Will Google Chrome OS Bring Us the Mythical GDrive?
Last week, Google announced some interface changes to their Google Docs service that are designed to make finding your files easier. The changes are relatively minor - the "shared with" list has gone away, there's a new "Sharing" menu, and you now have the ability to save your searches - but that hasn't stopped some bloggers from theorizing that the shiny new UI is bringing us one step closer to the often theorized, yet never realized, "Google Drive" service, aka "your hard drive in the cloud."
Although we know this service exists in some form as an internal tool, Google has yet to release a version for public use. But with the latest announcements about the new Chrome operating system, we wonder: will Google Drive finally become a reality thanks to Chrome OS?
Hints of GDrive
In January of this year, blogger Brian Ussery discovered an interesting tidbit of information tucked into a file used by Google Pack, the bundle of tools that Google thinks computer users need to set up a new machine. The file contained a reference to a product called GDrive, described as an "online file backup and storage" system:
"GDrive provides reliable storage for all of your files, including photos, music and documents. GDrive allows you to access your files from anywhere, anytime, and from any device - be it from your desktop, web browser or cellular phone."
Of course, the blogosphere immediately went crazy over this information, sure that this time Google Drive was about to become a reality. And yet, like all the times before, nothing happened. GDrive didn't launch, Google didn't release any announcement, and disappointed bloggers everywhere moved on...again.
Still, the hope for a true GDrive system just won't die. It very well may be one of the blogosphere's longest-running rumors. And now, with the recent announcement of Google's new Chrome Operating System, an OS where "web-based applications will automatically work," we wonder: will the mythical GDrive be included with the OS?
GDrive Needs Picasa Integration
From what we already know, Google has somewhat integrated Picasa into the backend of Google Docs, but, for whatever reason, they have not yet switched this on. To see what we mean, visit this link: http://docs.google.com/#photos. You'll be taken to Google Docs where a message will appear "No Photos." In other words, Picasa image search works in Google Docs, but there's nothing for it to search until the two services are fully integrated. But this functionality was discovered nearly a year ago. What's the holdup?
Perhaps it has something to do with the fact that Picasa, unlike Docs, is a combination of desktop software and a web service. The service's Web Albums feature is more like flickr, a place where photos are shared either publicly or privately with friends and family. However, it's the desktop software that provides the organizational and editing tools needed to manage your photo library. Integrating Picasa into Google Docs now would only be a partially complete user experience - you still need the desktop software component to access all the functionality the service provides.
Maybe Google is waiting to provide that complete experience via Chrome OS? It's not that far-fetched. Picasa is already available in a Linux version (and Chrome OS will sit on a Linux kernel). But perhaps what really has us hopeful was one extra word in the Google Chrome OS announcement:
"...most of the user experience takes place on the web."
Most? Maybe Chrome OS will let you manage your photos via desktop software that integrates with a web service and is accessible via your Google Docs interface? Will that interface then be "GDrive?"
GDrive Needs Music...Or Does It?
If you can't save your tunes online to your cloud storage drive, then you don't really have any cloud storage drive worth using, do you? Even if Google Docs added in Picasa, we'd still be looking at an incomplete GDrive solution if we didn't have access to our music. For GDrive to become the true "hard drive in the sky" it needs to accommodate other sorts of files besides just documents and photos.
It would make sense if Google leveraged their existing partnership with Amazon, who provides the music store on the T-Mobile G1 and the myTouch 3G, phones running Google's mobile phone OS called Android. With Amazon's online interface, you can already browse, listen to samples, and buy MP3s via the web.
The question is, will Chrome OS integrate some sort of music store for letting you buy music (maybe via Amazon) from your computer? And if so, will you be able to download and save those files to the hard drive of the computer itself? Or will Google come up with some revolutionary new "music in the cloud" service that lets you accumulate an online library of songs available at any time for streaming from your computer? Or then again, does Chrome OS even need an iTunes alternative in order to compete? Maybe they will simply offer a web app like Pandora. There have been no hints as to what direction Google will go with this or if they will ignore users' need for music altogether in the new OS.
But like this author's sister recently said after being told about Chrome OS: "why would I want a computer that couldn't run iTunes?"
We hope Google will keep that in mind.
GDrive and Video?
Would a true GDrive solution offer a way for users to store video files, too? It almost seems redundant to have an online storage system for video since Google also owns the giant video sharing portal that is YouTube. Still, you couldn't really have a cloud storage system that restricted you to storing only documents and photos and call it "GDrive." But integrating the supposed GDrive with YouTube - especially via Chrome OS - could be tough. Today, videos still need to be on your computer's hard drive for editing purposes. And, of course, uploading a file from your computer is how you get them online to sites like YouTube. Althouugh GDrive could easily include a way for you to view your online files at YouTube, getting them there via Chrome OS would be more difficult. However, if Chrome OS allowed you to save files on its hard drive, then the YouTube uploader built into Chrome could simply know to look in that particular video storage location when you go to publish them online. Making this a seamless experience for the end user would be the challenge. Again, there are no hints as to Google's plans in this department, but it would seem odd if Chrome OS didn't attempt to integrate one of Google's top properties deep into its system.
