The Wall Street Journal confirms that Dell is set to announce its entry into the netbook market “soon.” Not much news there. I’ve already heard from multiple sources that the announcement will come tomorrow or Friday. But there is one interesting tidbit in the WSJ article: Representatives from Dell and Box.net are saying that Box service will come “pre-installed” on the Inspiron Mini.
That’s a tiny bit baffling since Box.net offers a web-based file storage and sharing service. A while back I remember reading something about a desktop client for Box.net but I’m not sure that ever materialized. So perhaps by “pre-installed,” Box.net means “there’ll be a shortcut to our web site on the desktop.”
It’s also possible that Dell customers will be able to sign up for premium Box.net accounts for a reduced fee. The service normally provies free account holders with 1GB of free storage while you have to pay if you need additional storage space. Asus has begun offering up to 20GB of free online storage to Eee PC customers. Perhaps this is Dell’s answer.
didn’t microsoft tried and failed when they charge a fee for premium hotmail service aka: 2 gig of storage.
I really don’t see how this service is essential for anyone. a USB is more safe.
simplelifemaker.blogspot.com
Yep, I agree. Simpler and more reliable/accessible to store files on an SD card or USB flash drive and move it from one PC to another. You can’t depend on always having access to the Internet wherever you travel with your netbook, so your data may not be accessible if it’s only in the cloud. This is aside from any security concerns about your data always being retained on the site and privacy.