It was only a matter of time before this move was
made. Google has now started integrating the Google Drive service into
their Chrome OS operating system. A post made on the Google Chrome
Releases blog
details the changes being made in the last update - version
20.0.1116.0. The update is available for Chromebooks and specifically
these models - Acer AC700, Samsung Series 5 and Cr-48s. Google recently
launched their Google Drive service, which allows users to store data online. We went hands on with the storage service, check it out here.
The service has been rolling out in stages - free account users get 5GB
of space while paid upgrades are available with capacities scaling
right up to 16TB. The move means that Chrome OS users can simply start
saving data onto the Google Drive.
The integration comes by the way of an option in File Manager on the
OS and users can choose to save data to it, like they would in any other
OS. Google’s Chrome OS was designed to be a light- weight operating
system and users could use web based applications instead. Initially,
the OS booted into a screen with just a browser. Recent improvements
have included a taskbar, like other operating systems and the ability to
minimize, maximize and move windows around freely. The latest dev build
includes a bug fix which had to do with a problem with audio not
playing in videos when multiple tabs were opened.
Google Drive fits in well with Google’s plans for Chrome OS. The
ability to store data on the web means that users no longer have to
carry around external hard drives or email themselves data. Once the 5GB
free quota gets consumed, there’s a good chance people will start
paying for the paid service. However, in countries with connection speed
limits or download limits, there’s bound to be some hesitation in
uploading and downloading large amounts of data from Google Drive.
There’s also the concern about Google’s claiming rights to all the content uploaded
by the user to the Google Drive. Still, these are early days for Google
Drive and Chrome OS and we’ll only see the effects of the recent
integration in a few months time.