The cloud storage space has taken off in recent years thanks to a plethora of startups like Dropbox and Box, not to mention services from heavyweights like Microsoft, Google and others. Yet, despite many big names and relative market consolidation, San Francisco-based Minbox is a new entrant that’s raised $800,000 to take on the establishment with its “freaking fast” service.

Available to use from today, Minbox is a free file transfer and storage plug-in service for Mac created by the founders of online journal Penzu. Files of any size or type can be shared to friends and contacts using a drag and drop interface, but they are only stored on Minbox’s servers for 30 days.

Though file storage is limited in that respect, Minbox is notable because it transfers files at a zippy rate of 200MB per second and — unlike Dropbox — lets user share the link with a recipient before the file is done uploading. The file is only available to the recipient when fully uploaded, but instantaneous sharing eradicates the chances of forgetting to send the link because you’ve gone to do something else while it uploads to Dropbox.

In addition to the basic service, a premium Minbox Pro subscription is slated to launch “in the coming months”, while the company “hopes to release more apps” for other platforms in due course.

Minbox isn’t revealing the price or specific details about Pro, but we expect it will provide a longer (if not permanent) storage option for those that want some permanence to their cloud-based files, in order to compete on a more level footing with Dropbox.

The service targets two groups of users specifically: those who regularly store and upload large files, and those that find existing services to be too slow. Alexander Mimran, founder & CEO of Minbox, explains more:

“Creative professionals such as photographers and designers handle huge files, and the filetransfer process can often be excruciatingly slow. With all due respect to sync services like Dropbox, the industry needs a lightweight alternative for direct transfer. Minbox gets it done at ground-breaking speeds.”

As well as launching, Minbox has raised the $800,000 round from a range of angel investors which includes: George Zachary (Charles River Ventures), Dave Cohen (Bullettime Ventures), Matt Ocko, Jeff Zucker (President of CNN), Tim Young (Socialcast), Ben Chestnut (Mailchimp), Rho Ventures, and Correlation Ventures.

If you’re in the market for a fast file-transfer option and haven’t yet found one to suit your needs, then Minbox is worth a look.

For now, the limitations on storage and lack of mobile apps and premium service mean Minbox won’t be replacing Dropbox for now, at least. But with a few more features, it could develop into an interesting alternative.

Here’s a video with plenty of attitude (and the kind of creative license early-stage startups often enjoy) to highlight Minbox’s competitive advantage over Dropbox and others.

➤ Minbox

Headline image via Thinkstock

Monogram, a fashion shopping application, released an update that expands its Web focus. Today, the company is now a fashion publishing platform with an e-commerce play. With more than 300 retailers integrated into its site, users are able to browse through a collection of “shoppable” fashion magazines, while also being able to share and discover their own stories and inspirations.

An alumnus of 500 Startups’ fourth batch, Monogram was initially focused on being a personalized shopper for iPad owners. It browses through numerous sources to help users discover new items that are not only on sale, but fit their style. The company states that 87 percent of iPad owners shop on the device, spending an average of 30 percent more than the average Web shopper — Monogram seeks to capitalize on this by making the process a lot easier and personal.

Akin to what you might find using Flipboard, users can navigate through pre-established magazines to glean inspiration or to see clothes based on various themes. If none of the current publications are to their fancy, users can start their own, controlling what it’s called, the description, and who the magazine is primarily geared towards. However, at this point, it lacks the aesthetic appeal that Flipboard has, specifically the “flip” motion and true magazine-like interactions.

Monogram doesn’t control 100 percent of the content in its magazines. Rather, it’s community-driven, meaning that anyone can contribute ideas, photos, and content to someone’s publication. All items can either be liked or reposted to their own news feed, which contributes to the service’s new Pinterest-like experience.

Where the e-commerce part comes in is when a user clicks on an article and scrolls down to the bottom where products are featured. Monogram will display the item along with an overview. Users can then click the “Buy This” button and be transported to the manufacturer’s page where they will be able to buy the item there. No actual transactions are handled on the Monogram site. Items liked by users can be also be reposted and liked, while also shared on Twitter, Facebook, and Pinterest.

Company CEO Leo Chen tells us that the impetus for this new version of Monogram came following the development of internal tools that enabled the team to create shoppable articles. After a month of speaking with users, fashion designers, and bloggers, he realized that the market needed to have a service that would “simplify their content creation process: searching for products to recommend and driving readership.” Several weeks after that, Monogram was rebuilt from scratch to now be a publishing platform and a fashion community, complete with an e-commerce platform.

