So Much for ‘Never Delete Another Email’
by John Paczkowski
Posted on August 10, 2007 at 9:57 AM PT
Theme 2: Store 100% of User Data
With infinite storage, we can house all user files, including: emails, Web history, pictures, bookmarks, etc., and make it accessible from anywhere (any device, any platform, etc). … As we move toward the ‘Store 100%’ reality, the online copy of your data will become your Golden Copy and your local-machine copy serves more like a cache. An important implication of this theme is that we can make your online copy more secure than it would be on your own machine. Another important implication of this theme is that storing 100% of a user’s data makes each piece of data more valuable because it can be accessed across applications.
Apparently, Google’s “Store 100%” reality will come at a price. Yesterday, the company announced the beginnings of a shared online storage service–and a pricing schedule to go with it. “In a few hours we’ll be rolling out extra storage that you can purchase to use across several Google products (today, Picasa Web Albums and Gmail; soon, other applications like Google Docs & Spreadsheets),” Google engineer Ryan Aquino wrote in a post to the company’s blog. “… When you reach the limit of free storage (i.e., 1GB for Picasa Web Albums, 2.8GB for Gmail), consider this your overflow solution. Plans start at $20/year for 6GB (yes, $5 cheaper than before), with larger plans ranging up to 250GB.”
Huh. What happened to “never delete another email”?
Odd that Google would charge such prices when Yahoo Mail offers unlimited storage for free, Flickr.com for $20. But it is another way of diversifying its revenue beyond advertising. And, more important, another small step toward the “Store 100%” reality the company envisions.
