Google gets into the YouSendIt business: send 250MB attachments with Google Docs

Google is getting into the YouSendIt business: the free Google Docs now supports file-hosting of up to 250MB, along with access-restrictions based on Google accounts (just like other Google Docs). I'm thinking the 250MB limit has more to do with keeping the MPAA happy than any kind of technical limitation. But this will be well useful -- I've been tossing around big chunks of uncompressed audio for my upcoming experimental short-story collection's audiobook edition, and something like this would have been a godsend.

Because Google Docs now supports files up to 250 MB in size, which is larger than the attachment limit on most email applications, you'll be able to backup large graphics files, RAW photos, ZIP archives and much more to the cloud. More importantly, instead of carrying a USB drive, you can now use Google Docs as a more convenient option for accessing your files on different computers.

Upload your files and access them anywhere with Google Docs (via /.)

Previously:

I write books. My latest is a YA science fiction novel called Homeland (it's the sequel to Little Brother). More books: Rapture of the Nerds (a novel, with Charlie Stross); With a Little Help (short stories); and The Great Big Beautiful Tomorrow (novella and nonfic). I speak all over the place and I tweet and tumble, too.

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dculberson

The quoted piece has “ZIP archives” and “USB drive” right above each other, and my eye skipped down and read it as “ZIP drive.” I immediately thought, “who the hell still uses those??”

Ahh, ZIP drives… how much do I not miss you?
Anonymous

If you want to send around audio files you must have a look at soundcloud.com which is basically flickr for music. great site!
evilpeacock

Good for Google, but like everyone else they will have a long road to beating Dropbox. DB syncs and even keeps versions for you. And it just works, seamlessly.

The current “viral” Dropbox promotion can increase the free 2GB limit by 256MBs for each referral. It’s hard not to refer Dropbox.
cymk

Overlooking the fact of giving google more control over your data, 250 mb is tiny and not very useful. If I want to access my data (away from home) a 4 gb thumb drive seems like a much better option, plus I don’t have to worry about some corporation building a profile on me.

On the other hand, if you are collaborating with people across the country or globe, sending larger files via google docs would be awesome while working on a project together in google wave.
Robert

“…you can now use Google Docs as a more convenient option for accessing your files on different computers.”

As long as you don’t mind waiting for the download. At 5 Mbps (= 0.5 MBps), I’d have to wait a little over 8 minutes. And that’s on a good day. I use 5 Mbps because that’s the fastest I’ve seen from my cable provider.
teapot

I’ve been using “google sites” to upload files of varying sizes and types for a while. The biggest I put there was probably only 10 meg, but that is clearly above the 500k limit on GD previously.

You just login, navigate to google sites, then hit “upload image”, browse for the file and upload. If you are upping a non-image file it will give you a warning about how most browsers wont be able to see what you just uploaded, but your file is there. You just have to use the search box on your google site, type in the filename and it will show up in the results.

I set this up a few months ago in frustration that Google didn’t have a yousendit style uploading thingie, but thanks for bringing it to the table googs as my workaround was a bit annoying! Any word on expiry time of files? That is by far the worst thing about yousendit. I get people forwarding me emails all the time with expired yousendit links.

GRRRRR is my usual response.
MadMolecule
250 MB appears to be the limit per file. There’s a 1 GB storage limit on free accounts, but you can purchase additional storage pretty cheap. From the linked page:
- 20 GB ($5.00 USD per year)
- 80 GB ($20.00 USD per year)
- 200 GB ($50.00 USD per year) includes free Eye-Fi card
- 400 GB ($100.00 USD per year) includes free Eye-Fi card
- 1 TB ($256.00 USD per year) includes free Eye-Fi card
I use Mozy.com to backup the important stuff on my home computer. I pay $5/month, or $60/year, and I use about 100 GB of space on their server. Google’s appears to be considerably cheaper, and I’m sure there will be an app available that will auto-sync your specified folders to your Google account. Sign me up!
musicman

Hey CD, you know about dropbox? It sounds like just what you needed…before this at any rate :)
Patrick Nielsen Hayden

I love DropBox, I think my paid account is totally worth it, and I recommend them to everyone, but DropBox doesn’t offer the ability to edit my .doc and .xls files online from any web browser the way Google Docs does. So for all of DropBox’s virtues, I don’t see its existence as a repudiation of Google Docs.

I look forward to my GD account accepting 250MB files; the current limit of 500K makes GD useless for most of the .doc files I most commonly want to read and edit, namely novels in various stages of development.
alisong76

Folks here probably know this, but there’s a handy little freeware program called hjsplit that can break a file up into chunks and then stick ‘em back together again for you.
RadioGuy

I’ll second the thumbs-up for Dropbox. It’s unobtrusive, and gets the job done nicely. Free version gives you 2GB of automatically-synced data, and it’s cross-platform, too!
Anonymous

MozyHome works pretty well for me ? on both Mac and Windows. If you ever need it, their 2nd level support is good.

Use the following link to get 20% more space (512 Mb) on a free MozyHome 2 Gb account:

https://mozy.com/?code=D685JF
Anonymous

2 gig and much better. also: free, no adds, no cencorship, etc.. :
https://one.ubuntu.com/
Anonymous

I know they’re the devil, but I much prefer microsoft’s livemesh to dropbox. The storage limit is 5GB.
Anonymous

Folks, read that second sentence in 11.1 real carefully. One day Google might decide to market your stuff and not pay a cent and it doesn’t look like there is a thing you could do to stop the.
They were forced to take it out of Chrome but it’s still everywhere else. Pass the word.

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11.2 You agree that this license includes a right for Google to make such Content available to other companies, organizations or individuals with whom Google has relationships for the provision of syndicated services, and to use such Content in connection with the provision of those services.

11.3 You understand that Google, in performing the required technical steps to provide the Services to our users, may (a) transmit or distribute your Content over various public networks and in various media; and (b) make such changes to your Content as are necessary to conform and adapt that Content to the technical requirements of connecting networks, devices, services or media. You agree that this license shall permit Google to take these actions.