Google "liberates" data, makes it easier to leave the cloud
ARS Technica
One obvious problem with Web services is that many make it difficult to leave and take one's data with you. This is a special concern about companies like Google, which collects data in many ways and at such a rapid pace that it could conceivably lock up user data in a truly dizzying variety of ways: e-mail, blogs, search history, documents, spreadsheets, presentations, calendar, appointments, pictures, and even map route searches. This sort of thing will still worry privacy advocates, but those concerned more with data portability should find a lot to like in Google's announcement of its new Data Liberation Front.