Google Drive: One Location for All

Google drive is the goto place for sharing and collaborating and I absolutely make use of it pretty much every week and sometimes everyday.

Pros

Before Google drive, sharing and collaborating with other people was through CDs, Pen drives, emails and other such mediums. Google drive has changed it dramatically by making this process easy, intuitive and less stressful. Google drive has so many Pros but here are the three main ones that makes me want to use it every time during all my personal and schooling projects - want to share only certain things with certain people but have access to all of them in one location, Google drive got you covered; want to see what others are changing things on the files (doc, xls, ppt) in real time, google drive has got you covered; want to see the history of changes over time, of course google drive has you covered. I like how I can organize my folders in different locations. One can not only create folders and documents but can easily upload them as well. As long as you have access to internet, you have access to the files. It is well integrated into the google's environment which I think is the reason why it has become so popular.

Cons

The biggest con for me has been the size limit. 15GB was not enough for me as I have a personal folder where I have lot of personal pictures and personal videos stored. These days a good 1080p videos of just a few minutes can climb up to 100MB. The other con is that though google drive gives you access to the doc, xls, ppt files the formatting is limited. This causes some issues when files are downloaded from google drive to Microsoft platform or vice versa. I don't see google drive ever enhancing their file formatting to keep up to date but again it is meant to be a collaborative platform to share and collaborate ideas and work together. For formatting simply download and do it on the correct tool.

Google Drive Review

I am using it a long time for the university, also for work. My benefit from this app is that I am working on something at home, then upload it on my Drive, and when I go to the university I can easily open my work - I have no need to get my PC with me. Also I can easily save for example pictures when I am on a trip and run out of memory on my phone. Then just share my files in the Drive and make much more pictures - no adittional SD cards or whatever. The main advantage is that you can accesss files everywhere anytime you want - from laptop, tablet, PC, telephone - all you want. It is very easy and useful to use software. I pretty recommend it.

Pros

1. Very pretty desing
2. Everything is intuitive - you can easily find what you want. You do not waste your time in understanding how to work with the application.
3. There is a search engine for the whole application - this helps the user to easily find some files.
4. There is leftside navigation bar which conatins all you want:
4.1. You can easily see all the containers ( folders ) that you created and navigate to them.
4.2. You can easily see everything shared with you - in the section.
4.3. You have your recycle bin - easily see what you have deleted.
4.4. You can see what is the amount of storage that you are currently using - this is helpful in order to let you know how to manage your content - and if you had run out of space, there is a quick link where you can easily expand your cloud storage.
5. There is right navigation panel which easily shows you basic information about currently selected folder or file. There is useful information which sometimes is useful and you can reach it with just one move of your head.
6. There is activity tab which shows you what have you been doing. I find this helpful in order to remember what you have been doing and in order to check if someone has hacked your account and did something you do not want to.
7. There is a virus scanner befofre you download the file.
8. You can easily open your files and even edit them - for example some documents.
9. You can share specific files to specific people.

Cons

1. Maybe it is a good idea to show the content of archive files - in order to know if you really want to download the file.

And till now this is the only thing that for my pyrposes is not practical.

All in all everything esle is very good and useful.

Great for collaboration and sharing

Overall, we use Drive a lot in our organization because it's an effective way to communicate in real time and to give others visibility (and even commenting abilities) on what we are doing. Using this software has improved the way we can display and share our work, without fear of it getting lost or taking up too much space. For example, we have started creating Google Sites through Drive instead of PDF documents to report on projects, as they are more interactive and people like the experience of being guided through a website. That's been a big win for us, and the Drive software absolutely empowers us to do this.

Pros

The biggest advantage to using Drive - whether it's Sheets, Docs, Slides, or Sites within Drive - is the provision for simultaneous editing. And then saving in the cloud. It is the height of collaboration, and the fact that it is web-based helps me feel like my work is safe and not as risk of getting completely lost (though some may disagree). I have made great use of Google Docs and Google sites especially within drive, which are very shareable and great places to house information. I like that I can control access in terms of viewing and editing, and can choose these options for drafts of websites and published versions alike.

