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"Yesterday we brought you news of a Firefox 3 plugin release from Drop.io that enabled drag-and-drop file hosting and sharing. Which, upon inspection, we thought deserved some commendation. The simplicity of the utility is really top-notch. A few quirks, here and there, but by and large a truly worthwhile install. Well, now there\u2019s another invention of similar concept having its debut today. It\u2019s called Wuala, and it's noticeably more complex than many other Web-based file sharing services. And that\u2019s because it\u2019s not controlled entirely via the cloud.\nDescribed as a \u201Cfree social online storage\u201D service, Wuala comes from the minds at Zurich, Switzerland-based outfit Caleido Inc. They have purportedly relied on a test base of thousands alpha users, comprising \u201Chundreds of communities,\u201D whose collective trials have resulted in a release designed to give the public a seamless file storage and sharing network to operate within. It functions through a Java application, which is friendly with users of most all operating systems. Windows, Mac and Linux.\n\nIndeed, the utility is Java-based. Which is both good and bad. The good is its cross-platform compatibility. However, if you find yourself repeatedly clicking buttons due to Wuala\u2019s seeming unresponsiveness, you\u2019ll need to exercise a bit more patience than you ordinarily would. Lag and disruptions are very noticeable at times, despite Wuala\u2019s pledge for fast responsiveness and efficiency. I would say that the software needs more refinement before it can really hit its stride. It\u2019s not the transfer engine that hinders usage. That component does its job, and does it fairly well. It\u2019s more the front-end code that makes for a sometimes tricky experience.\n\nAnd unlike actors such as Drop.io and so forth, Wuala takes some getting used to. If you\u2019re familiar with file sharing services, you\u2019ll learn the application soon enough. The visual layout of Wuala is certainly polished to the point that it is relatively intuitive. But you may have to spend a few minutes to get a hang of it.\nThere are a few things worth noting before you step into the mix. One pertains to registration. Wuala explicitly states in a sign-up note that your user password is not remotely stored. So if you ever fail to remember your log-in information, you\u2019ll have to start afresh. In short, make sure 1) your memory is in check 2) you have a password manager of some sort on your PC. For Mac users, this could be Keychain, a utility that comes as standard with the OS X operating system.\nIf you wish, you can experiment with Wuala in the shallows, as it were. Browse the world network, see how it all works. Click here, click there. The usual. But if you want to get friends involved from the outset, you may. A stage within the sign-up process allows the registrant to access contacts from one\u2019s Skype and/or Facebook accounts. Just to note, Wuala is working a promotion to enable users who recruit new users to the service to increase their storage limits. The measure is 1 GB per person. Also, if you want to maintain a free account but wish to massively enhance your available space, you can for example \u201Ctrade 50 GB on your computer to get up to 50 GB of online storage.\u201D If you\u2019d like to buy into an annual storage plan, it\u2019s $25 for 10 GB, $95 for 50GB, etc.\nWhy make available so much space for personal use? Wuala\u2019s creators have made it a point to place no restrictions on file sizes. No traffic limits, either. Got lots of small bits of info? That\u2019s fine. But so is that three-gig video file you want to have out for friends to enjoy. Of course, you can specify which folders are open to which contacts. Password-protect, if you must.\n\nHaving given the service a brief review, I\u2019d say Wuala is a decent choice for folks who want quite a bit from their file-sharing service, and want to keep it out of the Web browser. For its initial moments in the public eye, I\u2019d advise forgoing a payment plan, however. I simply think the Java application needs more fine-tuning. Not 5 minutes after installation did it seize up and require a restart. Which doesn\u2019t inspire enormous confidence, particularly if large file uploads are in limbo. Definitely worth a download, though. A freebie is a freebie, and this one will shortly have a sizable membership as a result."^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
<http://mashable.com/2008/08/14/wuala/>