Vassar Technology Today | Vspace offers free, easy access for fast file sharing

Matthew Leugn Assistant Managing Editor

Streaming video and audio on-line often costs a lot of money, as it requires a specialized streaming server. However, with an alternative video-streaming method called progressive download, it is possible to use Vspace to stream videos in Windows Media or QuickTime format.
Both Windows XP (with Windows Movie Maker) and Microsoft OS include software for encoding videos in these formats. Once encoded, you can simply upload them to Vspace, send the link to the recipient, and Vspace becomes a pseudo audio- and video-streaming server. With progressive download, your recipient can watch your video as it is being downloaded without having to wait to download the entire video first. The disadvantage of progressive download is that the video might not be continuous—it could be interrupted while waiting for the download to catch up. Streaming video, on the other hand, is more flexible and has built-in mechanisms to avoid interruptions due to bandwidth limitations.

Considering that one can use Vspace for free and with no bandwidth limit, and 650 MB are available for video files, it looks like Vassar technology wins this time over commercial technology. To stream a 650 MB video file at PlayStream (playstream.com), for example, would cost $119 per month, plus a limit of a maximum 30 viewings.

Vspace also uses the SSL (Secured Socket Layer) protocol for downloads. This means that the video is encrypted while traveling via Internet to its destination. With this feature, others cannot eavesdrop on the video or watch it without permission.

Additionally, Vspace allows you to let other non-Vspace users to send videos or large files securely. For example, you can create a folder on Vspace and provide a key for your friend so that they can upload a music file to it.

After you create a folder, click on “Manage,” then “Create ticket.” Once you create the ticket, you can click on the share icon next to the file, and allow the user of that ticket to write to the file. The recipient can now upload files to your folder as large as 650 MB.

With this process, you can enjoy high upload and download speeds. Since Vspace is on Vassar’s intranet, your physical connection to Vspace is relatively short (from wherever you are on campus to CIS’s office). Hence, the upload and download speeds are extremely fast compared to those accessing Vspace from off-campus. While it might take a few hours for your friend off-campus to upload a video to your folder, it should take you only a few minutes to download it from Vspace.