Ultimate Google Drive Review

Here you will find the Ultimate Google Drive Review. We will review Google Drive Features and capabilities. Use the table of contents to jump to each section if you want to know about a specific topic.

Google will offer more free storage in the cloud, as they are expected to shortly launch a major new consumer service offering cloud-based storage for photos and other online content.

The effort – dubbed Google Drive – is likely to offer 5GB (gigabytes) of free storage with more available for a monthly fee.

It would challenge services including Dropbox and Microsoft’s SkyDrive.

Experts suggest it could also force rival Facebook to enter the cloud market.

Synchronization

Cloud services have become hugely popular as people seek to access content from a variety of places and devices.

Reports suggest that Google Drive will work with sophisticated image search technology to let consumers sift through a wide variety of document types, including PDF files and photographs.

Richard Edwards, principal analyst at research firm Ovum, thinks that it may act as a wake-up call to others.

“Facebook doesn’t have a cloud service but this may prompt it into an acquisition,” he said.

“If Facebook was to buy Dropbox that would be a game-changer.”

Google was “very late to the market” he added.

Question for Google Drive: Who will control your data in the Cloud?

With the quick development of new technology, data online storage has moved to a new cycle.  Way back in 2007 when “online storage”, was just a new theory for everyone. And now, this theory is becoming very common for every staff with the long list of provider such as Dropbox, Box, SkyDrive or Google Drive.

However, this trend also comes with the question: Who owns user’s data in the cloud?

In this article, we mostly focus on Google Drive – the new online storage cloud just appeared – for analyzing this service with the question above.

Google Drive ReviewGoogle just announces Google Drive with free 05 GB online storage. Combining with free 05 GB, Google Drive also supports users to save their data not only in computer but also in mobile or tablet devices.

According to the Google Terms of Service, Google shows that they has the right to use consumer data to improve and promote for their own business. In addition,  this company also has the right to create “derivative works” from content which stored in Google Drive, following the Term of Service, and displaying that content in public.

According to Neustel’s analysis,  a U.S. Patent Attorney, he says that almost online storage providers have similar polices about using, modifying or reproducing data. So, it allows providers the right to move data from one storage center to another.

Unlikely with the others, in fact Google even use consumer private data for their advertising commercial although they announces in term of service that private storage data will be remained privately.

Neustral also comments the terms are very vague. He states that Google Drive policy is very unfair for users because they are required to give Google with several unnecessary rights related to database.

It will be a good idea if this policy might apply for Google Translate, because this service needs analyzing database, he continues.

Applying Cloud Storage in Company: Read the Contract carefully

With the ambiguous term like Google Drive, most experts in this field suggest that considering carefully contract you will sign with the storage vendor. In addition, further investigations into how to retain data if the cloud storage goes down or how to encrypt the data in cloud storage.

One member of Cloud Security Alliance, Ashley Podhradsky states that the cloud infrastructure is integrated directly in an on-premise data center.

Question for Google Drive: Who will control your data in the cloud?

Five Elements to Success

Google Drive Review
Google Drive is one of hottest topic of the tech rumor mill since 2006, but maybe we could have a chance to use it in next week. According reports in past and the evidence via leaked information, it would confirm that now is the time to publicize Google Drive.

The purpose of this section is providing five main things that we suggest Google should have in Google Drive.

1. High capacity of space

Google Drive Review

 

Right now Microsoft’s SkyDrive offers 25 GB, with 5 GB is used for syncing local file folder in Windows. Amazon and Box also provide 05 GB for free storage.

Beside that, Apple’s iCloud also give 05 GB free but it does not have function to use as an online drive. So, with 05 GB available, Google Drive only is higher capacity than Dropbox with 03 GB offering. For people who use Google Drive to save media documents, they will need more storage at least like Microsoft SkyDrive.

2. One address for locating your files

Google Drive overview

 

What happens if you have files attached at Google Doc, pictures in Picasa Web Albums and some important e-mails in Gmail inbox and you want to connect all databases in one folder for managing? We suggest that Google Drive should create folders that link automatically all file associated with one Google account, so people can easily manage and connect their database.

3. A way to keep files in sync

Google Drive Review
According to our information, the version of Google Drive will support for Window, Android, iOS and Mac, which would work like Dropbox, Google Drive’s potential competitor. So users only need to select which folders they want sync locally, and don’t need to back up database on all their computers.

4. Strong mobile presence.

Google Drive Reviews
Like another online storage service, we recommend Google Drive would need mobile apps, because this is the way where users pay a lot of money for storage. For Android, Google would need to add an upload function into its service, while on iOS, Google needs an app to integrate for iPhone and iPad.

