Update on move to "The Linkup"

Hello MediaMax users,

We understand some users are having trouble using the "mover" tool to mark additional files to be moved from MediaMax to The Linkup. We have updated the code this morning and it should be working better now. Regardless, we will make certain that everyone has sufficient time to choose files to migrate from MediaMax to The Linkup.

In that regard, we are extending the MM cut off 5 days to April 30. The mover tool will also be available during that time (and after if necessary).

Sorry about the problems, thanks for your patience (again!), and please understand that this migration effort will help us move everyone from "MediaMax V5" (which has had numerous problems including this difficulty to migrate from) to our new platform - The Linkup.

More "The Linkup" Information

Hello MediaMax community,

As we announced last week, we will be launching a major upgrade to MediaMax this month. With this release, we're going to be renaming our service to "The Linkup" (www.thelinkup.com). The Linkup supports all of the current functionality of MediaMax, but also some exciting new features.

To reiterate the highlights (basic info you need to know):

“The Linkup”: MediaMax will be renamed to "The Linkup" on April 25. The new URL will be www.thelinkup.com and we're expecting that you'll love the new service and features. You can check out a preview now at:

http://www.thelinkup.com

Current subscribers: If you are currently a paying subscriber to MediaMax, you don't need to do anything. Your account will automatically be moved from MediaMax to The Linkup before the end of the month. All files that you uploaded to MediaMax after July 1, 2007 will be automatically moved to The Linkup. If you'd like to move additional files, please select them here using the “mover” tool:

http://www.thelinkup.com/mover

We’ll process requests made using this tool once per day through the end of this month. You can use this tool more than once if you forgot some files the first time.

Current non-paying users: If you are not currently a paying subscriber to MediaMax, you need to upgrade your account before April 25 to be included in the move. Otherwise, your account will be deleted and all your files will be lost. Click here to upgrade your MediaMax account:

Upgrade now:
http://www.mediamax.com/Brands/MediaMax/home/pricing_plan.aspx

The Linkup Prices: Effective April 25, we will be increasing the prices of all of our premium subscriptions, but, in addition to the increased stability and new features that The Linkup provides, we are also removing bandwidth limits on all accounts, so there will be no more bandwidth “overage” charges (for personal, non-commercial use only).

For example:
$4.95/mo subscribers will now be paying $5.95/mo.
$9.95/mo subscribers will now be paying $11.95/mo.

Your MediaMax subscription will be automatically moved to a The Linkup subscription that is closest to what you currently pay. Additional subscription details will be available on The Linkup web site.

That's it! If you're currently a paying subscriber, there is nothing for you to do (except for selecting extra files that you'd like to have moved).

Since our announcement about The Linkup we’ve received a number of good questions about this upgrade. We’ve tried to address them all below, but if you have any additional questions, as always, please do not hesitate to email us.



More details:

Social networking. In addition to MediaMax's traditional online file storage and sharing features, The Linkup incorporates social networking functionality into the mix. No more cutting and pasting lists of usernames to share files, now you can organize and manage your groups of friends from within the service .We're not creating a "social network" like Facebook or Myspace, but instead we're just making it a lot easier for you to keep track of your friends and file sharing groups. That's why we're calling The Linkup "The Social Network for File Sharing".

Social Storage. Along with "social networking" features ("send this folder to all my friends"), we're also introducing an innovative storage technology that we call "Social Storage". Social Storage leverages the entire The Linkup community to allow each user access to massive amounts of storage for a very low price. It works by sharing storage quotas across all users who may have the same files. All your files remain private and secure, but, for example, if someone has the same file stored as you do (and you won’t know who that is, and neither will they) you get the split the storage usage with them. Another example: if 6 paying Linkup users are all storing the same 600 MB file, each user is only using 100 MB of their [already large] storage quota to store that 600 MB file (600 MB / 6 users = 100 MB each). The more you share, the more everyone benefits.

For the short term, we will not be enforcing the new “Social Storage” quotas until June 1, 2008. We expect that less than 1% of MediaMax users will have to reduce their storage utilization – The Linkup’s new Social Storage is going to enable you, and the entire The Linkup Community, to create massive file collections for an extremely low monthly price.

Faster Windows Uploader. We also have a new Windows application to replace MediaMax XL – The Linkup Uploader. The Linkup Uploader is super fast and reliable and makes it easy to upload huge files. If you’d like to get started early, here is a link to install the new The Linkup Uploader:

http://www.thelinkup.com/uploader/TLUWinUploader.application

This application does have an auto-update feature built-in, so it will automatically update itself as we release new versions (upon your approval).

New Infrastructure. The Linkup, and if you recall our corporation reorganization last year, has allowed us to optimize our Company and take advantage of some new technologies. We think it’s been a unique opportunity for a Company like ours, and we’ve done our best to make the most of it.

