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Geek Culture / Google starting to charge users

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BatVink
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Posted: 6th Mar 2010 09:55 Edited at: 6th Mar 2010 09:56
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Looks like Google have built their empire large enough to start looking to the users for cash. I fully understand the need to fund their storage business, it just seems to be slipped quietly under the radar.



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Seppuku Arts
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Posted: 6th Mar 2010 12:55
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I suppose it's not too bad, I mean if you're going to exceed the amount of storage they tend to give you, then you can expand, google can't give everything away for free.

Though you are right, it seems a bit subtle.

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Drew Cameron
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Posted: 6th Mar 2010 13:27
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I suggest, for that money - its kind of token thing to stop people taking the p*ss?

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Alucard94
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Posted: 6th Mar 2010 13:35
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Don't really think it's that bad either, but odd that they're so quiet about it.


Alucard94, lacking proper intelligence.
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Drew Cameron
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Posted: 6th Mar 2010 13:48
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Well define quiet? How could they be more vocal about it? Put a thing on their homepage?

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BatVink
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Posted: 6th Mar 2010 15:16
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Quote: "How could they be more vocal about it? Put a thing on their homepage?"


Right now, you'll only notice it once you run out of space and get the notification, or you get nosey like me and spot it inadvertently. I've always seen Google as being more transparent than this.

I suppose my other minor gripe is that Google have spent a few years changing our attitude to retaining all of our data. For example, the "never delete another email again" strapline, and using Google docs for all your document storage needs, and Picasa as your only place you need for photo storage. Now they've taken this approach - which makes perfect business sense - it makes me skeptical about their user-centric approach to their marketing. I'm no longer thinking they have the ideal business model, where you use the needs of businesses to advertise, to fund your user services.

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IanM
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Posted: 7th Mar 2010 00:06
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Google have been charging for extra storage for over 2 years now, and the price has been dropping since then.

$20 for 6GB at launch has become $20 for 80GB since then.

Utility plug-ins collection (updated 02 Mar 2010) and
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Jeku
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Posted: 7th Mar 2010 00:16
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Yah, I've always remembered them having the plan to buy more storage For one I think it's completely commendable for any company to give away such awesome services as Google's for free to 99% of its masses.


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Shaun Of The Dead
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Posted: 7th Mar 2010 00:32 Edited at: 7th Mar 2010 00:33
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$5.00 for 20 GB is well worth it. Its cheaper than an memory stick, and more reliable than one too (since its backed up by Google)

To be honest, if i had any paypal money i would get it

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xplosys
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Posted: 7th Mar 2010 00:38
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You say the issue is that you don't get informed until you run out of space. That seems like a good way to approach it. If they posted ads for premium or more space all the time, I would see that as being pushy, especially since I'm hardly using one percent of my available space. I think it's one of those "darned if you don't and darned if you do" situations for Google.

Brian.

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Lemonade
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Posted: 7th Mar 2010 06:49 Edited at: 7th Mar 2010 06:51
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Quote: "$5.00 for 20 GB is well worth it. Its cheaper than an memory stick, and more reliable than one too (since its backed up by Google) "


The only real advantage is the reliability. It has some big disadvantages though: it's really expensive compared to HDDs. I recently bought a top rated 320GB HDD on sale for $30. That's a pretty big price difference from $5 for 20GB!

Also, if you don't have very fast internet then online storage is not very practical.

Edit:

I'm not saying it's bad--obviously Google can do what it wants--I just would prefer to have local storage at a cheaper price.
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Seppuku Arts
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Posted: 7th Mar 2010 10:58
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Well remember, they're hosting that 20gb, so naturally they have to maintain and backup their servers and of course back up your data too. It's not a bad investment and would make a good back-up plan. $5 a year is tiny when you think about it.

If I needed it, I'd probably use it, I do use the internet as a backup source, but because it's Uni work, I don't need 20gb, everything I've got has 3 back-up sources, the internet, my external HDD and my USB pen drive. So if my laptop fails, I'm not screwed.

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Jeku
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Posted: 7th Mar 2010 20:11
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This service isn't just an online hard drive you can back up to, unless you plan on emailing yourself all the files you want to backup.


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David R
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Posted: 7th Mar 2010 20:43 Edited at: 7th Mar 2010 20:43
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Quote: " 320GB HDD on sale for $30. That's a pretty big price difference from $5 for 20GB!"


But your hard drive will eventually fail. All their stuff will be RAIDed, backed up etc. with a far more massive infrastructure than a $30 HD affords you

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Benjamin
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Posted: 7th Mar 2010 22:30
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Quote: "But your hard drive will eventually fail. All their stuff will be RAIDed, backed up etc. with a far more massive infrastructure than a $30 HD affords you"


Get two hard drives then?
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Seppuku Arts
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Posted: 7th Mar 2010 23:37
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Quote: "This service isn't just an online hard drive you can back up to, unless you plan on emailing yourself all the files you want to backup."


There's the GMail drive. However, given my Uni work consists mostly of documents, I can upload them to Google Docs and I don't see myself exceeding the 6gb+ I've got free.

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Oolite
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Posted: 7th Mar 2010 23:43 Edited at: 7th Mar 2010 23:58
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I noticed this too, I don't put them down for charging for extra storage space.
The one thing about google that i think has been pretty downplayed is buzz. I'm not a member and i don't think i am ever going to be but it was discreetly added to the side of my gmail inbox.

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Jeku
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Posted: 8th Mar 2010 00:13
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Quote: "There's the GMail drive."


Hmm but I don't think that's official. It's like a hack someone made that allows you to store any files in your GMail right? Doesn't really count as an optimal backup solution


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