Public File Download Changes

Last week you may have noticed that we made some changes to the way public files are downloaded. After watching for a while to see how it has impacted both our users and the people who come to download your files we have decided to go ahead and make some permanent changes to Public Files.

Background
The way our Public Files have worked in the past is what we will call Direct Linking; when a user clicks on a link the file begins to download right away in their browser. The change we are making is that many files which used to be direct linked will now point to a page on our servers. That page will initiate a download in the background, and show the user a link to manually start a download if for some reason their browser blocks the automatic one.

Who is impacted by this change?
First of all, Pro accounts (any account where you have paid for upgraded service) will see no changes to the way their public files work, just as before all Public links will be direct links. We are also going to continue serving all JPG, GIF and PNG files directly, so that you can continue to use myDataBus to host images on other websites as many of you do now. (ebay, CraigsList, blogs, etc)

What do I need to do now?
For most of you nothing; Pro users can ignore this and enjoy yet another perk of paid membership. The group that will be directly affected by this change are Basic Account users who host audio and video files that are embedded in other websites. You can still link to your files and users will be able to access them; but embedding those files (mp3, Flash Video, Quicktime, etc) into your pages will no longer work unless you choose to upgrade to a Pro account. Remember, you can get a Pro account for as little as $9.95 per year, and you will also get larger file uploads, no advertising, and 10GB of storage space! Log into your account and click on the 'Upgrade' link at the top of the screen today!

Why are you doing this?
Fair question; we do think that for some people downloading public files this does provide a more fluid download experience- but let's be honest, the main reason has to do with capturing eyeballs. By sending users first to a page on our site we are able to promote our service to more potential new users, generate increased advertising revenue, and take advantage of other opportunities to monetize traffic. Providing a service like myDataBus takes a lot of resources, and the more revenue we are able to generate the better service we can offer to you, our users!

Thanks again for using myDataBus, and keep the feedback coming, we love hearing from you!