What Else?
Although this article is just pure speculation, we think that if we ever see GDrive revealed, there's a chance that it would occur when it's introduced as a part of Chrome OS. What do you think?
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With current strong offerings like DropBox and others, does anybody really care about GDrive anymore?
I think, as Chairman Jobs once said, "Real Artists Ship." Incidentally another real-time sharing collaboration app/service was launched yesterday: http://watchittoo.co/blog
Google is using old-school Microsoft PR tactics to steal mindshare from everyone else. It appears to be working.
You know, I didn't even think of iTunes until it was mentioned here in this article. Since we have a year (more?) before Chrome OS hits, I'm pretty confident the people at Google will have a solution for that (and the other items mentioned here.)
@Puppyfoots I agree I pretty much given up on GDrive and primarily use DropBox. Google may hit a home run with a tighter integration with their OS and some of their other services. Though I'm more interested in their Google Wave announcement.
Great writeup man. This is why I love RWW. I can't wait for this all to unfold. The suspense is killing me.
http://docs.google.com/#videos
Interesting article. GDrive can be used with App Engine or even third party websites. Once you connect with your Google Account on a third party website, instead of saving photos/files on their website, your data can be saved to your GDrive account. This can potentially be an Amazon's S3 competitor.
Great post! It reminds me of some of my favourite posts from ReadWriteWeb from years ago when they hypothesized on what a Google OS would be like. Now that it is finally coming it's great to have more posts like those.
Interesting point regarding iTunes. As an dedicated Chrome and iPhone user, I'd love to hop over to Chrome OS, but if I can't sync my iPhone - not too sure I will be switching!
I've given up on GDrive. Now I just use Microsoft's Live Mesh and JungleDisk to back it up. I'm very pleased with both. I have the feeling that GDrive would be too minimalistic like a lot of Google's products to make it useful. Works fine for GMail, but when I want online storage I need it to be rock-solid.
Posted by: Ryan Massie
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July 22, 2009 10:03 AM
GTunes ... http://tinyurl.com/GTunes
GDrive or whatever you call was indirectly confirmed by Google. You can check this article http://blogs.wsj.com/digits/2009/07/09/sun-valley-schmidt-didnt-want-to-build-chrome-initially-he-says/
and this paragraph
Mr. Page described the Chrome operating system as a kind of anti-operating system — one that is basically indistinguishable from a browser. Netbooks loaded with Chrome will boot up almost instantaneously and will store data on the Internet instead of a hard drive.
Very insightful post. Can't wait for this.
http://AppUseful.com
I would be suprised with the amount of integration that Google is going to aim for with Chrome OS if they did not include some type of Google backed online storage system.
http://www.chrome-os-blog.com
The problems are quite simple: Scale & Scope
GDrive in the Open would be the biggest project for Google yet. Even bigger than the Chrome OS because they suddenly would need to be able to host a Cloud Storage pool for every single Google user that would work openly when it comes to file sizes and that need to synchronize perfectly all data around Google services.
If Google want to make a splash and offer more than what Microsoft offers in Skydrive and Live Mesh, they need to offer at least 10GB's of Data for the Cloud Storage of every single Google User. Regardless it is used or not, they would then need to be able to host 100-900 Petabytes of persistent data storage without having in count the bandwidth and datacenter stress for the constant Upload, Download and Data Movement in the users accounts.
= it will consume more Data and Bandwidth than YouTube.
YouTube is already a insane resource hungry operation that cost 1+ million dollars a day to operate. So no wonder that GDrive has not shipped. If they were to ship it this year, the anniversary of the Chrome Browser would be a good time to do so but then they are already going to release Chrome 3 Final and the Alpha bits of Chrome OS at that time. Those are big enough announcements. I Think that it will happen in the space of the First Chrome Browser anniversary and the second anniversary (When the Chrome OS is more than likely to be released)
Another reason why i think they have not released it, is because they have not finished Google Wave either. Wave would also be a good reason to release GDrive. Without a finished Wave or Chrome OS beta versions, there is not really good reason to launch such an resource hungry service.
But once again as i said back in January and six months before that. Cloud Storage is a game where the only true competitor for Google will be Microsoft that is more than ready to take them on such bet thanks to Windows Azure.
there are many apps that run on the web , that were local
you could edit videos, screen capture, stream music,
that gOS will be awwwsome!
nakliyat:
I forwarded this page to all my members. Thanks for your finest inputs.
perde:thanks for information
Oh, look! Someone found more hints about GDrive: http://blogs.zdnet.com/Google/?p=1487
Chrome OS is made to run on Netbooks. Who the hell wants to do video editing on a netbook?
Perhaps minor details like trimming scenes can make sense but I think that is already doable online, no need to download it to your computer and then upload them.
Netbooks are made to surf the web and edit documents. A Gdrive with your Picasa and Amazon assumptions make total sense and a seemier integration between YouTube and Chrome OS also makes sense.
To think of the possibilities is quite exciting!
perde modelleri:10 gb data olurmu enough? I wonder ... thanks.
oto kiralama: thanks for share.