Johnny Wills email: j.wills@mobilenapps.com
Internet activist Kim Dotcom has announced the launch of Mega.co.nz, a successor to the popular Megaupload service that was shut down by U.S. authorities in 2012.
While preparations are underway for the launch, Dotcom revealed some interesting features of the new venture, promising a secure file-sharing platform and free 50GB of cloud storage for every user.
"#Mega will have very generous limits for free users. For example you get 50GB storage for free ;-)," Dotcom tweeted on Jan. 17.
Mega's 50GB of free cloud storage offer for its users is more than generous and significantly higher than what competitors have to offer. Dropbox offers just 2GB of free storage, Google Drive offers 5GB, and Microsoft's SkyDrive lowered its free offering to 7GB.
Giving an edge over other cloud storage services, Mega utilizes 2048-bit RSA encryption to secure data and support download resuming, along with support for parallel batch uploading and downloading.
Kim Dotcom tweeted that he also wanted to give former premium members at the original Megaupload, a premium status on Mega. Unfortunately, the lawyers advised him that it is not possible at the moment.
In another tweet, Dotcom revealed that Mega is working with the Electronic Frontier Foundation to help Megaupload users get access to their files. To make the transfer, it will need court permission. If Dotcom gets legal approval, Megaupload users will get their files and premium status.
The Internet tycoon will launch the new Web site at his Auckland mansion on Sunday, Jan. 20, which is the same venue and day when he was arrested exactly a year ago after being charged in the world's biggest online piracy case.
Dotcom's initial plans were to use the URL me.ga for the new service. However, the government of Gabon opposed the use of .ga domain and Dotcom had to change plans. Dotcom revealed that New Zealand will be the home of Mega.co.nz, which is registered through Melbourne-based domain registrar Instra.
more stories from Internet / Social Media
Google's two-minute blackout has caused a whopping 40 percent drop in global Internet traffic.
ernest hamiltonRumors turned out to be legitimate, as Xbox Music web player is now live.
ernest hamiltonA bug in Facebook's latest beta app for Android collected and stored the phone numbers of anyone who launched the app, regardless of whether they logged in or had an account.
ernest hamiltonMozilla Firefox 22 is bringing advance 3D gaming to the web with Unreal Engine 3.
ernest hamiltonA security bug in Facebook's 'Download Your Information' (DYI) tool exposed email addresses and telephone numbers of roughly 6 million users.
ernest hamiltonTwo of the new features now available on Socl comes in the form of a meme generator and GIF creator. This is a good idea since memes and GIFs are one of the leading activities on the Internet right now.
ernest hamiltonThe Facebook invitation doesn't say anything about the product or the service that is going to be launched on June 20.
ernest hamiltonIn the new version of OS X, dubbed OS X 10.9 Mavericks, if you use the new Safari web browser to open a website that is power hungry, you will not have to close it in order to save your battery life.
ernest hamilton