- We’ve been using server virtualization (VMware ESX) for the first time for the past 9 months (ok, we were a little late to this one), and we love it. It’s saved a lot of time and has greatly increased uptime.

- In addition to leveraging server virtualization, we have also built a Storage Service Provider Abstraction Service (SSPAS). This allows us to plug in new storage providers as technology improves. Our SSPAS currently supports our own storage hardware as well as Nirvanix and Amazon S3. As you will recall, “Nirvanix” and “MediaMax/The Linkup” are now totally independent companies and we’re just a customer of Nirvanix (just as we’re a customer of other providers). During this initial move from MediaMax to The Linkup, many of your old files are going to be moved from our old storage system to Nirvanix’s service. Regardless of the backend storage provider we implement, you will always be able to access your files from The Linkup web site or our programming interface.Further, The Linkup is also using a Limelight, a more traditional CDN, to speed up delivery of certain files and web pages.

- For you, this new infrastructure means we can keep our operating costs low and our performance high.

Developer platform. We will be making available a full 100% comprehensive API to programmatically access The Linkup functionality. That means that other software developers will be able to create rich application with all the functionality of The Linkup web site itself. In fact, The Linkup web site was built on this same API itself, and we will be releasing the entire The Linkup web site and The Linkup Upload Window’s application as open source projects. You can check out our code to see how to integrate certain functionality into your new or existing application, or you can [please!] add or suggest new features.

That’s it for now – more information will be available on The Linkup shortly. We will do everything possible to make this transition as easy as possible for you, and we think you’re going to love our new service.

Account migration. If you are currently a paid user, your account settings have already been migrated from MediaMax to The Linkup. You can log into The Linkup today with your current MediaMax credentials. If you just recently upgraded your account from free to paid, it may take up to a week for your account to be moved to The Linkup, but it will be moved before the end of the month.

Your account on The Linkup may not have any of your old MediaMax files in it yet. All files uploaded after July 1, 2007 will be automatically migrated to The Linkup, and you can choose additional files to migrate by using our “mover” tool (link above). If you’d like, you can check on the status of your file migration using the same “mover” tool (there is a brief “status” page upon login).

MediaMax Hosted links. Starting April 25, MediaMax “Hosted links” will be redirected to the hosted links at The Linkup (now under the “Profile” folder). So all your old MediaMax V5 hosted links will continue to work, but as possible, you should start using the new hosting URL that is generated by The Linkup.

Announcing "The Linkup"

Hello MediaMax community,

We have some exciting news to share - we will be launching a major upgrade to MediaMax this month including new social networking features for file sharing and storage and a new infrastructure that greatly improves system stability.

As a result of these new offerings, we'll be renaming our service to "The Linkup" - www.thelinkup.com - on April 25. (If you forget, don't worry, starting April 25, www.mediamax.com will be automatically redirected to www.thelinkup.com)

Current subscribers: If you are currently a paying subscriber to MediaMax, you don't need to do anything. Your account will automatically be moved from MediaMax to The Linkup before the end of the month. All files that you uploaded to MediaMax after July 1, 2007 will be automatically moved to The Linkup . If you'd like to move additional files, we will be providing a tool for you to select those files (URL coming soon).

Current non-paying users: If you are not currently a paying subscriber to MediaMax, you need to upgrade your MediaMax account before April 25 to be included in the move. Otherwise, your account will be closed and all your files will be removed. Click here to upgrade your MediaMax account :

http://www.mediamax.com/Brands/MediaMax/home/pricing_plan.aspx

The Linkup will have a free user option with limited functionality (similar to MediaMax), but we will not be able to move MediaMax free user files to The Linkup.

We are very excited about the change, and expect this to be a great new chapter for our community. Stay tuned, as we'll have more details in a couple days...

Issues accessing MediaMax website

Due to a network problem at our datacenter, you may not be able to reach the MediaMax website at this time.

Network engineers at the datacenter are in the process of repairing the problem and we remain optimistic that the problem should be corrected shortly.

We regret the inconvenience.

UPDATE: Repairs are complete and the site should be fully operational. Please note that upload processing may be behind as we catch up from the downtime. We will update here again when this has been fully resolved.

FURTHER UPDATE: Upload processing should be back to normal!

Upload Update

The upload issue has been resolved. Upload processing should be caught up in the next few hours. Thanks for your patience.

Uploading Delays

We're currently experiencing delays in uploading. This result is a multi-hour delay in processing. We are working on a resolution and will post here at that time.

Processing Delays

We are currently experiencing delays in upload processing. It may take ten minutes or more for uploaded files to appear in your account. We will post again here when the issue has been resolved.