georgevedwards Loc: Essex, Maryland.

I just read and article that said Google is introducing free, unlimited, storage space on "the cloud". It could mean we have a good alternative to having to buy an external hard drive. Personally I did not like Adobe being cloud based at first and swore I wouldn't go there but am now paying $9.99 a month for the latest photoshop and loving it. I had two external hard drives on a Mac that had thousands of photos that were lost when the computer refused to recognize the drives. It was getting old, I guess sort of computer Alzheimer's disease. Not my money shots, which I double backed up on Disc. Meanwhile I switched to PC. Now I can take my photos and back them up on the cloud, so if my external drive now in use goes up I won't be left in the cold. Hooray for Google!!!! What say ye, my fellow UHH'ers? A plot by Communists? Satan? Or a good thing?

oldtigger Loc: Roanoke Virginia-USA

You seem happy with the words 'free, unlimited, cloud...' so will probably not understand when i say:
"Limiting all cloud storage and facebook transfers to dedicated dial up access would restore the internet functionality."

Picdude Loc: Ohio

There are some caveats to this. I believe you are limited to 16M/image, which is fine for jpeg but a bit low for RAW and real low for a lot of TIFF images. You can upgrade the storage to store larger images but now you're back to a monthly fee.

CLF Loc: Raleigh, NC

Just a thought from my IT days. The cloud is a computer made by man. All things made by man break, wear out, etc., etc. I can see it now when the big cloud in the sky goes boink. I think I will stay with the RAID I am assembling for myself.

Lead Foot

bibsthecat Loc: Cold Spring MN

You're right. I tried it and its fine if you just want to share photos. It's not good for file backup because it will shrink you files down if they are to big. If you want to store the original size, there is limited space for free.

Gene51 Loc: Yonkers, NY, now in LSD (LowerSlowerDelaware)

The best archival storage is a quality external hard drive - not the $90, 4 TB junk that you see all over the place. Buy a fan-vented enclosure (Rosewill is a decent brand)

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817173042

And put in a Western Digital Black, or RE drive - these have 5 yr warranties and excellent overnight swap service if you develop a problem with them.

Not sure what you mean you are backing up your important work to "Disk" - if you mean DVD or BluRay, then you are no better off than with a cheap drive. "Burnable" can suffer "disk rot" in as little as 5 years, though 7 to 10 is more common.

There is another type of disk - the M-Disk - that is intended for archival storage, and is estimated to last 1000 years or more. I don't expect to be around that long. :)

Did the drives actually fail? Sounds like an interface problem, and it is quite possible that the drives are recoverable. I would bring them to Apple and ask if the drives are readable. Or a PC repair guy and ask them to copy the contents to a new drive.

As far as cloud storage in general is concerned - it is a reasonable approach as long as you have a fast internet connection. Even with a 25 mpbs upload capability, it could take weeks to upload a Tb of files.

jerryc41 Loc: Catskill Mts of NY

Yes, it works fine. I was using their previous version, Google +, and they transferred everything over. As you said, it's certainly not a way to save all your images and keep them secure, but it's perfect for sharing, which is my only reason for using it.

Flickr offers 1TB for free, and Amazon Prime offers unlimited photo storage. Of course, in all cases, they hope you will want more services and pay the monthly fee.

nimbushopper Loc: Tampa, FL

You guys correct me if Im wrong, but I heard a rumor that in the agreement one signs with google they have the right to use any of your photos as they see fit.

selmslie Loc: Fernandina Beach, FL, USA

I agree, but a single external drive can still fail. You are better off with at least two separate drives each holding identical information.

I use three - two on the computer and one in my safe deposit at the bank to cover the worst possible scenario. I rotate the one at the bank out on a monthly basis so I will never lose more than a month's data.

Picdude Loc: Ohio

Hard logic to argue. Of course, a good backup plan includes more than one 'copy' of the data. If the pictures meet the size specifications, one COULD use Google as an additional data copy. But I would hate to use it as my ONLY copy.

Another option could be to use it as temporary storage. A friend of mine is going on a camping trip out west and is looking into using Google pictures as additional backup for his images.

GENorkus Loc: Washington Twp, Michigan

Sound of future things? One cloud source send me a notice, they are stopping all free cloud accounts which I didn't use in the 1st place.

I'm sure the big guns will be around for a while but remember that whoever it is, they want your money somewhere, somehow.

Nothing is "free" in this world.

JPL

Yes, I would say this is a plot by either Satan or American Communists. I never use any cloud services and do not even think about it as an option.

photostephen

Having read a review of Google's Photo Storage (and this was a review and not actual usage.) I found this potential problems.

1) Size of files. The initial upload size is limited, and also Google plans on compressing (lossly I assume) the files more to reduce Googles actual disc usage. So when you go to retrieve your files, they will have lost some quality.

2) Google plans on doing some internal analysis of your images to group them into subject matter and also do face recognition. I suspect this is how Google will make money on your photos. I will look for common themes in your photos and use that information to sell targeting information to advertisers. So if there are a lot of photos with boats in them, you may all of a sudden see more boating popup ads.

3) There is no assurance your photos will remain private. If Google can analyze your photos, then they can view your photos.

Therefore, until I hear otherwise, I would stay away from Google's photo upload offer.

jerryc41 Loc: Catskill Mts of NY

Not true. Every online service uses your info somehow, but "any way they see fit" is a bit of a stretch.

http://thenextweb.com/apps/2015/06/05/im-totally-and-irrationally-in-love-with-google-photos/

4ellen4 Loc: GTA--Ontario

I have never used a cloud service. There is always a chance that the service can be hacked. And anyone can have access to my photos. All work done on this computer is backed up on an external and the other 3 computers in the house. Yes, it is a lot of work but I know that my photos have been backed up. Any that I have sold go on to a separate disc with the clients name.