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Google Drive Launch Very Close, 5GB Free for All
April Launch Expected For Remote Storage
Rumblings surrounding a Google Drive remote storage service have circulated for years, but started to solidify last February with a report noting the service could launch within months -- and would essentially be Google Docs rebranded to include multimedia storage capabilities. Indicating a launch is slated for April, the website TalkAndroid has been posting leaked screenshots of the service which suggest users should get up to 5GB of remote storage for free. Google Drive enters an increasingly crowded remote storage market, but has been an on-again-off-again project for Google since at least 2006.
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xenophon
join:2007-09-17

xenophon

Member

gDrive vs Dropbox vs box.com

Will be interesting to see how gDrive is implemented - if like box.com (which is essentially just a network drive) or like Dropbox (which is far far more sophisticated).

I wouldn't expect gDrive to compete with Dropbox in features but Google will probably have much better pricing. Some cool things about DB is that you can restore previous versions of files and setup public links to files. DB has no limit on file size and you can even use TrueCrypt. Dropbox is sophisticated enough to only sync the changed blocks of a TrueCrypt volume. If Google has these kinds of features, they'll kill DB. Otherwise they'll complete with box.com and MS skydrive.
Chubbysumo
join:2009-12-01
Duluth, MN
Ubee E31U2V1
(Software) pfSense
Netgear WNR3500L

1 recommendation

Chubbysumo

Member

Re: gDrive vs Dropbox vs box.com

I would take a gander, that anything you put on there would be readable by google, and would get indexed to "your" profile. Read Googles new terms of use and privacy policy in detail, and you may choose to stop using their services. Chrome already sends them your keystrokes, browsing history, and a miraid of other data, tied to your name(by a FB or G+ logged in account), this is just adding to the stuff they can sell about you. This is not meant to sound paranoid, but its the truth. I dont believe in remote storage for anything that is personal, even backups, because you never really know who has access to it there. at least if its on an HDD thats in my possession, i can reasonably assume that I know who has access to it. "cloud" storage is a joke, and when HDDs are so cheap these days, its just better to store it yourself, and with many companies handing over heaps of data to other companies that are looking to sue anyone and everyone they can over "copyrights" and patents, and so on, why even take the risk.
xenophon
join:2007-09-17

xenophon

Member

Re: gDrive vs Dropbox vs box.com

Agreed on Google privacy concerns but cloud storage overall is incredibly useful - Dropbox is one of most useful tools I use. Other than offsite backup it provides an easy way to access your files from any computer and your phone. For private files, that's where TrueCrypt comes in handy and Dropbox supports it. I'll be surprised if Google does.

kickass69
join:2002-06-03
Lake Hopatcong, NJ

kickass69

Member

Re: gDrive vs Dropbox vs box.com

I'm sure users of MegaUpload feel the same way.

FutureMon
Dude Whats mine say?

join:2000-10-05
Marina, CA

1 edit

FutureMon to Chubbysumo

to Chubbysumo
Might as well get used to it. Pretty soon, the "cloud" will be the only place you can store your data. Operating systems will be embedded on chips, and your new computer will boot from the chip and access the cloud for your customizations via 3g/4g or WiFi using an account that you pay for monthly access.

HDD's will have gone the way of the casette and VHS tapes, much like CD's and DVD's will be soon.

...all in the name of piracy prevention and copyright protection, of course...

Already we're seeing services like VuDu where you purchase a movie , but it gets stored on their service - you don't actually get a disc even though you paid full price.

- FM

ArrayList
DevOps
Premium Member
join:2005-03-19
Mullica Hill, NJ

ArrayList

Premium Member

Re: gDrive vs Dropbox vs box.com

I don't know how any of that will ever happen given the state of ISPs and the low speeds they have.
25139889 (banned)
join:2011-10-25
Toledo, OH

25139889 (banned)

Member

Re: gDrive vs Dropbox vs box.com

because you don't need much if its just basic system. You can operate Google Chromebooks on basic VZW 3g EVDO rev-A speeds.
34764170 (banned)
join:2007-09-06
Etobicoke, ON

34764170 (banned)

Member

Re: gDrive vs Dropbox vs box.com

said by 25139889:

because you don't need much if its just basic system. You can operate Google Chromebooks on basic VZW 3g EVDO rev-A speeds.

And Chromebook's are a joke. No thanks.
Chubbysumo
join:2009-12-01
Duluth, MN
Ubee E31U2V1
(Software) pfSense
Netgear WNR3500L

Chubbysumo to FutureMon

Member

to FutureMon
said by FutureMon:

Might as well get used to it. Pretty soon, the "cloud" will be the only place you can store your data. Operating systems will be embedded on chips, and your new computer will boot from the chip and access the cloud for your customizations via 3g/4g or WiFi using an account that you pay for monthly access.

