It took Google long enough. We’ve been hearing rumors for years that Google was going to release personal cloud storage, the Google Drive. Well, wait no more, the Google Drive is here. But, it’s much more than just that. It’s a nearly seamless integration of free and cheap storage with Google Docs.

To install Google Drive as a local client—ala the Dropbox model where the cloud drive appears in your operating system’s file manager as just another directory—you need to have either a Mac or Windows system. Mind you, Google Drive also will work just fine with Linux… but only from your Google Drive Web page. I’m not happy about that.

To get the program, or to use it on the Web, you’ll need to have a Google account. With Google’s recent privacy changes, not everyone will want to do that. Personally, I don’t have a problem with Google’s new policy. But , as Zack Whittaker points out, nothing on anyone’s cloud drive should be regarded as being all that private when push comes to shove.

If you’re OK with all that, the first step is to go to the Google Drive Start page.

Hands on with Google Drive (Review). More >