Google Launches Google Drive Cloud Storage Service

[Chupa Chupa]

People used iDisk?

Yup and we enjoyed it too. But I'm not sad anymore to see it go away because there are plenty of better choices now.

---

With all these new cloud services Apple seems to be looking more chintzy every day. Only Drop Box (which I use) comes with less free storage, but it gives you plenty of opportunities to bump up to 5GB and beyond.

 

[scamsung]

Too little too late

It's the Google+ of cloud services, which is fitting since you'll ony be able to share files with Google+ users... (but even that isn't working yet)

Stick to asteroid mining and sci-fi glasses, Google.

 

[VenusianSky]

Nothing is free.
You will pay for it in $$$ or your information.

As for Google being late to the cloud storage party... hardly.
YouTube (cloud for video), Google Docs (cloud for documents), Picasa (cloud for pics).
It's all merging into one service. Although I don't see YouTube going away anytime soon.

The free I was referring to was about Cloud services hosting (like Windows Azure and Amazon EC2), not Cloud services (iCloud, Live, Youtube, etc). I was also joking about the hosting being free, BTW. That stuff costs serious money on the backend.
The only reason I mention Cloud hosting is because Google is a big company and I wouldn't be surprised if they try to enter that market.

 

[milo]

No actually it's not the same - the key differentiator in the iCloud TOS being "Content on areas of the Service that are accessible by the public". Google makes no such distinction.

But you're missing something else - the bit that keeps getting posted over and over is Google's general TOS, not a TOS specifically for GD. And the general TOS also specifically says that individual services can have policies that are different from the general TOS. There's no GD specific TOS yet but I suspect we'll see one soon enough and that it will clarify that GD files aren't available to the public unless the user sets them that way.

 

[rjohnstone]

No actually it's not the same - the key differentiator in the iCloud TOS being "Content on areas of the Service that are accessible by the public". Google makes no such distinction.

Finish the sentence.... or or other users with whom you consent to share such Content...
Once it's up there, Apple knows you will share it with at least one person.
Once that's done, they assume the additional use.

you grant Apple a worldwide, royalty-free, non-exclusive license to use, distribute, reproduce, modify, adapt, publish, translate, publicly perform and publicly display such Content on the Service solely for the purpose for which such Content was submitted or made available, without any compensation or obligation to you.

The proper use of the word "or" can be a very effective legal term.

 

[50548]

Finish the sentence.... or or other users with whom you consent to share such Content...
Once it's up there, Apple knows you will share it with at least one person.
Once that's done, they assume the additional use.

The proper use of the word "or" can be a very effective legal term.

AGAIN: "...solely for the purpose for which such Content was submitted or made available."

This is the key provision that makes Apple's TOS way different from Google's.

Besides, it's perfectly possible for anyone to use iCloud WITHOUT sharing it with any other person. I'd definitely be one of them.

 

[b166er]

does anyone else find it weird that iCloud kind of.... sucks? At least when you compare it to the competition. Drop Box was the first really well known and widely used cloud storage/sharing option and in many ways it is still simply the best and easiest to use. Now other services have been popping up and many of them are also great. Why is iCloud lacking so much function?

I'm not trying to hate here, I am in to Apple products and I am not gonna give up on them or anything- but it really is puzzling how a company like Apple can be years behind the competition of cloud services with all of that CASH to throw around.

I will say this much, iCloud does do a few things extremely well. For Example, Photostream is great for the people who don't sync much.

 

[JAQ]

Dropbox's web interface also does a good job viewing Illustrator and Photoshop files. If only the iOS version (which relies on the rather limited viewer capabilities that Apple provides) could duplicate that trick.

 

[cammonro]

But you're missing something else - the bit that keeps getting posted over and over is Google's general TOS, not a TOS specifically for GD. And the general TOS also specifically says that individual services can have policies that are different from the general TOS. There's no GD specific TOS yet but I suspect we'll see one soon enough and that it will clarify that GD files aren't available to the public unless the user sets them that way.

Well that's a big hypothetical maybe. The facts are when you go to sign up for Google Drive the attached screen shot is what you see - which takes you right to the TOS everyone is talking about.