HDD's will have gone the way of the casette and VHS tapes, much like CD's and DVD's will be soon.

This is highly doubtful. Servers use HDDs or SSDs for storage too, and with the price per GB much cheaper than most paid services, having a few extra HDDs around(that you OWN, and can do with whatever you please) is very reasonable, and will be for quite some time, since they are still the primary storage method for data. Flash is becoming more popular, but until network speeds are much much better, you will not see a SoC with full remote environment, and at that, you will need a server, with storage of some kind, to run it. Also, considering Google is around $0.25 per GB per year, and I can get an HDD with prices of as low as $0.009 per GB, and keep it for 5 years or more, I think remote storage will stay the way it always has been, for backups. I dont see it being feasable to store my 5TB of pictures, movie backups, anime, and TV shows, along with all my games(games DO NOT stream well, try on-live, and if you are too far away, it sucks), and whatever else I have. Sure, for an OS or system restore backup, remote storage is nice, but it will NEVER become the way to do things, since its just cheaper to put the storage on the device rather than move all that data, store it somewhere else, transfer it, back it up, and try to rely on a potentially unreliable connection to the service. Sorry, but personal storage is far from being outdated. I also bet you are one of those lackeys claiming we are in a "post-PC" era, where laptops and desktops are obsolete too, right?
pkorx8
join:2003-06-19
San Francisco, CA

pkorx8

Member

Re: gDrive vs Dropbox vs box.com

I'm not for cloud storage personally, so I have my own hdd servers running at home and openvpn setup to access them.
But not until having this server setup for over a year did I realize that my electric bill is probably higher from powering the hdd's. Also didn't consider the floor space that it occupies in my small home office.

I would prefer cloud storage a bit more if higher speed connections, as well as better "perceived" security is more readily available.

FutureMon
Dude Whats mine say?

join:2000-10-05
Marina, CA

FutureMon to Chubbysumo

to Chubbysumo
said by Chubbysumo:

said by FutureMon:

Might as well get used to it. Pretty soon, the "cloud" will be the only place you can store your data. Operating systems will be embedded on chips, and your new computer will boot from the chip and access the cloud for your customizations via 3g/4g or WiFi using an account that you pay for monthly access.

HDD's will have gone the way of the casette and VHS tapes, much like CD's and DVD's will be soon.

This is highly doubtful. Servers use HDDs or SSDs for storage too, and with the price per GB much cheaper than most paid services, having a few extra HDDs around(that you OWN, and can do with whatever you please) is very reasonable, and will be for quite some time, since they are still the primary storage method for data. Flash is becoming more popular, but until network speeds are much much better, you will not see a SoC with full remote environment, and at that, you will need a server, with storage of some kind, to run it. Also, considering Google is around $0.25 per GB per year, and I can get an HDD with prices of as low as $0.009 per GB, and keep it for 5 years or more, I think remote storage will stay the way it always has been, for backups. I dont see it being feasable to store my 5TB of pictures, movie backups, anime, and TV shows, along with all my games(games DO NOT stream well, try on-live, and if you are too far away, it sucks), and whatever else I have. Sure, for an OS or system restore backup, remote storage is nice, but it will NEVER become the way to do things, since its just cheaper to put the storage on the device rather than move all that data, store it somewhere else, transfer it, back it up, and try to rely on a potentially unreliable connection to the service. Sorry, but personal storage is far from being outdated. I also bet you are one of those lackeys claiming we are in a "post-PC" era, where laptops and desktops are obsolete too, right?

Post-PC era? hehe

No I'm definately not one of those; I'm just seeing the writing on the wall.

Sure, data centers will continue to use HDD's. How else would they be able to store everything? but I'm just saying. We do live in a time where people want their data wherever they are; and on whatever device they happen to be using at the time. It only makes sense that this is the direction we are headed.

- FM

sivran
Vive Vivaldi
Premium Member
join:2003-09-15
Irving, TX

sivran to Chubbysumo

Premium Member

to Chubbysumo
quote:
I can get an HDD with prices of as low as $0.009 per GB,
You can get a terabyte drive for about nine bucks? Where can we proles get in on this deal?
RawHeadRex
join:2011-08-24
Richmond, IN

RawHeadRex to FutureMon

Member

to FutureMon
This is true. I can see that happening in the not so distant future. However, performance wise the cloud may become a bottleneck to the system. I don't know to much about these things, but it just seems that it could be a problem.

ArrayList
DevOps
Premium Member
join:2005-03-19
Mullica Hill, NJ

ArrayList to Chubbysumo

Premium Member

to Chubbysumo

and with many companies handing over heaps of data to other companies that are looking to sue anyone and everyone they can over "copyrights" and patents, and so on, why even take the risk.

you can always encrypt what you put in the cloud.
34764170 (banned)
join:2007-09-06
Etobicoke, ON

34764170 (banned)

Member

Re: gDrive vs Dropbox vs box.com

said by ArrayList:

and with many companies handing over heaps of data to other companies that are looking to sue anyone and everyone they can over "copyrights" and patents, and so on, why even take the risk.

you can always encrypt what you put in the cloud.

