WebProNews » Online Storage

Google GDrive A Smidge Closer To Launch

WebProNews Staff — Tue, 27 Nov 2007 13:16:48 +0000

Google’s online storage service will enter a competitive field of similar offerings from Microsoft, whenever it enters the field, that is.

Those who remember when tech information arrived in thick, ad-stuffed trade journals probably recall the Microsoft model of announcing a not-yet-launched product to stifle discussion of services from rival companies. In that time, such stories worked to give Microsoft time to either compete or buy the competitor.

Web services and wider broadband Internet availability have knocked that strategy into the history books. But it’s difficult not to see a parallel between Microsoft’s vaporware articles of the 1990′s and the latest discussion of Google’s online storage service, GDrive, in the Wall Street Journal.

Google has work under way on the project, according to the usual unnamed sources. No launch date. No pricing plans. No storage capacity. No confirmation from Google, per the requisite no comment from the company.

The article presents considerations like competing services, and the potential for legal entanglements for storing information with a remote provider. Legitimate concerns, certainly, but ones that miss the real big-picture issue: upload speeds.

We have tested out three of the services noted in the Journal’s piece, and found the uploading process slow thanks to the parsimonious upload speeds Internet service providers allow for their customers. If “high-speed downloads” frustrate people, uploading will be a true test of character.

Online storage from Google will have its uses. The really useful feature, fast uploads, is something even Google’s brightest engineers won’t be able to address, whenever GDrive launches.

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Windows Live Takes A SkyDrive

WebProNews Staff — Fri, 10 Aug 2007 00:20:03 +0000

The product formerly known as Windows Live Folders has been renamed and opened up to people in the US, UK, and India.

Windows Live Takes A SkyDrive

Microsoft’s Windows Live-branded online file storage service received a new moniker as the beta opened up to a broader audience. SkyDrive allows people to store files and share them with friends or the public.

In simpler terms, it looks like they have made a pretty drag and drop interface for a FTP server, with an easy way to set permissions. They made plenty of storage space available for potential users, with 500MB accounts available.

Users need a Windows Live ID to access the SkyDrive account. Files can be placed into shared folders, and each person will need a Windows Live ID to read or add/delete files, depending on the permissions given to them.

Public folders function as described. The folder owner can share a link to a file in the folder with others as desired. Those visitors receive read access to the content.

The SkyDrive Team posted the main changes they have made to the service, based on feedback from beta testers:

• An upgraded look and feel – new graphics to go along with your new features!
• “Also on SkyDrive” – easily get back to the SkyDrives you

AOL Opening Free 5GB Xdrive Storage

WebProNews Staff — Thu, 03 Aug 2006 17:53:53 +0000

As part of the company’s shift to an audience-supported model, AOL will offer all Internet users 5GB of free online storage through the Xdrive service it purchased in August 2005.

The new service announced by AOL provides accessibility from PCs or mobile devices.

User tools enable drag and drop functionality for moving items between the system and the storage service, and can schedule of automatic backup of files and folders or the auto-upload of email attachments to Xdrive.

Xdrive has charged $10 per month for 5GB of storage. In September, that will change to the free model.

Users will be able to upgrade to a 50GB premium service if they require more storage.

All AOL and AIM users will have access to the free Xdrive storage by signing in with a screenname.

They can use the service to store any type of digital content.

People with photos to store can use AOL Pictures to purchase prints or gifts derived from the images they store on Xdrive.

The service has permission-based sharing functions, to permit users to make files or folders available to others on a controlled basis.

It is intended for the lawful sharing of content, and will undoubtedly be under the watchful eye of organizations like the RIAA and the MPAA.

AOL calls this announced change to Xdrive a “disruptive free storage offering.” While other online storage services exist, Xdrive has a substantial base of AOL and AIM users numbering in the millions today.

The 5GB of free space, AOL brand name, and Xdrive backup and security features could be a death knell to startups in the online storage space.

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David Utter is a staff writer for WebProNews covering technology and business.