Ever since there was a web-gaffe that Google had plans for its own online storage code named 'Platypus', which was later confirmed by their CEO, the online community has been abuzz with blogs and articles on what to expect of Google's latest offering. The reactions have ranged from 'evil' to 'fantastic'.
For non-technical folks, Online storage is the perfect alternative to back up your data from CDs to files such as your favorite mp3s, pictures you want to share of your last vacation to junior's school play video.
Reviews warn however, that online storage is not a replacement for traditional backup systems, but it can be good secondary protection against unforeseen issues such as fire, theft or damage. Also sensitive documents should preferably not be stored online. eHow provides a list on how to choose an online storage.
Until recently the were not websites offerings sizeable storage free.
Yahoo Briefcase offers up to 30MB of free storage. Also you can share files with other Yahoo! users, and additional space can be acquired by registering for more accounts. If you'd like to keep all your saved files under one account you may purchase additional space for about $3 per month for 50MB.
Box.net which is an online backup service gives you 1GB for free space. 
Openomy also provides 1GB and it was listed as the best third party online file storage in the list of the Best Web 2.0 software of 2005
But for free space nothing beats Streamload.com which 
gives 25GB free and you can also store, access, share , host and backup your files.
This Consumer Search artice has some importat pointers while shopping for Web Storage.
- Don't store highly sensitive information on a free site. While most of the pay sites listed here offer SSL 128-bit encryption, Yahoo! Briefcase and Streamload merely offer password protection. You may want to think twice before storing extremely sensitive data.
- Look for sites that allow you to set up both private and public areas. Reviewers say the best storage sites should not require friends or coworkers to be registered before they can access your files.
- Check the system requirements. Most online data-storage services come with a small application that manages backups and file transfers, but not all services are compatible with systems other than Windows.
- Most sites make it easy to transfer files. Some sites let you store a small client on your desktop to represent a virtual drive as a local drive.
- Look for online data backup with automated scheduling. The best online data-storage services should relieve you of time spent on backup. Whether you schedule backups to take place hourly or daily, this should be a hands-off, automated task.
- Consider your Internet connection. Backup is relatively quick when connected via high-speed cable or DSL. However, if you have a dial-up connection, simple file transfers could take hours.
- Utilize other forms of backup. Online data storage is a huge time and space saver, but you should never put all your data eggs in one basket. Major accidents, such as simultaneous damage to all servers, may be unlikely, but can happen. Occasional server issues are not uncommon. Consider alternatives such as CDs, DVDs, external hard drives and USB flash drives for additional storage.
Coming back to Google why is this such a big deal? There are obviously fears of privacy.
According to a PowerPoint presentation to financial analysts , Google said that it envisages a future with 'infinite storage, bandwidth, and CPU power'.
This will allow it to store 100 per cent of user data: 'With infinite storage, we can house all user files, including: emails, web history, pictures, bookmarks, etc and make it accessible from anywhere.'
As a result the computer platform will become less important.
'This will help us make the client less important (thin client, thick server model) which suits our strength vis-a-vis Microsoft and is also of great value to the user,' it said.
'As we move toward the "Store 100 per cemt" reality, the online copy of your data will become your Golden Copy and your local-machine copy serves more like a cache. An important implication of this theme is that we can make your online copy more secure than it would be on your own machine.'
Given Google's track record with it's previous products the way it revolutionised the world of search, webmail, desktop search, calendar and maps using technologies such as AJAX, creating rich internet applications everyone's expectations can not be but raised higher. Whether it meets or exceeds remains to be seen.Tags : internet, technology,web, Google,GDrive
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3 Responses to “Online Storage and the GDrive”
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Hi, all I can tell you is that IBackup for Windows, is much better and efficient than any other service for backing up files and folders and restoring them. IBackup accounts are compatible with most FTP clients on most platforms providing a powerful flexible tool to transfer files.
All data transfer with IBackup is fast and secure with industry level 128-bit SSL encryption on transmission. With their `Snapshots’ feature an IBackup account holder can view the files and folders stored in his IBackup account during the previous days. IBackup for Windows also performs backups of MS Exchange Server, MS SQL Server and individual mailboxes using the brick-level backup method. No wonder that IBackup was recently rated as the `best all-around backup service’ by none other than PC World magazine.
IDrive is one of the coolest applications I have found. This application maps your online IBackup account as a local drive on your local computer. All communication with IDrive is safe as it enjoys 128-bit SSL support. IDrive has directory and file caching for faster read access, file transfer resumption on temporary disconnections and intelligent caching that will update your local cache with the latest version of the data in IBackup.
To backup your music and video collection, you can use ‘IDrive Multimedia’ with which you can also listen to your favorite music files and create playlists or do 'Shuffle' using your favorite media player pointing to IDrive's media files. IDrive Multimedia supports all multimedia formats your PC applications support.
Web-Manageris a browser based application that lets you create folders, webload files, rename, delete and share files or folders with others for collaborative access. The `Private Share’ feature in Web-Manager allows an IBackup account holder to instantly share portions of the account with another IBackup user. With Web-Manager it is possible to play your favorite audio or video files stored in your IBackup account using the Media player of your choice.
I have been an enthusiastic DriveHQ user for almost 2 years. Their service is great!
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DriveHQ offers basic service for free. So why the hype and why the wait? Sign up at: http://www.drivehq.com/?refID=2925384
I have been an enthusiastic DriveHQ user for almost 2 years. Their service is great!
All GDrive features are long available and better on DriveHQ.com. Visit www.drivehq.com and watch the demo.
# Backup. DriveHQ Online Backup works great. It has a lot of high-end features, much better than GDrive, including versioning, scheduled backup, encrypted storage, compressed upload, incremental backup and resuming, etc.
# Sync. DriveHQ FileManager can sync multiple PCs, multiple user accounts.
# VPN-less access. You can access your data from anywhere using a web browser, any FTP client, or DriveHQ Cline software, or SMTP/POP3 email with Outlook!
# Collaborate. DriveHQ Group Account service is a true enterprise class collaboration platform. You can easily share folders to different people with different access rights. DriveHQ Group Account owner / admin can create/manage/delete sub-accounts.
# Disconnected access. On the plane? VPN broken? All your files are still accessible as DriveHQ FileManager can cache the data for offline access! DriveHQ even offers SMTP/POP3 emails for offline Outlook access with unlimited email storage!
DriveHQ offers basic service for free. So why the hype and why the wait? Sign up at: http://www.drivehq.com/?refID=2925384