While content is still being curated, one thing that’s of interest is the fact that Monogram doesn’t allow users to sort magazines by interest or by gender. In our initial review, all the magazines shown appear to appeal to females, although male-targeted ones could be created.

Monogram has raised $1.25 million in funding from US and Chinese investors, such as Quest Venture Partners, Great Oaks VC, Reddit’s Alexis Ohanian, Innovation Camp, Rapportive CEO Rahul Vohra, Decide.com’s Brian Ma, and more.

The updated version of Monogram is now available as a responsive website. The native iOS apps have also been modified and released for users to download and try out.

➤ Monogram | Web | iOS

Photo credit: ROSLAN RAHMAN/AFP/Getty Images

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The cloud storage space has taken off in recent years thanks to a plethora of startups like Dropbox and Box, not to mention services from heavyweights like Microsoft, Google and others. Yet, despite many big names and relative market consolidation, San Francisco-based Minibox is a new entrant that’s raised $800,000 to take on the establishment with its “freaking fast” service.

Available to use from today, Minibox is a free file transfer and storage plug-in service for Mac created by the founders of online journal Penzu. Files of any size or type can be shared to friends and contacts using a drag and drop interface, but they are only stored on Minibox’s servers for 30 days.

Though file storage is limited in that respect, Minibox is notable because it transfers files at a zippy rate of 200MB per second and — unlike Dropbox — lets user share the link with a recipient before the file is done uploading. The file is only available to the recipient when fully uploaded, but instantaneous sharing eradicates the chances of forgetting to send the link because you’ve gone to do something else while it uploads to Dropbox.

In addition to the basic service, a premium Minibox Pro subscription is slated to launch “in the coming months”, while the company “hopes to release more apps” for other platforms in due course

Minibox isn’t revealing the price or specific details about Pro, but we expect it will provide a longer (if not permanent) storage option for those that want some permanence to their cloud-based files, in order to compete on a more level footing with Dropbox.

The service targets two groups of users specifically: those who regularly store and upload large files, and those that find existing services to be too slow. Alexander Mimran, founder & CEO of Minbox, explains more:

“Creative professionals such as photographers and designers handle huge files, and the filetransfer process can often be excruciatingly slow. With all due respect to sync services like Dropbox, the industry needs a lightweight alternative for direct transfer. Minbox gets it done at ground-breaking speeds.”

As well as launching, Minibox has raised the $800,000 round from a range of angel investors which includes: George Zachary (Charles River Ventures), Dave Cohen (Bullettime Ventures), Matt Ocko, Jeff Zucker (President of CNN), Tim Young (Socialcast), Ben Chestnut (Mailchimp), Rho Ventures, and Correlation Ventures.

If you’re in the market for a fast file-transfer option and haven’t yet found one to suit your needs, then Minibox is worth a look.

For now, the limitations on storage and lack of mobile apps and premium service mean Minibox won’t be replacing Dropbox for now, at least. But with a few more features, it could develop into an interesting alternative.

Here’s a video with plenty of attitude (and the kind of creative license early-stage startups often enjoy) to highlight Minibox’s competitive advantage over Dropbox and others.

➤ Minibox

Headline image via Thinkstock

Dijit Media, a social TV service provider, has unveiled a new website it calls NextGuide Web. It functions similarly to a social network whereby not only can users look up information about their favorite show, series, or movie, but also discover what their friends are interested in and watch.

Finding new shows to watch can be rather difficult at times. I probably would not have known how good House of Cards was on Netflix, had I not read reviews from my friends on Twitter and Facebook. NextGuide seeks to capitalize on this practice with its new social-like network, but also by leveraging live TV and streaming services like Amazon Prime, iTunes, Hulu Plus, and Netflix.

The design is something you would see on Pinterest. Once on the site, users can not only see recent activity of their friends, but also discover other titles and artists they care about. The site follows the standard behavior of other social networks with favoriting, and users can also follow others to continually be updated about what shows and movies they’re watching.

Through Facebook Connect, users can port the movies and TV shows that they like right into NextGuide. If I “liked” the show Big Bang Theory on Facebook, NextGuide will add it to my favorite shows and tell me when the next episode is set to air.

Dijit Media says NextGuide Web also includes other features, including giving users a one-stop service to browse for information relating to a show and knowing when it will be available either on live TV or on a streaming service. Additionally, it brings in features from its NextGuide iOS app that includes adding shows to a watchlist and setting reminders.

