26 January 2009
Google is expected to launch its new "GDrive" service this year, which would allow users to access their personal files and data from any Internet connection.
The Google Drive could kill off the need to own a desktop computer, which relies on a powerful hard drive. Instead, users of the GDrive could access personal files and operating systems that are stored on Google's own servers and accessed via the Internet.
The Guardian reports that the product is seen as a shift away from Microsoft's Windows operating system, which runs most of the world's computers, towards cloud computing. Cloud computing allows the processing and storage of information to be done thousands of miles away in data centres.
For users who adopt GDrive, a computer crash or loss of hard drive would not jeopardise their data, because it is saved in "the cloud" and can therefore be accessed from any computer using the Internet.
GDrive would therefore shift the contents of a user's computer onto the Google servers, with the computer itself becoming cheaper device that would serve only as a portal to the web.
Some campaigners are warning that the programme could give Google an unprecedented control over an individual's personal data, however. Peter Brown, executive director of Free Software Foundation, said that while the service is convenient: "It's a little bit like saying, 'we're in a dictatorship, the trains are running on time.' But does it matter to you that someone can see everything on your computer? Does it matter that Google can be subpoenaed at any time to hand over all your data to the American government?"
While Google refused to comment on security concerns, representative Dave Armstrong said: "There's a clear direction...away from people thinking, 'This is my PC, this is my hard drive,' to 'This is how I interact with information, this is how I interact with the web."
But Google has long had to contend with security related issues and hasn't suffered greatly from such questiong yet. The real question on the lips of PC manufactures worldwide will be 'could Google kill the PC as we know it?'
Could Google kill the PC star?
Google is expected to launch its new "GDrive" service this year, which would allow users to access their personal files and data from any Internet connection.The Google Drive could kill off the need to own a desktop computer, which relies on a powerful hard drive. Instead, users of the GDrive could access personal files and operating systems that are stored on Google's own servers and accessed via the Internet.
The Guardian reports that the product is seen as a shift away from Microsoft's Windows operating system, which runs most of the world's computers, towards cloud computing. Cloud computing allows the processing and storage of information to be done thousands of miles away in data centres.
For users who adopt GDrive, a computer crash or loss of hard drive would not jeopardise their data, because it is saved in "the cloud" and can therefore be accessed from any computer using the Internet.
GDrive would therefore shift the contents of a user's computer onto the Google servers, with the computer itself becoming cheaper device that would serve only as a portal to the web.
Some campaigners are warning that the programme could give Google an unprecedented control over an individual's personal data, however. Peter Brown, executive director of Free Software Foundation, said that while the service is convenient: "It's a little bit like saying, 'we're in a dictatorship, the trains are running on time.' But does it matter to you that someone can see everything on your computer? Does it matter that Google can be subpoenaed at any time to hand over all your data to the American government?"
While Google refused to comment on security concerns, representative Dave Armstrong said: "There's a clear direction...away from people thinking, 'This is my PC, this is my hard drive,' to 'This is how I interact with information, this is how I interact with the web."
But Google has long had to contend with security related issues and hasn't suffered greatly from such questiong yet. The real question on the lips of PC manufactures worldwide will be 'could Google kill the PC as we know it?'
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