Living Far Safer with Cloud Storage

"So important!" Riyan blurted out suddenly in a loud voice, breaking the silence.

I instinctively playfully slapped his arm. "It hasn't started yet, hey!" I quickly admonished.

Riyan flinched slightly, then turned his head towards me with that innocent expression I knew so well. "Oh, I thought the mic was on," he replied casually, chuckling softly.

I could only let out a long sigh and shake my head at the antics of my reliable interviewee.

Hello, and welcome wherever you are reading this. Before we dive into today's main discussion, Riyan and I would like to take a moment. We both wish to express our deepest condolences and sympathy for the 7.4 magnitude earthquake disaster that recently struck our brothers and sisters in the East Nusa Tenggara region and its surroundings.

May the victims who passed away be granted the best place by God. And for the families and victims currently in evacuation shelters, our prayers are always with you. May you always be given resilience, strength, and may the situation there recover soon.

"Speaking of disasters, Yan," I said, looking at Riyan, whose expression had also turned serious. "Incidents like these often make us realize how fragile our physical possessions are. Forget about worrying about belongings; just being able to save ourselves is a blessing. But the problem is, sometimes inside a destroyed phone or laptop, there are many important documents, work data, or crucial files that we need to get back on our feet."

I paused for a moment. "Now, connecting to your earlier remark, it got me thinking. As someone who relies on technology, how crucial is the role of cloud storage like Google Drive for visually impaired friends during a crisis?"

"As I said at the beginning, it's incredibly important," Riyan replied firmly. "Nowadays, many unexpected things happen, from pickpocketing to natural disasters. But first, let's introduce it. What exactly is cloud storage?"

Riyan cleared his throat softly. "It's like you're renting an incredibly vast, invisible safe on the internet. We used to store photos or documents on phone memory and flash drives, which were prone to damage. Now, we store them on secure servers owned by giant companies. As long as you remember your password and have internet access, files can be opened from any device. Whether your phone is lost, falls into a river, or is destroyed during an evacuation, your data remains safe in the cloud."

"Absolutely agree. I can't imagine the panic if all important documents were lost," I chimed in. "So, which company's services are people most reliant on?"

"There are many providers out there," Riyan replied casually. "But the most familiar ones are just two: Google Drive and iCloud. In my opinion, both are the simplest. Unlike third-party apps, Google Drive and iCloud are directly integrated into devices. Google Drive for Android, and iCloud for the Apple ecosystem."

"What about third-party apps?" I asked curiously.

"Quite a few. There's Microsoft's OneDrive, then Dropbox, Mega, and even Amazon Drive." Suddenly, Riyan flashed a mischievous smile. "Back when I could still see clearly, I used these cloud storage services very smoothly. I also tried Terabox and Dropbox, but those were specifically for storing collections of photos and videos..."

Hearing the emphasis on "photos" and "videos" combined with his suspicious smile, my best friend instinct immediately blared. Danger! I knew exactly where this conversation was headed if it continued. Given Riyan's behavior, he was definitely talking about hidden, uncensored videos!

Without further ado, I immediately clamped my hand over Riyan's mouth.

"Mmphh! Cel, what the heck!" Riyan struggled gently, trying to remove my hand.

"Stop! Don't continue! We're discussing educational technology, not a confession session!" I exclaimed, trying to suppress a panicked laugh.

Riyan finally gave up. Once the situation was safe, I cleared my throat softly, bringing the conversation back on track.

"Okay, let's ignore Riyan's somewhat dark past. So, Yan, what are the main benefits and purposes of cloud storage, especially its advantages for our visually impaired friends?"

"So many," Riyan counted on his fingers. "First, it's an era where new phones come out every month. For friends with limited budgets or those who are reluctant to change phones but whose storage is full, they can rely on this feature without having to buy a new phone. Conversely, for super-rich people who change phones every day, they prefer using cloud storage rather than bothering with manual data transfer."

"And second," he continued seriously, "to anticipate the loss of flash drives. Those things are tiny; if they fall, it's over. Especially if they contain a thesis or confidential data."

"Makes sense," I replied. "If I may add a third benefit, it simplifies sharing huge files. Just share a Google Drive link, and our friends in another city can access the same document."

Riyan nodded. "And if you ask about its creation's purpose, I don't really understand the technicalities. I guess it's to eliminate our habit of buying flash drives. So the factories go out of business, maybe?"

"It's not just that, Yan," I smiled. "The main goal of giant companies is to create global data efficiency and security. They want to build an ecosystem where the life of our data isn't tied to a single fragile device."

I paused for a moment, letting Riyan digest it. "Speaking of security, it's understandable that Google is getting more paranoid about account protection. Hey, did you notice the recent face verification policy that made us grumble when logging in on new devices?"

"Oh, face verification," Riyan retorted cynically. "Initially, I was annoyed. Imagine, I can't see, so it's incredibly difficult to aim the camera precisely at my own face. Sometimes I have to ask others for help."

He lowered his voice, becoming calmer. "But after thinking about it, this feature actually helps a lot, Cel. Especially during a crisis when things are lost."

