Cloud-based storage of data files is nothing new. Microsoft offers up that kind of service with Skydrive while Dropbox offers a way to share files with others via an online interface. This week at the TechCrunch Disrupt start up conference in San Francisco a new company called Bitcasa revealed itself. According to a story at TechCrunch it"s aiming to revolutionize how PC users think about and use their local hard drive combined with its cloud service
Bitcasa will offer users a way to store an unlimited amount of data on its cloud-based servers for a measly $10 a month. But that"s not all. Instead of moving your files to the service via drag and drop, Bitcasa uses your PC hard drive as a cache. In other words, when you save a file on your PC, it is automatically saved to the Bitcasa cloud servers. The service also uses encrypted servers, so they don"t actually know what kinds of files you are saving to the cloud. If you use a particular file on your PC a lot, the data is saved on your local hard drive as a cache file. That means that if you lose your Internet connection for some reason, you will still be able to work with the cached file. The service also allows users to share any data on the servers with family and friends.
Bitcasa plans to offer a free version of its service when it goes live, although it won"t have unlimited data storage. There"s no word on when the service will launch but people who wish to beta test Bitcasa can sign up at the company"s web site. A free limited beta should go online soon.