It’s bad news for Dropbox this week as Google announces Google Drive, its very own cloud storage service that boasts an impressive array of features which could see many customers making the switch.
Editor: I still love Dropbox and won’t be switching. See my comments at the bottom of the page for some reasons why…
It’s not that Google Drive does anything particularly spectacular that Dropbox doesn’t, it’s that it does it all for a much lower price and with a higher memory allocation on the free version.
For starters Google Drive offers 5GB of memory free, compared to 2GB on Dropbox, and once the paid for version kicks in you have two options – 25GB for $2.49 and then $4.99 for a whopping 100GB! Dropbox kicks in at $9.99 for a measly 50GB so no contest on that front.
But as with all recent Google updates, the service works seamlessly with your Google experience, interacting with G+ and Gmail to make sharing documents effortless.
There’s also a handy feature that can convert scanned documents into text so it can be searched along with other documents. You can even take a picture of a document and convert it to a text file and make changes.
Plus you don’t need to worry about having the right software for each file, you can open up to 30 different document types in your browser without having the programme installed.
There is also a live sharing feature which allows you to collaborate with your contacts in real time, showing updates as they happen which could see an end to endless versions and tracking changes which circulating documents back and forth.
And at the risk of sounding like a sycophant, the added feature of saving previous versions just in case you find you’ve changed something you shouldn’t is something I’ll be making use of as soon as it’s available.
As always, Google have created a handy little film showing off the main benefits.
Google Drive is not available to everyone yet and there’s no real idea of when it will be. You can register though to receive a notification when your drive is available. The bad news for iphone users though is that it’s not available on iOS yet but Google is promising it soon will be.
Editor: Check out this comparison of different online storage services privacy policies. Google Drive suddenly not so attractive….http://p.twimg.com/ArVvfLICIAAMuVM.png
Written by Felice Ayling
Google buys Zagat
The news that Google is in the process of buying up Zagat has brought a fresh wave of speculation over whether it can stay neutral now it officially owns content.
Zagat’s main business has been in restaurant guides for cities all over the world both printed and on the web. Now that Google owns it, how will it deal with the potential conflict and resist the urge to improve the site’s ranking in search results?
Even if it does nothing, the move may still raise suspicion and in fact the online booking service Open Table saw a drop in share prices after the news was announced. Clearly someone is feeling antsy.
This isn’t a new situation for Google, many of its purchases have raised a few eyebrows but for the most part it has stuck to acquiring tools which pull content from elsewhere and has never before got into the content management business.
That aside, what is really interesting about the acquisition is that while Zagat has an online presence, it’s main focus and success has been in print. The Zagat guides are a must have for many travelers and their appeal is that they contain ratings and reviews from people who have actually visited the establishments. Zagat claims they were pioneers in ‘user-generated’ content and their guides were to foodies what Trip Advisor is to holiday makers.
However, the brand has struggled online which is surprising given the success you would assume a service like this would have, but it appears the fact that these guides are a printed document you can carry with you is the main appeal. Even though the very nature of print means that the information contained within could become out of date very quickly.
It’s unclear what Google believes it will gain from the purchase and possibly it could turn around Zagat’s online offering. It’s intriguing to see where this one will go.
And for pure cheese factor, check out Zagat’s homepage where it literally gushes about how wonderful Google is, giving it top marks in all four of its usual categories. Hmm.
Cloud computing takes a hit
Microsoft was left a little red faced this week after an issue with its DNS left millions of users with no access to it’s online services.
Among the systems affected were Hotmail, Skydrive and Office 365, Microsoft’s alternative to Google’s online applications.
It’s not clear exactly what caused the problem but it’s not the first time the system has collapsed and left user’s without access.
On the flip side, Google has not escaped unscathed this week as it reported issues with its Google Docs on Wednesday. Although at least its user’s weren’t paying for the privilege.
It seems that most systems have experienced some downtime at one point or another and perhaps this is an indication that our software is moving faster than our hardware. If companies are going to compete in this market, they have to invest in the supporting systems which allow them to work. Selling people cloud computing services that fail regularly is not going to cut it and with the race to be the first to launch it appears that quality may be suffering as a result.
Waterstones challenge Kindle
Waterstones has announced it will be launching its own e-reader, apparently inspired by the success Barnes and Noble’s Nook device.
Waterstone’s Managing Director, James Daunt announced the company’s plans on Radios 4’s You and Yours show. Dunt has been brought in to boost the company following it being bought from HMV earlier this year. Waterstones has been reporting continuing declining sales linked mainly to the rise in the number of people buying and reading e-books.
