Hacker News Board Hacker News, browsed like a classic message board
Live data from Hacker News

Google Drive: Is the Dropbox Party Over?

searchenginejournal.com

Post reply on HN
Print view View original

21–30 of 221 posts

Re: Google Drive: Is the Dropbox Party Over?

#21

Post by artursapek »

As a subscriber to additional storage with Google (20 GB, $5/year) I'm really happy to be reading this because it will allow me to fully use the space I've paid for. I believe it was the cheapest option when I subscribed and while I have crossed the free storage limit I have yet to fully use 20 GB.

I originally signed up for it because I was sporadically transferring a lot of high-res scans between a computer which my school owns and my own laptop, so a permanent dropbox-like folder would not have worked. Now I'll also be able to back up my music/photos dropbox-style with the same service. Smart move by Google for hitting both services, although it's kind of sad to see such a great startup being approached by the web's behemoth.

Re: Google Drive: Is the Dropbox Party Over?

#22

Post by brlewis »

artursapek wrote: post #21

As a subscriber to additional storage with Google (20 GB, $5/year) I'm really happy to be reading this because it will allow me to fully use the space I've paid for. I believe it was the cheapest option when I subscribed and while I have crossed the free storage limit I have yet to fully use 20 GB. I originally signed up for it because I was sporadically transferring a lot of high-res scans between a computer which m…

Your assumption (also the assumption in the article) is that the pricing won't change after it gets easier to fully use the space.

Re: Google Drive: Is the Dropbox Party Over?

#23

Post by artursapek »

miles_matthias wrote: post #18

Two thoughts: - I don't think the Dropbox party is over, and won't be for a while, because of non-techies. Dropbox is drop dead simple and non-technical people have gravitate to it and won't see much of a reason to switch. Also, Google has so many different products now, sometimes when you mention Google to non-technical people they get an overwhelming deer-in-the-headlights look. - As a technical person, I am excite…

sometimes when you mention Google to non-technical people they get an overwhelming deer-in-the-headlights look.

That's interesting, I've never seen that. I always thought Google was the most beginner-friendly corner of the internet.

Re: Google Drive: Is the Dropbox Party Over?

#24

Post by esutton »

Pewpewarrows wrote: post #14
esutton wrote: post #2

i remember hearing the same argument when google made google videos to compete with youtube, and we all know how that ended. That said, there were social and community aspects there that don't apply here, and google's cheaper storage prices and larger feature set may give it a leg up.

Google Video launched a month before YouTube fyi.

you are right, my bad i missed that. Even so, my original comment is still relevant when you look at how google eventually realized their own product wouldn't catch up to a startup's, and bought them out.

Re: Google Drive: Is the Dropbox Party Over?

#25

Post by artursapek »

brlewis wrote: post #22
artursapek wrote: post #21

As a subscriber to additional storage with Google (20 GB, $5/year) I'm really happy to be reading this because it will allow me to fully use the space I've paid for. I believe it was the cheapest option when I subscribed and while I have crossed the free storage limit I have yet to fully use 20 GB. I originally signed up for it because I was sporadically transferring a lot of high-res scans between a computer which m…

Your assumption (also the assumption in the article) is that the pricing won't change after it gets easier to fully use the space.

I would be really shocked if Google charged for a service like this, it fits in with Docs and Gmail which have both always been free and have made storage space easier to fully use. If anything, they will profit off of it by people investing in even more storage with them.

Re: Google Drive: Is the Dropbox Party Over?

#26

Post by bradleyland »

wladimir wrote: post #20
petenixey wrote: post #16

Dropbox is a brilliant piece of software however it's hard to justify more than $10/month for backup as a consumer. Since 50Gb only now covers my photos and docs, doesn't cover my music and even my photo collection's needs trimming to fit I would move to GDrive very quickly rather than double that spend to get to the next tier. I've long hoped that Dropbox would segment their pricing plans more. It's unsettling havin…

It is not "simply backup". They provide a user friendly synchronization service for files between all your devices. Sure, for simply stashing files there are much cheaper options such as Amazon S3 or simply a friend's linux box in his basement... but it is not entirely a fair comparison.

"They provide a user friendly synchronization service for files between all your devices."

....

And users!

For a small company who has a geographically dispersed user population, Dropbox is a great tool. The key is the dead simple setup and operation.

1) Install software

2) Use tool

Sharing folders is about three clicks from logging in to the website, and you can get there directly through shell (Explorer, Finder) integration in both PC and Mac.

Re: Google Drive: Is the Dropbox Party Over?

#27

Post by cormullion »

miles_matthias wrote: post #18

Two thoughts: - I don't think the Dropbox party is over, and won't be for a while, because of non-techies. Dropbox is drop dead simple and non-technical people have gravitate to it and won't see much of a reason to switch. Also, Google has so many different products now, sometimes when you mention Google to non-technical people they get an overwhelming deer-in-the-headlights look. - As a technical person, I am excite…

I think it's more useful for your iPhone apps to edit documents on Dropbox, rather than for the Dropbox app itself to do it.

For most people I've seen using their computers, Google is the search bar and website launcher at the top of their browser window.

Re: Google Drive: Is the Dropbox Party Over?

#28

Post by esutton »

artursapek wrote: post #25
brlewis wrote: post #22

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Your assumption (also the assumption in the article) is that the pricing won't change after it gets easier to fully use the space.

I would be really shocked if Google charged for a service like this, it fits in with Docs and Gmail which have both always been free and have made storage space easier to fully use. If anything, they will profit off of it by people investing in even more storage with them.

in addition as time progresses the cost of storage has gone down and can be expected to continue to do so.

Re: Google Drive: Is the Dropbox Party Over?

#29

Post by Corrado »

I love Dropbox and Google Drive would have a hard time getting me to switch. Dropbox seems to "get it" when it comes to simple, easy to use file synchronization.

The one area that GDrive might wiggle into is making it even easier to use Google Docs. I really like GDocs but I don't use them very much because its just not convenient to do so with local files. However, if I can "upload" a file to a directory on my machine and have it available in GDocs, that might turn the tide.

NOTE: One thing that Dropbox doesn't do well is file segregation; some files I want only on some machines. For example, I want me personal finance stuff on all my machines at home but not my work laptop. Or I want large ZIP archives on everything but my phone. Maybe GDrive will tackle this problem...

Re: Google Drive: Is the Dropbox Party Over?

#30

Post by tomelders »

It's in areas like this that Google sometimes oversteps the mark and veers dangerously close to "being evil" territory... in MY opinion.

As I see it: Dropbox innovated, and they innovated well. It's inevitable that competition would arise, but competition on the scale Google can offer could well mean total annihilation for Dropbox, if annihilation is what Google pursues.

Google doesn't "need" to enter this market. And yes, I know that there's no rule that says you have to be nice... but it feels crappy to me. Dropbox has earnt it's success, and Google could easily let them grow and secure their future before releasing G-Drive. Google is in a position to be something of a patriarch in the tech world as opposed to eating it's young.

If I was working on a Dropbox competitor yesterday, today I'd be finding something else to do. That's bad for innovation.

if G-Drive actually exists that is.

Post reply on HN