[AgentPrice]

Isn't it problematic to store EVERYTHING on line? I mean, sure, right now, Google is a powerhouse and basically rules the internet. But that won't always be true.

James Bridle made an interesting point about this on On the Media, recently:

I think that understanding of the Internet as, as something that means it’s there forever is, is a huge and, and quite dangerous fallacy. My case example for this was Geocities. Geocities was the first make-your- own-home-page site on the Web. By the end of the last decade, it had millions of users, millions and millions of Web pages on it. It was many people’s first experience of the Internet.

And then two years ago, Yahoo! deleted it.

Now, a portion of it was, was saved. A couple of organizations went in there and archived as much as it could. But actually, a huge part of popular culture, something that really shaped the Internet as we know it now, was quite simply deleted and wiped away. And that actually is happening all the time on the Internet.

What if Google decides to delete everything ten years from now?

 

[black.pad]

From what i know there will be a small ssd for, vital and immediate important information that needed, as for everything else, we can only hope that its safe because that is what we are told. That google's network is safe enough to store all out personal info.

 

[mrmtampa]

Make backups!

I backup my Google Docs using the download feature. It creates a zip file of all my docs, converting them to open document format as it goes. It will also convert to MS Office if desired.

There are some third party apps that will automate the backups, I'm assuming that as more stuff is stored in Google Cloud there will be a lot more options.

 

[lull]

Oh you used the S word. I was worried about safety as well. But then I thought about the number of times I have lost things I needed because my computer needed a format. In the cloud I think everything will be a lot safer, as far as loss goes. But then is it really save as in, who might see it?

 

[Ronaldst]

Yes and no. Just don't store Licensed media (MP3s, Movies, etc...) on the web.

I doubt Google is going to go bankrupt anytime soon.

 

[donhuttod]

As I understand it, an Application, such as Photoshop, would remain on the Chromebook while the data produced by it would be stored in the cloud.. Correct???

 

[Ronaldst]

Yes and no. Except for web applications that have been programmed for offline usage, we're gonna use them remotely like Google Docs. Offline applications also will store their data locally until the user reconnects to the internet. All this will be seamless to the users.

 

[jwr]

two words: Playstation network

 

[Lindsey]

This is what scares me about the Chromebook. I don't think it's necessarily a good idea to have everything stored online in one place that is controlled by somebody else. I feel secure knowing that the documents I save on my current computer are there and aren't going anywhere.

 

[modder]

That risk is always going to exist with online solutions, the only thing I can say there is that as more people use it, Google will have to devote more resources to it, and ultimately it will be safer for everyone as a result.

 

[Lindsey]

That risk is always going to exist with online solutions, the only thing I can say there is that as more people use it, Google will have to devote more resources to it, and ultimately it will be safer for everyone as a result.

That is absolutely true. Hopefully Google dedicates as many resources as possible to keeping the Chromebooks secure. They will be under a lot of scrutiny, I think, so hopefully they will be forced to maintain security.