G- Drive on the way

[Andrew2382]

Seems like Google's G-drive is on its way...and soon

Expected release date for 2009

What it does is let you save your files and data on their servers and have unlimited space. Everything from files, to your operating system in essence making your hard drive useless.

Seems really cool, but I want to know how safe is it from people getting into the servers and being able to get the data

and

Who needs the government telling google to hand over comp data on someone.

 

[KittenKoder]

Problem ... Google is open source and everything posted on their servers because of this has all rights relinquished as open source as well. Thus if you did your files would be public domain and Google (or anyone) would have no way to enforce copy rights. There are a few exceptions to the rule, but they are hard to enforce.

Though Google doesn't openly advertise the existence of such files if someone found them and copied them you would have no way to stop it. Email messages are protected only within few limits, the courts do not need get a warrant to use them in a case if they are given a copy freely, but like all computers hacking the servers is illegal. Though I doubt anyone would put everything on the G-Drive, it would be foolish.

 

[DavidS]

I'm worried about uploading gigabytes worth of data to an internet hard drive. And what happens if one of their hard drives crash? Then I've lost all of my data. Are they liable for that?

 

[Amanda]

I'm worried about uploading gigabytes worth of data to an internet hard drive. And what happens if one of their hard drives crash? Then I've lost all of my data. Are they liable for that?

I doubt they would be liable because you will have to agree to their TOS before using the service and they would be beyond foolish to not indemnify themselves against that kind of loss. But still, I be they would have backups so the actual risk is probably pretty low.

Problem ... Google is open source and everything posted on their servers because of this has all rights relinquished as open source as well. Thus if you did your files would be public domain and Google (or anyone) would have no way to enforce copy rights. There are a few exceptions to the rule, but they are hard to enforce.

You come up with some strange stuff but this is really weird. Just because the system uses open source software does not mean any files stored on the system or using the system become open source as well. If you add or modify code in an open source project THAT usually has to become open source as well, but that's an entirely different matter than what Google's G-drive is about.

 

[Diuretic]

The fine print would be interesting. I think KK might be discussing copyright. If I put something on Google's drives do I relinquish copyright? For me it doesn't matter, I'm not going to come up with a superb, brilliant idea that's worth pinching but if there are maybe several thousand people who use their system, one might have something of intellectual value.

 

[Amanda]

The fine print would be interesting. I think KK might be discussing copyright. If I put something on Google's drives do I relinquish copyright? For me it doesn't matter, I'm not going to come up with a superb, brilliant idea that's worth pinching but if there are maybe several thousand people who use their system, one might have something of intellectual value.

Perhaps that is what KK was referring to, but that's not how it reads to me.

I doubt seriously that Google would lay any IP claim to stored files. They will have the usual TOS that gives them a non-exclusive right to display/transfer the files, etc. like you would see at any site that hosts images for people.

 

[KittenKoder]

I'm worried about uploading gigabytes worth of data to an internet hard drive. And what happens if one of their hard drives crash? Then I've lost all of my data. Are they liable for that?

Most HD crashes do not have to result in total data loss ... but the hardware for theirs are much more secure and very unlikely to have any problems, those they do have will likely not result in data loss.

 

[KittenKoder]

The fine print would be interesting. I think KK might be discussing copyright. If I put something on Google's drives do I relinquish copyright? For me it doesn't matter, I'm not going to come up with a superb, brilliant idea that's worth pinching but if there are maybe several thousand people who use their system, one might have something of intellectual value.

Perhaps that is what KK was referring to, but that's not how it reads to me.

I doubt seriously that Google would lay any IP claim to stored files. They will have the usual TOS that gives them a non-exclusive right to display/transfer the files, etc. like you would see at any site that hosts images for people.

It was, I am just very bad at describing things in my own words.