Howdy everyone, first of all I want to thank you for your continued patience while we go through the app and give it the attention and polish it deserves.
We are currently working on several fronts to make Here, File File the de facto computer-to-the-cloud service. Right now our primary focus is building out a new server paradigm that is way more dependable, meaning more reliable connections to your computers and fewer cryptic “could not connect” messages. Ladies and gentlemen, we introduce to you, HFF Central!
How the new server will work
You will continue to run a server on your Mac as usual, but this time, there’s a service in the cloud (HFF Central) that talks to your Mac and asks it what the situation is. When something changes regarding your Mac’s network connection, HFF Central will be notified, and your mobile device will automatically be updated.
This is a huge step forward in connection reliability. In essence you will be able to shut your laptop, take it to an entirely different network, and HFF will automatically be able to connect to it with zero effort on your part. You will no longer have to worry about IP addresses, ports, or any type of configuration ever again. In fact, we’re removing the “manual configuration” option altogether. You won’t miss it, we promise.
Security
We take security very seriously, so we’ve got you covered. Nothing changes about the way your files are transferred and viewed. It is still a direct encrypted connection between your computer and your mobile device, and HFF Central doesn’t know (or care) about file transfers. HFF Central is simply listening to your computer, waiting for configuration changes– when something changes, HFF Central updates your mobile devices.
Other changes
In addition to this server re-work, we’ll be porting the server to a preference pane (the menu bar will be optional), there will be indication of availability in the menu bar, and you will be able to nullify connections to devices from within your computer (in case you lose a mobile device).
We’ve been working hard planning and implementing this server change, and it will be a big one. It will require an update to your HFF Helper as well as a fairly large mobile update. Because this is such a large mobile update, we’ll be piggy backing some pretty big things along with it. Stay tuned for the next update!
