14 DAY TRIAL // Google offers a multitude of services spread out across the web. While many of these services are connected in one way or another, there hasn't been the kind of integration that Google could enable at some point, when the different services would effectively replace the desktop operating system. Slowly but surely, though, Google is moving in that direction and an updated “insert” dialog for Google Sites, which allows users to insert files and documents from most of the services provided by the search giant, may very well be a hint of things to come.
“Many people use Google Sites as a way to keep friends and family updated on what's going on in their lives. Great photos add color and personality, which is why we've made it easier to insert your Picasa Web Albums photos into a site. The 'Insert' menu now includes an option to insert a photo,” Scott Johnston, senior product manager, Google Sites, wrote. “You can also upload a photo directly to Picasa Web Albums from within Google Sites using the 'Upload Photo' tab in the insert dialog.”
The feature itself is interesting enough, it adds the possibility to insert photos from Picasa albums to sites created with Google Sites, along with documents and spreadsheets from Google Docs, maps from Goolge Maps and files from other services, which were already available. The entire list of files is searchable and most of the files and documents created with Google services are available in one place.
Interestingly, though, as the Google Operating System blog points out, the insert feature can actually be accessed by anyone even outside of Google Sites using this link. Of course, the feature isn't of much use by itself in its current form, as users can't actually open any of the files they have listed. The tool is apparently known internally as the “One Pick.” While the tool itself is clearly designed to insert content into Google Sites and maybe eventually into other services like Gmail and so on, the underlying functionality of allowing users to view, search and eventually open all of the files stored on Google could be used to deliver something similar to the mythical Gdrive and may be employed in some form in the upcoming Chrome OS operating system.