Anybody who knows me knows that I like to tinker with
technology, whether it be hardware or software. It's a lot easier (and almost
always cheaper!) to tinker with software products, since typically a simple
download is all it takes.
I recently ran across a new product that's designed to provide a really easy way
to access your own files and (if you want) to share those files with others.
(Full disclosure: As it turns out, I happen to know one of the co-founders,
Chris Hopen, from working with him before he started that company, but otherwise
I have no association with his company).
The name of the company is HomePipe Networks, and what the product does is to
allow you to easily, and I mean really easily access any files you like
remotely. Unlike a lot of other products, you don't upload anything to "the
cloud", but instead the product allows you to access file that are already
sitting on your computer. The way it works is that you install a pretty tiny
piece of software on your computer that provides a way to access whichever files
you allow to be accessed from any web browser anywhere or from an iPhone.
(There's a free iPhone client app and a "premium" version that, at least for
now, is the same thing but without ads).
There are other products that do similar things (like GoToMyPC) but those
typically provide more access than you often need.The thing that really amazed
me is how easy this was to set up. I know, I sound like a broken record, but I
guess I've become so disenchanted with "simple" programs that take 57 steps and
a degree in computer science (which fortunately, I have) to install.
This product isn't really targeted at folks like me. I can build a VPN network
into my home in my sleep. (I think I did once, but that's another story.) It's
targeted at someone who isn't very technically savvy who wants to be able to
easily access their pictures while visiting their aunt in another country
without having to upload them somewhere or bring them along. It's for folks who
travel who want to be able to access their full music collection on their
computer at home so they can change the songs on their iPod shuffle from a hotel
room in Duluth. It's for folks who want to securely share any type of file with
friends, colleagues, or family.
In addition to being able to access your files through a web browser, as I
mentioned, there's a client for the iPhone (it also works fine on the iPod
touch) which seems to work pretty well. Note that it doesn't stream files, so if
want to grab an mp3 file from your computer to play on your iPhone, you'll have
to wait for it to finish downloading before it starts to play.
I should make clear that this isn't targeted at corporate users, it's for home
users (hence the company name, HomePipe). I haven't done any kind of security
analysis on this other than some very basic checks to make sure that things
appeared to be properly encrypted while traveling over the Internet, but knowing
Chris's background, I'm pretty confident that security isn't going to be an
issue.
This is a new product, and I've found and reported a couple of minor glitches,
but from what I've seen so far it's definitely stable and wouldn't be what I'd
call a "beta" quality product, just a young one.
If you think this sounds interesting, take a look at their website at
HomePipe.net. There is a bit more information about how the product works
and a place where you can sign up and try it for yourself. In addition to the
iPhone app, there are "server" pieces for Windows XP and up and Mac OSx. If you
do try it, please let me know what you think.