Welcome to the Google Drive Cloud

I am so excited I just got my invite to the new Google Drive, the new cloud service from Google which has just been released.

Yes I do have Dropbox, in fact I have had it for years, however there are just a few extra perks for me using Google Drive

• I already use Google Docs and Gmail and I can easily transfer files to and from my new G Drive (ooh that does sound sexy lol) while I am online.
• and I can edit my docs online from anywhere without downloading it again onto my computer and uploading the changes again.
• I can collaborate on making those changes with others just like using Google Docs – in fact for me this is just a boost to using Google Docs with a few extra perks.

With Google Drive, you can:

• Access your most up-to-date files from any device or browser
• Share and collaborate on files with exactly who you want, wherever you are
• Safely store all your files in one place

Would you like to know more about Google Drive?

The first 5GB is totally free and from there you can easily add more G’s using this monthly price guide:

• 5GB: free
• 25GB: $2.49
• 100GB: $4.99
• 1TB: $49.99
• 16TB: for $799.99

Google Docs space does not count against your Google Drive space which is excellent.

Google Drive is currently compatible with Windows, Mac and Android operating systems, and they tell us that iPhone and iPad integration is coming soon.

However sadly, right now not everyone is enabled to use it, the easiest way to see of your account is ready to roll with G Drive is to click on this link. drive.google.com

Now this just cool:

Google Drive uses OCR (Optical Character Recognition) tech to scan through PDFs and images for you, which means you can search through your documents in G Drive using a phrase or keyword and find the exact place in any doc you needed to see.

When you get your Google Drive account you will be asked to download the syncing gadget so that you can easily drag and drop your files into your cloud drive right from your desktop PC.

This is what the Official Google Blog has to say about the release of Google Drive:

“With Google Drive, you can:

• Create and collaborate. Google Docs is built right into Google Drive, so you can work with others in real time on documents, spreadsheets and presentations. Once you choose to share content with others, you can add and reply to comments on anything (PDF, image, video file, etc.) and receive notifications when other people comment on shared items.
• Store everything safely and access it anywhere (especially while on the go). All your stuff is just… there. You can access your stuff from anywhere—on the web, in your home, at the office, while running errands and from all of your devices. You can install Drive on your Mac or PC and can download the Drive app to your Android phone or tablet. We’re also working hard on a Drive app for your iOS devices. And regardless of platform, blind users can access Drive with a screen reader.
• Search everything. Search by keyword and filter by file type, owner and more. Drive can even recognize text in scanned documents using Optical Character Recognition (OCR) technology. Let’s say you upload a scanned image of an old newspaper clipping. You can search for a word from the text of the actual article. We also use image recognition so that if you drag and drop photos from your Grand Canyon trip into Drive, you can later search for [grand canyon] and photos of its gorges should pop up. This technology is still in its early stages, and we expect it to get better over time.

You can get started with 5GB of storage for free—that’s enough to store the high-res photos of your trip to the Mt. Everest, scanned copies of your grandparents’ love letters or a career’s worth of business proposals, and still have space for the novel you’re working on. You can choose to upgrade to 25GB for $2.49/month, 100GB for $4.99/month or even 1TB for $49.99/month. When you upgrade to a paid account, your Gmail account storage will also expand to 25GB.”