Do you remember the failure of MediaMax/TheLinkUp? These two startups had an idea of offering online storage with social networking. Wuala is a new service that pairs a similar plan with some unique technologies and capabilities.

One reason Wuala is a head of the rest is that it’s based on Java. This gives it some of the advantages of desktop applications and of Web apps. It can perform tasks such as encryption using the local machine’s hardware, rather than remotely on a server. Like a Web application, it can be launched from a browser, and requires no installation, meaning it will work on public Internet stations.

Wuala’s creators made security a priority: Users’ passwords are not even stored on the service. But there’s a corresponding drawback, however; if the user forgets his password, even Wuala employees cannot retrieve the data.

“After more than three years of development and ten months of testing in closed alpha, we are very proud to release Wuala to the public”, said Dominik Grolimund, Wuala’s chief executive. “Our alpha users, who are storing and sharing millions of files, have given us tremendous feedback….We believe that Wuala is the right tool for millions of people to securely manage and share their files online.”

Wuala offers it all, from storage to social networking! Visit Wuala to find out more.