This past week featured several important updates. A service with the potential to disrupt the cloud locker space emerged on Kickstarter; Microsoft finally launched Windows Azure Infrastructure Services, and Xamarian unveiled its latest offering on the heels of a milestone acquisition.  In addition, Jamcracker updated its cloud brokerage service.

The Kickstarter project that got the blogosphere buzzing is Space Monkey, a device that offers one terabyte of storage for a $10 monthly fee.  The box actually ships with two terabytes: half of it is usable memory and the other half is capacity reserved for your fellow subscribers’ data. The system is unique in that all files and media are replicated to a distributed network of Space Monkeys that function as one big (and ultra-reliable) virtual data center.

Microsoft also made a splash last week with the launch of Windows Azure Infrastructure Services, an IaaS offering that takes AWS head on. The suite includes a hosted sandbox for developing and testing apps, a solution that enables Active Directory users to build hybrid clouds environments, and a number of other standard services.

Azure Infrastructure Service hit general availability on the same day Xamarin acquired LessPainful, a Danish UI automation specialist. The company launched a cloud-based UI testing tool right after the deal was announced.

Two days after Xamarin Test Cloud made its debut, Jamcracker unveiled the latest version of its Services Delivery Network. Version 6.0 of the cloud service management platform features a new set of regional language, currency, time zone, and date options, as well as 18 additional REST APIs. The latter edition is designed to meant to improve the integration of existing application and increase scalability and flexibility in new deployments.

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