Punch WebGroups 4.0 includes an embedded MP3 player, inline "thumbnail" views of folders, a slide-show player, public access capabilities, and several user interface enhancements to allow for greater personalization of customer experiences. It also features an embedded preview release of the service's Punch WebDrive SyncEngine, which quickly and quietly synchronizes customers' private Punch WebDrive across all of their Windows computers to provide file access even when the user's computer is offline.

Punch WebGroups, originally launched in 1999, is a Web-based application that lets users simply and securely store, distribute, and collaborate on files via their browser. Going beyond simple Web file storage, Punch WebGroups offers document management features typically only found in high-end groupware document management systems. Standard WebGroups features include version tracking, four levels of user authorities, member activity audit trails, check-in/out, change notification, and automated updating of user files on their hard drives with only new or updated files. Key new features include:

The Global Jukebox
Based on customer demand as well as a noticeable increase in the number of MP3 files being stored and accessed through Punch WebGroups, Punch Networks has worked with the maker of Freedom Audio, one of the most widely distributed Java based MP3 players, to jointly develop the Internet's first globally available yet secure and private jukebox-like feature for Punch WebGroups 4.0. Customers can now upload all of their MP3 files to Punch Networks' secure Punch WebGroups servers and play them from any web browser using Freedom Audio's Java-based Freedom Audio Player. MP3s can be played individually, or an entire folder of MP3s can be played sequentially, simply by uploading one or more MP3 music files into a WebGroup or folder.

Simple Slide Show
Also new to this release is a Slide Show player that easily and automatically converts a folder full of pictures (GIFs, JPEGs, TIFFs, and Bitmaps) into a slide show presentationthat plays in its own window. The Slide Show player also automatically scales down high-resolution images so that they fit on screen., and it incorporates the Freedom Audio player so that any MP3s found in the folder being converted are added as background music for the Slide Show. The new Slide Show feature can be useful for last-minute or frequently changing corporate presentations or it can be simply used to view the pictures from the company party.

Public Access Points
In previous versions of Punch WebGroups, someone with "manage" authority in a WebGroup could invite anyone on the Internet to join that WebGroup to securely access its contents for collaborative projects. Now a WebGroup manager can opt to make the group publicly accessible while still controlling which specific files and folders can be accessed and when. This feature is particularly useful for granting read-only access to public policy development documents, Internet RFCs (Request for Comments), regulatory financial disclosure documents, and time-sensitive corporate announcements and presentations.

Punch WebDrive Synchronization Engine
Punch WebGroups 4.0 also includes a preview release of the Punch WebDrive Sync Engine. Powered by Punch Networks' own Secure Internet Synchronization toolkit, the Punch WebDrive SyncEngine quietly runs in the background of Windows, constantly monitoring and synchronizing a local folder named "Punch WebDrive" in a user's "My Documents" directory. Users can also opt to have their webdrive "mapped" to appear as a local drive within Windows Explorer. By synchronizing all of their files locally to their hard drive, customers always have access to those files even when their computer is offline.

About Punch Networks
Founded in 1995 in Seattle, Washington, Punch Networks is a global leader in secure Web-based file storage, collaboration and synchronization. Most of Punch Networks technology can be experienced directly over the web through its flagship retail service, Punch WebGroups. Punch Networks licenses Punch WebGroups as a retail or wholesale service provider and licenses the WebGroups' core Paris Server to companies and organizations for installation on their own networks. Punch Networks also has a full suite of client and server Software Development Kits and Application Programming Interfaces to allow third party developers to directly integrate many of the secure file storage and distributed synchronization features of the Paris Server into their own applications. For more information, visit http://www.punchnetworks.com, email info@punchnetworks.com, or call (206) 343-7661.