 5. Good pricing scheme

reviews Google Drive
In our opinion, we think that Google has already referenced its competitors pricing scheme to make it suitable for people. For example, iCloud provide $40 for an extra 20 GB. So, if Google can give a competitive price lower than this price, We can predict that the number of users will be increase dramatically.

 

Google Drive comes to Chrome OS

Google has released the first developer version of ChromeOS 20. As expected, Google Drive is now tightly integrated into the native Chrome OS filesystem although this is clearly just a first effort and still needs quite a bit of work.

Google Drive Review

 

Mr. Sundar Pichai from Google announced that Chrome OS has been squarely focused on connected use and it can’t come as a shock. . First generation Chromebooks offer only a fraction of the local storage that a Windows or Mac notebook would.

Moreover, Chrome OS can work well with Docs and be easily managed by Google Apps administrators, so it is a no-brainer to provide seamless access to that new storage service.

What about synchronization? Of course, it will be supported. Chrome OS lets users do some offline tasks – the Scratchpad app, for instance, editing text or tweaking photos. Google Drive clients now provide selective sync which is definitely necessary for Chrome OS in some ways.

The Google Drive integration is rather basic in this first release. Drive currently comes as an extra folder in the ChromeOS file manager. Adding support for Google Drive also puts more emphasis on the file manager in ChromeOS.

In the early days of ChromeOS, the file manager was more or less hidden from sight. Over time, though, it clearly became obvious to Google that its users weren’t quite ready for an OS without the ability to manage their files in the way they had become accustomed to.

While Google Drive shows up as a folder in the file manager, there’s no simple way to download files from your online storage to your local device or upload files using the file manager. You’ll have to use the web app to do that.

Google Drive has yet to surface in the file manager, but we’ll share some screenshots as soon as possible and you will know how it all works soon.

Google Drive is coming to Linux

Google Drive has launched with support for both Windows and Mac systems. However, Linux is not available in the list of supported platforms.

google drive linux

Chad McCullough, a Google + social network member, asked a question:

“I’m sure you’re being inundated with questions about your lack of support for Linux but I need to ask the same question. Why? Is it coming soon? I’d rather not have to stick with Dropbox but if you don’t support Linux, that’s exactly what MANY of us are going to have to do. Google, we love you but you need to show that love for Linux, too.”

Then he received the reply from Teresa Wu:

“Hi +Chad McCullough and +Charlie Kravetz, we’re working on Linux support – hang tight!”

Do hope that, Linux users will soon join this new service.

Google Drive and the End of USB flash driver

A high-capacity USB driver is always a necessary device for people in many years. Although the actual storage has been upgraded in capacity, size,  and shape, but it seems to be not match with user’s requirements in data storage and big file transfer process in e-mailing.

USB data transfer is physically the way we walk the files from our current location to another place we want to share, it could be an office, home, or the other side of city.

However, since the online cloud storage service was born, we gradually had Dropbox, Box.net and right now is Google Drive with free 5 GB for sharing data. As a result,  it may be the cause that we will not use USB anymore.

In our tests, we try to turn to Google Drive for uploading files and then sharing them to another laptop.  As a result, we could create folders easily and upload media files in that by using Google Docs in Google Drive.

We think the users have already known Google Doc in along time so they don’t need spending time to learn how to use this service.

As a consequence, with free 5 GB for data sharing everywhere, and one more points about keeping data safe from Google service, we think that the users may say goodbye to their USB drives and change to using Google Drive’s services.

GoDocs for Google Docs, Google Drive

I am a user of Google Docs since it was launched and have used it extensively in both my personal and professional life, and I find that it’s always been a little lacking and that’s certainly the case on both the iPhone and iPad.

edit google docs

GoDocs for Google Docs, Google Drive used to be named just GoDocs for Google Docs, but it was given its current name shortly after the launch of Google Drive. This is the first app for iOS that supports Google’s relatively new file storage and syncing service.

It supports all Google Doc file types and you can easily read them when on the right side of the screen. It allows you to collapse the left hand panel to take the document into full screen mode.

You can also have a built in multimedia player for any audio or video files that you have stored in your Google Docs or Google Drive if you’ve converted over, something that not all mobile apps can claim at present.

The editing seems to be the weakest part of the GoDocs. This app uses the standard Google mobile and Desktop interfaces for editing which while functional isn’t the easiest to use – but for basic editing the interface does suffice.

GoDocs might not be perfect but it offers a valid way to manage your Google Docs on the go. You can download GoDocs for Google Docs, Google Drive here 

Will Google Drive replace Google Docs?

