I've tried to use Google's apps for Drive integration on a few occassions, but always stopped because it was such a confusing experience and fraught with problems. Dropbox has always been my reliable go-to file syncing solution now for 12 years. I haven't missed Google's solutions, but I am glad that they are finally wising up and fixing the desktop integration app.
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New Google Drive Desktop App to Replace Backup & Sync and Drive File Stream Clients Later This Year
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I've tried to use Google's apps for Drive integration on a few occassions, but always stopped because it was such a confusing experience and fraught with problems. Dropbox has always been my reliable go-to file syncing solution now for 12 years. I haven't missed Google's solutions, but I am glad that they are finally wising up and fixing the desktop integration app.
I've moved away from using Google Drive, but when I did I found that Insync was a pretty great solution. It syncs all your Google Drive stuff and converts the local files on your drive to .doc, .xlsx and .ppt files instead of those weird little placeholder things Google gives you. I just preferred to work in native desktop apps whenver possible and it gave me that ability. I think it has a bunch of other perks as well, like selective sync.
Are there any cross-platform encrypted disk image formats? I keep my most sensitive stuff in iCloud Drive inside an encrypted .sparseimage file, but as you say it's Mac only and a cross-platform format might be smart.
I also really do wish iCloud Drive had end-to-end encryption.
It's quite simple, really. They had Google Docs, where you stored all your files, then they decided that should only refer to their web-based text documents, with other files now under Google Drive. Then they released the Google Drive desktop client, renamed it to Google Backup & Sync, released Google Drive File Stream with slightly different features for slightly different accounts, and are now renaming Google Drive File Stream to just Google Drive and merging Google Backup & Sync (the old Drive) into the new Drive. I look forward to next year, when they rename it all back to Google Documents and use the Google Drive name for their self-driving cars.
That's crazy this was announced today as I spent more than a half hour wasting my time with their idiotic tech support trying to get my GoogleDrive to sync again via the desktop app. I really don't understand that company. They create pretty impressive apps and get them about 90% there and then just walk away. But that final 10% of development is, like, what makes the app *useable*. So strange how they run their company.
For several years I used Google Wallet; it was fantastic because my renter several states away would pay his rent through Wallet and the payment was almost instantly on my Wallet card. Suddenly, the card was deprecated, and pretty much any Google payments system is gone. As you say, "They create pretty impressive apps and get them about 90% there and then just walk away."
They’re predictably unpredictable, which is a fine trait for a pop star like Madonna or Gaga, but annoying when it comes to services you start to rely on. I’m tired of migrating or adjusting every time they do this sort of thing. I suppose in this case there are improvements to be had, but it’s exhausting. I’m also being informed I have to migrate my playlists from Google Music to YouTube music or I lose everything past the deadline. Well fine, let it all rot. I’m not doing this again.
Apple says privacy and data protection is a human right! I am wondering what takes so long to implement it to the very sensitive data stored on iCloud Drive?? (Scans of medical records for example)
Hopefully something will change 2021!!
I use Google's Backup and Sync to upload photos because Google Photos is amazing at searching for things. It's much better than Apple Photos.
Hopefully, this combining (or updating) will make Backup and Sync even better. Currently, it can be a bit of a resource hog. I let it run at night, though, and it stays up to date. Just pause it while I'm working.
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Walt D in LV
Hopefully, this combining (or updating) will make Backup and Sync even better. Currently, it can be a bit of a resource hog. I let it run at night, though, and it stays up to date. Just pause it while I'm working.
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Walt D in LV
Yes, but if you use it "Google Drive Desktop App" and when you inevitably get pissed off at it, you can call it the "G0d D4mn Desktop App" and the acronym doesn't change.
How cool is that? Great how Google puts thought into the subtle nuances of how they name their products...
I hope it fixes the bug where you can’t have the app setup on two user accounts (File Stream) and use fast user switching. Basically the app fails to open on the second user account that signs in.
Google Drive v45 has been a messy update for macadmins. Those of us that manage fleets of Macs, policies in place to look for 'Google Drive File Stream.app' suddenly became 'Google Drive.app', messing up scripting. That's manageable however.
What isn't is: Google didn't add 'Google Drive.app' to be added to startup items after the update, it was only added after the application was run for the first time. Second, when run for the first time Team Drives were not mounted. Third, google have seriously broken the system extensions (if running Big Sur) in version 45 making it impossible to do a MDM allow of them. M1 support isn't coming until late April.