In a way, NextGuide seeks to rival IMDB. Users can search the site by a particular actor or even by a show. So if I wanted to find out what movies Daniel Craig has starred in, NextGuide will display things like Casino Royale, Skyfall, Cowboys & Aliens, and The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo. After clicking on a specific item, the service will display the overview about it.

For example, if I clicked on Casino Royale, it will show me upcoming airings if I link it up with my local cable provider. If I’m interested in streaming it, NextGuide tells me it’s available through Amazon and iTunes. It also has reviews through the site Rotten Tomatoes.

NextGuide is launching today in closed beta and requires an invitation to access the service. Once signed up, users are given a few invitations to share with their friends. The company says that it will be sending out invitations “on a first-come, first-serve basis” and that all existing users of its other services, Dijit Remote and the NextGuide iPad app can use their existing credentials to log into the website immediately. Users of Miso, a company Dijit acquired in February, will be able to access NextGuide Web within the month.

The service is available internationally, but only supports those TV and movie catalogs for North American users right now.

➤ NextGuide Web

Photo credit: Adam Berry/Getty Images

Just days after Google’s I/O developer conference ended, the company is rolling out an update to the Google+ app for Android which adds new photo and location features, as well as related hashtags to the stream.

The new photos section now includes automatic back-ups, which will save users’ photos safely and privately as they’re taken. This has been available on iOS for sometime, although users had to keep the app open in order to send the images to the cloud.

Google is also bringing over many of its new photo-editing features for Google+, including Auto Enhance, which makes subtle improvements automatically. There’s also Auto Highlight, which creates a selection of shots for the user to look over and share as a separate album. It’s an intriguing solution; most users will be sceptical about trusting Google’s algorithm, but it drastically speeds up the process of creating a respectable album from hundreds of holiday snaps.

Auto Awesome is the final addition, adding the ability to create new, light-hearted versions of existing images – such as animations or panoramas – based on photos in users’ existing libraries.

Location sharing has also been overhauled in the Google+ app to take users’ circles into consideration. Until now, users have only been able to see the current whereabouts of other people provided they’ve chosen to share it with them through a Google+ circle.

This has been updated with a new ‘Locations’ section, available from the side-menu, which display all of the users’ current locations on a map. It might be a small feature, but the idea of monitoring where other people are in order to make plans and arrange meet ups sounds awfully similar to Foursquare’s playbook.

In the stream, the Google+ app has also been tweaked to include the new automated hashtags found on the desktop version. They appear at the top-right hand corner of individual posts and tapping on then will produce new streams of related content. Neat.

Bradley Horowitz, Vice President of Product, Google+, said today: “Photos, location and the stream are only some of the things we’ve improved in today’s update. Notifications are nicer to look at and easier to use. You can edit additional profile fields on the go. And there’s one-tap access to the all new Hangouts app — just to name a few.”

The new Google+ app for Android is rolling out today in the Google Play store.

➤ Google+ | Android

Image Credit: KIMIHIRO HOSHINO for AFP / Getty Images

Jolla, a Finnish startup that is reviving Nokia’s abandoned MeeGo platform through its new Linux-based mobile operating system Sailfish OS, unveiled its first smartphone today.

The device, just called Jolla, is a peculiar beast that combines a dark, industrial top half aesthetic with a bright and colorful removable hardware shell. The company calls it the ‘Other Half’, which uses an unconfirmed bridging technology to grab new themes and content for the user.

Martin Schuele, chief designer at Jolla, is cautious to explain how this ‘magic’ works. But it’s clearly meant to be one of the most prominent selling points behind the new smartphone.

Rather like the Nokia feature phones of old, consumers are encouraged to find new interchangeable shells and snap it onto the back of their phone. Antti Saarnio, co-founder and chairman of Jolla, explains how a football team might use it to give fans a new background image, fonts, photos of the players and a ringtone of the local chant.

Jolla should be commended for trying something new with its first smartphone. As Schuele explains, “We were aiming for something that is really pure. It’s really simple, but it’s also not plain or cold. We weren’t aiming at another rounded box.”

The concept feels a bit tacky, however, and reminiscent of Skylanders; a wildly popular video game franchise whereby children unlock new levels and characters by buying additional toys.

Jolla versus everyone

The problem is that Jolla needs to offer an awful lot more than just interchangeable shells to compete in the modern smartphone space.

Google announced at its I/O developer conference last week that there have now been over 900 million Android activations in total. With more than 48 billion app downloads, the company is looking to emerging markets as its next big area for growth.

