REASONS TO EMBRACE GOOGLE DRIVE
Google Drive is a file storage and
synchronization service created by Google. It allows users to store files in
the cloud, share files, and edit documents, spreadsheets, and presentations
with collaborators. Google Drive encompasses Google Docs, Sheets, and Slides,
an office suite that permits collaborative editing of documents, spreadsheets,
presentations, drawings, forms, and more.
Google
Drive was launched on April 24, 2012 and had 240 million monthly active users
as of October 2014. As of September, 2015 Google also has claimed to have over
1 million users / organizations who have now purchased paid features of Google
Drive. With this announcement, Google also claims to have made their services
more secure with new security and privacy additions.
SETTING UP A GOOGLE DRIVE
In order to use
Google Drive, you will need a Google
account. Google accounts are free, and signing up for one is fairly
simple. In order to create a Google account, you'll need to enter some
information, like your name, birth date, and location. Creating a Google account
will automatically create a Gmail
email address and a Google+ profile.
v If you have a Gmail address, you already have a Google account, so you
won't need to create an account—you can simply sign in to Drive using your
Gmail information.
To create a
Google account:
2.
Click Create
an account.
3.
The sign-up
form will appear. Follow the directions and enter the required information,
such as your name, birthdate, and gender.
5.
The Create
your profile page will appear. Click Add a photo if you want to add
a photo to your Google+ profile. If you don't want to set a profile
photo at this time, click Next step.
6.
Your
account will be created, and the Google welcome page will appear.
v
Just like with
any online service, it's important to choose a strongpassword—in other
words, one that's difficult for someone to guess. For more information, check
out our Password Tips lesson.
Accessing Google
Drive
Once you've set
up your Google account, you can access Google Drive by going to http://drive.google.com in your web browser.
You can also
navigate to Google Drive from any Google page (such as Gmail or Google search)
by selecting the grid icon near the top-right corner, then clicking
Drive.
The Google Drive
interface
Your Google
Drive may be empty right now, but as you begin to upload and create files
you'll need to know how to view, manage, and organize them
in the interface.
Click the buttons
in the interactive below to become familiar with the Google Drive interface.
Google Drive for
mobile devices
Available for
both iOS and Android,
the Google Drive mobile app allows you to view and upload
files to Google Drive using your mobile device.
Google recently
introduced separate mobile apps for creating and editing
documents, spreadsheets, and presentations. To learn more, check out Google's
blog post on New mobile apps
for Docs, Sheets, and Slides.
REASONS FOR EMBRACING
GOOGLE DRIVE
1 – Google Drive lets you send large files to your colleagues, clients
and friends directly from your Gmail account. When you join Google Drive, you automatically have 15 GB of storage
space. It is also possible to buy more GO at a low cost. For Google Drive
prices,
2 – Google Drive allows you to access your files remotely. Indeed, Google Drive can be synchronized with your
computer. With Drive, all your files become available on the web. You have a
big presentation coming up? No need for a USB key!
3 – Google Drive has its own mobile application which gives you access to your files on your iPhone
or smartphone, no matter where you are!
4 – Google Drive has an efficient built-in search engine which allows you to find content easily with a
keyword search. You can also look for files by owner or by file type.
5 – Google Drive is equipped with an OCR (optical character recognition)
function, which allows you to search
for words or expressions in scanned documents. For example, finding someone's
name in an old newspaper article that was scanned and saved on Google Drive is
possible thanks to OCR technology!
6 – Google Drive allows users to open various types of files, like.ai (Adobe Illustrator) and even .psd (Photoshop)
files.
7 – Google Drive and Google Docs are complementary programs. Google Docs lets you create documents, spreadsheets
and presentations online, and work simultaneously with partners or colleagues
on a same document. Changes appear in real time and are saved for thirty days,
which makes it possible for you to view earlier versions of your documents.
Google Docs also allows you to add certain access privileges to your files and
determine who can view, edit or comment a shared document.
8 – Google Drive lets you share photos and videos with your contacts. Like Google Docs, your files can be commented. A
notification is automatically sent to you when a comment is posted in response
to yours.
9 – Google Drive uses image recognition technology. This new technology, which is still being perfected,
can actually recognize the content of your pictures! Type "Eiffel
Tower" in Google Drive’s integrated search engine and find pictures of you
in front of the Eiffel Tower.
10 – The program is free!
On Google Drive,
your data can’t get lost, no matter what you do to your computer! Try it today
at: https://drive.google.com/start
* Be sure to secure
your Google Drive account. Do not share your password and if you're on a public
computer, make sure to log out of your Google account as soon as you leave
Comments