WebProNews

Tag: cove

  • Dropbox Adds Linking Feature

    Dropbox Adds Linking Feature

    Dropbox has just announced on its blog a new linking feature that bypasses the actual downloading of files from a Dropbox folder, when a user seeks to share their content. The update is simple – a link can now be added to share a file, instead of downloading or having to attach to an email. The link will afford access to the owner’s Dropbox gallery page, where the files can be viewed, but not edited (unless files are placed in a shared folder). This gallery page allows pictures, videos and documents to be viewed. And of course, the option to download the content is still available.

    Potential new uses include:

    Families can send vacation photos and videos just moments after getting home.
    Companies with Dropbox for Teams can send presentations to clients who might not use Dropbox, and share materials with employees on their first day.
    Teachers can quickly distribute problem sets and exams through links, and students can save them to their own Dropbox with a click.

    Again, if files need to be edited by multiple users, a shared folder is the way to go, but to plainly allow users to view content, the new linking feature is an easier, faster way to share.

    In related news, Dropbox acquired online collaboration and communication tool Cove and its engineers in February – perhaps the new functionality is one of many new features in the works.

  • Dropbox Acquires Cove

    Dropbox just bought online collaboration and communication tool Cove, for an undisclosed amount, according to Forbes. Also acquired in the deal were the engineering team that manages Cove, former Facebook executives Aditya Agarwal and TechFellow winner Ruchi Sanghvi, who will join Dropbox immediately. Akhil Wable and Joshua Jenkins will also move over to Dropbox, both being former engineers at Facebook as well.

    “Building a world-class engineering organization is a top priority for us,” says Drew Houston, Dropbox co-founder and CEO. “The team at Cove represents some of the best talent in the Valley and we look forward to the technology, skills and perspective they will bring to Dropbox.” This is the first acquisition for Dropbox, which is estimated to be worth $4 billion, but the buy was mostly for the talent coming with Cove, as it has been said that Agarwal will become Dropbox CTO.

    Dropbox didn’t explain too much about what the team from Cove would be working on, but Aditya vaguely stated that the “product vision for Cove and Dropbox is very much aligned and the infrastructure we’ve built at Cove can be utilized at Dropbox.” The San Francisco-based Dropbox has over 45 million users, and logs 1 billion files every three days. Microsoft might hope to compete with Dropbox at the launch of it’s revamped version of Skydrive which is said to coincide with the release of Windows 8.