Posted on 11/27/2007 9:30:31 AM PST by Ernest_at_the_Beach
Google is set to extend its online storage services in a bid to become a central repository for the public’s digital data.
The web giant is understood to be readying a new data storage service – thought to be dubbed “GDrive” – that would allow users to store digital files such as music tracks on the internet and access them via a web browser.
A spokesman for Google refused to comment directly on speculation that the company will launch the service in a matter of weeks, but said: “Storage is an important component of making web [applications] fit easily into consumers' and business users' lives.”
Last year Google inadvertently leaked a presentation memo that outlined its plans in data storage – moves apparently designed to make the hard drives installed on personal computers all but defunct.
“With infinite storage, we can house all user files, including: emails, web history, pictures, bookmarks, etc and make it accessible from anywhere (any device, any platform, etc)," it said.
Plans to extend Google’s reach over the public’s data is likely to spark renewed concerns from privacy activists who claim the company is already party to vast amounts of personal information. Concerns over data security escalated sharply last week when it emerged that the Government lost details of 25 million Britons in the post.
Executives at Microsoft are also likely to be wary of Google's plans. Analysts have argued that the long-anticipated GDrive could make it easier for consumers to abandon Windows, Microsoft’s dominant operating system.
Henry Blodget, the technology blogger, said: “The critical element here will be seamlessness: If Google forces users to go through an inconvenient "uploading" process,......
(Excerpt) Read more at business.timesonline.co.uk ...
No thanks.
Good idea...too bad my upload speed blows.
I’ll keep my stuff on my own hard drive, thank-you very much.
Google plans online storage service
****************************EXCERPT************************
Google plans to offer consumers online storage as part of an attempt to shift personal computing to the Web, the Wall Street Journal reported.
The online storage service essentially frees consumers to view their data wherever they are and makes them less dependent on a single hard drive. It also intensifies Google's competition with Microsoft, since a consumer who stores data on the Web may have less need for Microsoft's desktop software.
The move by the Mountain View company is squarely in competition with rivals who already offer free or fee-based online storage. That includes Box.net, a Palo Alto start-up with 15 employees that offers 1 gigabyte of free storage or 5 gigabytes for $8 a month. Such solutions, where data, services and applications are stored and run from Internet servers, are referred to as "cloud computing" in contrast to desktop computing.
</sarcasm>
It would be fine for non-critical data.
My critical data is backed up on three hard drives, two of which are swapped out regularly with one of the two always stored off site in a fireproof safe.
I am sure the ChiComs, CIA, FBI and KGB would be very very interested in my collection of Pick Floyd CD’s that I would store on my Google HD.
No, but the RIAA may be.
The RIAA would say that while you CAN possibly back up that data at home, uploading it to a commercial site even for your own personal use would be a violation.
Haven’t you figured it out yet that they want to keep reselling you the same albums?
I did not mention the RIAA since they are more powerful than the CiComs, CIA, FBI and KGB Combined.
Hmm...it’s a good way to lower the cost of entry-level computing, to be sure. But anyone who doesn’t keep private copies of private data is a fool.
This sort of thing was tried by others a few years back, didn’t fly then either.
.
All your information are belonging to us.
how long do you think it will take google with their billions of computers to crack it?
Nice! Though I’m not so sure I would store anything on there I didn’t want want anyone else to see.
They probably don’t really care whether you do or not....but someone might sign up just in case they might want to...and thus they get more eyeballs to look at the site....helps with the advertising rates....
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