Anyone that uploads anything to any kind of "cloud" storage and does not encrypt the data is a fool.

cork1958
Cork
Premium Member
join:2000-02-26

1 recommendation

cork1958 to Chubbysumo

Premium Member

to Chubbysumo
said by Chubbysumo:

I would take a gander, that anything you put on there would be readable by google, and would get indexed to "your" profile. Read Googles new terms of use and privacy policy in detail, and you may choose to stop using their services. Chrome already sends them your keystrokes, browsing history, and a miraid of other data, tied to your name(by a FB or G+ logged in account), this is just adding to the stuff they can sell about you. This is not meant to sound paranoid, but its the truth. I dont believe in remote storage for anything that is personal, even backups, because you never really know who has access to it there. at least if its on an HDD thats in my possession, i can reasonably assume that I know who has access to it. "cloud" storage is a joke, and when HDDs are so cheap these days, its just better to store it yourself, and with many companies handing over heaps of data to other companies that are looking to sue anyone and everyone they can over "copyrights" and patents, and so on, why even take the risk.

Exactly why I will NEVER use ANYTHING associated with Google or that even crappier Chrome!!

Actually, that's not 100% the reason why. The 100% reason why I won't use anything related to either of those is they both SUCK!!

Cloud storage, yeah, right! To many have their heads in the clouds already!!

Robotics
See You On The Dark Side
Premium Member
join:2003-10-23
Louisa, VA

Robotics

Premium Member

Re: gDrive vs Dropbox vs box.com

+1

Suntop
Wolfrider Elf
Premium Member
join:2000-03-23
Fairfield, MT

Suntop to cork1958

Premium Member

to cork1958
+1

sivran
Vive Vivaldi
Premium Member
join:2003-09-15
Irving, TX

sivran to Chubbysumo

Premium Member

to Chubbysumo
said by Chubbysumo:

Chrome already sends them your keystrokes, browsing history, and a miraid of other data,

Keystrokes? Nope. Sauce.

Browsing history? Not as such. Each URL is checked by anti-phishing/malware services, which can be disabled.

Other data? Doubtful. Explain. Sauce.
chances14
join:2010-03-03
Michigan

chances14 to Chubbysumo

Member

to Chubbysumo
said by Chubbysumo:

I would take a gander, that anything you put on there would be readable by google, and would get indexed to "your" profile. Read Googles new terms of use and privacy policy in detail, and you may choose to stop using their services. Chrome already sends them your keystrokes, browsing history, and a miraid of other data, tied to your name(by a FB or G+ logged in account), this is just adding to the stuff they can sell about you. This is not meant to sound paranoid, but its the truth. I dont believe in remote storage for anything that is personal, even backups, because you never really know who has access to it there. at least if its on an HDD thats in my possession, i can reasonably assume that I know who has access to it. "cloud" storage is a joke, and when HDDs are so cheap these days, its just better to store it yourself, and with many companies handing over heaps of data to other companies that are looking to sue anyone and everyone they can over "copyrights" and patents, and so on, why even take the risk.

what's funny is you won't read anything about google's privacy issues on this site due to karl's love fest with google

madmatt5
join:2002-04-06
Sacramento, CA

madmatt5 to xenophon

Member

to xenophon
Very likely *MUCH* better pricing. Dropbox is $100/year for 50gb. Google storage gives you 400GB for that price, with options up to 16TB (!!!) at the same rate ($.25 per GB per year).
If Google matches the Dropbox feature set, or even just comes somewhat close, it will be a bloodbath.

dvd536
as Mr. Pink as they come
Premium Member
join:2001-04-27
Phoenix, AZ

dvd536 to xenophon

Premium Member

to xenophon
said by xenophon:

Will be interesting to see how gDrive is implemented - if like box.com (which is essentially just a network drive) or like Dropbox (which is far far more sophisticated).

I wouldn't expect gDrive to compete with Dropbox in features but Google will probably have much better pricing. Some cool things about DB is that you can restore previous versions of files and setup public links to files. DB has no limit on file size and you can even use TrueCrypt. Dropbox is sophisticated enough to only sync the changed blocks of a TrueCrypt volume. If Google has these kinds of features, they'll kill DB. Otherwise they'll complete with box.com and MS skydrive.

If they require a software download and install like DB, FORGET IT!

AuraReturn
Premium Member
join:2003-08-18
USA

AuraReturn to xenophon

Premium Member

to xenophon
said by xenophon:

Will be interesting to see how gDrive is implemented - if like box.com (which is essentially just a network drive) or like Dropbox (which is far far more sophisticated).

