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As the Wall Street Journal reported last week, Google is finally close to a launch of the long rumored “GDrive” (not yet the official product name), a service which would offer online storage for data of all sorts. Pricing and storage capacity has not been announced, but it is likely to come in free and paid versions, depending on the level of service/size of storage. Rather than a completely new product, the GDrive will probably combine the existing storage capacities of your Gmail, Picassa web photo albums, Google Apps documents, etc. The GDrive is aimed at replacing your computer’s hard drive with an online, searchable option that would support your email messages, photos, documents, music, and videos.

Google is not the only company to attempt an online file storage service. Omnidrive offers several levels of service for yearly subscription fees. One gigabyte is free (it will grow with your files for a fee), and features include drag-and-drop for file transfer, collaboration on documents, and file sharing by web address. Microsoft also has an online file storage service, called SkyDrive. One gigabyte is also free, and each folder can be password protected for sharing with different individuals and groups. Unlike Google Apps, however, files cannot be edited online with SkyDrive.

The pros of this storage method are obvious. With online editing capabilities a service of this kind would do away with multiple versions of the same document, and it makes collaboration easy and convenient. Online data storage also allows you to share your documents through a simple web address, which is great for family photo albums, HR policy documents, etc. These files are accessible from any computer with internet access, so your hard drive essentially travels with you regardless of who’s computer you’re using. The GDrive is also remarkable for its disaster recovery possibilities; no more losing all your documents if your hard drive crashes, your office burns down, or your laptop is stolen.

Unfortunately, the cons of the GDrive and similar services are just as clear. First, the ever-present privacy question: will Google use the content of your GDrive to target advertising at users? This is already in place for GMail, and it’s frankly a huge turn-off. Google does have a strong track record of protecting user data from third parties, but they’re a bit lax about using said data to push ads in our faces. The fact that all files are stored online is also a detriment, since business users in particular may need to access documents when they cannot access the internet (i.e. when flying). Google has said they want the service to mimic a traditional hard drive, but the jury is still out on how they can accomplish this without offline functionality. There are also copyright issues to address, particularly when it comes to music and video clips that will be stored and shared through the GDrive service. Google is reportedly working with key copyright holders to create solutions, but they have faced complaints in the past with regard to content on YouTube. Tech bloggers are sure to carefully comb the Terms of Service of the GDrive to prevent any abuse of copyright claims.

Whether the pros outweigh the cons in this case is a personal opinion. Obviously it will take time to build up the level of trust that businesses will need to store sensitive files online, though I’m certain the GDrive will be popular with younger Web 2.0 users, who already publicize much of their lives online through social networking sites. The GDrive reflects a trend of mobile computing that is likely to see huge growth in the coming years. Users are beginning to demand access to all their data from any device, be it a phone, a micro laptop, or a traditional computer. Google, while not the only company to respond to these desires, is potentially the most likely to pull it off due to their general propriety and trustworthiness. After all, the much-quoted Ten Things which serve as a moral compass for the search giant does suggest, “You can make money without doing evil.” What more can we ask of our technology innovators?

Monday, December 10th, 2007 Both comments and pings are currently closed.

By Haley January Eckels