Throw your hard drive away, Google's Gdrive arrives in 2009
 

Chicago (IL) - Google Drive, or Gdrive as it is better known, has to be the most anticipated Google product so far. When it arrives, Gdrive will likely cause a major paradigm shift in how we use computers and bring Google one step closer to dethroning Windows on your desktop.


The service has the potential to eclipse even Gmail, Google's second best-known product after their google.com search engine. That said, it's no wonder users have been ripe with anticipation for years - yes, that's how long the rumors have persisted. Gdrive is basically online storage where Google servers have enough capacity to hold the entire contents of your hard drive. It will likely also come with enough brains to do cool tricks now with bigger things down the road - like booting your computer from online drive to load the Google operating system.

Gdrive is basically a cloud-based storage that should have two faces: A desktop client that keeps local and online files and folders in two-directional sync via a web interface for accessing your desktop files anywhere and anytime, using any network-enabled computer. In addition, it will come tightly integrated with other Google services to enable editing of supported document types, like spreadsheets and presentations via Google Docs, email via Gmail, images via Picasa Web Albums, etc.

This opens powerful possibilities. For instance, you could start working on a spreadsheet at home and continue via Gdrive web interface accessed in an Internet cafe. When you arrive back home, changes to the spreadsheet have already trickled down from the cloud to your desktop. The idea, of course, is all but revolutionary, but Google's execution could set it apart.


SkyDrive, MobileMe, Back to my Mac

Microsoft's SkyDrive offers 25GB of online storage free of charge but is limited to 50MB per file. The software maker's more advanced beta service (dubbed Live Mesh) comes with a less spacious 5GB of online storage but with more intelligence: Its service keeps your files seamlessly synced across desktop, web and mobile worlds. The latter client also allows you to access files from your desktop using a Windows Mobile-powered cellphone.

Apple has promised similar desktop, mobile and web file syncing between Macs, PCs and iPhones via a MobileMe cloud service, but the feature was delayed due to ongoing MobileMe difficulties - even though Apple built it into its desktop. Called "Back to my Mac," this OS X Leopard feature pairs with MobileMe online storage to let you search, access and edit files stored on a remote Mac. Besides such offerings from industry heavy-weighs, there are similar free or low-priced online storage services from others that let you do more or less the same.


Storage for your entire life

Most of the aforementioned services are crippled in one way or another, however. None of them gives you enough storage in a free version, but paid upgrades are too expensive and you're better off buying a bigger hard drive for less money. It is these weaknesses that Gdrive aims to exploit as Google allegedly plans to offer an unlimited (or nearly unlimited) storage either free of charge or at a small fee.

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scary actually, alot of people giving Google even more details of every part of their lives

Big Brother won't have to watch. We'll be dumping intel on his doorstep.

This is scary. Not surprising, but scary nonetheless.xxx

It's only a matter of time before Google knows more about you than you do yourself. In 10 years from now every move we make will be through something Google. If you fart Google will know it.
I'm far from a conspiracy nutjob but stuff like this makes you think.
With a push of the button they will be able to see your whole life.

cool - maybe i should google also send a scan of my passport

You don't have to be a conspiracy theorist to connect the dots...these days, they don't even hide the fact that our privacy is a thing of the past, given up free or with little resistance over the last 40 years...but especially in the last 7 or so.xxx

damn, disturbing

Of course, that's how I always update my sitemap.

I cant believe how far they are pushing it :)

That sounds insanely insecure.

After the last few Google launches.
I think I will sit on the side lines for a bit first.

Wonder if you will be able to mount it in fbsd from your server via sshfs?

Google will control the whole world in a few years!

I wonder who is stupid enough to use it. Probably a lot of people.

Im Sending them my DNA this week,.

funny all the people that are talking about how insecure it will be.. a lot of you have no clue.

with every good idea comes an army of haters.

What part of this was a "good idea" to you?

only fool can use this

I'll store my files at home and on my own servers, thank you.

Something I learned today: when you click on a result from a Google search, some javascript code phones home to tell Google the URL you've just clicked.

And Beemk because according to him it's a good idea :1orglaugh

exactly why i would never consider using it for anything.

more places to store porn! YAYz

It'll be great until you realize what they won't store, and besides, everyone in the USA/Canada are capped on their upload bandwidth, why would they want to sit there and spend hours if not days uploading stuff to their gdrive.

Unless it's for small shit, this won't replace the hard drive.

I've actually been trying to stay as " disconnected " as possible these days.

Times are changing at a rapid pace these days and soon there will be no such thing as " personal business "

Depending on what you do it could be usable. Assuming they're using a bandwidth efficient delta algorithm the overhead of transmitting small changes becomes less significant. (Of course you need to get the entire file there to start with...)

I think instead of relying on (and trusting) a single company to store your data we'd all be better off with a distributed file system... something like torrents, but with random access available. The #1 problem I can see with a publically distributed file system is that you would need to store a given chunk of each file at multiple peers (to ensure that one or two people randomly dropping out don't suddenly render your file incomplete), which means that on average you would actually require more disk space to store the data of peers than your own. If everyone had 1GB of data on average then a redundant algorithm might consume 3 or 5GB of space in order to spread that 1GB out among peers. It's harder to reciprocate when you need to provide more resources than you would consume on your own. :2 cents:

no way I'm gonna use it

from googles products I use gmail and adwords, thats it

and Im never logged into my google account when surfing the web

http://blog.superbhosting.net/wp-con...other_logo.jpg

ADG

See my earlier post, that doesn't matter any more. Even raw SERPs phone home clicks.

Might be a very good think but it seems scary... Someone's watching :)

I assume the files on their servers will be encrypted... no?

g[]()gle evil

:1orglaugh:1orglaugh

Really don't see that as being something I would be comfortable using.

google - skynet

ya because the last thing i want is my DATA stored on a server wherte anyone can easily access it

NO THANKS

My checklist to be legal and Google compliant for 2012 (OMG END OF WORLD):

1. Gdrive
2. Semen sample
3. Fingerprint

4. RFID-equipped:

a) drivers license
b) social security card
c) self
d) family
e) car
f) dog
g) neighbors

5. Retinal scan (for the Minority Report-esque near future)
6. Xanax - To not alert the PreCogs to my hidden agenda.

I'M READY TO CONFORM!

No thanks, I'll keep my data safe in my own hands.

Seems great for something like backups, just need to compress + encrypt, and it's free offsite drama free backup...

:1orglaugh:1orglaugh

Must be something new, I haven't seen it so far, but its true:
Probably this was introduced about the same time with SearchWiki
I wonder how this is going to affect serps, hmm.

fuck google

"bring Google one step closer to dethroning Windows on your desktop"

huh? Google is a website, it's not even on my desktop.

I dont have gmail, I dont use g-anything. When I search the 'net though, I tend to use google first. It's a nice search, so I'll just say happy dethroning!

Sounds like a bad idea to me.

I can barely download a video of a guy getting kicked in the nuts on Youtube with my cable connection. Now I'm supposed to keep all my data somewhere in the ether?

Fuck all that mess.

According to the police - google CAN (I don't think they ever have) tell every search a BOX has every made based on mac address :)

Fuck that. I will keep my hard drive.

Besides the fact it is stupid, with ISPs insituting caps what good is this?