While the move is a logical one for the retailer, it has its work cut out for it trying to knock the Kindle off its top spot. Waterstones isn’t the only one trying to compete in this market, many of the larger electronics companies are releasing e-readers which come with more features. However the success of the Kindle seems to be down to its simplicity, only books all the time has been a winner with customers.
Then again, Barnes and Noble created a winning product because they mixed great technology with the traditional bookstore experience. Owners can read books for free for up to an hour in any of their stores which gave it a clever link from the device to its stores. It gives users the best of both worlds, the benefits of the technology with the atmosphere of the traditional bookstore coffee house.
Is this the end of the iPod?
Ipod sales have dwindled significantly over the past six months and Apple seems to have been happy to let the product slide in favour of its iPad and Macbook products. With the popularity of cloud based music software such as Spotify on the increase it comes as no surprise that the focus has shifted away from music hardware onto web based products. And Amazon seems to have pipped its rivals to the post this week with the release of its Cloud Player which been heralded as the start of a new wave of products which will change the way we store and access our music collections. It’s the end of an era, much like the shift from CDs to MP3s and will give the user much more freedom around where and when they access their music rather than being tied down to a particular device. There are already a host of services available that allow users to stream music through the web to their phone or computer from a library of songs stored on the internet. But there’s nothing quite like being able to upload your own tracks and avoid listening to adverts forced upon those who chose not to subscribe. And of course both Apple and Google will be hot on Amazon’s tail launching their own products which are rumored to be available later this year. For Apple, Amazon’s Cloud Player doesn’t pose too much of a problem as it’s only available through web browsers and mobiles running Google Android so for those of use hooked on our Apple products we will have to wait for Apple to launch it’s own version. However it won’t all be plain sailing as, according to copyright laws in the UK, copying a CD track into an MP3 is technically in breach of copyright laws and while a blind eye has been turned to this practice in the past, uploading to the internet may mean that this issue will need to be addressed by Amazon and others who chose to follow in their footsteps. So perhaps the winner in this game is not the first past the post but the one who passes without having to negotiate the turbulent world of copyright laws. With the shift towards on-demand services being seen in most other areas of the entertainment industry, it was inevitable that music would move the same way and the idea of being able to access my entire music collection (as long as it fits within the 5GB limit) anywhere I am is pretty appealing.
Editor: Two key points. For anyone that tries to work when traveling a lot like I do, relying on an Internet connection for anything, let alone listening to music is generally a disaster. I love Last.fm, but I never try and stream music when I’m out and about. The delivery mechanism just doesn’t work. I look forward to the day it does, but until we start to see broader 3G coverage or some of the new 4G networks, this is fairly impractical. Secondly, the copyright issues will take a while to sort out. The music industry has been notoriously slow in adapting to new music formats and they love a court battle. I think cloud computing and streaming media are definitely the way forward, we just need more investment in infrastructure to make it work. Plus this is a non-Apple product. Why bother… 
Death of the iPod at Apple Insider
Google falls foul of online privacy laws
Internet privacy is making headlines again this week following an investigation by the US Federal Trade Commission (FTC) into Google’s social network Buzz which was created using information from its Gmail user accounts. It appears that user’s information was held and used in the development of the network without prior permission being sought or a suitable opt out policy in place. In fact the FTC has accused Google of using “deceptive tactics” in the development of Buzz which used personal data from Gmail accounts to populate the site. This latest hit at Google’s management of user data is just the latest in a string of misdemeanors by the web giant who were sued by some of their Buzz users over privacy violations last year. And earlier this year they were fined for gathering data via unsecured wi-fi networks which they mistakenly accessed while sourcing pictures for their Street View function on Google Maps. While the company have openly apologised to their users for the errors which they state “fell short of their usual standards” they will now have to undergo privacy audits every two years for the next 20 years which indicates just how seriously the FTC are taking this issue. And with the hub of debate taking place around the new EU laws set to take effect in May it seems online privacy is something we all need to sit up and take notice of. If the likes of Google can fall foul of regulatory bodies, this is a clear indication that the subject of personal data is one that is here to stay.
Editor: If you’re going to innovate as much as Google do, you are going to make mistakes from time to time. It becoming increasingly popular to Google bash, and the FTC seem particularly keen to stand up to this ‘huge powerful company’, but realistically what does it achieve. They need to be held to account, but audits for the next 20 years feels a bit prescriptive. I may go and open a Gmail account and buy an Android phone today.