Aesthetically speaking, too, Drive's presentations of its offerings (docs, slides, etc) is visually cohesive, which makes me feel like I'm in the same platform and that I somewhat know what I'm doing when I enter a potentially new space within the software.

Cons

Sometimes, it is hard to find. What I mean by this - there seems to be an older version of say, Google Sites, that I might access from a gmail account. However, when I go to my gmail account and hit Google Sites, it seems to take me to the old version. I have many times panicked that my sites in progress don't exist in this location, only to remember that I have to go to google drive first (a separate icon in the same grouping of icons to choose from) and from there go into Google Sites, which presents as a newer, cleaner version and where my sites are housed. It doesn't make sense that there would be an umbrella location like Google Drives to house sites, docs, sheets, slides, etc, only to have those same icons elsewhere linking to something else (specifically with sites), knowing that people often access from gmail accounts where these are all lumped together. It's very confusing.

Also, not really a clear way to work offline, but usually just work in a google doc and upload when there's connection. For sites and slides, though, this is harder to do offline.

Sites, within drive, should have more flexible options and tools for customizing. I only have about 3 colors that I can choose from for buttons and headings and the like, and only a few fonts, font sizes, shapes and layouts that the site will accommodate. It's a very basic version of something that has enormous potential for customization, especially considering its convenient location within Google Drive.

Live. Love. Drive.

We use Google Drive as part of the Google Business Suite at our organization and have switched over to it almost exclusively for document storage and creating and collaborating on working documents. We can't imagine doing our work without it and appreciate that it is so universal. Even internationals with whom we work are familiar with the software and find it easy to jump in with us at whatever project stage we are at.

Pros

I was jerryrigging an approximation of Google Drive before it even existed by going into Gmail and saving files as attachments to draft emails. Then logging in from another computer to access them. Thank goodness I don't have to do that anymore! Google Drive is the best way to make sure you have your files when you need them, no matter where you go, or what device you have access to. It's my first stop when I need to create a document, spreadsheet, or business presentation. Plus, with our organization's recent upgrade to the Business Suite, storage space is no longer a concern. I would pay for it, even if I were just using it personally. That's how much it means to me.

Cons

The only issues I run into with Google Drive are those that reflect my own disorganized nature. Sometimes I have trouble finding what I'm looking for because I don't have a great filing system. But that's where the search bar comes in handy. The other frustrations I run into with Drive are when others use it incorrectly. Like sharing a file without opening up file sharing permissions. Or being logged into a different Google account when they make edits and leave comments. It's nothing that can't be overcome with a little training and a sprinkling of needed knowledge gained from personal experience or from the help forums.

Great cloud service

This is one of the reatest programs I have used. Is really practical if you have to work in several devices, you can consult your documents from your PC, or your smartphone... Personally I have a lot of documents which I like to consult and is as easy as check the app on my smartphone, if I want to modify anything I can also do it from there and later check it in my PC. If the case is that you can not use your PC, you have access from any Internet Browser. One of the best parts is the sharing option by which you can share the folders or documents of your chose with several partners. Really good for teamworkers which are not in the same office. Moreover Google adds a lor of utilities, like docs, calc sheets, presentations... which increase the uses. Not only can you use this software as a storing cloud, but you can also work comfortably as if you were using any office tool. My overall rating is a 10 for its great manageability.

Pros

Easy use.

It syncs with a google account and you are able to have access to them from any device.

You can view documents and also edit them online with the google docs utility, (for example, there is a lot more) they save instantly which is really great if you are forgetful, or have to work in diferent devices.

It's like a folder that you can have on your device with the advantage of being online.
You can also install the application on your Windows PC and upload the folders from a folder that is created on your device locally.

