A step up from the cloud
"Lima is a product that radically changes how our devices work, by attaching the content of a user to himself, rather than to his devices," Paris-based Sévérin Marcombes, who founded Lima along with Gawen Arab, said.
The product has been compared to Dropbox and other cloud-based storage offerings, but the team is quick to point out the differences. Dropbox can be compared to a virtual USB key, which is accessible via the internet, into which you manually copy your files; it's also a service that has to be rented on a monthly basis, meaning that users do not own the storage either.
Marcombes says that Lima is a step beyond the cloud, as it stores files locally like a private datacentre. "It's not one shared folder between your devices; it's their entire storage," he explains. "This is a complete change of paradigm that puts the user at the very centre. The magic of Lima relies on the fact that its software changes the way your devices store your files to make them all use the same reference storage without changing your habits."
Because Lima is connected to a router, the user can access files on Lima from wherever they are in the world, the same as from the cloud. Users can access all their content from any device and find files organised in the same way on each. The service renders the size of a device's memory unimportant as all content can be accessed from any connected device, whether smartphone or desktop PC.
The system also allows users to send large files instantly and to collaborate with colleagues on the same files without worrying about size limits. Plus it ensures users that their data is always being backed up - Lima keeps older versions of each file, which are, according to the team, "two clicks away".
Of course, if a user isn't connected to the internet then it's only possible to access files that are stored locally on a device. But files can be selected for offline use in the same way that Spotify Premium users can select music to play offline when an internet connection is not available. The Lima application, however, makes it easier by making the most-used files available for offline viewing automatically.
