Why is Google pushing the "cloud" so hard?

[chanchan05]

Google Music isn't available in my country, but weirdest thing is that it's available for download from the play store. If external SD is excluded from it's use... It's sort of useless.

 

[Hadron]

Yeah google have to follow the law same as anyone else

Ironically, this week they are saying "UK law doesn't apply to us"

Where Google aren't charging for cloud services, they can safely be assumed to be mining your data to target ads at you. Where they are charging, you can assume they are doing that in addition. The bottom line with Google, as with many companies, is whether you draw the "creepy line" in the same place that they do, but at least it's pretty obvious what they are about.

Personally I've no real interest in cloud storage - don't need it, local storage is more reliably accessible, and I'm not foolish enough to assume that anything I put in the cloud is really safe or will necessarily continue to be available. Fine as an additional backup (if you are happy with the privacy risks), but as a sole, or primary, data store, forget it.

 

[funkylogik]

Fs lol. Theyre already tryin to avoid paying tax here!

 

[blisterpeanuts]

I use Google Music as a free online backup for my music collection. It's also handy for accessing my collection from work, especially since my stupid Nexus phone lacks an SD card slot.

I'm probably going to get a Samsung device for my next phone, since they still believe in memory slots. Given how cheap these memory cards have gotten, it's ridiculous that the phone makers are all dumping them like they're poisonous. It's all about forcing the consumer to use "the cloud", and of course giving the carriers more of a lock on your data bandwidth. No carrier wants you to have expandable memory these days, obviously. When the Moto X was announced, I was devastated to learn it had no memory slot. What a sell-out. I might still get a Nexus 4, because it's so cheap, but maybe instead an S3 refurb... we'll see... cloud... SD.... grrr.

 

[Crashdamage]

Moving away from SD cards is at least as much about poor reliability, the antique FAT file system and saving space as it is about pushing the cloud.

 

[funkylogik]

Id say the cloud is less reliable than SD depending on where you live (think of the planet as a whole) :thumbup:

 

[zuben el genub]

I posted this elsewhere. I'm trying NOT to play.
The Internet: We

 

[wyndslash]

As a student, cloud storage has especially been useful for me in terms of docs. I can access the files on any computer and don't have to lug my laptop around all the time. It's great for collaborating and lifesaving when laptops suddenly die

 

[divinebovine]

Moving away from SD cards is at least as much about poor reliability, the antique FAT file system and saving space as it is about pushing the cloud.

SD cards are a thousand times more reliable than the cloud is for me.

FAT seems to be doing the job just fine, but if it's causing distress then don't use it. There are plenty of other options. I don't know why it remains a de-facto standard for flash media but it needn't be. My card has an ext3 partition, and I wouldn't care if the FAT partition was NTFS instead.

 

[aysiu]

It should be quite obvious.

Google's main source of revenue is ads. Then they also make money based on cloud subscriptions.

They want to make money.

The more people use their services, the more Google can serve up ads. Ads in Gmail, ads in Google Maps, ads in normal Google searches. You get a certain amount of cloud storage for "free," but if you want 100 GB of Drive storage or want the unlimited streaming of Music, you pay for it (a subscription).

What does it really matter? You can still use the Google Music app to play locally stored music files, and you can still use third-party music players like Poweramp. As long as you have a choice, Google can "push" whatever it wants, and you have no basis for complaints.

One of the major reasons I don't use an iPhone is Apple's insistence on using their apps. Without jailbreaking (which is becoming increasingly less commonly available or just impossible, depending on what iPhone you have or what version of iOS), you can't change your default apps. Got Chrome or Dolphin installed? Too bad. Click a link, and it'll open in Safari. Got Google Maps installed? Too bad. Click an address, and it'll open in Apple Maps.

As long as Android allows me to choose default apps, I don't care what Google wants me to use.

 

[mikedt]

I use Google's cloud to store and sync my calendar and schedule between various devices. But it's really just to keep things in sync, I don't have to be on-line to read my schedule. That's about the only thing I use, apart from storing e-mail.

SD cards are a thousand times more reliable than the cloud is for me.

And besides reliability, SD cards are not subject to government censoring and snooping or geographic restrictions either.

FAT seems to be doing the job just fine, but if it's causing distress then don't use it. There are plenty of other options. I don't know why it remains a de-facto standard for flash media but it needn't be. My card has an ext3 partition, and I wouldn't care if the FAT partition was NTFS instead.

The cloud for me breaks down as soon as I leave home or the office, or at least becomes very expensive. Would probably cost equivalent of $2-3 USD an hour just to listen to my music.

 

[divinebovine]

You can still use the Google Music app to play locally stored music files

Maybe not so many stored music files...