Google & Samsung To Launch Clouds

[JoeD]

Originally Posted by BeccaPrice

Google's lack-of-privacy policy:

http://idealab.talkingpointsmemo.com...ref=fpnewsfeed

"When you upload or otherwise submit content to our Services, you give Google (and those we work with) a worldwide license to use, host, store, reproduce, modify, create derivative works (such as those resulting from translations, adaptations or other changes we make so that your content works better with our Services), communicate, publish, publicly perform, publicly display and distribute such content. ”

There's often an issue with many EULAs where in order for a company to be allowed to store your data and move it around on their systems you have to grant rights that sound way over the top.

Take for example youtube.

If google don't have the right to create derivitive works, chances are when you upload your video with a given codec and resolution, Google wouldn't be allowed to transcode it to webM or h264 and produce several different resolutions for mobile, standard def, HD 720 and 1080.

Without the world wide permission to publically perform/display and distribute the content, your uploaded youtube video gets seen by nobody. Much as a photo uploaded to facebook wouldn't be allowed to be seen by anyone else if you hadn't granted facebook the right to distribute and publically display it.

Now if the user terms are qualified with giving all those rights only in order to provide usage of the service you signed up for, then it's likely not evil*. If it's not qualified/limited in that way then yeah, it's evil*. They need those rights, but only for the purpose of providing the services you've signed up to.

One issue google may have is that they've tried to standardise their privacy policy across all products recently. It may be the terms they needed for one service yet don't need for another is now an issue as un-neccesary terms are applied to a service and people will question why. (ignoring the legal issues google may be facing on the merging of all policies and the impact it has on privacy)

*evil in the don't be evil sense not in the true "horror" meaning of the sense evil

[Ninjalawyer]

Just an FYI for anyone who might have a Skydrive account - if you login now, you can upgrade your account to 25GB of storage for free. I'd basically forgotten that I had an account until I saw a story about this on Lifehacker.

Apparently the free upgrade is for a limited time.

[tubemonkey]

Originally Posted by Ninjalawyer

Just an FYI for anyone who might have a Skydrive account - if you login now, you can upgrade your account to 25GB of storage for free. I'd basically forgotten that I had an account until I saw a story about this on Lifehacker.

Apparently the free upgrade is for a limited time.

It's a loyalty offer for existing customers, since they downgraded the free service from 25GB to 7GB during an overhaul. They've also sweetened the pot by increasing the upload file size to 2GB.

[K. Molen]

Originally Posted by Ninjalawyer

Just an FYI for anyone who might have a Skydrive account - if you login now, you can upgrade your account to 25GB of storage for free. I'd basically forgotten that I had an account until I saw a story about this on Lifehacker.

Apparently the free upgrade is for a limited time.

I think this applies to anyone who has a Hotmail/MSN Messenger/Live account. I don't remember ever signing up for SkyDrive, but when I logged onto Hotmail I saw a SkyDrive link in the top, clicked on it, and was able to upgrade to 25Gb for free.

[tubemonkey]

Originally Posted by K. Molen

I think this applies to anyone who has a Hotmail account. I don't remember ever signing up for SkyDrive, but when I logged onto Hotmail I saw a SkyDrive link in the top, clicked on it, and was able to upgrade to 25Gb for free.

That would be nice, but according to their offer:

You’ve been with us a long time, and through a lot of changes. We appreciate you sticking with us, and we want to make it easy for you to keep using your 25 GB of free online storage. All you need to do is go to the SkyDrive storage page and choose Upgrade my storage. That’s it—you’re locked in for 25 GB for free.

[K. Molen]

Originally Posted by tubemonkey

That would be nice, but according to their offer:

Yeah, I saw that. But like I said, I have no recollection of ever signing up for SkyDrive. Until this thread I don't think I'd ever even heard of it, yet I got the 25 Gb upgrade for free.

I have had my Hotmail account since before Microsoft bought Hotmail, so maybe there's some kind of longevity thing there...

If others don't have the same experience, the only thing I can guess is that I at some point must've clicked onto SkyDrive from Hotmail and then promptly forgotten about it. I've certainly never used it, or been aware that I had an account prior to getting my free 25 Gb.

[GeckoFriend]

Originally Posted by K. Molen

I think this applies to anyone who has a Hotmail/MSN Messenger/Live account. I don't remember ever signing up for SkyDrive, but when I logged onto Hotmail I saw a SkyDrive link in the top, clicked on it, and was able to upgrade to 25Gb for free.

Thanks for this information; it worked for me. I know I did not sign up for Skydrive so it must have been automatic for hotmail users. Now I need to figure out how to use it.

[Andrew H.]

This worked for me, too. I had previously used windows live to store something, and I used livemesh to store another document...so I guess that was enough.

[Kumabjorn]

Originally Posted by BeccaPrice

Google's lack-of-privacy policy:

http://idealab.talkingpointsmemo.com...ref=fpnewsfeed

"When you upload or otherwise submit content to our Services, you give Google (and those we work with) a worldwide license to use, host, store, reproduce, modify, create derivative works (such as those resulting from translations, adaptations or other changes we make so that your content works better with our Services), communicate, publish, publicly perform, publicly display and distribute such content. ”

So, if I was working on a book and saving a backup copy in their Cloud they could put together those chapters and start distributing them? Seems a bit overhanded.

