And when I get something for free it sure as shit better be so secure that when I tell all my homies about my basement pot farm operation that intel is private, yo.

The security of something is ONLY worth as much to you as the downside risk versus the cost of protecting it. Do you people understand that now? Because I don't think you do.

After all this is the gaggle of retards who are shocked, shocked I tell you, that potential employers are not thrilled looking at your facebook page with you with your thong wrapped around one ankle while you're passed out drunk in the street. SO PLEASE don't lecture us about your security needs and your paranoia about George Bush stealing your super secret documents. That you stored. For free. On a website. With minimal security. That you probably gave away the password to your friends for already.

My motherboard has a power on password. My hard drive is encrypted. Is yours? Do you even know how to do that? Do you know how to encrypt a document you send upstream? The last thing you bought online was it with a stored profile that contained personal information? Now sit in the corner dumbass.

Considering how the search companies roll over for their Chinese governmental overlords, there's no way I am storing my personal stuff in their fluffy little network cloud. Last thing I need is a quick trip to Gitmo because my files contain 3 ounces of liquid and some nail clippers.

Does Google's EULA guarantee that they will safeguard my data, restoring it to me in the face of any adverse event? Or is it a "use at your own risk" service? Corporate lawyers being what they are, I'm going to guess it's the latter.

Until fast, symmetrical (same speed up and down) network connections are widely available, though, online storage will continue to be a massive pain in the ass. Waiting five minutes for a large file to be uploaded to a server because your DSL or cable modem is limited to 128 kbps upstream pretty much kills this idea from the jump. You get to wait those five minutes every time you want to access the file! Awesome!

Sure, online storage sounds great from a fault-tolerance point of view. It's great to have access to your files from "anywhere". But try to get Google (or Apple, or whoever) to pull the backups and restore a file you accidentally deleted last week. Then you'll see how "fault tolerant" it really is.

If you want real data security, you have to provide it yourself. Making backups religiously isn't fun. But there's no free lunch. I could see using this online storage as an "off-site" place to put backup copies of stuff that isn't very personal or private, but for routine, daily data storage? No thanks.

Google is a business.

Just because it provides bleeding-edge web-based tools, hires lots of young hip people, and claims to have a hip, cool, progressive business model ("Don't Be Evil") doesn't mean that they are de facto anything but a business, first and foremost.

Isn't the 'Street View' plugin to Google Maps just way cool? Did anyone consult you about photographing your home or neighborhood in the process of creating that?

Isn't it neat, when you perform a Google search, or send Gmail -- and advertisements appear at the right side of the page? Ads that appear to relate to subjects or keywords in that email you've just sent, or search you just made?

Google uses 'IP delivery based on geolocation' -- i.e., developing profiles of search and Gmail users by IP address... allowing Google to provide you with ads and links to goods and services, based on their recording your Google search habits. And, if you use the Google toolbar, then your browsing habits are being recorded, too.

That's a massive amount of information about you, collected by a company that deals in information. That same company will not discuss what it does with the information it collects about its users. It won't answer questions about the extent of any cooperation with the Cheney / Bush 'administration' in the 'Global War On terror'.

Google doesn't answer any questions about its policies regarding data with any degree of specificity. All it appears to say is Trust Us -- I mean, our web design is teh awsome; aren't the colors cool? We digitize books; we support alternative energy. We're not evil, 'cause we say we're not. C'mon; trust us.

Here's the money quote: Google isn't about protecting your privacy. They're about access, market share, competition and expansion -- like any other business. And they should be treated like any other business when you consider using their services.

You should be aware, as a "good consumer", what you're getting from any service provider, and the full price (i.e., what privacy you may lose) you'll pay for tht service.

Bottom line -- if anyone believes Google will simply act as a new, hip, cool safety deposit box for pictures, documents, emails and data, then go ahead and use them.

However, any company offering to warehouse personal or confidential information, and which cannot or will not provide assurances or even discuss how they will preserve its integrity or privacy, isn't trustworthy. Caveat Emptor.

My name is Farhad. I have a blog at Salon that almost exlusively pimps your two companies. Do you have any openings in your PR department?

Still has a 500k/doc limit I believe which is not that big. It should be 10x that.

Anytime I have a file that I want easy access to (from home or work, for example), I email it to my gmail account and archive the email. Since they're mostly documents or pics that don't take a lot of space, I'm still only at about 10% of my gmail capacity, and the docs are always easy to find with the mail-searcher. It's been incredibly convenient, and there have been a few times where I've restored documents by grabbing the gmail copy. The only downside is when I lose internet connectivity, but, honestly, if that becomes a sustained issue, I think there will be bigger problems than just losing documents.

Of course, the thought of google closing its doors, as unlikely as that seems right now, does keep me awake from time to time.