanced plan. Before moving users to the updated policy, Dropbox will provide them with at least thirty days of notice.

On the Advanced plan, more than 99 per cent of users utilise no more than 35TB of capacity for each licence. As stated by Dropbox, those groups are allowed to utilise the amount of storage they are already using at the time they receive transfer alerts in addition to an additional 5TB of shared storage for five years without incurring any additional costs.

The same offer, but for one year, will be made to the small percentage of users that consume more than 35TB of storage each licence. Dropbox will collaborate with them to come up with a strategy that will ultimately benefit all parties concerned. Maximum storage for all Advanced plan variations is 1,000TB.

Also Read: Meta Launches AI Coding Software to Compete With OpenAI

Starting today, customers who purchase a three-license Advanced plan will receive an overall 15TB of shared storage. 5TB of storage will be added with each subsequent licence. In addition, Dropbox will begin providing storage upgrades on September 18 for newly registered users and on November 1 for current customers. On a month-to-month payment schedule, they cost 10 dollars per month for 1TB and eight dollars per month if bought yearly.

India Gets its Google One Cloud Storage; Monthly Subscription Starts at Rs. 130

Google Cloud
Image Source: entrackr.com

Google offers a 15 GB free storage to all of its users, but, on 15 August 2018, it launched its paid cloud storage Google One. Google One is a monthly storage plan for the users that is available for on the usage of all of its products such as Google Drive, Gmail, and Google Photos. At the time of its launch, it was only accessible for the US citizens, but Google had planned to make it available for the users worldwide, India being its priority.

Last week, Google, finally, launched its monthly subscription plans, for its Indian users. The basic plan for the cloud storage starts from Rs 130/month and is expendable to Rs 19550/month. In Rs 130, the user will get 100GB of cloud storage, for a month. It was assumed that the Indian audience will get those subscription plans at a cheaper price. But, the price is almost the same as the plans offered to the US citizens.

The Google One, cloud storage subscription plan, for India, includes 200GB storage at Rs 210/month, the 2TB plan at Rs 650/month, 10TB plan for Rs 6500/month and the 30TB plan at Rs 19,500/month. In the US, the 100GB storage plan costs $1.99/month, 200GB plan costs $2.99/month, 2TB plan is for $9.99/month, 10TB storage plan for $99.99/month, a $199.99/month for the 20TB storage plan, and 30TB storage is for $299.99/month.

Google’s cloud storage also offers two months free storage on some selected subscription plans. According to the offer, a 12-months plan subscriber will get a two months free storage. The user has to make the payment through the Google Play app. The ones who will take the 12-months subscription plan will have to pay only for ten months of the subscription. Also, the users can share the storage with five other members of their families. Google has also provided its cloud storage subscribers with one-tap access to experts help and perks like Google Play credits and offers on hotel deals when the user searches and books hotel on Google apps.

How To Downgrade ICloud+ Storage Plan on iPhone, iPad, Mac, PC

How To Downgrade ICloud+ Storage Plan on iPhone, iPad, Mac, PC

How To Downgrade ICloud+ Storage Plan on iPhone, iPad, Mac, PC

A key component of Apple’s ecosystem, iCloud+ offers consumers seamless cloud storage across all of their devices. But there can be times when you want to change or end your iCloud+ storage subscription. Here’s a detailed explanation explaining how to reduce your iCloud+ storage plan and what happens following, whether you’re using an iPhone, iPad, Mac, or PC.

How to Downgrade Your Storage Plan on iCloud+

Mac

  • Launch the Apple menu.
  • Click on Apple ID under System Preferences (if you’re on macOS Mojave or older, skip this step).
  • After selecting iCloud, choose Manage.
  • To modify your storage plan, click.
  • Launch the menu for Downgrade Options.
  • Enter the password for your Apple ID.
  • Choose the Free Plan.
  • Press “Done.”

Using a Windows computer

  • Launch the iCloud for Windows software.
  • Press the “Storage” button.
  • Click on Modify Storage Plan.
  • Launch the menu for Downgrade Options.
  • Enter the password for your Apple ID.
  • Choose the Free Plan.
  • Press “Done.”

Using the iPhone

  • Get the Settings menu open.
  • Press your moniker.
  • Tap Manage Storage or iCloud Storage after selecting iCloud.
  • Select Modify Storage Plan.
  • Launch the menu for Downgrade Options.
  • Enter the password for your Apple ID.
  • Choose the Free Plan.
  • Click “Done.”

On the iPad

  • Get the Settings menu open.
  • Press your moniker.
  • Tap Manage Storage or iCloud Storage after selecting iCloud.
  • Select Modify Storage Plan.
  • Launch the menu for Downgrade Options.
  • Enter the password for your Apple ID.
  • Choose the Free Plan.
  • Click “Done.”

