GDrive Terms of Service May Worry Business Users
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In any case, most recent devices can access either cloud service through
their browsers, so if youre not otherwise supported, youve got that.
To start using Google Drive on a computer, you follow a link to drive.google.com and click on the
download button. Youll need your Google sign-on to install and use Google
Drive. Once the software is installed, youll have a folder on your desktop
with the Google Drive logo.
Getting SkyDrive is a similar process: You go to skydrive.live.com and follow the
instructions to download SkyDrive for your device. Youll need a Windows Live
ID to accomplish this. With SkyDrive, your folder will appear in your personal
Windows folder, although you can create a shortcut on your desktop. Clients for
both services are reached through the app store for your mobile device.
Both services allow sharing of documents, photos, videos and the like. The
biggest difference is that people you share with on Google will need to have
access to Google Drive. With SkyDrive you can create a link that people can
follow even if they dont use SkyDrive. If you use Microsoft Office OneNote,
youll find your notes in your SkyDrive.
Google Drive has been the subject of much hype on the blogosphere lately,
with predictions that it spells doom for Dropbox, SkyDrive, iCloud and maybe
Box. In reality, GDrive is nice, but its not substantially nicer than anything
else. While Google Drive is now linked directly to Google Docs, that only
matters if you use Google Docs. If you dontand most people dontthen Google
Drive is yet another nice cloud storage option.
Its worth noting that theres been much discussion about Googles terms of
service that seem to say that even though you retain ownership of the material
you store on Googles services, the company has the right to use the material,
including the right to display it in public. If you plan to use Googles Drive
for your business, you should probably have your legal staff take a look at
this. But that caution is true of any cloud service you use.
If I had to pick one of these services at this point in time, it would be the
new version of SkyDrive. I can find a SkyDrive client for every device in my
office, and they all work. Thats something I cant do with Google Drive. But
that may change, and if it does, then what matters is if the cloud service
supports the devices you need.
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Wayne Rash is a Senior Analyst for eWEEK Labs and runs the magazine's Washington Bureau. Prior to joining eWEEK as a Senior Writer on wireless technology, he was a Senior Contributing Editor and previously a Senior Analyst in the InfoWorld Test Center. He was also a reviewer for Federal Computer Week and Information Security Magazine. Previously, he ran the reviews and events departments at CMP's InternetWeek.He is a retired naval officer, a former principal at American Management Systems and a long-time columnist for Byte Magazine. He is a regular contributor to Plane & Pilot Magazine and The Washington Post.
