Slashdot Mirror

← Back to Stories (view on slashdot.org)

Microsoft Plans Gdrive Competitor

Posted by ryuzaki0 on from the personal-virtual-bill dept.

gambit3 writes "From Microsoft Watch: The MSN team is working on a new Windows Live service, code-named Live Drive, that will provide users with a virtual hard drive for storing hosted personal data. From early accounts, it sounds an awful lot like Gdrive, the still-as-yet-publicly-unannounced storage service from Google."

5 of 238 comments (clear)

  1. in what way is it like a non-existant product? by gralem · · Score: 4, Insightful

    I would say it's more like Apple's iDisk. But that's my weakness--I tend to compare things to products and features rather than rumors.

    ---gralem

  2. Re:Apple by SamTheButcher · · Score: 4, Insightful

    Thank you! That's the first thing I thought of. It even has something called iDisk, since the year 2000. (It helps if you say that last part like they do on Conan O'Brien)

  3. Let's talk with our friends and relatives NOW. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Insightful

    As computer-literate individuals, it is our duty to talk to our less computer-savvy friends and relatives about these types of services.

    While it may seem very obvious to us, they might not stop to consider the privacy aspects of these services, be they from Google, Apple, or Microsoft.

    First of all, we need to make it clear that no financial data should be stored in such a way. That includes spreadsheets and archived tax filings.

    Second of all, any personal documentation should not be placed on such remote drives. This is especially important for the employees of businesses.

    Third of all, it must be realized that nothing will ever truly be deleted from such remote drives. One may think they have deleted their files, but it's quite likely that those files still exist on some server somewhere at Google or Microsoft, if not on backup tapes.

    We need to have these dicussions now, before many people make costly mistakes. It will save us time and effort in the long run, if we can wake up enough people to the potential issues that arise when using these services.

  4. Why do people keep saying other's have done it... by AdityaG · · Score: 4, Insightful

    Why the hell do people yell "OMG it's been done before..." everytime someone comes out with something. More competition is always good. If Microsoft screws it up, well that's too bad, but if it doesn't, hey, we will have another nice service to choose between.

  5. Re:You'd have to be a fool to use something like t by spagetti_code · · Score: 4, Insightful

    This would provide the most amazing trolling database ever. Can you imagine the glee within the govt at being able to freely scan every file "owned" by every member of the public.

    And dont think it wont happen because the Patriot act permits data trolling without telling the user (go and talk to you public library - they have to hand over data about you and they are not allowed to tell you).

    Can you imagine the conversation...

    GW: I need access you your Live Drive for anyone named 'ahmed' or 'abbus' or 'abdul' or ... hell just give me it all!
    BillG: sure - if you can call off your anti-trust watchdogs
    GW: consider it done. What is anti-trust anyway??