Google expands 'cloud-computing', offers Google Drive

Google has expanded its cloud computing services with the rollout of Google Drive. Initially the service offers 5 GB of free space with an upgrade option of 25 GB for a monthly charge of around 2.5 USD.

The product is ready for PC, Mac and Android users with a ‘coming soon’ message for iPhone and iPad on the product’s homepage. With the introduction of the service of cloud storage, Google has entered in a competition with Microsoft, Apple and some other famous services like Box and Dropbox.  

Google Drive allows users to store documents and files on the cloud, making it easier to share with other users as well as devices like PCs, laptops, phones and tablets. Google already provides the facility to store emails and other documents.

The product’s homepage reads, “Google Drive is everywhere you are—on the web, in your home, at the office and on the go. So wherever you are, your stuff is just...there. Ready to go, ready to share. Get started with 5 GB free.”

Cloud storage is rapidly becoming popular among people, specially those who work on multiple devices and platforms. Google aims to make storage on physical hard drives less worthy. “Things happen. Your phone goes for a swim. Your laptop takes an infinite snooze. No matter what happens to your devices, your files are safely stored in Google Drive”. Google says.

Sharing has also become hassle free with Google Drive. Instead of bulky email attachments on Gmail or upload a photo album on Google+, users can easily provide a link from their Google Drive to fulfill the requirement.

Search is also a powerful feature of Google Drive. Helps users to get their files quicker. The feature can also recognize objects in images and text in scanned documents.

Google Drive supports 30 file types that can be searched and viewed directly into the browser including high definition videos and Photoshop documents, even if the program is not installed on the user’s device.

With Google Drive, users can create documents, spreadsheets and presentations instantly, enabling users to view, edit, share and collaborate together and at the same time.

On the other hand, Microsoft has recently launched SkyDrive app for PC, Mac, iPhone, iPad and Windows Phone. Facilitating users to keep their important files on their device in sync with SkyDrive. Providing 25GB of cloud space as a free upgrade.

Let’s hope that Google finds its place in the already saturated market of cloud storage filled with Microsoft’s SkyDrive, Apple’s iCloud and Dropbox being the leader in cloud storage service.

Some technology critics are considering Google as late in the cloud storage market while others say that Google will still make an impact.

Integration with Google Apps will attract existing Google Account holders (Individuals and companies) to use Google Drive instead of some other storage service as they are already using Google Apps and other services like Gmail and now they have cloud-based storage solution to satisfy their needs.

Why Microsoft will beat Apple and Google

Apple says we're in a "post-PC" world, keeping mobile devices like iPad and iPhone in front, considering PC as a completely different platform. Mobile devices are for consuming content and Macs are for creating them.

Google focuses on web as the platform of future, which is a device-free approach but requires constant connectivity. Once your internet connection is lost, your link with Google is gone.

While Microsoft’s vision is to provide the same user experience on all platforms. Whether you use PC, tablet, phone or TV, you will be able to access your apps, content and settings. Plus Bing, SkyDrive and Windows Live will give access to Microsoft’s cloud services platform. Just sing in through windows live to any of the devices and you will have it all.

Apple and Google shared the same vision but their execution is different.

Meanwhile, Apple is leading the smartphones and tablet market while google is leading the search and cloud platform leaving Microsoft in an unusual situation by depending on its PC sales.

By building Windows 8, Microsoft seems to understand that PC won’t stay what it is today and has also learnt lessons from its former mobile platform experience, which is filled with failures, when Microsoft tried to provide an interface that behaves like Windows.

Windows 8 Metro-Style interface that replaces Forms received good reviews and was tested on devices like PCs, notebooks, tablets and large touchscreen displays. Blending cloud services like Bing and SkyDrive will take Windows to a next level. Bing will give a enhanced and integrated search experience and SkyDrive will cater the cloud storage solution.

This won’t be a overnight success but Microsoft is getting ready for a long-term plan. Microsoft is preparing for a comeback through windows 8 and this is something Apple and Google should be worried about.

Revolutionize the classroom

In my previous post I wrote about how to bring revolution in education by introducing smart devices to replace traditional textbooks and copies. Here we will talk about how to revolutionize the classroom by introducing smarter ways of teaching, collaboration and social networking in the field of education.