What isn't is: Google didn't add 'Google Drive.app' to be added to startup items after the update, it was only added after the application was run for the first time. Second, when run for the first time Team Drives were not mounted. Third, google have seriously broken the system extensions (if running Big Sur) in version 45 making it impossible to do a MDM allow of them. M1 support isn't coming until late April.
Advanced Drive for desktop configuration - Google Workspace Admin Help
This article is for advanced users and administrators. To change common Drive for desktop settings, go here instead. You can set custom options for Google Drive for desktop, including the default dri
support.google.com
Change DefaultMountPoint in config.
Actually, to be fair it’s Apple who removed the support for kernel extensions in Big Sur, but it was also announced that this was coming almost two years ago. Google had plenty of time to get with the program and update GDFS to use the newer and better architecture.
Even Parallels and VMware Fusion, which are both arguably much more complicated apps, managed to pivot away from their reliance on KEXTs and have Big Sur compatible versions out before the public release. There’s just no excuse for a multi-billion company to have dropped the ball this badly, especially when we’re talking about a tool that hundreds of paying enterprise customers rely on.
Good grief. Again?! Lord. Seems Google’s solution is to reinvent their app structure once a year and nothing is ever backwards-compatible.
Agreed.
I'm guessing they originally planned to have everybody on the Drive File Stream, and started the project focussing on the GSuite users first. But maybe both ended up being developed separately, and the regular Backup and Sync client ended up being maintained alongside.
This is akin to Google Hangout vs Meet vs Allo vs currently Google chat, where even though Google seems to be intending to move to one destination, their ADHD attention span ending up having everything existing side by side.
I just gotta add that I installed the new Backup & Sync app and it's just a Google mess. First, you can't copy and past your user or password info, so that's annoying. Then it wouldn't recognize my password anyway and finally punted me to the browser where I entered the same password and then took me back to the app to finish up. Like.... whaaaaat? Who designs this stuff? And why aren't they fired?
For anyone else fed up with abysmal performance since Big Sur on Intel, or no available client at all on M1, I do encourage you to check out Strongsync! This seems to be a brand new client (but recycling the name) from ExpanDrive which claims to be the first cloud storage software using the new File Provider API stealthily launched with Big Sur.
So far it seems to work fine, though I admittedly haven't been able to use it much due to a bug. Only the first 100 shared drives, based on alphabetical order, are listed in the Finder interface provided by the app. But the developer at least seem responsive and has promised a fix in the very near future. Which is already more than I can say for Google.
www.expandrive.com
So far it seems to work fine, though I admittedly haven't been able to use it much due to a bug. Only the first 100 shared drives, based on alphabetical order, are listed in the Finder interface provided by the app. But the developer at least seem responsive and has promised a fix in the very near future. Which is already more than I can say for Google.
Strongsync is now included in ExpanDrive
An amazing, first-of-its-kind, macOS File Provider. On-demand sync managed by APFS and Spotlight search inside every app on your Mac. Browse and access every file without taking up hard drive space.
So it looks like Google now has M1 support for Google Drive for Desktop (nee Google Drive File Stream) out in "an open beta capacity," although it's already part of the main download.
I installed it this morning and it seems to be working reasonably well so far. It's something of a pain to install as it still uses kernel extensions, so you have to actually reboot into Recovery Mode, open the "Startup Security Utility" and modify the security policy to allow kernel extensions, after which you'll have to boot up normally and then reboot again after authorizing the kernel extension in System Preferences (in the same way that you did on Intel Macs before Big Sur).
Google has all of the instructions here:
The good news, however, is that this pretty much proves that Apple does in fact allow kernel extensions to run for anybody who really wants to do it, and in fact I sort of applaud the fact that Apple has made it a pretty straightforward setting rather than making users dig through command-line options like you do in order to disable SIP.
Google Drive for desktop release notes - Google Workspace Admin Help
These release notes reflect additions and improvements in each version of Google Drive for desktop (formerly Drive File Stream). If you see a number between the listed releases, that version has no si
support.google.com
I installed it this morning and it seems to be working reasonably well so far. It's something of a pain to install as it still uses kernel extensions, so you have to actually reboot into Recovery Mode, open the "Startup Security Utility" and modify the security policy to allow kernel extensions, after which you'll have to boot up normally and then reboot again after authorizing the kernel extension in System Preferences (in the same way that you did on Intel Macs before Big Sur).
Google has all of the instructions here:
The good news, however, is that this pretty much proves that Apple does in fact allow kernel extensions to run for anybody who really wants to do it, and in fact I sort of applaud the fact that Apple has made it a pretty straightforward setting rather than making users dig through command-line options like you do in order to disable SIP.