I’d like to thank everyone who has tried Jungle Disk and sent their feedback - so far the beta has gone very well with only a few minor problems reported. We’re working hard on a follow up beta release with some new functionality that has been highly requested. After that has baked we’ll be ready to “go 1.0″.

Here’s a sneak peek at some of the features we are planning for the next release:

• Ability to set the cache directory and maximum cache size
• HTTP Proxy support
• Option to use a custom encryption key instead of the AWS secret key
• Automatic backup / folder sync support
• Ability to cancel all outstanding queued operations
• Plus some minor tweaks and bug fixes

If there are other features that you want to see in Jungle Disk, please tell us on our Feature Requests forum.

After a several weeks of private testing, Jungle Disk is now available for public download. I’d like to personally thank all the testers on the AWS Forums and elsewhere that gave us feedback - we’ve already implemented a number of suggestions and fixed some of the rough edges that were found.

For those who are getting their first exposure to Jungle Disk through this blog, here’s the skinny - Jungle Disk is an multi-platform application that lets users easily store and backup their data online via Amazon.com’s S3 storage service. S3 has a usage based pricing model that pretty much blows away all of the other online storage sites. To get more details, check out the howitworks page.

When Amazon.com announced S3 a few weeks ago there were mixed reactions around the web. Some people focused on the promise that S3 offers - unlimited, reliable, online storage for a fraction of what other providers currently charge. Others focused on the reality of the situation - S3 is just a set of web services. Nothing for consumers to use, no application to install, no web site to visit. Both groups were right of course. S3 offers a value proposition for personal storage that is unmatched in the market today, but without a way for consumers to use it who really cares?

Well today, all of that changes. Jungle Disk isn’t the first utility released to make use of S3, but we think it’s the first one that makes S3 consumer friendly enough for the average Internet user, and it’s shipping today in a stable-beta form.

To help understand the value proposition of S3 all you need to do is spend a few minutes with the calculator on the front page of the site. For almost any values you put in, and certainly any  real-world usage, S3 comes out way ahead of the competition - and not just by a little bit - by an order of magnitude in most cases. And frankly, I don’t expect them to catch up on price any time soon. Other storage providers will probably be quick to point out that they have a more complete feature set right now, with features like public file sharing and folder synchronization, but with time that lead will disappear. It’s a lot easier to add features than it is to retool a business model that has just become obsolete. In the end, I believe users will choose where to store their data online based on two factors: price, and trust. In both of those areas I believe Amazon S3 is head and shoulders above the rest.

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One of the things that we think separates Jungle Disk from every other online storage provider out there is the transparency with which we handle your data.

When you use Jungle Disk, your files are stored on Amazon.com’s servers using S3, an open web-service based API. They never touch our servers, and we have no idea what (or how much) data you are storing. Access to your data on S3 is restricted at all times by your AWS Secret Key which is never sent to us or any other user. By default, all of your data is encrypted before it leaves your computer, and stays encrypted while stored. For users who prefer to forgo this step, encryption can be disabled.

To further re-enforce the idea that you are in control of your data, we have made available open source code that can be used to browse and download your data without even using Jungle Disk. In addition, we hope that other authors creating S3 utilities will make use of the code to become Jungle Disk-compatible.

Choosing to store your personal data online is always going to be a tough decision. We want to do everything possible to reassure our users that they are in control of their data at all times.