Storage API is a low-level framework for managed file storage and serving. Module and all the core functions will remain agnostic of other modules in order to provide this low-level functionality. Submodules are welcome to allow Storage API to interact with other contributed modules, but there shall never be a dependencies[] statement in the storage.info file unless it is necessary for the low-level function of this module.
It has the following features:
Pluggable architecture - it can be extended to work with any storage service.
Redundancy - it can be configured to store your files in multiple services and instantaneously change which one is serving. This means your site will not be brought down by a service having problems.
Access control API - can be used for e-commerce.
Deduplication - when files that are identical are stored in the same container, only one instance will be created. This saves bandwidth and storage.
File and image field integration - enable the "core bridge" sub-module.
Audit module - compares a manifest of files with what is recorded in the database to ensure that the record is accurate.
There are some screencasts demonstrating various features of the module.
The Beautify module buffers the HTML output of Drupal and processes it through a formatter (e.g. custom set of built-in search/replace functions, Tidy HTML extension or htmLawed script.
Alter cache settings per block. Cache settings per block are now set in code, but if you don't like the default - usually none - you can now easily change this.