It is really dificult to lose information.

You also can create shared folders or documents, really usefull for share with varius workers.

Cons

When saving documents or images if you do not look at the default folder, you have to go through all the folders and subfolders if you do not remember the name which you saved it.

You have to make sure to correctly select the permissions that are granted to the users with whom the documents and folders are shared, since one of the options is that they can edit, and eliminate the work.

Google Drive, the thumb drive i'll never lose!

Google drive allows me to create folders and organise my files. It is cloud based meaning I can access it any where any time as long as I have an internet connection. Google drive allowed me to access my resume and cover letter when I wanted to apply for a job while travelling and I was away from my personal computer. luckily I had backed up these documents onto google drive.

Pros

Google Drive's free features are enough for my situation. The 15GB that you get from the free plan is more than enough for me. I like the fact that it is integrated with my gmail and allows me to send files larger than 25mb from my gmail. I like that google drive is web based but still has right click fucntionality which gives you a context sensitive menu and not the usual html options as most sites. this means it is actually an application running in your browser and not just a website. Google allows you the option to install a desktop application which comes with features allowing you to backup you files and folders to the cloud by right clicking and selecting sync this folder. Google also gives you the option of a sync folder which is added to your desktop file system once you install the client. This folder automatically uploads or downloads files to or from the cloud respectively to ensure that the local folder and the remote folder are the same. Once your files are on google drive, they are accessible from any device that you have connected to the the Google Drive. You also have the option to turn off sync if you want to use Google Drive as a backup storage space and not necessarily mirror the files from your local storage.

Cons

The download and upload speeds speeds are a bit slow when you deal with larger files. I wish it could use a "torrent like " technique to increase speed of downloads by using multiple connections. Therefore the speed with which you can access you documents and files depends largely on your internet connection.

It gets the job done

We can easily share and save files to locations that other employees can access. You can create custom privacy settings so employees are not accessing folders they shouldn’t. I strongly suggest that you design protocol for employees and give them tools on how to use it when they join the team or start using it or else everyone’s files will be everywhere. And, especially if you’re a large team, I recommend this so you don’t have dozens of employees ideas on how to organize thing in your file structure.

Pros

We have used this in our company for years... and I’ve also used it at other companies I work for. As an alternative to Microsoft products, Google Drive works great for those who can’t afford to buy Microsoft for their team or just want an easy way to share files. While most employees at the company I work for are in one location, we do have many that are in different cities, states, and even different countries. Being able to share files using Google Drive has been great. We do also like that you can keep the same file in multiple locations.

Cons

It’s not the most intuitive set up. Every time I’ve trained a new employee with this program, they are overwhelmed. I show them how they can change views and give them some guidelines on how to use it... but it’s always a work in progress. You have to spend time in it and play around with it and perhaps google shortcuts on how to do things so they make the most sense to you. Also, you have to learn not to copy the link in the URL when you’re previewing an image and to click the three dots in the corner and select Share when you want to share the photo you’re looking at. Otherwise, you’re sharing file locations instead of the specific file. I recently had to upload a ton of folders and files to google drive and I made the mistake of thinking it’d be better to organize some files later rather than first. Moving files is a PAIN and I, thankfully, managed to help myself going forward by organizing files on my desktop beforehand and then uploading them. They do not make it easy to move files.

Best Cloud storage

Google Drive serving me very much especially to fulfill my documentation tasks. Easy to manage with the cloud because I can access my documentation from any computers/ any time (e.g: for presentation, showing reports to head/clients, financial documentation, etc). For each team I have a shared folders to view their documentations and I am having the edit privilege to make the changes. Editing logs are available to trace back the changes made to the documents.

