More Information Leaks About GDrive

Eager Google watchers, always seeking to uncover the latest project coming from the search giant, have found additional evidence regarding the much-rumored GDrive under a service code-named Platypus. GDrive is expected to be an Internet hard drive of sorts for users.

The information was found on a page seemingly accidentally uploaded and since removed from Google's Writely service. "If you lose your computer, grab a new one and reinstall Platypus. Your files will be on your new machine in minutes," the page -- with a title of "Platypus (Gdrive)" -- reads.

Platypus utilizes a software client for Windows, Mac and Linux that keeps files synchronized with Google's massive infrastructure. Aside from backup services, users can create a shared space to which multiple users can write for collaboration purposes. Files are also accessible via the Web when no Platypus client is installed.

Corsin Camichel first reported the page, located at writely.com/index.html, on his blog early Monday. The news sparked a flurry of activity among others looking to verify the information. The project's existence was confirmed in a Web log post by David Braginsky, who said he had become "techlead of project Platypus at Google."

However, Braginsky's posting was made in July 2004, and it's unclear when the leaked Platypus feature page originated or why it appeared on a server used by Writely. Google isn't commenting on the rumors, but at an analyst meeting in March the company disclosed future plans to build a Google Drive, where users could eventually store 100 percent of their data.

It's entirely possible that the Platypus project is designed strictly for internal use by Google employees, and it may never see the light of day as a service for consumers. Nonetheless, that fact won't stop the rumor mill from turning, with hopes to piece together disparate leaks into a single puzzle.