Thing 21: Google Drive

So with technology moving so fast, it is often hard to keep up with which inventions are having the most impact on me. One development however that stands out for me is undoubtedly Cloud computing. The idea that you no longer have to save everything to portable hardware devices and can access your files from any computer (with Internet access), and from anywhere in the world, is quite outstanding. For someone that constantly loses small things like memory sticks and has always therefore been at risk of losing hours of work in the process, cloud storage has become a dream come true.

'Clouds' by mnsc on Flickr

When I first discovered cloud storage, Google Drive didn't exist (it wasn't released in fact until April 2012), so I chose one of the popular models of the time which was Dropbox. I found it very straightforward to set up and upload files, and download versions on my laptop, desktop, tablet and smartphone. Dropbox has been truly indispensable over the years, especially when I have been studying. I don't tend to use it so much to store photos (especially since iCloud has come about), but overall, Dropbox is an essential part of my technological life.

So over to Google Drive. Could it replace my beloved Dropbox?

Well one thing stands out immediately: You get more free space (5GB) than with Dropbox which is only free for the first 2GB (although you can gain extra space through referrals).  Another added bonus is that you can create files directly in Google Drive. In addition to creating documents, spreadsheets, forms, drawings and presentations, there are many more apps available in the Chrome store which will allow you to create further features such as mind-maps, videos and diagrams.

On balance, there is more you can do with Google Drive, and when you have a Google accounts for other things, then it makes sense to integrate your cloud storage with Google as well. However, after Google decided to do away with Google Reader, which must have been one of the most popular RSS readers around, I'm not sure I have total faith that Google Drive will be around indefinitely. In fact, after discussing this very fact with my husband he pointed me in the direction of the following article on the Guardian website which discusses the lifespan of Google services and APIs. It makes for interesting reading and has encouraged me to for now, stick with Dropbox which I have been happily using for a number of years....