Chrome OS gets Google Drive integration

It was only a matter of time before this move was made. Google has now started integrating the Google Drive service into their Chrome OS operating system. A post made on the Google Chrome Releases blog details the changes being made in the last update - version  20.0.1116.0. The update is available for Chromebooks and specifically these models - Acer AC700, Samsung Series 5 and Cr-48s. Google recently launched their Google Drive service, which allows users to store data online. We went hands on with the storage service, check it out here. The service has been rolling out in stages - free account users get 5GB of space while paid upgrades are available with capacities scaling right up to 16TB. The move means that Chrome OS users can simply start saving data onto the Google Drive.

Final release not too far away

The integration comes by the way of an option in File Manager on the OS and users can choose to save data to it, like they would in any other OS. Google’s Chrome OS was designed to be a light- weight operating system and users could use web based applications instead. Initially, the OS booted into a screen with just a browser. Recent improvements have included a taskbar, like other operating systems and the ability to minimize, maximize and move windows around freely. The latest dev build includes a bug fix which had to do with a problem with audio not playing in videos when multiple tabs were opened.

Google Drive fits in well with Google’s plans for Chrome OS. The ability to store data on the web means that users no longer have to carry around external hard drives or email themselves data. Once the 5GB free quota gets consumed, there’s a good chance people will start paying for the paid service. However, in countries with connection speed limits or download limits, there’s bound to be some hesitation in uploading and downloading large amounts of data from Google Drive. There’s also the concern about Google’s claiming rights to all the content uploaded by the user to the Google Drive. Still, these are early days for Google Drive and Chrome OS and we’ll only see the effects of the recent integration in a few months time.