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Save more with Google Drive

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Re: Save more with Google Drive

#381

Post by bad_user »

rlu wrote: post #350
jimbokun wrote: post #347

Earlier quoted context omitted.

"Microsoft has SkyDrive, integrated with Windows and WinPhone. Apple has iCloud, integrated with OS X and with iOS. Clearly you can see a pattern." This is exactly the case for staying with Dropbox. Otherwise, your cloud provider has more leverage to lock you into their products. Dropbox is motivated to support multiple platforms.

For what it's worth, SkyDrive has sync engines on both Windows and Mac while having apps + auto picture upload on Android, iPhone and of course Windows Phone.

SkyDrive doesn't support Ubuntu Linux either. Basically I'm sick and tired of feeling unimportant to these companies. Why can Dropbox deliver an Ubuntu Linux client, while Google and Microsoft feel that's an unjustified cost?

I mean, skipping over Linux users that are a significant chunk of the market if you ask me, but lets assume for a moment that Linux home users don't pay much for their software or whatever. What about governments that have adopted Linux? What about Linux being the most popular OS for servers? What about Linux being used in the educational system, like with Raspberry Pi?

And even for yourself, lets say that you'd want to do your own backups of your Skydrive or Google Drive and so you quickly setup your own home Linux box that should synchronize your account. Surprise - you're not important enough.

This is platform lock-in, pure and simple. Microsoft is no better than Google. Don't get me started on Skype ;-)

Re: Save more with Google Drive

#382

Post by shaneofalltrad »

barrkel wrote: post #331
dragonwriter wrote: post #306

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> I'd probably bet on Google putting Dropbox out of business with competition, then getting rid of Drive because it's no longer a growth area. That's not too unlikely, if by "Drive" you mean the desktop sync application, which pretty clearly has always been pretty tangential to the strategic purpose of Drive, which is first and foremost a cloud storage platform for web apps (Google first-party apps, institutional cus…

That's exactly what I think - I even said so earlier - https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=7394140

Either way, it would be a shame if Google sank Dropbox and I would resent it. Dropbox is a GREAT service for free, then charges if you like more space. They offer the best use cases around for developers who do a lot of cross device work. You can keep all your information on all testing environments, and even share folders with others (or other accounts) and not really face limitations (i.e. no linux support). And with Google already getting strict about storage on Android, you can only suspect a Chess move to gain control with a dollar 99 on the hook.

Re: Save more with Google Drive

#383

Post by scoopr »

smtddr wrote: post #87
higherpurpose wrote: post #38

I don't know about Americans, but I hope Europeans are staying as far away from American clouds as possible. At least for government use, using non-open source American software should be considered a "national security risk" at this point, with no exaggeration.

What are some non-American & reliable cloud companies?

Also F-Secure offers Younited[0]

[0] http://www.younited.com

Re: Save more with Google Drive

#384

Post by tn13 »

I did not even know that Google drive had a storage facility like dropbox. Until today I was under impression Google Drive was another name for Google Docs. Never used it anyways.

Re: Save more with Google Drive

#386

Post by kissickas »

brudgers wrote: post #222
untog wrote: post #166

Earlier quoted context omitted.

If there is a choice - it is better to place your bet with the company whose main business line depends on the service you are using. I don't see how that's a hard and fast rule. File storage is Dropbox's only business line - if it fails, they're gone. If it helps their other concerns (Gmail, Google Apps) Google can prop up Drive even if its unprofitable.

Gmail and Apps are at best minor contributors to Google's bottom line. If faith in Drive is based on its contribution to them, that Is little reason for that faith to be strong.

It's true that they're not major contributors to Google's bottom line. Do you think Gmail will be cut soon as well?

Re: Save more with Google Drive

#387

Post by ithkuil »

simonsarris wrote: post #9

I think at this point I'm a little more comfortable paying more for a company that I know won't abandon this market. I know Dropbox will be Dropbox in 5 years. How can we be sure Google Drive won't be shuttered in less time? Google is very haphazard with their web properties. Sometimes they shutter them, sometimes they stuff them in the closet. Google Reader, Wave, etc, you know. the stories. What scares me more are…

Well, a cloud storage is central to the ecosystem they are trying to build, think of Chromebooks. It's not a periferic product like Reader or experiment like Wave.

There is no guarantee of course, in theory it could be replaced by a rebranded product with a completely incompatible API later on; but I doubt it would happen because it looks like Google already went through a spring cleaning of products, with the explicit aim of killing dying, orphaned products in order to strengthen the core products.

Re: Save more with Google Drive

#388

Post by jotm »

simonsarris wrote: post #9

I think at this point I'm a little more comfortable paying more for a company that I know won't abandon this market. I know Dropbox will be Dropbox in 5 years. How can we be sure Google Drive won't be shuttered in less time? Google is very haphazard with their web properties. Sometimes they shutter them, sometimes they stuff them in the closet. Google Reader, Wave, etc, you know. the stories. What scares me more are…

Google Drive is being monetized - that's the difference. Neither Reader, nor Wave, nor Finance nor a dozen other Google products were/are monetized, so they're the first to go when managements decides so.

If Drive is used by paid users, I think it won't go away anytime soon, just like Google Cloud or Gmail.

Re: Save more with Google Drive

#389

Post by sbuk »

aragot wrote: post #297
barrkel wrote: post #136

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'd probably bet on Google putting Dropbox out of business with competition, then getting rid of Drive because it's no longer a growth area.

This. The very obvious thing in the $10 terabyte offer is, Google wants Dropbox and all data hosters out of business. So I trust that Dropbox _will_ be out of business very soon.

Why? Just because Google are going cheap? I'm personally not interested because it's Google. This may surprise many of you, but there are quite a lot of people who simply don trust Google.

Re: Save more with Google Drive

#390

Post by rip747 »

simonsarris wrote: post #9

I think at this point I'm a little more comfortable paying more for a company that I know won't abandon this market. I know Dropbox will be Dropbox in 5 years. How can we be sure Google Drive won't be shuttered in less time? Google is very haphazard with their web properties. Sometimes they shutter them, sometimes they stuff them in the closet. Google Reader, Wave, etc, you know. the stories. What scares me more are…

I highly doubt that Google will ever abandon Google Drive since its part of Google Apps for Business:

http://www.google.com/enterprise/apps/business/

Google Reader was a _free_ application and like all _free_ applications, once they start losing money they are discontinued.

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