Shaky internet? Have someone else upload your files to Google’s Cloud Storage platform

By Dave LeClair August 25, 2015

shaky internet have someone else upload your files to googles cloud storage platform harddriveworld1 — Image used with permission by copyright holder

Google is rolling out a solution that will allow users to send their physical media to a third party where it can be uploaded to the cloud, as announced on its Cloud Storage Platform page. Essentially, users could have used Google Cloud Storage to do this on their own all along, but the third party solution allows users with unreliable, slow, or expensive Internet connections to make use of the cloud.

Physical media like hard disk drives (HDDs), tapes, and USB flash drives can be uploaded by third party companies. Presumably, other types of physical storage would also be supported, as there could be people out there with tons of floppy disks or Zip disks as well, but Google doesn’t officially list those.

Users can choose any third party that is able to get the data from their physical media and upload it, though Google does officially list one services on its page; a company called Iron Mountain for those in the USA. For those outside the US, Google simply lists that companies are “Coming Soon.” This means that users in those parts of the world will need to find their own service that can extract and upload the data.

While this feature is fully supported by Google, it also points out that arrangements need to be made between the user and the company doing it. Google is not involved in the process outside of being the company actually hosting the files. It also points out that it “does not provide, support or endorse Offline Media Import / Export services, and does not receive a fee or commission from Offline Media Import / Export services.”

Google charges separately for its Cloud Storage platform based on data stored and bandwidth. Prices vary based on where in the world the bandwidth is from, and the type of storage the users need.

Editors' Recommendations

Topics

Former Digital Trends Contributor

Dave LeClair has been writing about tech and gaming since 2007. He's covered events, hosted podcasts, created videos, and…

Computing

Quest Pro 2: What we know about Meta’s next premium VR headset

From a side view, you can see how glasses can be worn along with a Quest Pro.

While Meta’s Quest Pro is one of the best VR headsets available, it never reached its full potential as a laptop replacement for spatial computing. Meta hasn’t given up on making a work-centric solution, and rumors suggest a Meta Quest Pro 2 is still in development. Here’s what we know so far about Meta's answer to Apple's Vision Pro.
Meta Quest Pro 2 release date speculation
It’s difficult to make a solid prediction on when Meta will launch the Quest Pro 2. Meta CTO Andrew “Boz” Bosworth made it clear in an Instagram AMA that Meta is continually prototyping new VR headsets to find out what’s possible with current technology. That gives Meta more flexibility than manufacturers that research for years before doing hardware testing.

If Meta is satisfied with the performance of the Snapdragon XR2+ Gen 2 and LG can deliver enough micro-OLED displays, the Quest Pro 2 could arrive as early as this October at Meta Connect 2024.

Computing

Does RAM speed matter for PC performance?

Installing RAM sticks in a motherboard.

RAM is one of the primary components in a PC, and it's important that you have at least a certain amount of RAM depending on what you want to do with your PC. However, there are more things to RAM than just capacity: Frequency and latency are important considerations, too.

The question of whether RAM speed matters is especially important now that we have two generations of RAM available, both DDR4 and DDR5 -- and they have vastly different speeds. The official maximum clock speed for DDR4 was 3200MHz, while DDR5 starts at 4800MHz, an increase of 50%; however, you'll easily find RAM kits reaching above 7000MHz. Although latency significantly went up, from CL14 on most 3200MHz DDR4 kits to CL40 on most 4800MHz DDR5 kits, DDR5 is still found to be faster.

Computing

The 6 best 2-in-1 laptops for drawing in 2024

Portal RTX running on the Surface Laptop Studio 2.

Whether you're a seasoned professional or enjoy drawing as a hobby, investing in a 2-in-1 laptop is a great idea for all sorts of artists. Drawing on a laptop makes it easy to quickly share your creation with others, which is especially useful if you're doing it as a professional–negating the need to upload your pen-and-paper sketch to the computer before sending it to a client. Moreover, working on a laptop lets you undo mistakes, zoom in to better handle small details, and quickly change utensils.

There are a lot of perks to drawing on a 2-in-1 laptop, but not all of them are great for creators. Some have unresponsive displays that can't register all your movements, while others might have a lackluster resolution or color spectrum that turns most images into a muddled mess. Because of that, it can be hard figuring out which laptop is best for your needs. And if you'll be spending a good chunk of change on the laptop, you'll want to make sure you get it right.