Pros

Most of our smart phones (Android) is having Google accounts to operates and Google Drive is the advanced cloud storage media contains with free 15GB of storage for all the Google accounts to store the files freely. As general, cloud is the new technology we are using to access our resources remotely from anywhere, anyplace, and anytime.
Google Drive providing with the user friendly environment where the user can feel the he/she is working with their file system (e.g: can create a folder, create a word/excel/power point, cut/copy/past the files and folder, file/folder sharing with advance option such as view/edit, etc.)
It is accessible if we have signed our Google Email and we can share the documents through the email or as by links. It is acting as a portable, accessible and not tangible storage device for all of us.

Cons

It perfectly alright to the well known users and it may be difficult to the new users (users are low in technical knowledge). When we are sharing a confidential file it is restricting the others access by providing their emails but it will be more secure if those files share with passwords.
We can backup our own folders in our PC. So, as attackers perspective any attackers can misuse this feature to copy some file from someones PC without any storage devices. It will be good if it have encryption mechanism to store the confidential files and to share with others.

Is Drive Perfect? No—But It's Close.

As someone who moves from various devices on a regular basis, Google Drive is a godsend. The program lets you create documents, spreadsheets, slides, and storage area across multiple platforms—all you need to do is be able to log in and access it from a browser or app. I use this regularly for my day job as well as various writing side projects I have. Being able to type ideas at home, access it same document from my phone at lunch, and then look at it again from my work laptop is incredible. This isn't new technology, of course, but the way Drive does it feels seamless. Download to independent devices is also incredibly easy. As it uploading files (I've used Drive as a dumping ground for many a photo archive over the years). It's not perfect, though—trying to work with more elegant formatting for an uploaded .doc file (for instance) will almost always result in a pretty terrible looking document. And while it doesn't happen often, Drive is sometimes down for maintenance...which of course happens when you *really* need it. But, it's great. I'm not a huge Google nut, but I always recommend Drive to folks. It's saved my bacon more than once.

Pros

-The ability to store and easily access documents, spreadsheets, images, and so on from any device is fantastic.
-Intuitive, easy-to-use user interface.
-A fair bit of customization as far as organizing goes.
-Working collaboratively is easy.
-It's free!*

*(To a certain point—you can upgrade to more storage for a small monthly fee.)

Cons

-If (and when) Drive is down, you can't access your files unless you downloaded them.
-Exporting and importing .doc files sometimes results in a huge formatting mess.
-Not as many general options for the various documents and spreadsheets as I would like.
-Sharing documents with people (and the resulting phantom emails Google sends to people) kind of drives me crazy.

ONLINE STORAGE PLATFORM

Google drive has made accessibility of documents easy therefore making it a convenient software. Google drive has also made sharing of files easier since ordinary free emails put a cap on the size of the document to be sent e.g yahoo mail has an upload cap of less than 25mb in order for the document to be sent past this range one has to use Dropbox. Google drive has eliminated the use of hard disks since information can be easily stored or backed up online eliminating the use of physical storage drives which are subject to theft, infection from computer viruses and also it stores information based on their storage capacity thus when filled the user will be required to buy a new one which is usually expensive.

Pros

Google drive enables users to back up, store and share documents online and information is synchronized across multiple devices. Google drive has integrated an office suite which includes google docs, google sheets and google slides which enables users to easily edit documents on the platform. Also google drive has offline capability feature for apps being used by most operating systems such as android windows and IOS thus there is no need for internet connection when trying to retrieve documents since its already synchronized across the authorized devices.
Google drive also offers free 15gb storage and also its easier to search documents on this software as long as the user describes the parameters for the document being searched. Users also can decide whether to share individual documents publicly or share with other users this is the most essential feature of google drive whereby it facilitates easy transfer of documents across multiple parties.

