20070319 科学幻想 Philipp Lenssen Illustrated Google Drive

海量数据存储、授权、高速访问（下一代的Amazon AWS S3），确是网络操作系统(Web OS)的关键之一。 海量存储空间、极速传输、精确授权、单一URL(所有目录及文件皆对应永久短静态URL)、管理界面UI、全球范围分布式存储(类似Yahoo! Mail 的 CDN)、多版本存储、每URL电子邮件集成、精确搜索、、、、、、 资金上、技术上的挑战到底多大（宽信道、大存储、密集查询、URL访问授权、版本存储），这还不等于是由一 家商业性公司重建全球整个互联网！，到底要花多少钱？有底？没底？？？

Google Drive是什么? Google Drive(不要跟Google现有的代号为"鸭嘴兽"的内部Gdrive项目混淆了,)是一个网络应用,允许Google的用户――那些有Google 帐户的人――储存文件,并可以从任何地方获取.让我们先给新用户100GB,只是想有些像Gmail发布时的那种轰动效应(而且跟Gmail一样, Google Drive应该也会在测试阶段采用邀请制). 这项服务的其它潜在的名字有:Gdrive、Google Files、Gfiles、Google Store、Google Zone、Google Data、Gvault、G:、或者 Google Storage. 主屏幕 用你的Google帐户(跟Gmail的用户名和密码一样)登录到Google Drive以后,你会在左侧看到一个文件夹列表,在右侧看到文件列表,上下分别是搜索框和广告. 文件夹系统 Google Drive能够重新使用Windows资源管理器的概念,但会给网络带来一场变革.不需要在这里重新发明一下车轮,因为人们已经习惯了这个界面,因此他们 将会很容易理解这个新工具的概念.你可以展开和收缩文件夹,打开一个文件夹和它的内容,还可以上传新的东西,并在线浏览(或者下载后离线浏览). 文件夹有三种安全设置:向世界分享(人头图标)、隐私(钥匙图标)、和向被邀请 的朋友分享(人头+钥匙图标).在默认设置下,所有东西都是隐私的,因此只能通过你的Google帐户访问到.(当有人盗取了你的密码,你会比以前有更大 麻烦!) 另外,还有一个Google系统文件夹的区域.那不是被用户创建的,而是由 Google来自动填充.例如,当你有一个Blogspot博客并写了一片新日志,一个新的子文件夹会被添加到你的"Google services/Blogger/"目录里.这个新文件夹包含了这篇新日志的图片和文字内容.对Picasa网络相册(Picasa到那个时候可能会被 叫做"Photos")或Gmail等等也是一样.届时你就能够备份你所有的Google数据――或者部分数据――通过点击在任何打开的文 件夹下的"下载文件夹"链接.当然,你还可以搜索储存在你所使用的所有Google网络应用里的数据. 要注意的是Google系统文件夹本身不能被编辑――内容和安全设置都不行―― 并且在里面的文件会自动地被链接到你在其它地方的Google数据.因此当你编辑了一片就日志以后,在这个文件夹里的对应内容也会改变.还有,Google 系统文件夹将会占用你的100GB免费空间,因此其它的Google服务将不会再有它自己的储存限制……也就是说如果你愿意的话可以用55GB来 存储Gmail数据,只要在Google Drive上有55GB的剩余空间. 管理文件 当你打开一个文件夹的时候,会有一个包含至少10个文件的列表出现在眼前.你可 以选择一堆文件然后执行一些操作,比如删除、复制、移动等等.你还可以给文件加星标来更好地记住它们,或者是加标签,像"工 作"、"娱乐"、"骑马"之类的关键词. 当你点击一个文件的时候,会出现几个选项,如: 在线查看这个文件,例如一个Word文档可以在Google文件中打开(这项操作会打开一个新窗口,如果这个文件夹是公开 的话,还会有一个跟别人分享的永久链接――对了,新的窗口也会有广告) 把文件下载到本地PC 如果文件类型是图片,当你点击这个文件的时候会马上出现这个图片的大图(另外, 图片在文件预览中会有一个缩略图).其它类型的文件或许也可以直接预览,比如文本、MP3、WMV、XLS、PDF或者富文本. 文件的其它信息可能也可以看到,像大小(KB)、Google的病毒检查状态, 如果是共享文件,还会有一个"查看次数"统计和文档的反向链接. Google系统文件(也就是储存在其它Google应用上的东西)还有一个特 殊模式:当你点击Google系统文件的时候,你会看到文档的源文件,比如在Gmail帐户中的一个Email,或者Blogger博客里的某篇日志的编 辑模式. 搜索数据 在Google Drive顶部的搜索功能,很引人注目,因为它不仅能找 到你上传的任何文件(在短短几秒钟内),还可以搜索你现有的Google数据.