Google's rumored GDrive personal cloud service gets real description

By Jacqueline Emigh | Published January 30, 2009, 10:42 AM

Google's GDrive -- a rumored forthcoming service for storing personal software files on cloud-based Google servers -- looks likely to launch soon, if a reference in a file used by GooglePack is a good indication.

GDrive's "localized product category" is "online file backup and storage," according to the newly discovered description in the file. It also offers a two-line "localized short description" for the long anticipated GGDrive service, which is seen by some as ultimately eliminating the need for storing personal data on PC hard drives.

"GDrive provides reliable storage for all of your files, including photos, music, and documents," the file from Google affirms. "GDrive allows you to access your files from anywhere, anytime, and from any device -- be it from your desktop, web browser, or cellular phone."

The file in GooglePack contains "localized information which is sent to translators."

Critics have cautioned, though, that a cloud-based service such as GDrive could provide Google with vast control over users' personal information.

Comments

View comments by with a score of at least

Don't do it! Don't do it! If you like the government having access to whatever you upload (linked to your Gmail and google searches), then go ahead.

Score: 0

|

If ever I store any file there, I would encrypt it first.

Score: 1

|

I use iDrive and Mozy and I find iDrive to be the better overall at the moment. It's not a bad idea to use two at the same time if you want to be ultrasafe.

Score: 0

|

Currently I am using Skydrive (http://skydrive.live.com) for storing my files and I am happy with it :)

Score: 0

|

Skydrive is good, but if you want a smarter more automated back up go with Live Mesh. Both are great services though.

Score: 0

|

So much for "Mozy" Backup Service which is advertised all over hulu

Score: 0

|

PDC 2009: What have we learned this week?

There was the freebie that no one will forget, the heebie-jeebies courtesy of Scott Guthrie, and a teensy bit clearer picture of how this cloud thingie should work.

Live report: Will Google Chrome OS change Linux?

The mysteries of just what Chrome OS is, and how much of an operating system it truly is, may be resolved today.

PDC 2009: Microsoft cares about Web browser performance

The effort to give users of the world's dominant Web browser the impression of quality, is a personal one for the man who leads that battle.

Nokia re-affirms its commitment to Symbian, sort of

Maemo won't necessarily be replacing Symbian in the Nokia N-Series, but that's definitely a place where it will be found.

E-book readers will be in short supply this holiday season

E-readers are hot this year, and a lot of compelling new products have been released, but are there enough electrophoretic displays to go around?

Sony looks to finally open a single storefront for downloads

Sony has had many different download portals for movies, music, e-books, and games, and now it's looking to make a single shop for all of it.

Tuning out the tablet: Time to give the endless speculation a rest

Wide Angle Zoom: Wishing and hoping and thinking and praying....won't put an iTablet on the market.

Five improvements for IT managers in 2010

If businesses are to improve their efficiency for next year, they need to stop and reassess the basic tenets of their job.

AOL's spinoff from Time Warner to shed 2,500 jobs

As AOL moves toward become an independent company again, it will cut nearly a third of its workforce.

Gartner: SMS-based money transfer will be bigger than mobile browsing, search

Gartner issues its predictions for the 10 things our phones will be doing in 2012.

Don't forget to upgrade to Firefox 3.6 beta 3 today

Mozilla has released the latest beta its Firefox 3.6 browser software, just over one week after beta 2.