This article will provide the author’s opinion about the first time when he uses Google Drive for uploading data online.

google drive replace google docs

Take Your Docs into a Drive

Google is going step-by-step to replace Google Docs by Google Drive later in this year. While Google Drive is still the new one for every people, but Google has already sent an alert message to each user that their accounts will be upgraded to Google Drive soon.

New Features in Google Drive

According to Google Drive’s Transition Notes, it plans to finish the conversion from the Google Documents List to Google Drive by the end of the summer. Generally, users can see some slight changes below:

  • The name of the Docs service will change to Drive and Docs in the administrator control panel.
  • Google Drive and Docs users get 5 GB of free storage, and can purchase more, compared to the 1 GB of storage in Google Doc previously had.
  • Users can create Folders to collect data in Google Drive.
  • When switching to Drive, user may have a “My Drive” include:
    • Documents to manage or has uploaded
    • Folders the user database and the items contained inside

In conclusion, Google Drive allows users to create folder easily, connect to and manage Google Docs.

Google Drive and its Privacy Concerns

Google Drive Review

Google Inc. has launched the Google Drive, a cloud based file sharing tool positioned to compete with Dropbox. There is some confusion around whether Google Drive, the company’s new online storage service, gives the search engine too much license over user data.

According to Google’s general terms of service, when users upload content to Drive, they could lose control over content they store on the company’s new “cloud” storage service. The policy reads as follows:

Some of our Services allow you to submit content. You retain ownership of any intellectual property rights that you hold in that content. In short, what belongs to you stays yours.”

When you upload or otherwise submit content to our Services, you give Google (and those we work with) a worldwide license to use, host, store, reproduce, modify, create derivative works (such as those resulting from translations, adaptations or other changes we make so that your content works better with our Services), communicate, publish, publicly perform, publicly display and distribute such content.google drive privacy issuesIt seems that user retains intellectual property rights and that Google holds broad rights to use and distribute any content submitted to its services. It’s a very broad set of permissions. Even if you don’t use Google Drive any more, Google can still use your files. This has generated debate over how the terms of service should be interpreted when it comes to the hold Google has on the data stored on Google Drive.

Technology analyst Carmi Levy said that: “[Google] wants to have a really good look at our information, to learn more about us, and then customize the online experience to us. That’s pretty much what it’s aiming at. It doesn’t necessarily want to take that secret PowerPoint [file] that I’ve created for the future of my company and share it with the world.”

However, if following the terms means users put their stuff out there and might lose control over it.

For Google Drive’s established competitors like DropBox and Microsoft SkyDrive, they make no direct ownership claims to user content in their terms of service. Critics are concerned that Google’s terms do not offer users adequate legal protection in the event their privacy is violated.

google drive privacy

Google also gives a blanket privacy policy which is stated on Google’s website that, “We do not share personal information with companies, organizations and individuals outside of Google unless … we have your consent to do so. We require opt-in consent for the sharing of any sensitive personal information.”

After all, there’s advice for users of cloud-based storage services. Users should have a clear understanding of privacy and ownership policies before storing sensitive or proprietary information online.

Your Google Drive Files Can End Up in Ads

google drive privacyThe release of Google’s storage service with its unified terms of service and privacy policy has raised a question that why Google seemed to be claiming ownership of their customers’ files.

When it turns out, Google says so right in the terms of service. There are few material differences between Google Drive’s terms and that of other storage services, except for a couple of questionable terms that may land your content in Google’s promotional materials.

In a comparison to the terms of service from four major cloud storage services—Dropbox, iCloud, Microsoft SkyDrive, and Google Drive, all of them claim no ownership of the files you give them.

google drive privacy

 

Some of publishing outfits in Google’s terms of service states that Google has right to “use, host, store, reproduce, modify, create derivative works (such as those resulting from translations, adaptations or other changes we make so that your content works better with our Services), communicate, publish, publicly perform, publicly display and distribute” content that users upload to Google Drive.

However, the other storage services have similarly expansive, and sometimes more expansive, terms, and you can only use them in service of, well, the services. There is something that is more suspicious than in any other similar cloud service.

The rights you grant in this license are for the limited purpose of operating, promoting, and improving our Services, and to develop new ones,” Rebecca Jeschke, EFF’s media relations director and digital rights analyst said.

However, the good news is Google isn’t going to be delivering your own files all over the Internet as banner ads because the terms of service alone might suggest, provided the files have some privacy settings, as they do by default, for example, it is viewable only to friends.

But any public file on your Google Drive might end up in Ads. So, you might wonder whether others could use that public content, however, it is easy to forget how public “Public” on an Internet service is.

After all, users had better be more concerned with who Google might be forced to give their files to, than what Google itself might do with their files.