如果你在Orkut 里建了一个档案,你的档案和你的朋友的名字都能被找到.当你在Gmail里写了一封Email,也同样能被找到.还有你的Google Base数据、搜索历史(如果开启了的话),博客日志、电子表格、你上传到YouTube上的视频的评论、Gtalk聊天记录、应用在个性化主页上的小工 具、你在别人的Blogspot博客上的评论(如果你发表评论的时候Google帐户处于登录状态)、Google Checkout的付款历史和详情, 等等. 在另一方面,高级搜索选项允许你去指定具体想找什么.你可以搜索 最近修改过的文档,或者只搜索非Google系统文件,或者只搜索图片,或者只搜索你分享的东西,等等. 顺便说一句,由于Google的自我审查功能,在中国的用户将不能够在 Google Drive里搜索特定的敏感词汇,像"×权"或者"××功"(包含这些关键词的文件也不能被储存在drive.google.cn上).Google将会 争辩说审查Google Drive违背了他们的使命,但不给世界五分之一的人口提供存储服务是更严重的事.其它国家可能也有类似的选项内建在 Google Drive里,取决于什么是违法的或者在当地不受欢迎的. 上传文件和备份 无论何时你打开一个文件夹,都会在下面看到一个"上传"按钮.你能够通过点击它 来选择一个本地PC上的文件并上传,比如一个PDF文档.可能还会有输入过滤器,过滤所有储存在外部网站上的文件.此外,Google会提供给你一个同步 工具――独立的,或者作为Google桌面套件的以部分――因此你能够选择将文件夹的创建/更新自动化. 你不仅能上传文件,当然还可以下载.当你点了"下载"以后,一个ZIP文 件下载进程会被初始化.这个ZIP会包含在一个特定文件夹中的所有文件(以及子文件夹、子文件).例如,现在备份你所有的Gmail邮件就像备份 Blogspot博客一样容易了,因为你不用再去学习具体的备份过程. 而且因为 "Google服务"就是里面的一个文件夹,所以你基本上可以通过一次点击来备份你的整个Google OS.另外,使用Google Drive同步工具,你可以把这个过程自动化(比如,把同步工具设成每24个小时下载/上传你的数据――当然是在你开机的时候). 现在,备份功能不只是一个让人们使用Google Drive的有吸引力的功能.突然间,所有Google连接的应用对用户来说都会变得更有价值,因为封闭的东西更少了.讽刺的是,这个交叉集成服务涉嫌 "Google垄断",因为人们可能会这样说: "我想开我的第一个博客,我该用哪个呢?Blogspot还是 TypePad?" "TypePad有更酷的功能,但你最好还是用Blogspot…… 因为它集成在Google Drive里." 我没有在这里说TypePad比Blogspot更好还是更差,但你明白我的意 思――当Google Drive真正发布的时候,所有其它网络应用竞争者突然都有了跟Google OS"不兼容的文件格式",这让他们的服务更没用了! 相关广告 我们不能期望Google Drive把那些存储空间和服务白白送人,对吧?广告将会成为Google在这项服务中挣多少钱的关键.跟传统的广告条不同的是,这些广告将会跟 你正在看的文件和文件夹相关.如果你的文件叫做"my-web-host-terms-of-service.txt",那么下面的广告可能会是 "$1.99域名注册". 就像在Gmail身上发生过的一样,一些人会误解这项功能,并且很害怕: "Google是怎么知道我的隐私文件的内容的?"答案是你向Google Drive上传任何东西,它当然都会被放到Google的服务器上,因此从技术上讲,每个有接入权的Google员工都能够看你的文件.在另一方面, Google的动机不是检视你,而是从你身上挣钱,而且他们的广告投放完全是自动的,所以没什么可怕的,倘若你信任Google的话……还有倘若你 信任你 的ZF的话,因为他们可能会要求Google在背地里提供你的隐私数据(比如美国). 集成到其它Google应用中 Google Drive扩展了drive.google.com(不管子域名将会是什么)这一网站的范围.因为现在,无论何时你向Google上传东西――比如 点击Gmail里的"添加附件"――你都会有两个选择……从本地磁盘上传还是从Google Drive上传.也就是说当你在Google Drive上存了什么东西的时候,你可以在多种Google产品中调用它. 从Google Dirve"上传"东西的好处是那个文件已经在Google服务器上了,你不用再等待上传的过程.如果你以前把一个视频上传到了Google Video上,那再往YouTube上传的时候只要一秒钟就能完成(因为你可以通过Google Drive接入到Google系统文件).Google只要在自己的服务器上处理一下本地资源就行了,你不用发送任何数据……只要你在Google OS上.

