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Will "Google Web Drive" Launch in 2009?  (View post)

Colin Colehour [PersonRank 10]

Sunday, January 18, 2009
15 years ago11,602 views

I have Picasa installed on a Mac and that screenshot is accurate. All it does is move pictures into a collection named Google Web Drive. There is no option to upload anywhere except Picasa Web Albums.

Ionut Alex. Chitu [PersonRank 10]

15 years ago #

GDrive should have been released 2-3 years ago. Now that Google kills even small projects like Notebook and Page Creator, it seems counterintuitive to release a file hosting service. It wouldn't make money, it would require a lot of resources and I'm not sure people really want/need a general-purpose file hosting service. ADrive, DropBox and Windows Live SkyDrive look pretty good, but not many people use them.

RogerW [PersonRank 0]

15 years ago #

Surely they would make money like all their other products, with advertising.

They could scan the files for content and serve ads based on that content.

macbeach [PersonRank 6]

15 years ago #

With AOL's Xdrive discontinued I've actually uploaded some bulky media files (jpg and mp3) to MS's Skydrive (which probably isn't nearly as useful as it would be if I were running Windows) it is ironic that I can't store arbitrary files on Google, since unlike the other services which I am using for free, I actually PAYING for extra storage on Google.

I think it's been pointed out elsewhere that when you just look at the cost of a cheap disk drive Google may actually be making money on it's payed storage concept (especially in my case as I am only using something like 7% of my allocation).

There are only two possible outcomes here: Either Microsoft adds more and more web services that only work or only work well for Windows/Office users and the new versions of Windows and Office only work with their online infrastructure, OR Google provides a similar infrastructure that (hopefully) works for any user of standard web-enabled operating systems, Windows, OS X and Linux as well as smartphones, etc.

If Google fails to get these services rolled out ahead of Microsoft (and significantly so) I fear for the long term viability of the company.

The only alternative to the two choices above is a legal attack on Microsoft similar to the Netscape era, and we all know how effective that wasn't for the future of the Netscape company.

Jérôme Flipo [PersonRank 10]

15 years ago #

I think Google Docs is the expected Google Drive.
It supports
* documents
* spreadsheet
* pdfs
* presentations

To come:
* photos (soon, see: http://docs.google.com/#photos)
* maps (My Maps collaboration from the Docs list)
* videos (?) by letting you manage your youtube videos from the Docs list

I think music/sounds will be the last file to come, since it requires a deal with labels (see the speculations about an upcoming Hulu-like platform).

I would be very suprised that Google will ever release users'drive in the cloud, unless they only rename Google Docs "Google Drive". Above all, I do think that Google will always provide editing/collaborating tools for every file format supported (at least to contribute to Microsoft's death!).

What other types of files would make sense, in addition to image, photo, document, pdf, database, spreadsheet, video, music/sounds and maps?
Please, don't anwser "notebook" :D

Mrrix32 [PersonRank 10]

15 years ago #

I'm currently using Dropbox, which is useful for sharing files with friends (although I only know a few people who use it). If Google could get the ease of sharing and more storage and quicker upload then I'd switch.

[put at-character here]RogerW
There's already enough people paranoid about GMail or Google Desktop's Search Across Computers feature. I would hope that Google wouldn't do this. (I'm not saying they won't because they have a nasty habit of proving me wrong)

brinke guthrie [PersonRank 10]

15 years ago #

I wish there was a service where, once I added a song to iTunes, it automatically backed up online. Like Picasa with Picasaweb.

Jérôme Flipo [PersonRank 10]

15 years ago #

[put at-character here]brinke guthrie
If such a service existed, I would have 70Go backed up in the cloud. Imagine if we all had such a library!

macbeach [PersonRank 6]

15 years ago #

Jérôme Flipo:

"What other types of files would make sense, in addition to image, photo, document, pdf, database, spreadsheet, video, music/sounds and maps?"

ZIP files, EXE files, just about anything that users would need to share.

Remember the cute Google Docs video done with bits of paper, string and paper clips that offers the rational for collaborating using Google Docs rather than attachments to e-mail messages?

Nothing is more disruptive when collaborating with a group than to suddenly have to switch to a new mechanism because the file you are passing around isn't a blessed file type.

Also, I'm sure I'm not the only one who uses Google Groups to communicate with others as a mailing list. Occasionally we need to send attachments, but the rules for group attachments are different than for Gmail attachments, and there is no way for a group to own any file space that could be used to share those attachments a la Google Docs.

The entire Google suite of products is remarkably NOT-THOUGHT-OUT. It is as though there was absolutely no communications between the various groups about what they were working for (and I say that as a Google fan).

My guess is that it would have been MUCH easier for the various Google products to have been developed within at least a loose product framework (road map, what have you) than it will be now to re-work them all to make sense together.

The disarray in the Google product set gives Microsoft an excellent window (pardon the pun) of opportunity to craft something that works seamlessly with Windows while making interaction with Google products difficult if not impossible.

Jérôme Flipo [PersonRank 10]

15 years ago #

[put at-character here]macbeach
I agree with everything you've written: the very difficult switch to a new system, the lack of group feature (Google Sites could have been better integrated with Docs, though), the challenge ahead to make an intuitive "suite", and the amazing opportunity for Microsoft.

But I still doubt Google will ever release a drive. But I may underestimate their disappointment with Google Docs/Apps.