 

[rjohnstone]

AGAIN: "...solely for the purpose for which such Content was submitted or made available."

This is the key provision that makes Apple's TOS way different from Google's.

True, for this particular provision it is restrictive.
If you read the entire TOS and there are other "terms of use" loopholes Apple has at their disposal.

My favorite is the "Changes" provision.
Cell companies get ripped to shreds for having this clause in the contract.
No action = acceptance

Apple reserves the right at any time to modify this Agreement and to impose new or additional terms or conditions on your use of the Service. If you do not agree with them, you must stop using the Service and contact customer support to retrieve your Content. Your continued use of the Service will be deemed acceptance of such modifications and additional terms and conditions.

And they are not required under the TOS to contact you regarding those changes.
As a legal professional, even you should know the term "may" is an out for non-action.
And there's that pesky "or" again. 😉

Notices
Apple may provide you with notices regarding the Service, including changes to this Agreement, by email to your iCloud email address (and/or other alternate email address associated with your Account if provided), by regular mail, or by postings on our website and/or the Service.

 

[BaldiMac]

does anyone else find it weird that iCloud kind of.... sucks? At least when you compare it to the competition. Drop Box was the first really well known and widely used cloud storage/sharing option and in many ways it is still simply the best and easiest to use. Now other services have been popping up and many of them are also great. Why is iCloud lacking so much function?

I'm not trying to hate here, I am in to Apple products and I am not gonna give up on them or anything- but it really is puzzling how a company like Apple can be years behind the competition of cloud services with all of that CASH to throw around.

I will say this much, iCloud does do a few things extremely well. For Example, Photostream is great for the people who don't sync much.

Drop Box works. I don't think iCloud needs to duplicate it's functionality.

 

[Razeus]

Goes to show how far Apple is behind in this area. iCloud, for me, is only good for syncing my contacts and calendars and backup of my iDevices. Photostream is a joke and kind of pointless.

 

[Drunken Master]

Goes to show how far Apple is behind in this area. iCloud, for me, is only good for syncing my contacts and calendars and backup of my iDevices. Photostream is a joke and kind of pointless.

How is it pointless? When I'm shooting photos for work at a location, I don't have to plug my phone into my MBP when I get back to work, just fire up Photostream.

What about Cloud App? Do none of you guys use it? I've found it helpful for quickly hosting images to share or post and backing up a few important Pages documents right off my desktop.

I use Dropbox for work but don't go into that much, just as a shared set of folders with images that we reuse for content.

 

[cammonro]

Finish the sentence.... or or other users with whom you consent to share such Content...
Once it's up there, Apple knows you will share it with at least one person.
Once that's done, they assume the additional use.

The proper use of the word "or" can be a very effective legal term.

Which can be argued in court. The point is there is a distinction as to the intent of the content by the one who published it. Again Google makes no such distinction.

I guess we'll need to wait for Google's "real" TOS. Hey do what you want. I see nothing wrong with being suspicious about a company that knows more about people than probably anyone (other than Facebook). Power corrupts... all that. Just saying.

 

[AbSoluTc]

iCloud is not a cloud based FILE STORAGE system like DropBox, SkyDrive or Google Drive. iCloud is a cloud based BACKUP system for iOS devices.

iDisk WAS and IS (until it's shuttered) a cloud based FILE STORAGE system. I wish Apple would implement something similar but like DropBox. I enjoy having all my stuff in one "eco system". I don't like several different outlets. I don't care who offers the most free. Free is NOT always better.

Right now, I use DropBox. I have iDisk as well but stopped using it so I don't become dependent on it when it's gone.

 

[cammonro]

does anyone else find it weird that iCloud kind of.... sucks? At least when you compare it to the competition. Drop Box was the first really well known and widely used cloud storage/sharing option and in many ways it is still simply the best and easiest to use. Now other services have been popping up and many of them are also great. Why is iCloud lacking so much function?

I think iCloud won't start realizing its potential until Mountain Lion. Of course if ML ends up as being as buggy as Lion, I don't know if they are going to be able to convince anyone to upgrade. (A lot of us gave up Snow Leopard because we were losing MobileMe.)