Without a Windows computer or Apple device

  • Click on iCloud on Windows.
  • Press the “Storage” button.
  • Click on Modify Storage Plan.
  • Launch the menu for Downgrade Options.
  • Enter the password for your Apple ID.
  • Choose the Free Plan.
  • Press “Done.”

What Follows a Downgrade

When the data in your iCloud app reaches the limit of the reduced plan, it will stop syncing or updating.

Upgrade your storage or make space by removing superfluous files in order to start syncing again.

You will not be able to use several iCloud+ services, such as Private Relay and Hide My Email if you downgrade to the Free Plan.

Extra Details

For possible reimbursements, get in touch with Apple Support within 14 days if there have been any recent downgrades.

Before you begin the downgrade, make a backup copy of your iCloud data.

What Is iCloud+? Apple's Cloud-Based Storage Service Explained

What Is iCloud+? Apple’s Cloud-Based Storage Service Explained

iCloud has been the foundation of Apple’s ecosystem for years, allowing for easy file sharing, synchronisation, and backup. But with the release of iOS/iPadOS 15, Apple introduced iCloud+, a cloud service that is now even better than before. With its special features like Private Relay, Hide My Email, Custom Email Domain, and enhanced HomeKit Secure Video capabilities, this premium membership is intended to improve security and privacy. Here is a summary of the features that iCloud+ offers.

Comprehending the iCloud Landscape:

What Is iCloud+? Apple's Cloud-Based Storage Service Explained

Image Source: pcmag.com

  • iCloud: Photo, email, contacts, calendars, and more are all covered by Apple’s basic file backup and synchronisation service. 5GB of internet storage is offered by the free version.
  • iCloud+: iOS 15 and iPadOS 15 users can subscribe to the premium plan, which offers 50GB, 200GB, and 2TB of storage. It comes with upgraded features that go beyond what the free plan offers.

Key features of iCloud+:

  • Private Relay: Apple’s creative VPN solution that protects your online activity while using Safari. It sends your traffic across two different relays for increased anonymity, substituting an anonymous IP address based on your area for your original one.
  • Hide My Email: An improved version of Apple Sign-in that minimises spam and maintains anonymity by enabling the use of a random email address for any website or online form.
  • Custom Email Domain: This feature allows you to send and receive iCloud Mail using your domain rather than an icloud.com address. It is designed for users who have their domain names. Up to five personal domains with three email addresses are supported.
  • HomeKit Secure Video Enhancements: Depending on your membership, iCloud+ provides a range of storage choices, including 50GB for one camera, 200GB for up to five cameras, and 2TB for an infinite number of cameras.

How to Use iCloud Services:

iCloud Drive: The location of your synced and backed-up files. Direct file uploading, downloading, and sharing are supported.

iCloud+ is available as a comprehensive bundle for all Apple products, including the iPhone, iPad, Apple Watch, Mac, and Apple TV. It also allows up to five family members to participate in family sharing.

Basically, iCloud+ is a whole digital experience improvement rather than just an upgrade in storage. With features like Custom Email Domain and Private Relay, Apple’s iCloud+ is a comprehensive suite that adapts to its users’ changing demands. It also offers personalised email solutions.

cloudian

Success Story of Cloudian, a Data Storage Company, Co-founded by Hiroshi Ohta

The advancement of technology is
providing us with stairway to a new world. Every day, every second,
our world is changing. New gadgets and new phenomenons are discovered
daily. The path, that we have chosen for modernizing our world,
depends vividly on data. Today, everything that we do, from launching
a website to posting a picture on our Instagram account, data is
needed. And, after a few decades, our world will reach a certain
position where the development of every nation will be decided by the
amount of data one can store or have access to.

And, speaking of data, as such an
integral part of the modern sphere, it is definitely necessary to
mention Hiroshi Ohta. Hiroshi Ohta, along with Michael Tso founded
Cloudian, a company that brought innovation in the data storage
system. Founded in 2011, the company has its headquarters based in
San Mateo, California, United States.

The main product of Cloudian is
object storage software that was built for big enterprises as with
new software and applications from a huge number of companies made
data storage really tough and complex. So, an easy to use data
storage system was the cry of the hour.

The Idea Behind Cloudian

cloudian founder hiroshi ohta
Image Source: advertisingweek.com

Before Hiroshi Ohta came up with the
idea of building his own company, he used to work at J-Phone. It is a
telecom operator company, based in Japan, where Ohta was in charge of
service development. During his time in this mobile company, he
pioneered many skills and also provided the base for “Sha-Mail”,
first mail in the world with pictorial advantage. Since he worked in
the sector of communication, Ohta spotted a significant increase of
users in the telecommunication world, and this resulted in the
gathering of data in networks.

