Google Drive is a file storage and sync service by Google that was
released on April 24, 2012.[1][2] Google Drive
is an extension ofGoogle Docs once activated, and
replaces the URL docs.google.com with
drive.google.com.
Rumors
about Google Drive began circulating as early as March 2006.[3]
Storage
Google
Drive gives the user a free-of-charge cloud-storage of 5 gigabytes to start
with.[4] Extra
storage, which is shared betweenPicasa and Google Drive,[5] from
25 GB (2.49 USD/month) up to 16 TB can be acquired through a paid
monthly subscription plan.[6]
Client
There
are third-party Google Drive apps which can be installed from the Chrome Web
Store. These apps, running in Google
Chrome, are operating on the online files, and can be used to edit
images and videos, fax and sign documents, manage projects, create flowcharts
etc.[7]
Besides
the web page, Google Drive needs a client to synchronize files. At the start of
the service the client software was available for the following devices: on
Macs with Lion (10.7) and Snow Leopard (10.6) operating systems; on PCs Windows XP, Windows
Vista and Windows 7 OSes; on Android smartphones and tablets with Eclair
and newer OSes (Android 2.1+); on iPhone and iPad,iOS 3.0+.[8] Linux
support is underway.[9] According to Sundar
Pichai of Google, the Google Drive online storage service will
be tightly integrated with Chrome OS version 20.[10]
Ownership and licensing
As
Google has only one, unified terms of service and privacy policy, it would seem
that Google retains a very broad claim to reproduce, use, and create derivative
works from content stored on the Google Drive.
According
to CNET,
unlike competing services Dropbox and SkyDrive,
Google retains a more broad claim to reproduce, use, and create derivative
works from content stored on the Google Drive. This license is
perpetual even after removal of content. Although the user retains intellectual
property rights, the broad Google Drive license allows extraction and parsing
of uploaded content to customize advertising and other services that Google
provides to the user, and for promoting the service.[11]
Another
report from The Verge finds that Google's
terms are quite comparable to those of its competitors, and slightly better in
some cases.[12]