I wouldn't expect gDrive to compete with Dropbox in features but Google will probably have much better pricing. Some cool things about DB is that you can restore previous versions of files and setup public links to files. DB has no limit on file size and you can even use TrueCrypt. Dropbox is sophisticated enough to only sync the changed blocks of a TrueCrypt volume. If Google has these kinds of features, they'll kill DB. Otherwise they'll complete with box.com and MS skydrive.

If Google Drive doesn't have features like Drop Box, no one will use it. Period.

Drop Box is seriously the best cloud service I've ever used.

PToN
Premium Member
join:2001-10-04
Houston, TX

PToN

Premium Member

Change names!!!

They need to change the name..!!!

Every time i see the Google Drive phrase, i think of the self-driving car...

Google Auto-Bot = self driving car...

Suntop
Wolfrider Elf
Premium Member
join:2000-03-23
Fairfield, MT

Suntop

Premium Member

Re: Change names!!!

That is kinda scary. What if the car gets a virus and act like the Prius? Just take off at max speed and it crashes....literally.
ISurfTooMuch
join:2007-04-23
Tuscaloosa, AL

ISurfTooMuch

Member

But does is ble---I mean map?

One feature I hope Google's service (and Dropbox and Box, for that matter) will implement is the ability to map their share into a virtual drive. That would be a great solution, since I can just open up my drives and see ell my cloud services neatly mapped.

Also, for security, encrypt the drive contents and decrypt using a client on each computer. That way, if there was a data breach at their site, nothing would be readable. In fact, there's no good reason any of these storage services should be able to access the contents of stored data. That, I think, is the reason many people don't trust cloud storage, especially for sensitive files. If putting those files in the cloud opens them to being viewable by someone other than the owner, then there's a disincentive to using such services. And I don't give a damn that it makes it harder for the RIAA, MPAA, or the feds to look at them. If they want to see them, they can get a court order against the owner, just as they would for files stored locally. If I encrypt the data on a CD and drop it in the mail, I'm not required to give the Post Office the decryption key, and I'd never trust it with them, anyway. The same should go for these services.

Gbcue
Premium Member
join:2001-09-30
Santa Rosa, CA

Gbcue

Premium Member

Invite Only, Of Course

I've got 5 invites! PM me with your Google associated e-mail.
Gbcue

Gbcue

Premium Member

Re: Invite Only, Of Course

All out!

AnonPerson
join:2000-08-26
Lexington, KY

AnonPerson

Member

Re: Invite Only, Of Course

that was fast lol. guess I didn't jump on it fast enough!
zed260
Premium Member
join:2011-11-11
Cleveland, TN
Netgear R7000

zed260

Premium Member

Re: Invite Only, Of Course

said by AnonPerson:

that was fast lol. guess I didn't jump on it fast enough!

»jumbofiles.com/ beats google hands down

AnonPerson
join:2000-08-26
Lexington, KY

AnonPerson

Member

Docs

I've been using Google Docs with SyncDocs for years to auto sync between all my computers. I'm curious to see how Google Drive will differ.

Hopefully they make some form of windows client to go along with it, unlike Google Docs.
moes
Premium Member
join:2009-11-15
Cedar City, UT

moes

Premium Member

...

I was supposed to have an invite from a member here but never did get anything from google about it. soo I'm waiting till this opens up.

odreian615
join:2006-01-18
Chicago, IL

odreian615

Member

5GB please

If you are not going to give more than 25Gb(Skydrive) go home

•••••••
markf
join:2008-01-24
Scarborough, ON

markf

Member

Insync through Google Docs

I use the Insync program (free) and it uploads everything automatically to Google Storage. I have a 200 GB account with all of my pictures/home video stored in the cloud as a backup of this irreplaceable data. If my house were to burn down, my local backups would be gone, but within a few days, I could have everything downloaded back. Local changes are seamlessly synced with the cloud with no user input beyond configuration.

If someone wants to go through my pictures, be my guest. If you really want to find out that much about me, you'll be a) very disappointed at how boring my life is and b) the info available is just as easily available as if you parked down the street from my house on occasion.

AnonPerson
join:2000-08-26
Lexington, KY

AnonPerson

Member

Re: Insync through Google Docs

Yeah Insync is nice. I recently switched from Syncdocs (no longer free), to Insync.

Rusell Peter
@122.179.41.x

Rusell Peter

Anon

Alternatives to Google Drive

Interesting news that Google is offering 5 GB of online storage which comparatively less with what Box is offering 50GB for android users. Meanwhile found some interesting tools for cloud storage. Tools such as CollateBox »www.collatebox.com/ are very promising, went through their blogs »blog.collatebox.com they are edifying.