Here are the winners:

Winners of TonidoPlug ($99)
1. Pubudu Kodikara
2. panthar

Winners of WebSharePro ($14.99)
1. Jay
2. Jeremy Harrisonrison
3. sikku
4. ralphwilliams
5. Robert Schmandt
6. AndrewStifora
7. davidriggs
8. CY
9. Michael Schemer II

All the winners will be notified by email shortly. Congratulations!

Just to refresh your memory, Tonido is a free software that turns your desktop into a personal server. It allows you to access and share your files, media, calendar and apps from everywhere. Be it Windows, Mac or Linux, you simply install the software and have your own personal cloud server up and running in no time.

Features found in the Tonido software include Jukebox, Photos gallery, Blog, Torrents download, WebShare (simple file sharing with anyone), Workspace and ScreenShare (share your computer screen with anyone via web browser). The latest addition to the family include Money Manger, 1-click sharing and backup. Let’s take a look.

1. Browser based Money Manager

The popular Money Manager EX (MMEX) is now integrated into Tonido. This useful money management app has been the favorite software for plenty of users, as it tracks your finance and provides a comprehensive report for all your income/expenses. Existing users can also import your database into Tonido without any hassle.

2. Tonido 1-Click Sharing

Albeit this feature is only available for the Windows version, it is still an useful feature. With a simple click (actually it takes several clicks, but it is definitely not complicated), you can now share your file with others. Click on the Tonido icon at the system tray and click on the files that you want to share. A window will pop up and show the URL to share. You can then copy and share this URL with your friends. As simple as that.

Update: Venkat just verified that it requires only a right click to get the file sharing URL, so the 1-click sharing claim is still valid.

3. Tonido Backup

We have discussed plenty of useful software to backup your computer. One caveat to those software is that they only work for a particular platform. If you have a great backup software for Windows, you won’t be able to get it working in Linux or Mac.

Tonido has just make things simpler for you. With Tonido Backup, you can now backup your data from any computer to any other remote computer running Tonido, regardless of its platform and its location. It works both in your LAN and across internet. There’s no reason for you not to backup your computer now!

Free giveaway

Venkat from the Tonido team has gladly sponsored 2 TonidoPlugs (99$ plug computer, read here for its full review) and 20 WebSharePro ($14 value) licenses for MakeTechEasier readers.

Here’s how you can win the prize:

First, be our Facebook fans (skip this if you are already our fans).

Second, share this post in Facebook.

Third, leave a comment in this article with a link to your Facebook profile.

We will randomly pick 2 + 20 winners from the list. Make sure you leave your correct email address so we can contact you and send you the prizes.

This giveaway will end on 12th Mar 2010, 12pm, Central Time.
The giveaway is now closed. Check out the winners announcement here.

MakeTechEasier would like to thank Venkat from CodeLathe for his generosity while participating in this giveaway. Interesting in sponsoring? We’d love to hear from you. Get in touch with us.

Tonido is a free software that turns your desktop into a personal server and allows you to access and share your files, media, calendar and apps from everywhere. Be it Windows, Mac or Linux, you simply install the software and have your own personal cloud server up and running in no time. Forget all the complicated stuffs you have heard about creating your own server. There are no technical skills required to set up and run Tonido. The best thing is – all the data resides in your own computer and there is no need to worry about security or even data loss (unless your own computer crashes).

Introducing TonidoPlug

On the other hand, if all your important data resides on your external backup drive and you wish to have your own cloud server running at all times without having to turn on your computer everytime, then TonidoPlug is the one for you.

TonidoPlug is the hardware version of Tonido. It is a tiny, low power, low cost home server and NAS device powered by Tonido software. It comes with its own RAM and CPU (and preinstalled with Ubuntu). All you need to do is to plug it into the power socket and there you are, a server ready at your beckoning. It integrates nicely with all the features found in the Tonido software and allows you to access your files, music, pictures from anywhere.

Setting up TonidoPlug

Once you have connected up the respective cables (there are only 3 cables that you need to connect: the power cable, LAN cable and the USB cable), power it up. On any computer that are linked to the home network, go to the URL: http://tonidoplug.com/ip. This will detect your Tonido Plug. In some cases where it doesn’t detect, you can enter the MAC address (at the back of the plug) to get it identified by the network.

Once the plug is detected, you will have to create a new profile for the Tonido. Those who already have an existing profile can use this method to import them into the Plug.

In the dashboard, you will find the exact same interface as the Tonido. The software available in TonidoPlug is as follow:

Many of these apps should be familiar to already Tonido users, (Jukebox, Photos, Search, Thots, Workspace). The newer apps are WebsharePro, Torrent, Explorer and Plug Admin.

Here’s a quick summary of these applications.

1. WebsharePro: All the power of Tonido Webshare, plus the ability to upload, setting upload quotas for users, zip downloads, viewing currently downloading lists, change thumbnail and photo slide show image size
2. Torrent: Download Torrent files to your plug and control torrents via your web browser from anywhere
3. Explorer: Web based File manager and browser that allows common file operations like rename, delete, copy files and folders and even uploads
4. Plug Admin: Manage your TonidoPlug hardware, recover Tonido Profile passwords, Manage attached USB drives, Share USB drives over the network for access, Monitor CPU loads etc

If you are not in your own home networks, you can also connect to your TonidoPlug via the public URL: http://yourprofilename.tonido.com:10001.

In addition, TonidoPlug is also a DLNA device, which means you are able to connect to your PS3, Xbox, or even XBMC software and stream music over the cloud.

The Tonido software is free to download and use, but the TonidoPlug comes at a price of $99.

Considering that most Web servers with the same hardware spec as the TonidoPlug can easily cost you up to $40-50 per month, at a mere price of $99, TonidoPlug is really a great bargain; not to mention the unlimited amount of storage device you can attach to it and the security issue that you never have to worry about. This is really a no-brainer deal.

Note 1: Thanks to Venkat for sending in a test unit for review and providing a prompt support for all my doubts.
Note 2: MakeTechEasier is not affiliated in any way to CodeLathe, the company behind TonidoPlug, nor do we benefit from any sale of TonidoPlug generated from this article.