Cloud Storage Pipe Dream

Last week, Google pulled the rug out from under millions of Google Photo users, capping free “high-quality” photo storage at 15 GB. The move doesn’t start until 2021, and, if I understand this correctly, previously stored high-quality (not full resolution) photos stored prior to the cut-off date don’t count toward your total. Even so, it kind of stinks.

Remember Picasa? Google acquired the digital photo management software in 2004 and built it into an incredibly effective, image storage, photo management and search tool. I had all my family photos there and was crushed when Google discontinued it in 2016 (and stopped supporting the desktop application two years later). In its place, we got Google Photo, which I grew to love, especially because Google promised to store a “lifetime” of photos (in hindsight, I should’ve realized Google probably mean the lifetime I already lived, not the complete one I might have). There were limits, like you couldn’t upload all your original quality images unless you paid a monthly fee, but high quality supported pixel levels over 12 MP and even your 1080p video. I connected my NAS server and uploaded almost 20 years of digital images and have relied on Google Photos to find photos for fun and used it to help assuage grief.

However, I’ve been struggling with storage issues for years. You see, my Google Photos storage is tied to my overall Google storage, which includes my overstuffed Gmail account. I was among the first Gmail users and, as such, have roughly 16 year’s worth of email crammed in there. Every few weeks Gmail encourages me to buy more storage and I delete gigabytes to stay ahead.

In the new rules, Google is giving me 15 GB of free storage and not counting my previous photo uploads to the total, but everything else I upload will count. As I said, my email is almost full, which means I will have little room for new Google Photos unless I pay up.

I’m already paying $9.99 a month for 2 terabytes of Apple’s family iCloud storage, and I have a sinking feeling that, if I want to keep using Google’s excellent photo search and face recognition, I’ll pay Google, too. I won’t like it and am not happy that Google’s promise of unlimited storage was a sham, but, as I noted on Twitter, cloud storage is our new common currency. We don’t like paying for it but cannot live without it. Companies know this and now realize that it’s their most reliable form of revenue. I’ll probably get over it and I care more about securely storing and accessing my photos from wherever I am.

How about that Apple?

I spent a lot of time last week focusing on all things Apple. Apple sent me a pair of iPhones to complete the iPhone 12 line. I now have the iPhone 12 Pro, 12 Pro Max, iPhone 12 proper, and iPhone 12 mini. It’s quite the 5G lineup and, if I had to give an overall assessment of the new hardware, I’d say, Apple has done it again. The cameras on the 6.7-inch iPhone 12 Pro Max are particularly impressive. It’s amazing what you can do with an image sensor that can float on the X and Y axis.

I finished my Apple HomePod mini review and learned that, yes, Apple can do smart speakers. I’m not saying that there’s anything wrong with the original, expensive, and beefy HomePod, but it was the wrong first product for Apple’s then non-existent smart speaker line.

The HomePod mini is small, smart, and has beautiful sound. It’s the product that will transform Apple’s smart home business.

Finally, I tracked Apple’s eagerly-anticipated Apple Silicon event, where we not only learned the name of Apple’s first home-made silicon, M1, but what Apple is doing with it.

The company unveiled a new MacBook Air, a new Mac Mini and a new 13-inch MacBook Pro, all running the A-series-based silicon. Eventually, all Apple systems will run Apple silicon, which will leave Intel out in the cold. For now, though, Apple understands that its pro customers still need some of the raw horsepower they can only find in Intel’s high-end desktop CPUs, until Apple builds something that beats them.

Something new

I’ve enjoyed working on this new Newsletter format, so much so that I’m moving some of it to Medium, where, today, I launched a new blog that’s part of Medium’s larger effort to engage readers with interesting writers across a wide-spectrum of disciplines and interests.

Like this newsletter, many of my posts will be looser, more personal, and maybe a bit more pointed. You’ll still find product hands on, reviews, and a bit of tech news, but I think you’ll find more that’s like this LanceLetter. Please visit and tell you friends.

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