A faint smile graced his face. "Besides, what loss isn't possible in my life? My eyesight itself can be taken by fate, let alone just losing data. As long as you don't disappear from my life, Cel."

Thump! My cheeks suddenly felt hot. How could he slip in such a sweet line in the middle of a serious conversation! I looked away, trying hard to neutralize my expression so he wouldn't notice my awkwardness.

"Ahem!" I cleared my throat loudly. "So? What does that have to do with easy login when you lose your phone?" I asked, changing the subject.

Riyan chuckled softly, realizing his attack had landed. "Here's the thing, passwords are secure. But if you forget yours and your SIM card is lost or expired, it's over. If you only have one phone and it's lost during a disaster, how will you log in? Ultimately, your social media is vulnerable to being stolen by others."

He shifted his sitting position. "Using a SIM card number is good in theory; you just top up the credit. But SIM cards are tiny. Once lost, it's a hassle to deal with at the main office. But Cel, there's one thing that annoys me. Why don't they prioritize fingerprints? In China, people are already used to using fingerprints for shopping. Why not use fingerprints instead of faces, whose data is easily stolen?"

Riyan put on a mock-thoughtful expression. "Or maybe Google is worried about mass thumb amputations by phone thieves? That's why they prefer faces?"

My laughter erupted at his ridiculous conspiracy theory. "As if a thief would be that dedicated to cut off a finger just to open Google Drive!"

After my laughter subsided, I took control. "Okay, cloud storage is indeed an unsung hero. But let's discuss the reality of pricing. How much does it cost to rent this safe? And are we really obligated to subscribe?"

"Ugh, prices again," Riyan complained. "As long as it's not my self-esteem. This subscription system is still quite expensive. It's very troublesome for friends whose finances are not robust. If you ask whether it's mandatory or not, that depends on belief. But for me personally, it's absolutely necessary! I rely more on software than flash drives."

"But there's a free version, right, Yan?" I prompted.

"Yes, Google Drive offers 5 GB free without a phone number, and 15 GB if you provide one. But honestly, that capacity is far too little for me."

Riyan let out a proud sigh. "I need Terabyte-sized storage! Thousands of Gigabytes, not just hundreds."

Seeing me scoff, Riyan laughed sheepishly, correcting himself. "Well, because buying a package automatically gives you Terabytes. In the end, I probably only use a few Gigabytes because I only store text documents and audio. So, I might as well give you the price list so readers have an idea."

Riyan rattled off the numbers from memory:

One. Google Drive or Google One. The Basic 100 GB plan costs around 26,900 rupiah per month. The Standard 200 GB plan is around 43,000 rupiah per month. The Premium 2 TB plan, which I use, costs around 135,000 rupiah per month.

Two. iCloud from Apple. The 50 GB plan is quite friendly, around 15,000 rupiah per month. The 200 GB plan costs 45,000 rupiah per month. The highest plan, 2 TB, is priced at 149,000 rupiah per month.

Three. Microsoft OneDrive. A 100 GB subscription is around 28,999 rupiah per month. The Personal 1 TB plan plus official Office costs around 87,999 rupiah per month.

I nodded, making a mental note. "Okay, Yan, my last question. Seeing those prices that can be quite a drain on the wallet, is there a solution for visually impaired friends with limited finances who still need to secure their data?"

"Honestly, I really don't want to share this secret, but oh well, consider it a good deed," Riyan chuckled. "If you want large capacity at a low cost, you should utilize the Google Gemini package. You just need to subscribe to Google Gemini."

"Wait, subscribing to Gemini AI also gets you storage space?" I asked, feigning surprise.

"Absolutely! How to subscribe to get a super low price, even almost free, can be read in our previous article: Who is our best friend, Gemini or ChatGPT?"

Riyan snapped his fingers enthusiastically. "What's even cooler is that you can share this 5 Terabyte storage with up to five friends, making a total of six users. The space is divided equally, and privacy is very secure. Your group friends won't be able to see data in your private storage. So if six of you chip in, the price becomes incredibly cheap."

I smiled contentedly. This afternoon's conversation proved that technology isn't just a lifestyle; it's a valuable safety net.

"Excellent! Now that's a smart solution," I said, stopping the voice recorder. "Now, quickly save this recording file to your Google Drive! Don't lose it."

Riyan stretched his arms and then leaned back lazily. "Don't worry, Miss Editor. Everything is already neatly saved in the cloud. But as a reward for the interviewee who shared this good deed, please make me a cold drink. I'm so thirsty from talking all this time."

I chuckled, amused by his annoying antics returning. However, a warm feeling enveloped my chest.

"Yes, you chatty interviewee. I'll make you the best drink after this," I replied softly.

I patted his shoulder gently. "Thank you so much, Yan, for your story today. And don't worry, I'll never leave you, just like your eyesight that left, or like that strange place where you store your data."

Riyan was silent for a moment, then a wide smile appeared on his face. Our laughter erupted simultaneously, blending with the afternoon breeze.