Google's 'online' GDrive will make the PC redundant

Daily Mail 26th January 2009

The proposed new Google GDrive could kill off the personal computer, experts have warned.

The Google Drive service, which will reportedly launch later this year, allows users to store information online on Google's own servers rather than on the hard drive.

The process has been dubbed 'cloud computing' and is being seen as 'the most anticipated Google product so far'.

The GDrive would mean users would no longer have to worry about their hard drives crashing as their data could be accessed from any internet connection, a move that could effectively make PCs redundant.



However, there are concerns over the security of storing such a high degree of personal data online rather than a PC with experts warning that Google will gain unprecedented control over users' information.

Peter Brown, of the Free Software Foundation, a charity which helps defend computer users liberties told the Times: 'It's a little bit like saying, "we're in a dictatorship, the trains are running on time".

'But does it matter to you that someone can see everything on your computer? Does it matter that Google can be subpoenaed at any time to hand over all your data to the American government?'

The GDrive would mark a departure from the Microsoft Windows operating system and will enable users to treat their computer as software rather than hardware.

Dave Armstrong of Google Enterprise, said: 'There's a clear direction...away from people thinking "This is my PC, this is my hard drive" to "This is how I interact with information, this is how I interact with the web"'.

A Google spokesman refused to confirm if the GDrive was to be introduced soon.