Nokia continues to push Windows Phone and its recently revamped Asha platform, as BlackBerry looks to rediscover its lost prominence with both enterprise users and young people through its newly unveiled Q5 smartphone.

Firefox OS is set to launch later this year. Canonical is continuing it efforts to bring Ubuntu to mobile phones and tablets. Tizen is waiting in the wings. The list goes on.

Everyone versus Google

Jolla needs more than parlor tricks to capture a significant userbase. Talking to Saarnio, however, it’s clear that the Finnish startup isn’t worried about the impending avalanche of niche mobile operating systems. It’s all about Google.

“This is not about us against new, emerging platforms,” Saarnio said. “This is about new platforms against Android. I think that’s the game.”

He added: “I can’t comment about Windows Phone, but I believe the existence of BlackBerry, Ubuntu and even Firefox OS is helping us. The market needs different alternatives. If you look at the car industry, there are many brands in the car industry and many different types of models.

“With the smartphone industry, there is no reason why it can’t be the same.”

Tackling the app problem

Consumer choice should always be encouraged, but the problem often lies in software and apps. Developers are being cajoled into producing their apps for a number of different platforms and inevitably, their attentions rests on those with the biggest market share.

It means Android and iOS often get first pick, with BlackBerry and Windows Phone reduced to an afterthought. Firefox OS is trying to sidestep this problem with HTML5 apps, but Jolla needs a critical mass of native apps. Without them, it will be increasingly difficult to persuade new users to make the switch.

Jolla says that since unveiling Sailfish OS at the Slush conference in Helsinki last year, it’s been working on apps and integration with third-party services, including Facebook. The platform will also be able to run Android apps which, like BlackBerry, should give its new smartphone a head-start when it launches later this year.

The company is refusing to name any popular apps from high-profile developers, however. It’s a warning sign that shouldn’t be overlooked.

“At the moment we can’t mention them publicly, but let’s just say that we are working with QT,” Saarnio said. “BlackBerry and Ubuntu are based on QT, and I believe there will be this core cross-platform collaboration, whether his company fuels it or not. It’s very easy for developers to offer those applications to all of these different companies and platforms based on QT.”

Developers’ ability to easily share apps, or at least port them to different platforms, should give Jolla a better chance of building its mission-critical app ecosystem. But relying on interest in Ubuntu and BlackBerry is concerning. Neither company has an industry-leading app marketplace, as most users will attest.

Attracting exclusive apps, as always, will be the key to its success.

Who’s going to buy the Jolla smartphone?

Jolla also needs to know exactly who it’s targeting with its first Sailfish OS-powered smartphone. Focusing on the right markets and consumers could be critical, but the company’s answer is a little more ambiguous.

“It’s not about geography,” Saarnio said. “There are technology leaders who want to have something fresh and new. The other interesting group will be the people who want to actually combine and join this ‘Other Half’ thinking and actually use their smartphone in different ways, and use it for the situation depending on where they are. The evening, in the daytime, and so on.”

“I think this will be, and should be, a big thing for Jolla.”

The company is holding a dedicated event in Helsinki today called Jolla LoveDay, where consumers will undoubtedly find out more about the device and Sailfish OS. It will be interesting to see how Jolla develops the idea throughout the year; it has a long way to go before it can go toe-to-toe with other mobile platforms.

Image Credit: KIMMO MANTYLA/AFP/Getty Images

New York (ots/PRNewswire) - Petroleos Mexicanos (Pemex) und seine Tochtergesellschaft Pemex-Refinacion (PREF) haben in New York ein Gerichtsverfahren gegen das in Deutschland ansssige multinationale Unternehmen Siemens und die sdkoreanische SK Engineering & Construction Co. Ltd. (SKEC) angestrengt, um 160 Mio. US-Dollar im Zusammenhang mit einem globalen Korruptionsfall zurckzuerhalten.

Der genderten Klageschrift zufolge, die am 8. Mai 2013 beim US-Bezirksgericht eingereicht wurde (Aktenzeichen 12 Civ. 9070 [LLS] ECF), unterbreiteten Siemens und SKEC im Jahr 1996 ein unrealistisch niedriges Angebot, um einen ffentlichen Auftrag zur Modernisierung der Pemex-Raffinerie in Cadereyta, Mexiko, zu gewinnen.

"Pemex nimmt Korruptionsvorwrfe ernst und hat keine Toleranz gegenber Geschftsmethoden, die Bestechung oder Betrug beinhalten", sagte Carlos Gonzalez, Partner von Diaz Reus.