They expected too much adaptability from their users. For instance, enabling nested labels in the Docs List showed they'd stopped fighting for the underlying benefits of the products (unfortunately, the Docs' UI was very confusing, contrary to the Gmail's one). They've opened a Youtube channel, discussed with some bloggers and hoped that people will get the features and their benefits. But with their "Release Early, Release Often" strategy, they've left many flaws behind (despite ahab and Gill's complains) and haven't focused on the "global experience".

PS: I admit that they should accept .exe files, but most shared programs are now available online. But why accepting zip files if the goal is to make you create, edit and collaborate online? Why to compress and archive files if Google offers unlimited space and lets you invite anyone to access and edit those files?

Luka [PersonRank 10]

15 years ago #

http://www.zorgloob.com/images/gdrive.png

Google Docs + Drive :)

bwaje [PersonRank 1]

15 years ago #

Such a piece of software existed : GDisk, based on Gmail; creating folders and allowing uploading of documents; but it seems to be broken today (by Google?)

http://www.versiontracker.com/dyn/moreinfo/macosx/28136

Philipp Lenssen [PersonRank 10]

15 years ago #

Luka, what is that screenshot?

Tony Ruscoe [PersonRank 10]

15 years ago #

It's what Luka wants GDrive to be:

<< My hopes for a web interface of Gdrive :
[...]
Looks like the new interface of Google Docs & Spreadsheets (& Presentations) but I think this interface is quite powerfull. >>

http://blogoscoped.com/forum/106629.html

Waldir Pimenta [PersonRank 2]

15 years ago #

[put at-character here]Ionut: all the existing services have one or another feature missing (in the free version):
- DropBox lacks the large storage (only 2GB);
- MediaFire and SkyDrive lack the folder upload (25GB to upload file by file?! Oh and btw, ADrive has this but it blocks the browser during the upload, very user unfriendly);
- And finally, ADrive lacks the folder sharing (you have to share file by file)

If Googe Web Drive offers all these 3 features (lots of space, folder upload and folder sharing) for free, I'd definitely start using it.

Martin [PersonRank 0]

15 years ago #

Why on earth is everyone so excited for a product that doesn't exist yet? I just don't get it.

Google is a great company. They have made some great products (obviously search, along with gmail, alerts, and calendar) . They have also made some total losers (e.g. Froogle, Google Video) and some medicore ones (gChat, google finance, etc...).

I used Xdrive and now I'm trying both Box.net and ElephantDrive. I'm not an evangelist for either yet, but these products actually exist and seem to work well.

Mark [PersonRank 0]

15 years ago #

I wouldn't use it if they brought out something like this. Imagine the chaos when Google decides it isn't making money and they pull the plug on it. Just like Notebook. Suddenly you've lost all your stuff.

Jack [PersonRank 0]

15 years ago #

Do you that app' ? http://olipo.net
(click 'go' and look at the last plugin called 'Gdrive based on Gmail')
It's in beta but it works well for me. For me, it's the expected Gdrive.

Jérôme Flipo [PersonRank 10]

15 years ago #

[A little off topic]
The US Federal govt may embrace the cloud soon:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=InI5n3NTvR4

¥€$ [PersonRank 1]

15 years ago #

Google Web Drive ?
I want just sync my Google Chrome browsing sessions.

adamzhu1986 [PersonRank 2]

15 years ago #

I couldn't see this option.

I'm using Picasa for Mac version 3.0.1.321. Here is what I see:

http://i72.photobucket.com/albums/i173/adamzhu1986/1986tp/Picture1-14.jpg

Rohit Srivastwa [PersonRank 10]

15 years ago #

Many of us have a lot of space online under some or the other hosting plan, I waited for a good service and at last created my own

By term "created" I mean I used my shell account on my hosting server as SSHDrive on my windows & mounted partition on Linux.

Now I transfer file between them to manage my life :(

A good tool/service in this direction will always be more than welcome by everyone. But people can think of some decent tool which can use FTP/Shell account on hosting server to manage files...

Tools I know which can be of help here
# SSHDrive
# SFTPDrive
# FTPDrive

Tools like synctoy(win) or rsync(lin+win) would be good to do backups & syncing

Roger Browne [PersonRank 10]

15 years ago #

If you run Linux, the Konqueror file manager can make the FTP space on your webhost look and feel just like local storage.

vikrant [PersonRank 0]

15 years ago #

as of now it seems google launched gdrive for internal use for sharing data
now
let's say if it is released to public, it would mean google will be able to peek in as to what people are doing , storing etc.
yeah they say do not store confidential information & even if you shutdown your computer you can access the information from anywhere, and i am sure google will want something from gdrive, in emails they show advertisements, in google drive they will want something as well, is'nt it?

Another important thing to consider here is internet speed, internet speed growth is an important consideration here, is google waiting for higher internet speeds to launch gdrive?

[signature removed]

ohil [PersonRank 0]

15 years ago #

like adamzhu, i have updated to the new version, and the gdrive option is gone. if it was so innocent, as many have suggested, i don't think google would bother removing it. the product feels a bit rushed, no doubt to coincide with macworld, so i'm not surprised if they just overlooked something.

Frank [PersonRank 0]

15 years ago #

I have the latest version of picase for mac and I have not this menu entry. But if I will create a collection with the name "Google Web Drive", picasa tell me, thats I always have an collection with this name.

I can't see this collection, but I have it :D

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