[Ninjalawyer]

Originally Posted by Kumabjorn

So, if I was working on a book and saving a backup copy in their Cloud they could put together those chapters and start distributing them? Seems a bit overhanded.

No, it doesn't mean that because what you quoted has to be read in the context of what comes before and after it:

Some of our Services allow you to submit content. You retain ownership of any intellectual property rights that you hold in that content. In short, what belongs to you stays yours.

When you upload or otherwise submit content to our Services, you give Google (and those we work with) a worldwide license to use, host, store, reproduce, modify, create derivative works (such as those resulting from translations, adaptations or other changes we make so that your content works better with our Services), communicate, publish, publicly perform, publicly display and distribute such content. The rights you grant in this license are for the limited purpose of operating, promoting, and improving our Services, and to develop new ones. This license continues even if you stop using our Services (for example, for a business listing you have added to Google Maps). Some Services may offer you ways to access and remove content that has been provided to that Service. Also, in some of our Services, there are terms or settings that narrow the scope of our use of the content submitted in those Services. Make sure you have the necessary rights to grant us this license for any content that you submit to our Services.

The license you grant Google is specifically limited and, as JoeD pointed out, what is minimally necessary for them to operate their services.

The current complaints about Google Drive's terms of service are more FUD than fact, and are really only a result of the previous fervor over Google unifying its privacy policy across its products (and allowing sharing of user data between Google products). Google's business model is to get as much personal data about you as possible, but they don't particularly care about your novel.

I'm not criticizing you Kumabjorn, it's more a criticism of all the sites looking for any and every criticism of Google, even where it makes no sense. If anyone is interested in what the terms of service say, rather than blogger fearmongering for hits, they are here.

[CyGuy]

If they have the ability to view ANY of the data or content you upload, that is an obvious show-stopper. The only way this might be acceptable is if you encrypt everything you upload using something like True Crypt. This would be a pain though, local storage is simply the way to go. SDHC cards are getting cheaper by the day...

[K. Molen]

Originally Posted by Ninjalawyer

The license you grant Google is specifically limited and, as JoeD pointed out, what is minimally necessary for them to operate their services.

Minimally necessary? What's minimal about being able to use uploaded content to promote their services? I see what you're saying and JoeD's example were very helpful, but the "promoting" part of their agreement makes me weary.

Am I wrong in assuming that Google technically has the right to create advertising using photos and videos uploaded to their cloud service? If so, that's BS and enough to make me shy away.

Not that I would care overly much if they did use any of my photos in their ads, but it's the presumptuousness and underhandedness of it that gets to me.

[Kumabjorn]

Originally Posted by Ninjalawyer

No, it doesn't mean that because what you quoted has to be read in the context of what comes before and after it:



The license you grant Google is specifically limited and, as JoeD pointed out, what is minimally necessary for them to operate their services.

The current complaints about Google Drive's terms of service are more FUD than fact, and are really only a result of the previous fervor over Google unifying its privacy policy across its products (and allowing sharing of user data between Google products). Google's business model is to get as much personal data about you as possible, but they don't particularly care about your novel.

I'm not criticizing you Kumabjorn, it's more a criticism of all the sites looking for any and every criticism of Google, even where it makes no sense. If anyone is interested in what the terms of service say, rather than blogger fearmongering for hits, they are here.

I don't really believe that someone on Google would sit and read through some first drafts to see if there is a book in the works. However, if it is technically legal to do it, I might be more apprehensive, for the simple reason that I could've been in a kerfuffle with someone who works at Google, that person then starts to sift through my personal data to see if there is some way to get back at me, and I wouldn't have any legal means at my disposal.

[disillusioned]

Originally Posted by K. Molen

Am I wrong in assuming that Google technically has the right to create advertising using photos and videos uploaded to their cloud service? If so, that's BS and enough to make me shy away.

From the Google Privacy Terms page

We use the information we collect from all of our services to provide, maintain, protect and improve them, to develop new ones, and to protect Google and our users. We also use this information to offer you tailored content - like giving you more relevant search results and ads.
[...]
We will ask for your consent before using information for a purpose other than those that are set out in this Privacy Policy.

Also, I think common sense suggest that if Google used uploaded content not intended for public sharing to create advertising, it would be like PR suicide.

[K. Molen]

Originally Posted by disillusioned

From the Google Privacy Terms page...

But according to the agreement they would have the right to use my content for promotional purposes, consent or no consent. Or are you saying their Privacy Terms override the user agreement?

Also, I think common sense suggest that if Google used uploaded content not intended for public sharing to create advertising, it would be like PR suicide.

Sure, but that's besides the point. The mere fact that they include that kind of language in the agreement is what irks me, not that they could potentially (however unlikely) use my photos in their promotional materials.

In fact, it'd be kind of cool if they did. That doesn't alter the ick factor of an unnecessarily overreaching agreement though.

Thanks to this thread, I think the decision I've made is to diversity the service providers I use for my online content. Google already have my e-mails, as GMail is now my primary e-mail account, but I don't think I'm willing to give them access to my cloud stored data.