What's Google Drive? Google Drive (not to be confused with Google's existing internal Gdrive project, code-named Platypus) is a web application to allow Google users � those with a Google account � to store their files, accessible everywhere. Let's hand out 100 Gigabytes for starters, just to have some wow factor like when Gmail was released (and like Gmail, Google Drive ought to start out as invite-only Beta). Other potential product names for this service are e.g. Gdrive, Google Files, Gfiles, Google Store, Google Zone, Google Data, Gvault, G:\, or Google Storage. The main screen After logging into Google Drive with your Google Account � the same user name and password used in e.g. Gmail � you'll see a folder pane to the left, a file view to the right, a search box on top and some ads below. The folder system Google Drive can reuse the concepts of Windows Explorer, but bring the whole cabundle to the web. There's no need to reinvent the wheel here, as people are already used to this interface, so they will have an easy time understanding the concept of this new tool. You can expand and collapse folders, open a folder and its contents, and upload new stuff to it, and view this stuff online (or offline, by downloading it again). Folders come in three security flavors: shared with the world (the people icon), private (the keys icon), and shared with a group of invited friends (the people + keys icon). By default, everything is private, so it can only be accessed via your Google Account. (When someone hacks your password, you're in even more trouble than before!) Additionally, there's a section for Google system folders. These are not user-created, but automatically filled by Google. For example, when you have a Blogspot blog and you create a new post, a new sub-folder will be added to your "Google services/Blogger/" directory. This new folder will contain all the post's images as well as the content of the post as Rich Text file. The same for a Picasa Web Album (Picasa is likely called "Photos" by then), or your Gmails, and so on. The neat thing is that you will thus be able to backup all of your Google data � or parts of it � by hitting the "download folder" link below any opened folder. And of course, you will now finally be able to search for all your data stored across the different Google web applications you use. Note that the Google system folder itself cannot be edited � neither its contents, nor its security settings � and files in it will be automatically linked to your Google data elsewhere. So as soon as you edit an older blog post, it will also be changed in this folder. Also, the Google system folder will count against your 100 Gigabyte free storage space, though individual other Google services will now have no more (specific) storage limitations on their own... meaning you can have e.g. 55 Gigabytes of Gmail data if you want, as long as there are 55 Gigabytes left on your Google Drive. Handling files When you open a folder, you're presented with a list of the latest 10 or so files in it. You can then select a bunch of files to apply actions to them, like deleting, copying, moving and so on. You can also star files to better remember them, or tag/ label files with keywords like "work," "fun," "horse riding" and so on. When you click on a file, you're presented with a couple of options, like: View this file online, e.g. a Word document can be opened in Google Docs & Spreadsheets (this will open in a new window, which has a permalink you can share with others, if the folder is public � the new window will include ads too, by the way) Download this file to your local PC If the file-type is an image, then you will also be immediately presented with a larger version of the image upon clicking the file (additionally, images will contain a small preview in the files overview). An instant preview may also be available for other file-types, such as text, MP3, WMV, XLS, PDF or Rich Text. Other information may be available for files as well, like its size in kilobytes, its Google's virus check status, and if it's shared, a "times viewed" statistic and a list of backlinks to the document. There is a special mode for Google system files (that is, the stuff stored in your other Google applications): whenever you click on Google system file, you will be additionally offered to be taken to the source of the document, e.g. an email in your Gmail account, or the edit mode of your Blogger blog for a particular post. Searching your data The search feature on top of Google Drive is quite remarkable because it will not only find any file you uploaded (in split-seconds), but also search across your existing Google data. If you created a profile in Orkut, your profile and the list of your friend's names will be found. When you wrote an email in Gmail, it too will be found. The same goes for your Google Base data, your search history (if enabled), your blog posts, your Google spreadsheets, descriptions of videos you uploaded to YouTube, your Google Talk history, names of gadgets you included on your personalized Homepage, comments