To revolutionize the classroom we need to introduce engaging and interactive ways of teaching through the use of technology. Replacing blackboards by projector based presentations through smart devices is one way. It can save the time spent in writing during the class and the content can be made available for distribution inside and outside the classroom instead of being wasted by rubbing the blackboard as soon as the class gets over. The content produced by teachers should be interactive and be more like a game.

Useful tools, applications and platforms should be developed for teachers to make productive classroom presentations quickly and easily.

Collaboration is another key factor in making education smarter. The classroom content should be made available online for students to navigate, access and interact outside the class thus creating a shared learning environment.

An educational social network can become an important platform for students where they can collaborate, contribute, discuss and seek real-time assistance from both teachers and fellow students. Hence the classroom can go beyond physical boundaries.

Revolutionize my School Bag

My daughter while hanging her heavy school bag on her shoulders before leaving for school in the morning looked at me as if she is saying, can't you do something for it? As she left I thought seriously about the options to make her life easier and smarter by using technology. And honestly speaking, having so many technology platforms available today, carrying heavy school bags is unfair to our children.

So what do we need to do? there are several solutions available in the technology world and one of those is an iPad with iBooks. But the problem is that iPad is an expensive device for school education and specially in countries like Pakistan where children carrying an iPad is a bounty for street criminals. So the challenge is to come up with a cheap device for the sake of both affordability and security as these devices would be of less advantage for criminal minded people.

In my opinion, in Pakistan the roadmap to smart education starts from a smart school bag and eventually to a smart classroom. The need is to find a suitable device with eBook reader to replace traditional textbooks and a writing tool to replace traditional copies. I know there are plenty of eBook readers with handwriting recognition tool are available but again the challenge is to be affordable and child friendly, a customized educational device.

The next step is to revolutionize the classroom by introducing engaging and interactive ways of teaching through the use of technology in order to replace traditional textbooks. Replace the blackboard by projector based presentations through smart devices to save the time spent in writing during the class and to make the content available inside and outside the classroom rather than wasting the content by rubbing the blackboard at the start of every class.

Last but not the least, introduction of new tools and technologies in education will reduce the use paper and printed material to keep the environment clean and green. Its time for all of us techies to jump in and do our part to revolutionize the area of education.

YouTube introduces 'YouTube For Schools'

YouTube is launching a learning tool 'YouTube for Schools'. It is a learning portal for students and teachers.

A blog post on YouTube explains:

When I was in school during the 90s, watching videos in the classroom was a highlight of any week. The teacher would roll in a television on a cart, pop in a VHS tape, and then we’d enjoy whatever scratchy science video my teacher had checked out from the school video library that week. Sight, sound and motion have always had the power to engage students and complement classroom instruction by bringing educational topics to life.

We’ve been hearing from teachers that they want to use the vast array of educational videos on YouTube in their classrooms, but are concerned that students will be distracted by the latest music video or a video of a cute cat, or a video that might not be appropriate for students. While schools that completely restrict access to YouTube may solve this distraction concern, they also limit access to hundreds of thousands of educational videos on YouTube that can help bring photosynthesis to life, or show what life was like in ancient Greece.

To address this issue, we’ve developed YouTube for Schools, a network setting that school administrators can turn on to grant access only to the educational content from YouTube EDU. Teachers can choose from the hundreds of thousands of videos on YouTube EDU created by more than 600 partners like the Smithsonian, TED, Steve Spangler Science, and Numberphile.

We know how busy teachers are, and that searching through thousands of videos sounds like a daunting visit to the world’s largest library, so we’ve also worked with teachers to put together more than 300 playlists broken out by subject -- Math, Science, Social Studies, and English Language Arts -- and by grade level. Teachers can find them listed out at youtube.com/teachers. Of course, this list wouldn’t be complete without your input -- teachers, what videos do you use in your classroom? Suggest your own education playlist here.

YouTube for Schools is just the latest initiative in our ongoing efforts to make YouTube a truly valuable educational resource, and to inspire learners around the world with programs like YouTube Space Lab. So how do you get started? To join YouTube for Schools or learn more about the program, head on over to www.youtube.com/schools.