Next vision :Google Eyes Online Storage

Google Inc. is preparing to take the covers off its own brand of hosted-storage services, according to a report in The Wall Street Journal on Tuesday.

The online storage subscription-based service may be ready for release early next year, according to the report. The service will reportedly include a limited amount of free storage with extra space available for an undisclosed price. Google officials could not be reached for comment this morning.

Increased mobility of end users and the rapid proliferation of stored digital content, including photos, video and music, is driving businesses and home users toward fixed fee-based online storage systems that can meet growing storage needs without relying on spinning and space-constrained hard drives.

Freedom to access personal storage files from any device or PC is another attraction of online storage. Armed with only a Web browser and password, users can quickly upload, share or see their files (which will reside on Google's servers) via a high-speed Internet connection. In particular, students and campuses have lauded the cost-effective data storage option.

Despite its vast resources, Google is a late entrant into the hosted-storage arena, observers noted. Microsoft Corp. in August announced its free 500MB online storage service dubbed Windows Live Skydrive. Another Google rival, Amazon.com, last month guaranteed 99.9% uptime for its year-old S3 online storage offering, while Facebook in September unveiled its open Data Store API program.

Even EMC Corp. has driven a stake into the hosted-storage landscape with its October agreement to buy start-up Berkeley Data Systems Inc. and its popular Mozy online backup One Google to Rule Them All?
Rumors that Google has planned a storage service have circulated for over a year. Technically, the Mountain View, Ca.-based company already provides storage through existing services like Gmail, Google Base and Google Docs.

"It's a natural extension of the fact that Google operates some of the world's largest data centers and has unique value-added features that it can add in terms of search and organization of the data," said Kurt Scherf, principal analyst at Parks Associates . "It looks like nice synergy, based on what they're already doing."

"Google has their finger in lots and lots of pies, and this is sort of a natural compliment to some of the things it is already offering," said Gordon Haff, a senior analyst at Illuminata. "It makes sense that if you're going to offer all these things that use storage to tie storage itself in as well."

For Google, which has already made a substantial investment to build its data centers, this service is an opportunity to use its infrastructure as a revenue-generating service, Scherf said.

"It also gets Google one step closer to becoming a full-fledged applications company that is more consumer-facing. That's a benefit to them, as they are definitely pursuing the strategy of offering network-hosted applications, including both software and storage," Scherf told TechNewsWorld.

In addition, Google's status as the Internet's leading search engine will give the service a boost among consumers.

"For consumers, it's the benefit of knowing that the Google name behind the service means that finding and organizing their data is going to be enhanced because Google is really proficient at it," he continued. "It's also an intriguing consumer product -- British Telecom offers a Digital Vault service that is apparently doing quite well with consumers."

The Business of Storage
Providers such as Verizon (NYSE: VZ) and Yahoo (Nasdaq: YHOO) offer Web-based storage services. In particular, small businesses that may not have the resources to employ full-time IT professionals could also benefit from the ability to store data on a much larger network.

"Google's offering can be an opportunity for them to have really robust network-hosted storage that the big guys typically get," Scherf explained.

One of the things missing in the emerging online storage market is the ability for both consumers and businesses to back up their data, Haff told TechNewsWorld.

"There are some services out there, but none of the major industry players have thrown their weight behind those kinds of services. There could potentially be a lot of demand if a Google or somebody like that really creates awareness of backups," he explained.

Privacy Questions
Should Google roll out a storage system, it will have to ensure users that the service is safe and secure and also that it has instituted sufficient safeguards to protect users' privacy.

"There will have to be a privacy policy associated with it," Haff noted. "Safety is not specific to Google but a concern surrounding the online storage market as a whole. There are also concerns about possible subpoenas and how they will be handled.

Antarctica in High-Def :NASA Releases New, Interactive Map of the Bottom of the World

A map of Antarctica, produced by satellite technology, has images 10 times clearer than previously achieved and will aid scientists studying global warming on the continent, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration said.

NASA used about 1,100 images from its Landsat 7 satellite recorded between 1999 and 2001, the administration said on its Web site. As a result, features half the size of a basketball court can be seen on the map known as the Landsat Image Mosaic of Antarctica, it said.


U.S. and British researchers unveiled an 1,100-image photo mosaic of Antarctica on Tuesday that they say will change how scientists -- and desktop travelers alike -- will explore and learn about the icy continent at the bottom of the world.

The images were captured by the Landsat 7 satellite orbiting 400 miles above the Earth. Researchers from NASA, the U.S. Geological Survey, the National Science Foundation and the British Antarctic Survey digitally "stitched" together thousands of pictures to complete the mosaic.

The finished picture -- which has a resolution 10 times greater than ever before -- will help scientists study changing conditions in Antarctica. For example, the pictures will be used over time to track changes to the extent and thickness of ice sheets and glaciers, said NASA scientist Robert Bindschadler.
Bindschadler -- an Antarctic specialist who conceived the project -- calls the mosaic "a dream come true."

"It has changed my views of Antarctica and has influenced the science questions that I ask myself," Bindschadler said Tuesday at a press conference.

The Landsat Image Mosaic of Antarctica -- or LIMA -- shows features as small as half the size of a basketball court. Scientists say it will be especially useful in planning expeditions on the giant landmass -- the size of the continental United States and Mexico combined -- where clear images have been hard to come by.


Facilitates New Research
"Being able to see where we couldn't see before will lead to new ideas for research. And these new ideas for research will in turn lead to more knowledge about the continent," said Scott Borg, who directs Antarctic science programs for the National Science Foundation in Arlington, Va.

Scientists also hope the new image will help the public better understand what is at stake in the world's polar regions as temperatures rise due to human-created global warming.

"As society wrestles with the proper stewardship of the planet, it's really important to have an appreciation of what it is we're trying to preserve," Borg said.

An interactive version of the map can be found here, allowing anyone to zoom in and explore any part of the continent.
"It's like giving them a helicopter to explore Antarctica," said Bindschadler, who has led 14 expeditions there.

Antarctica is warming 10 times faster than the global average, said Andrew Fleming of the British Antarctic Survey. In recent years, scientists have seen collapsing ice sheets, changing coastlines, and retreating glaciers as the climate has warmed there, according to Fleming.

The LIMA effort is part of the International Polar Year, a multination research endeavor to explore and understand the Arctic and Antarctic regions.

"The climate of our world is changing no faster than in the polar regions," Bindschadler said. "In the future, we have to be better stewards of our environment."