Cloud storage has been gaining traction over recent years. You may have heard the term before.

It essentially allows you to save your files on remote servers which allow you to access them wherever you are in the world. All you need is an internet connection and you have access easily.

Image via Wikipedia

Google are finally set to offer their cloud computing service, Google Drive. It’s rumoured to offer 5GB free initially, while a monthly subscription is required to get more storage space – up to 100GB is rumoured. While there are many services offering cloud technology, the most famous ones on the market currently are Dropbox, Microsoft SkyDrive and Apple’s iCloud which offer 2GB, 7GB and 5GB free respectively.

So how will the cloud affect consumers? It’s like carrying a portable hard drive without actually having to carry one. This means you can access photos, music or videos when you’re on holiday abroad or download a presentation if you’re working away from the office. If you’re familiar with Google Docs, Google Drive is pretty much the same thing but it makes saving and sorting a little easier.

A survey suggests the cloud really is gaining popularity and it’s not just a buzzword. Out of 200,000 people interviewed, an estimated quarter of them have over £200 or more worth of assets stored in the clouds currently. That’s a lot of music, videos and photos.

I think with more and more companies offering cloud services, this will only mean bigger and better offers. There is unlikely to be a monopoly, so we could be seeing some rather generous offers to entice customers very soon once Google Drive comes to play.

Do you think storing everything in the ether is a good idea? Let me know in the comments below.

Image by Fey Ilyas

Go on, admit it – a lot of you have tried to save a penny or two at some point by downloading illegal pirated music. However, the International Federation of the Phonographic Industry (IFPI) has hit out at search giant Google – by claiming they aren’t doing enough to curb illegal downloads.

But surely asking Google to omit results that are suspected pirate sites is censorship – and that is some very ugly territory we would be getting into there.

Google have tried to put some measures into place: they try to remove illegitimate sites within six hours of notification from the copyright holder, and have shut down some 150,000 accounts of those who were trying to use Google’s pay per click ads to sell counterfeit merchandise.

But it isn’t really Google’s responsibility to curb piracy. According to Google’s Katherine Oyama:

“The only long-term way to beat piracy online is to offer consumers more compelling legitimate alternative.”

And who will have to make that alternative? Well, Google probably will give it a go at some point, let’s face it, this is Google we’re talking about here, but they certainly don’t have any moral obligation.

The internet has brought about many changes in the world: some good, some challenging. However, most of industry and commerce have shifted and adapted their business model to fit and even take advantage of the internet. The music industry simply has to do the same –it can’t blame the search engines for its inability to adapt.

This debate isn’t just raging on here – anybody with a Reddit account will be well aware of the SOPA (Stop Internet Piracy Act) injunction in the US – where the senate is pushing for the power to force traffic away from sites suspected of pirating American copyrighted works.

The problem is that a lot of innocent websites could get swept as collateral damage – and it would also mean internet service providers would have to monitor customer’s traffic. And again, we’re stumbling into dangerous territory.

Hollywood and the American music industry, quite understandably, back the bill, but pretty much everyone in Silicon Valley is up in arms, as it would change the way the internet works forever.

But the problem with all of these laws, rules and regulations is that they won’t stop those who really want to get their films and music for free.  Those who are illegally downloading music know that what they’re doing is illegal – but do they care?

Probably not. They’re just chuffed they didn’t pay anything for the latest releases.

What do you think? Should Google censor pirate sites? Let us know what you think about this controversial topic in the comments section below!

Image Google

Ok so we all thought our money was safe in the bank . . .until they gave it away to people who couldn’t afford their loan repayments and crashed the whole financial system. So how about trusting our money with internet giant Google?

Well they aren’t exactly opening a bank (at least not yet anyway) but they have launched a contactless phone payment app called Google Wallet. This allows you to load up the app with your credit/debit details or a pre-paid Google card and then you can forget about having to touch money ever again. Certain phones which are enabled will have a chip in them which contains all your details and once it senses the reader at the checkout it does some fancy electronic thing and hey presto you have paid for your shopping.

Now don’t get too excited Google are focusing their marketing efforts in New York and San Francisco just now and helping shops set up the readers over there. But as usual the UK is set to follow in the USA’s footsteps so don’t splash out on a new wallet just yet. Google should hopefully announce a UK banking partner soon, in the same way that they teamed up with CitiCard in the US. This would be a great boost in reputation and revenue for whichever UK bank wins the deal.

So is replacing our wallets for phones a good thing? Well it certainly seems like a lot less hassle, and it could lead to better financial tracking and help people look after of their money better. However it could also create another opportunity for financial fraud. Some groups of people (like the ones without smartphones) will undoubtedly be wary of the new technology. But wireless technology, making it easier to spend, could encourage people to spend more often and help pick up the economy.

The video below gives us an insight into how Google wallet may help retailers.

So if you see people dancing about at the Tesco checkout waving their mobile at the checkout operator, do not be alarmed, they will simply be using their Google Wallet.

How do you feel about contactless mobile payments? Do you think they will enhance the economy or do you find it hard to see how they will catch on? Share your views.

As of the 27th Google Checkout will stop accepting Maestro cards. Maestro is run by Mastercard. Mastercard credit cards are unaffected and can still be used. There are more than 500 million Maestro debit card holders around the world and so this is a significant move from the Googleborg.

It’s odd that Google would want to ditch the card. It’s also odd the Google are doing this at such sort speed. In the last week they’ve been sending out this email.

Thank you for using Google Checkout, the fast, secure way to shop at stores across the web.

As of 27th July, Maestro cards will no longer be accepted as a payment method by Google Checkout. You are receiving this notification because your default card is a Maestro card that will no longer be supported.

To ensure that your Checkout account is ready for purchases the next time you shop, you will need to select a new default credit/debit card. Accepted payment methods are listed at http://checkout.google.com/support/bin/answer.py?hl=en-uk&answer=105916

You may update your payment information now by clicking ‘Edit payment methods’ after signing in to your Google Checkout account at http://checkout.google.co.uk

If you prefer, you also have the option of updating your payment information when you make your next purchase.

While you will be unable to place new orders with Maestro cards, refunds and chargebacks for previous orders will be unaffected.

We apologize for any inconvenience. If you have any further questions, please visit our Help Centre at https://checkout.google.com/support/?hl=en-GB

Kind regards, The Google Checkout Team

As savvy Cashzilla readers will know there are certain risks in storing too much money in sites like PayPal. If someone tricks you out of your password or the company decides to freeze your account then you’re in trouble.

Purchases made this way don’t have the same sort of protection as direct credit card purchases either. Most of all; if you store money in PayPal then it’s not in the bank earning interest.