Jungle Disk Blog

We’re starting to dig in on the next major release of Jungle Disk, but before we got too far we wanted to release an update with the latest improvements and fixes. Jungle Disk 2.61 is a minor update that includes a number of fixes for issues users have encountered in 2.60c. We’d like to thank the users who helped bring these issues to our attention.

You can download the new version using the links below. We will enable the automatic update feature on Wednesday if you’d prefer to update that way instead.

• Desktop Edition downloads
• Workgroup Edition downloads
• Reseller Edition downloads

A list of the improvements and fixes in this release is below.

• Package attribute backed up and restored on Mac using automatic backup
• Improved change detection with multiple computers on the same network drive
• Improved startup times in Windows
• Changed default setting for file versioning to ‘all files’ vs. ‘backup files only’
• Reduced the number of Growl notifications in Mac
• Fixed upgrade issues in Windows related to Jungle Disk service
• Fixed issues with connecting to Windows UNC shares
• Fixed backup configuration dialog in Linux not searching for files beyond first folder
• Fixed issue with Linux startup via init.d
• Fixed case sensitivity issues when using the Network Drive option
• Fixed connection issue when switching between users in Windows
• Fixed issue where leading “*” in exclusions would omit root files
• Fixed Windows search issue in Vista

The feedback we’ve received from our previous Roadmap Post and poll has been loud and clear. Although there is strong interest in everything we mentioned (and more) the top requested feature by far is Sync. That’s great feedback to have and tallies well with the informal feedback we’ve gathered from users. A few folks have suggested that with some improvements to the network drive feature, such as offline support, that Sync wouldn’t be necessary, but we think each feature has unique advantages.

Network Drive Advantages:

• Can be used for “archiving” of files by moving them completely into the cloud
• No initial sync process when connecting from a new computer, you only download what you need
• Works better for large amounts of data, since you only need a small cache on each machine
• Doesn’t waste bandwidth syncing files you may never access

Sync Advantages:

• No need to move your files – you can sync them from their existing locations
• All your content is available offline
• Updating occurs in the background so the latest version can be opened quickly
• Can be used for profiles, configuration files, and other application-specific items that can’t be “moved” to a network drive
• Easy concept to understand, even for non-technical users

Given the strong interest in Sync and the unique advantages it provides, we’re going to strongly consider including it as part of our roadmap, while also continuing to improve the network drive.

I also wanted to give a quick update on Cloud Files. As of Tuesday, the optimization work has been completed and we’ve re-opened creation of Cloud Files online disks to all Jungle Disk users.

We like to give our customers regular updates on what we’re working on for future releases of Jungle Disk, as well as give customers the opportunity to tell us what they think is most important. Jungle Disk’s success has been largely due to your valuable input and comments. While we’re not ready to lay out a detailed roadmap today, we do want to talk about a couple major features we are considering:

1. Public/Private file sharing: While Jungle Disk is primarily used for personal file storage, we know there are many situations where you’d like to share a file or folder with another person or group of people. Imagine being able to generate a link to any file or folder on your online disk and send it to another users to give them temporary or permanent access to that data.
2. Multi-computer sync: Right now we offer two primary ways to use your cloud storage – via automatic backup or a network drive. Sync is really a third-way to use that storage – the ability to have a file or folder on your local disk that is synchronized between multiple computers automatically and instantly. While there are several popular cloud-based sync services already, we’ve heard from a number of users who would like a one-stop solution for backup and sync, as well as the simple pay-as-you-go pricing that comes with Jungle Disk.
3. Offline support for the network drive: Currently our network drive feature requires you to be online to access your data, even though we keep some data in the local cache. Offline support would allow you to keep working when you disconnect, as well as specify which folders should always be kept in the local cache so they can be accessed when you are offline. We know this is important for mobile users, although it does overlap in some ways with the Sync feature.

So what feature are you most interested in? We’ve got a quick poll below for you to tell us, but feel free to leave a comment as well!

We’ve had lots going on around here lately so lets get you up to speed with some quick updates!

First, I’d like to welcome Erika Jolly Brookes as our new VP of Marketing and Sales. Erika is a veteran of the Atlanta technology scene, as an early employee at Mindspring and most recently as VP of Marketing at Earthlink. She is a strong customer advocate and is committed to make our products the best they can be. Please join me in welcoming Erika to the team.

Second, next week our own Mac developer Adam Preble will be speaking at the local Cocoa Heads development group. In his spare time Adam develops iPhone games and will be talking about his experience as an iPhone developer. If you’re in the Atlanta area and interested in iPhone development be sure to check it out! You can also check out Adam’s games on the iTunes store – Shufflepuck and Slingshot (free trial).

Third, I’m pleased to announce that Jungle Disk has been nominated for a CNET Webware 100 award for the second year in a row. We need your vote to win!

Finally, I want to give an update on the status of Cloud Files support for new customers in Jungle Disk. As we previously described, the bug in the first release of Jungle Disk 2.6 which caused excess traffic to the Cloud Files backend allowed the Cloud Files team to identify a number of areas where the system could be better optimized for Jungle Disk users. In a way this was a blessing in disguise, as it may have been many months until there was enough regular traffic to uncover these bottlenecks. Rather than continue to add new users on the system while the team optimized these areas, we decided to hold  off adding new users until the changes were complete. Originally we had hoped to re-open signups last week, but they need a few more days to finish deploying the improvements.  Baring any unforeseen issues,  we are currently planning to allow new Cloud Files customers by the end of this week.