- Mailbigfile
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MailBigFile is a web application that allows users to send large file attachments. It was developed by Dessol (formerly Design Solution), a web development company based in the UK.
Contents
History
Dessol was founded as ‘Design Solution’ in Lowestoft, Suffolk, United Kingdom in 1997. It offers web-development services to a range of clients as well as developing its own web-based applications[1].
Background
Many internet service providers and web-based email services impose limits on the size of email attachments – Gmail’s limit, for example, is 25MB[2]. MailBigFile offers a way around these constraints, allowing its users to send files up to 2GB in size[3]. It also represents an alternative to sending large files on physical media such as CD-Rs or DVDs.
Operation
MailBigFile functions by acting as an intermediary between the sender and the recipient. The user uploads their file to the MailBigFile servers via its website and nominates the recipient by entering their email address. The service then sends an email to the recipient of the file including a link that they can use to download the file. MailBigFile is used by subscribers in 118 countries[4]. The site’s Traffic Rank at Alexa is 39.970 (January 2011)[5].
Storage uptime performance
MailBigFile has been found to offer superior online storage uptime to many similar services. In a survey carried out by Swedish performance monitoring firm Pingdom in June–August 2007, MailBigFile delivered the best performance out of 16 online file storage services, including MegaUpload, Yousendit and MyTempDir. MailBigFile recorded five minutes of downtime during the survey period, compared to 264 minutes for Yousendit and 3981 minutes for MyTempDir.
Pingdom calculated MailBigFile’s average monthly uptime for the survey period as 99.996%[6].
Pricing structure
MailBigFile is offered on a freemium basis. It is available in three configurations: Free, Pro and Business[7].
- Free allows users to send attachments up to 300MB in size, with files available for download for five days.
- Pro allows attachments of up to 2GB, up to five recipients per file and 28 days to download, plus additional features such as secure encryption, address book and email support.
- Business offers the same features as Pro, plus customization options, password protection, and telephone support.
Media coverage
In March 2006, MailBigFile was selected as ‘Website of the Day’ by Miles Mendoza on Steve Wright’s Radio 2 show[8].
Reviewing applications for sharing large files, technology website TechCrunch wrote that MailBigFile ‘has the best price for a pro account – $15/year with an impressive list of features’[9].
References
- ^ http://www.dessol.com/about-us/
- ^ http://mail.google.com/support/bin/answer.py?hl=en&answer=8770
- ^ http://www.mailbigfile.com/about/
- ^ http://www.mailbigfile.com/global/reach/
- ^ http://www.alexa.com/siteinfo/mailbigfile.com
- ^ http://royal.pingdom.com/2007/09/07/how-often-is-online-storage-offline/
- ^ http://www.mailbigfile.com/pricing/
- ^ http://www.websiteoftheday.info/2006/03/mailbigfilecom.html
- ^ http://techcrunch.com/2009/08/08/16-apps-that-make-sharing-large-files-a-snap/
External links
Categories:- Email attachment replacements
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