What is Google Drive? Google Drive Review

1. Introduction

Google Drive is an online cloud storage service launched by Google. Through this service, users can get 15GB of free storage space. At the same time, if users have greater needs, they can get more storage space by paying. Users can log in through a unified Google account. The Google Drive service will have a local client version and a network interface version, the latter of which is similar to the Google Docs interface. It will be launched for Google Apps customers with a special domain name. In addition, Google will also provide API interfaces to third parties, allowing people to store content from other programs to Google Drive.

As of October 1, 2014, Google Drive has 240 million active users.

II. Historical Evolution

In 2010, Google allowed users to upload files to Google Docs, but did not launch Google Drive. It was not until February 2012 that the Wall Street Journal broke the news again, pointing out that Google would launch Google Drive.

Although some people questioned the late launch of Google Drive, for millions of Google users, it is still relatively convenient to use only one account for email, electronic files and cloud storage. On April 24, 2012, Google officially launched Google Drive, which provides users with 15GB of free storage space and can also be expanded for a fee.

3. Different versions

Although Google Drive will support Windows and OS X operating systems, as well as mobile devices, there is no information that Google will launch a Linux version of the Google Drive service. However, relevant analysis reports believe that according to Google's style and actual situation, the launch of a Linux version of Google Drive is certain, it is just a matter of time.

iOS Apple version

On June 28, 2012, the Google I/O Developer Conference announced that Google Drive would be available in the Apple App Store, and users could download and install it for free.

4. Function Introduction

Create and collaborate. Google Drive will be deeply integrated with Google Docs, so you and your colleagues can work on documents, spreadsheets, and presentations in real time. You can also reply and comment on related files, and you will be notified when others comment on your files or want to share them with you.

Keep your files safe and support access from any device. As we've reported before, Google Drive covers the most important platforms today: Mac, Windows, Android, and iOS, from PCs to tablets to smartphones. At the same time, Google Drive has launched special screen reader support for people with visual impairments.

Google Drive will support opening more than 30 file formats directly from a web browser, including HD videos and Photoshop files, even without the relevant software installed.

Google Drive uses the same infrastructure as other apps, which means it will have the same management tools and security:

Centralized management: New control tools allow administrators to remove or add storage space for individual or group users.

Security: By encrypting the data transmitted between the browser and the server and taking a two-step authentication approach, unauthorized account login and record acquisition are prevented.

Data mirroring: Even if one of our servers goes down, the data will still be safe and available because we synchronize the data to multiple data centers.

Availability: Google guarantees 99.9% uptime, so you don't have to worry about data availability. You can get the data you want whenever you need it.

Each user can get 15GB of free storage space, and it also includes an application management program that allows users to manage it and purchase additional storage space. When the storage space reaches the limit, the administrator can spend $4 per user to purchase 20GB of capacity, which can be expanded to a maximum of 16TB.

5. Features

1. Support various types of files. Users can create, share, and collaborate on various types of files through Google Drive, including videos, photos, documents, PDFs, etc.

2. Google Drive has built-in Google Docs, allowing users to collaborate with others in real time.

3. Secure cloud storage, support access from any location: including PC, MAC, iPhone, iPad, Android and other devices.

4. Powerful search function, supports keyword, file type and other search methods, and even supports OCR scanning image recognition technology. For example, if a user uploads a scanned image of a newspaper, the user can search for text information in the newspaper.

5. Google Drive tracks every change made by the user, so every time the user clicks the "Save" button, the system will save a new revision. The system will automatically display versions within 30 days, and users can choose to save a revision permanently.

6. Users can share files or folders with anyone and choose whether the shared objects can view, edit or comment on the user's files.

7. Integrates multiple Google services, such as Gmail, Google+, etc.

8. The API is open for use by other programs. In other words, as long as any program has the Google Drive API embedded in it, it can upload data to Google Drive for storage within the program without having to install the Google Drive client independently.

6. Capacity and Cost

Google Drive will provide users with 15GB of free storage space, which is enough for daily use. If users need more space, they can choose

Users can choose to upgrade to 100GB for $1.99 per month, 1TB for $9.99 per month, or 10TB+ for $99.99 per month. In comparison, Dropbox users can upgrade to 100GB for $20 per month. When Gmail users become paid Google Drive users, their storage space will be expanded to 25GB.

On March 14, 2014, Google announced a price cut for Google Drive, thereby lowering the threshold for paying to use the service.

At the AtmosphereLive industry conference in October 2014, Google announced that it would cut the price of its cloud computing products by another 10%. After several rounds of price wars, the price of Google cloud storage has become more and more affordable. For example, the monthly fee for 100GB of network storage space is only two dollars. At the same time, Google also announced that it will provide free cloud storage services to students around the world, which means that its active users will continue to grow like a rocket.

7. User scale

At the Atmosphere Live industry conference in October 2014, Sundar Pichai, head of Google's Android system, personally announced the news. He said that the number of active users of Drive has reached 240 million, an increase of 50 million from 190 million in June this year.

8. Domestic Situation

Since Google Drive and Google Docs are integrated, and Google Docs has been blocked in China, it is difficult for Chinese users to access Google Drive. The good news is that by simply modifying the hosts file, Chinese users can access Google Drive normally.

The bad news is that after entering the system, users will find that they may not have permission to access Google Drive. They need to add themselves to the "waiting list" and wait until they receive an email from the Google Drive team to indicate that they have access to Google Drive.

IX. Usage

URL: https://search.google.com/search-console/welcome

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