Posted 07/23/09 at 05:53:15 PM by Pulkit Chandna

Google had announced last week that it was going to overhaul the Google Docs interface over the next few weeks. Some of those changes have already taken place. One notable change is that the filter for “PDFs” has been supplanted by “Files” in the "items by type" slide-down menu.

This has further fueled speculation that Google Docs is on its way to becoming an online file storage service. There is a possibility that Google might allow people to upload other file formats besides PDF files. A person is also said to have stumbled upon an image of what appears to be a folder icon featuring the familiar Google Chrome logo. Perhaps Google may need such a folder icon for a web-based storage service to compliment Chrome OS.

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Posted 02/01/09 at 03:58:02 PM by Justin Kerr

The news section of Maximum PC is bombarded constantly with updates on new up and coming cloud services. Cloud computing figureheads such as Google make a compelling case to start moving our lives online, but what about bulk storage? Plenty of competing companies offer a variety of services to share your pictures, music, and documents, but they tend to be stand alone offerings. Many users in search of good old fashioned bulk online storage have settled on services such as Microsoft Skydrive, or Amazon S3 with Jungle Disk. Others have even gone so far as to hack Gmail accounts into temporary storage, but many have wondered when Google would offer something like this natively.

The answer to this question may be fast approaching with a service they are rumored to be calling “GDrive”. According to a description snipped from Google Pack’s code, enterprising blogger Brian Ussery has uncovered the following description. “GDrive provides reliable storage for all of your files, including photos, music and documents. GDrive allows you to access your files from anywhere, anytime, and from any device - be it from your desktop, web browser or cellular phone”. If this description holds true, it will defiantly give competing services something to worry about. The ability to upload any file securely online, and access it from any platform is truly a compelling idea. The questions that still remain are when, and how much?

What is your favorite way to archive files online?

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Posted 01/20/09 at 09:45:54 AM by Paul Lilly

Todd Jackson, Google's Product Manager for Gmail, told CNet in a recent interview "We know people's file sizes are getting bigger. They want to share their files, keep them in the cloud, and not worry about which computer they're on. Google wants to be solving these problems." And while Jackson didn't specifically mention the oft rumored Google Drive, Mac users point out that Google's recently released Picasa for Mac gives users the option to move an image collection to 'Google Web Drive.' Not convinced? Consider that a WHOIS check of googlewebdrive.com reveals Google's name servers, suggesting such a service is a matter of when, not if.

TGDaily believes "the service has the potential to eclipse even Gmail, Google's second best-known product after their google.com search engine." But would it? Cloud-based storage isn't a new concept, and several services already exist offering to host your files online. But Google has the advantage of owning, by last estimate, an infinite number of servers (we rounded up), paving the way for the search giant to offer much more space at no cost, and perhaps wrapped up in a sleek user interface. Throw in some useful features like malware scanning, image backups, auto-syncing, and whatever else Google might be working on, and TGDaily might just be right. But this all assumes you're ready to store your data in the cloud. 

Hit the jump and tell us whether or not you could see yourself replacing your storage drive with Gdrive.

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