Am 15. Dezember 2008 bekannte sich Siemens schuldig, gegen das US-amerikanische Korruptionsbekmpfungsgesetz (Foreign Corrupt Practices Act) verstoen zu haben, und verpflichtete sich zur Zahlung der Przedenzsumme von 1,6 Mrd. US-Dollar an US-amerikanische und europische Behrden zur Beilegung von Vorwrfen, denen zufolge es routinemig Schmiergelder und schwarze Kassen einsetzte, um sich massive ffentliche Arbeitsauftrge in aller Welt zu sichern, einschlielich Raffineriemodernisierungsprojekte in Mexiko.

Der in Seoul, Korea, ansssige Konzern SKEC ist ein multinationales Konglomerat mit Betriebsttigkeiten in der Energiewirtschaft, dem Wohnungsbau, der Architekturbranche, dem Infrastruktursektor und der Telekommunikationsindustrie. Mehrere Amtsinhaber von SKEC wurden im Jahr 2003 in Korea wegen Unregelmigkeiten im weltweiten Unternehmensmanagement, einschlielich Korruptionsvorwrfen, zu Gefngnisstrafen verurteilt.

In seiner Aussage vom 6. Mai 2013 vor der mexikanischen Oberstaatsanwaltschaft besttigte Peter Paul Mller, der ehemalige Chefjurist von Siemens Mexico, dass Siemens Schmiergeldzahlungen an PEMEX-Amtsinhaber geleistet hatte, die mit den Kostenberschreitungen des Cadereyta-Projekts in Verbindung standen. Er fgte hinzu, dass es weitere Zeugen gebe, denen die mit dem Gerichtsverfahren zusammenhngenden Tatsachen bekannt sind.

"Pemex beabsichtigt, weitere Zeugenaussagen und Informationen zu diesem wichtigen globalen Korruptionsfall zusammenzutragen", so Gonzalez weiter.

Informationen zu Pemexde.newsaktuell.mb.nitf.xml.Br@3ec0a89cPetroleos Mexicanos (Pemex) ist eine dezentralisierte ffentliche Krperschaft der Bundesregierung der Vereinigten Staaten von Mexiko. Pemex ist das grte Unternehmen Lateinamerikas und der wichtigste Motor der mexikanischen Wirtschaft. Es ist eines der wenigen Erdlunternehmen der Welt, die an allen Aspekten der Exploration, des Vertriebs und der Kommerzialisierung ihrer Produkte aktiv beteiligt sind. PREF ist eine Tochtergesellschaft, die ein breites Spektrum von Erdlprodukten verarbeitet, transportiert und vermarktet, darunter Benzin, Flugkraftstoff, Diesel, l, Asphaltprodukte, LPG, Schmierstoffe und andere raffinierte lerzeugnisse.

Informationen zu Diaz Reusde.newsaktuell.mb.nitf.xml.Br@5a7db9f3Diaz Reus vertritt Geschftsttige in aller Welt, mit besonderem Fokus auf den Schwellenlndern. Mit ihren erfahrenen Juristen in den USA, Lateinamerika, Asien, Europa und dem Nahen Osten ist die Kanzlei in der einzigartigen Position, eine breite Vielfalt komplexer kommerzieller, geschftlicher und finanzieller Transaktionen ber internationale Grenzen hinweg abzuwickeln. Die Juristen von Diaz Reus verfgen ber Erfahrungen in Behrdenbeziehungen, Handelsgeschften, Compliance-Fragen, Zoll-, Steuer- und Einwanderungsangelegenheiten sowie internen und staatlichen Ermittlungen, komplexen Rechtsstreitigkeiten und Schlichtungsverfahren. Diaz Reus unterhlt Broniederlassungen in Miami (Florida), New York City (New York), Caracas (Venezuela), Shanghai (China), Dubai (VAE), Irak Frankfurt (Deutschland), Bogota (Kolumbien), Panama City (Republik Panama), Mexico City (Mexiko), Buenos Aires (Argentinien), Santiago (Chile) und ein Partnerbro in Sao Paulo (Brasilien). Weitere Informationen erhalten Sie unter www.diazreus.com [http://www.diazreus.com/] oder http://www.jdsupra.com/profile/diazreus [http://www.jdsupra.com/profile/diazreus].

KONTAKT: Lucien Proby, +1-305-251-3671, bp@probypr.com[mailto:bp@probypr.com]

Web site: http://www.diazreus.com/

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