The PC would be a simpler, cheaper device acting as a portal to the web, perhaps via an adaptation of Google's operating system for mobile phones, Android. The GDrive would follow this logic to its conclusion by shifting the contents of a user's hard drive to the Google servers. The loss of a laptop or crash of a hard drive does not jeopardise the data because it is regularly saved in "the cloud" and can be accessed via the web from any machine. Home and business users are increasingly turning to web-based services, usually free, ranging from email (such as Hotmail and Gmail) and digital photo storage (such as Flickr and Picasa) to more applications for documents and spreadsheets (such as Google Apps). It is seen as a paradigm shift away from Microsoft's Windows operating system, which runs inside most of the world's computers, in favour of "cloud computing", where the processing and storage is done thousands of miles away in remote data centres. The long-rumoured GDrive is expected to be launched this year, according to the technology news website TG Daily, which described it as "the most anticipated Google product so far". Instead a user's personal files and operating system could be stored on Google's own servers and accessed via the internet. The Google Drive, or "GDrive", could kill off the desktop computer, which relies on a powerful hard drive. But campaigners warn that it would give the online behemoth unprecedented control over individuals' personal data. Google is to launch a service that would enable users to access their personal computer from any internet connection, according to industry reports. Industry critics warn of danger in giving internet leader more power
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