The GDrive and cloud computing sound great, but let's get some practical considerations out of the way first.
Google, Microsoft, Yahoo, and virtually every other technology company are racing up to the sky and into the clouds. This is, for the most part, a good thing: Think lightweight clients and server-based data that we can access from anywhere in the world. All we need is a Web browser.
But if you spend anytime flying or have traveled up to some of the higher mountain regions in the U.S. or around the world, you also know that up in the clouds, there's a pronounced lack of oxygen. That thin air makes people stupid. So much so, that they begin to say things like, "Cloud computing will mark the end of the PC."
heard this pronouncement during the latest round of rumors about the much-whispered-about but never-actually-seen Google GDrive service. If it exists, it's not that much of a big deal. GDrive would simply be cloud-based storage for personal data (photos, documents, e-mail, and the like). Microsoft has a similar service, Windows Live SkyDrive. Cloud-based storage is not a new idea. In fact, it's almost as old as the public Internet. And there was AOL's service Xdrive as well as countless others. I've used some of them, and you know what happened? They all disappeared, along with millions of bytes of personal data.
The Web is a very different place now than it was at the outset. We have ubiquitous broadband and far more people online who are worried sick about losing their data—or losing access to it. They're also more comfortable putting things like photos and videos on Web-based servers—though it's usually for someone else to see. Even so, storing public and private data on the Web or "in the clouds" seems natural to most people.
Today, the added wrinkle is the existence of hundreds of powerful Web-based applications. The company leading this charge is, of course, Google. It's done so well with images (Picasa), mail (Gmail), and video (YouTube) that Microsoft felt compelled to put most of its similar apps online permanently. It would seem, then, that those who say the era of desktop-based computing is coming to an end are right.
Not so fast.
Google—and the other companies pushing cloud computing—needs to answer these eight questions before consumers start heading to these higher elevations.
1) Where is my data stored? Is it on one server in Washington state? Maybe California? Perhaps it's located in multiple places. I'm not convinced that consumers will be comfortable uploading their critical data to essentially unknown territory. Should these services provide some kind of information about where, exactly, the data is stored?
2) What do I do when I can't access my data? Pushing consumers to the cloud is all well and good when things work. But many consumers don't understand that their router may unexpectedly stop working, or simply need a reset to start operating properly. I see panicked users calling tech support and then, possibly, even Google, trying to figure out why they cannot access their files.
3) What can't I do? So far, virtually all the Web-based apps we've reviewed are somewhat less powerful than their desktop-based counterparts. Inevitably, users will hit a brick wall and wonder why Google Docs doesn't work like Microsoft Word.
4) Is it safe? We live in a suspicious society. We're told not to give out our personal information, but documents we store in the cloud could contain our private data. I think consumers will need greater assurances than just the company saying, "We've got you covered."
5) Do I need to keep copies of my data at home? The short answer is, "Of course you do." Consumers may think that this defeats the whole purpose of computing in the clouds, but it doesn't. Even if you did all your computing locally, you should keep a secure backup on a hard drive, in a small safe in an undisclosed location. You can never be too careful. Cloud proponents need to deliver this message alongside the benefits of computing in the stratosphere.
6) Are my files too big? I have video from my hard drive camcorder and tons of 3-megapixel photos from my 12MP digital camera, not to mention my huge music collection. Do you have room for all of that? I'm sure Google does, if you're willing to pay. There will always be free options, but I see modern users eating that space up in a surprisingly short amount of time. Soon users are going to be cranky because they're paying $50 a year to store files and, possibly, more for access to pro-level client tools.
7) What happens if you go out of business? I'm certain Google execs would laugh and say, "Darlin', we're never going out of business." I'm sure they're right, but even big companies have been known to shed or shutter businesses. And what happens to your data then?
8) What happens if I forget to pay for a month? I would hope nothing. I'd suggest that Google bar access until payment is received, but never actually delete anyone's data.
I have nothing against cloud computing, but Google lovers and Microsoft/Intel haters who entertain fantasies of a world without desktop PCs and OSs have their heads in the clouds. Yes, many people will run Google apps that access cloud-based data. They'll do the same with Microsoft products and services from countless other companies, too. However, most of this work will still happen on good old-fashioned desktop PCs equipped with good old-fashioned hard drives (spinning and solid state) and good old-fashioned OSs (probably Windows).