 

[milo]

I see nothing wrong with being suspicious about a company that knows more about people than probably anyone (other than Facebook).

I see nothing wrong with that either, I just think it's funny that many of the people who are paranoid (and probably rightly so) are willing to turn around and blindly trust Apple.

 

[jjwarwick]

I'm perfectly happy to use more than one solution here - I don't think any one product is the perfect solution.

iCloud is perfect for keeping all my iOS and OSX devices in sync - bookmarks, reminders, contacts etc. it also backs up my iphones and iPad. It costs me nothing, and just works.

I use dropbox for day to day file storage. It's simple, can be used with all my devices, and again just works. Because there are local copies, it also gets backed up to my time capsule.

I don't like google, and don't plan on giving them anything - plus I can't see any advantage in what they have to offer.

 

[cammonro]

I see nothing wrong with that either, I just think it's funny that many of the people who are paranoid (and probably rightly so) are willing to turn around and blindly trust Apple.

I'm with you. I think Google and Facebook have more to gain from our info than Apple, but I won't put it past Apple either that given the right opportunity they could steer the company in a different direction at the expense of their users. Heck I think it's very uncool that they forced Snow Leopard/MobileMe users to upgrade to Lion for iCloud but supported Windows Vista. That seems like a slap in the face to loyal Apple users.

But Apple has a solid revenue stream from hardware and (now via their online stores) software and media. Google and Facebook for the most part live and die by advertising.

In the end it's important to stay informed. It's good to talk about it even if we don't all agree.

 

[AbSoluTc]

I'm with you. I think Google and Facebook have more to gain from our info than Apple, but I won't put it past Apple either that given the right opportunity they could steer the company in a different direction at the expense of their users. Heck I think it's very uncool that they forced Snow Leopard/MobileMe users to upgrade to Lion for iCloud but supported Windows Vista. That seems like a slap in the face to loyal Apple users.

But Apple has a solid revenue stream from hardware and (now via their online stores) software and media. Google and Facebook for the most part live and die by advertising.

In the end it's important to stay informed. It's good to talk about it even if we don't all agree.

They didn't force anything. You can choose to upgrade or not. iCloud is a built in feature of the next gen OS. Whether you want to upgrade to use it is your choice.

I really love how people say they are forced to always do something. Lol.

 

[bnerd]

After reading the TOC ... Google states that everything you upload they would have the right to duplicate, modify, and distribute as they please.

No thanks... Google.

 

[50548]

True, for this particular provision it is restrictive.
If you read the entire TOS and there are other "terms of use" loopholes Apple has at their disposal.

My favorite is the "Changes" provision.
Cell companies get ripped to shreds for having this clause in the contract.
No action = acceptance

And they are not required under the TOS to contact you regarding those changes.
As a legal professional, even you should know the term "may" is an out for non-action.
And there's that pesky "or" again. 😉

Of course you're right on the "may" point - although so far I've always received Apple's information on changes to their TOS (iTMS notably).

In fact, what Apple does in terms of unilateral changes is par for the course for any "adhesion contracts", since you as a customer are not entitled to discuss or negotiate their terms.

In jurisdictions where consumer law is particularly strong (Continental Europe and places like Brazil), however, such companies are usually obliged to at least communicate clients about contractual modifications to their terms of adhesion, not to mention certain provisions that may simply be declared null and void by statute.

 

[lifeinhd]

I must be the only person in the world who does not use any cloud whatsoever. I like having all my stuff stored locally and not having to worry about having access to a document when I don't have Internet access, much less the security implications of trusting someone else with my files. I would use iCloud just for iOS device syncing, but I can't, because I don't have Lion and I can't get Lion because I still use PPC apps. Sigh.

 

[cammonro]

They didn't force anything. You can choose to upgrade or not. iCloud is a built in feature of the next gen OS. Whether you want to upgrade to use it is your choice.

I really love how people say they are forced to always do something. Lol.

Was iCloud "built in" to Vista? It was a slap in the face to those who have used and paid for MobileMe for years and came to rely on its services.

 

[tigres]

Kind of ironic timing, my dropbox is down, and won't connect 😱