With an increase in the number of
smartphones, laptops, and tablet in today’s world, the audience
might likely run out of data and need to pay for storage. And, if
such a situation arrives, where data becomes an integral part of our
basic requirements, then it definitely has to be affordable. Thinking
about this, Ohta decided to quit the company and built data storage
product for the traffic insanely driving to the cloud world. He
started working on Cloudian Hyperstore software (a software having
Amazon S3 support).

Why Object Storage Technology?

The biggest advantage of this kind of storage software technology is that you can store and have access to data irrespective of your geographical location. Previously, the software that had been created by many companies only limited the scope of accessing data from nowhere, but the data centres. But, Ohta undoubtedly solved this problem through Cloudian software.

Another big problem that started
arising was the cost of maintenance because some software programs
were targeted to increase the data volume. This increased the cost of
storage and got off track from one of the data storage’s biggest
goal, that is being economical.

Cloudian’s products solve both the
major problems, along with keeping the quality of products high. From
media to medical school, every institution, company, organization,
including a single user, need data storage facilities for various
reasons. And, there is no scene of “market drop” in this area, at
least, for half a century now.

Success of Cloudian

One year, after founding the company, Cloudian signed a deal with a Japanese telecommunication company to fuel its cloud object storage service. This was the big start after which Cloudian has entertained many lucrative clients, including Motorola, Element Fleet, Tyco and many more.

The company also has a very fancy list when it comes to investors. In 2014, the company raised $24 million from Intel Capital, Goldman Sachs, INCJ and Fidelity Growth Partners Japan. In 2016, four new investors were added to list including Lenovo, City National Bank, Epsilon Venture Partners and DVP Investment. Cloudian raised $41 million in the funding round of October 2016. After the new Series E funding round, the total worth of Cloudian hit an impressive figure of $173 million. The company has also established a partnership with Cisco, which triggered the list of investors, and basically, means more funding.

Future Aspects

One of the most important targets
that Ohta talks about is the users should be very familiar and
comfortable to use these products. Also, the applications that are
being created with Cloudian’s storage technology as the backbone
should be at best interest of the audience.

Alibaba Unveils Big Cloud Price Cuts as AI Rivalry Deepens

Alibaba Unveils Big Cloud Price Cuts as AI Rivalry Deepens

In a strategic move to regain market share and fortify its position in the fiercely competitive cloud computing sector, Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. announced substantial price cuts on its cloud services, effective from Thursday. The decision comes amidst escalating rivalry with tech giants like Tencent Holdings Ltd., as the battle for dominance in providing essential tools for training AI intensifies.

Aggressive Price Cuts Aimed at Market Expansion

Alibaba Unveils Big Cloud Price Cuts as AI Rivalry Deepens

Image Source: businesstimes.com.sg

Alibaba’s latest price reduction initiative will see cuts of up to 55% on a wide array of internet-based services, with an average reduction of 20% across more than 100 products. These services include data storage and elastic computing options, crucial for online processing power. The move marks one of Alibaba’s most aggressive efforts to outpace competitors like Tencent and Baidu Inc. in the cloud business, potentially triggering a price war in the already fiercely contested sector.

The decision to slash prices comes after Alibaba called off a spinoff and initial public offering for its cloud unit, Aliyun, surprising investors. With the cloud now under the direct control of CEO Eddie Wu, the company aims to revitalize its public cloud services, particularly targeting enterprise customers amid challenges posed by US sanctions affecting chip supplies to Chinese firms.

Emphasis on Market Accessibility and Long-Term Growth

Alibaba’s strategy is focused on attracting more enterprises and developers to leverage advanced public cloud services across various industries. By reducing the threshold of cloud services through significant price cuts, Alibaba aims to stimulate growth and accelerate the adoption of cloud technologies. This move is especially significant amidst the backdrop of the company’s efforts to reinvigorate its e-commerce, logistics, and cloud operations following regulatory scrutiny and economic turbulence.

Moreover, the price cuts are not merely short-term incentives but also include special discounts for longer-term commitments, such as five-year plans. This demonstrates Alibaba’s commitment to nurturing lasting partnerships and fostering innovation within the ecosystem. The company’s emphasis on supporting startups developing AI platforms further underscores its dedication to maintaining a competitive edge in the rapidly evolving tech landscape.

Outlook and Implications

While Alibaba’s cloud revenue surged 51% year-over-year in the nine months ended December, the full impact of these price cuts on its revenue may only materialize in the latter half of the fiscal year ending March 2025. Analysts anticipate that competitors like Tencent and Baidu may also respond to these price reductions, potentially impacting margins across the Chinese internet industry.

Alibaba’s latest move reaffirms its determination to leverage cloud services as a cornerstone of its growth strategy. By making cloud computing more accessible and affordable, the company aims to consolidate its position as a leading provider of AI-driven solutions, poised to shape the future of technology and innovation.