Cons

The user privacy agreement for google drive is not subjective enough to be trusted since it uses terms and service conditions for other apps they have developed as one set to cover all their services.
Since google drive allows users to share drive documents with other google users without requiring any permission from the recipient of the invitation, this can result in users receiving spam from unsolicited shared documents.
In recent weeks google drive has been used as a platform whereby hackers can transmit and manipulate information in order to transmit viruses or Trojans to unsuspecting users in order to siphon private information and also retrieve bank accounts and passwords. This point can be clearly seen when DarkHydrus an advanced persistent threat (APT) group abused google drive as an alternative communication to spread Rogue Robin Trojan using Microsoft excel documents.

Drive is great for the SPED teacher

Classroom-based teacher

Pros

Google Drive is an integral tool for a Special Education teacher. If you haven't made the jump , then you should personally start exploring all that it has to offer. Here's why I like it:

First off, let's consider why it's the cloud-based advantages of Drive. Items are stored in the cloud and can be accessed anytime, anywhere, with any any device. I can look at my laptop, tablet, phone, etc. and still access the files I need in a moment's notice. Beyond that, when you work with Drive, it's always being saved automatically in the cloud. Plus, I never have to worry about my computer dying, a program shutting down unexpectedly, or losing a thumb drive. It's always backed up in the cloud for me.

Now for a SPED teacher perspective, because of the reasons I mentioned earlier, I can do a voice recording for an oral exam, store it to drive, and share it with students. They would then have access to listen to the oral exam any time! I don't have to re-read the same exam 4 times in a day and then again if a student missed. It's just saved on Drive and students can listen at their own pace and when they need it. If you work with Drive, you also have access to the G Suite platform of tools (Docs, Slides, Forms, etc.). Because of this, you don't have to worry about students losing/misplacing items - it can all be stored, shared, and turned in on Drive.

I'll keep this post limited to Drive, but I also recommend checking out the other Google tools (Docs, Classroom, etc.).

Cons

No real cons, honestly. There's a steep learning curve at first, but most of us are starting to become familiar with the idea of things being stored in the "cloud," so that's not really a reason for concern. Google may not always personally offer the greatest support (it's good - not great), but there are also tons of great videos on YouTube to learn how to work with Drive. Another concern is that since it's Google they are always tinkering with things and updating features. Some may not like this because things change over the course of a year, but I don't think it's really a con. They're just trying to improve their platform!

This software changed the game

It's amazing, I love these Google products and the fact they are so good has really made me change my mind about Google as a company as a whole. I understand they get access to reams of user data, the likes of which has never been seen before when giving this app out for so cheap, but it really feels like an act of philanthropy. I don't think group collaboration or business will ever be the same again. This software opens the world up to everybody everywhere, no longer having to crack a version of Microsoft in order to start a company or send your dissatation to your teacher.

Pros

It's changed the whole way people do personal computing. The price is so affordable, the ease of use is out of this world and the ability to now collaborate with others will never be the same again.
Firstly the way I can edit documents in real time with other people is extraordinary, this has saved me so much pain and frustration having to export document formats so people on different operating systems can tediously format them to see what I'm doing and send them back.
Secondly, I can't imagine the amount of genius in this world has been lost to a crashing computer, weeks of work disappearing due to an old machine or crashing software. I know students will never be able to use this excuse again and for them that's sad, but my work constantly being saved to the cloud so I never lose it is unbelievable.
Next the revision software you can do on Google drive documents. The fact I can go back into my revision history and see who did what when and jump back. I wouldn't have even imagined this was possible.
Lastly, the awesome document link sharing feature, sharing a link so easily to get others accsess is awesome.

Cons

The sharing feature drives me mad, every time I move a file around my drives it asks me if I'm sure I want to share the file with people in the new file. This is so annoying. I know exactly who and why I am sharing my files with, this safety feature is so tedious. Also the fact I have to change the sharing options every time I share the file with somebody, you've sent a document to somebody happy that the next day they are going to make the edits and you get an email back in the AM saying "sorry I couldn't do the work, I didn't have the correct accsess", I'd rather learn the lesson the hard way (somebody getting the file that I didn't want them to) than having to update the sharing settings everytime I give somebody a link.