you wrote at Blogspot blogs of others (if you were logged-in to your Google Account at the time), your Google Checkout payment history and details, and so on. The advanced search options on the other hand allow you to specifiy exactly what you're looking for. You can search for documents that were recently changed, or search through your non-Google-system files only, or search for images only, or search for stuff you shared only, and so on. Users in China, by the way, thanks to a Google self-censorship feature, will not be able to search their Google Drive for certain sensitive terms, like "human rights" or "falun gong" (neither will they be able to store files containing such terms on drive.google.cn). Google will argue that censoring Google Drive compromises their mission, but that failing to offer storage at all to a fifth of the world's population does so far more severely. Other countries may have similar options built into Google Drive, depending on what is illegal or unwanted locally. Uploading files, and making backups Whenever you open a folder, you'll see an "upload" button below. Clicking it will allow you to select a file from your local PC, e.g. a PDF, and upload it. There may also be import filters, say for all files hosted on an external website. Additionally, Google will offer you a synchronization tool � standalone, and as part of the Google Desktop suite � so you can opt to automate the folder creation/ updating process. You can not only upload files, but download them as well, of course. When you hit "download," a ZIP file download process is initiated. This ZIP will contain all files (and sub-folders/ sub-files) in this specific folder. Backing up all of your Gmail emails, for example, is now the same process as backing up your Blogspot blog, which is great because you don't have to learn about specific backup procedures. And because "Google services" is a folder in itself, you can pretty much backup your whole Google OS with a single click. Also, using the Google Drive Synchronize tool, you can automate this process (e.g. set the synchronizer to download/ upload your data every 24 hours � when your computer is on, that is). Now, the backup feature is not just a nice argument to convince people to use Google Drive. All of a sudden, all kinds of Google-connected applications will suddenly become more valuable for users, because there's less of a lock-in. Ironically, this cross-integration has some interesting "Google monopoly" implications, because people will go like this: "I want to start my first blog. Which should I use, Blogspot or TypePad?" "TypePad has cooler features, but you better go for Blogspot... it's integrated into your Google Drive." I'm not saying TypePad is superior or inferior to Blogspot, but you get the point � with the release of a true Google Drive, all other web application competitors suddenly have "incompatible file formats" for the Google OS, making their services less useful! Related advertisement We can't expect Google Drive to give away all that storage and service for free, right? The ads will be how Google makes money from this service. As opposed to traditional ad banners, these ads will be targeted to whatever files and folders you're currently looking at. If your file is called "my-web-host-terms-of-service.txt", then the ad below may read "$1.99 Domain Registration". Just like it happened with Gmail back then, some people will misunderstand this feature and be scared of it: "How does Google know the contents of my private files?" The answer is that as soon as you upload anything to Google Drive, it will of course have to be transferred to Google's servers, so technically every Google employee with access will be able to read your files. On the other hand, Google's incentive is not to spy on you, but make money from you, and their ads are targeted completely automated, so it's nothing to be scared of provided you trust Google... and provided you trust your government, as they may be able to query Google for your private data behind your back (e.g. in the US). Integration into other Google applications Google Drive extends the scope of just that single website drive.google.com (or whichever sub-domain it will be). Because now, whenever Google offers to you upload something � say, you hit "add attachment" in Gmail � you will now get two choices from where to take the file... from your local drive, or from your Google Drive. This means when you store something in Google Drive, you can can access the resource from within a variety of Google products. The nice thing about picking files from your Google Drive for "uploading" is that as the file is already on Google's server, you don't have to wait for the upload time to progress. Uploading a video to YouTube will be a matter of a second if you previously already uploaded it to Google Video (because you can access your Google system folder using Google Drive). Google just has to handle sharing local resources among its servers, and you don't need to transmit any data... as long as you stay on the Google OS, that is.