Do you keep your money in a bank, or under your mattress?
I think you're underestimating the security of Google's servers and overestimating the security of your own computer.
I think you're underestimating the security of Google's servers and overestimating the security of your own computer.
IANAL but I have experience in this rough area. That is pure scare mongering and I don't think there is even the remotest possibility they would get away with it. If they even tried Google would wrap them in counter-defence so fast it would be funny.
Also, for the record, your search history may be criminally suggestive but it is not something they could use to actually prosecute you (this is something I do know about). They still need a subpeona on your personal machine :)
Fishing is expensive; forces tend not to do it too much (despite what the politico's want to suggest otherwise). :)
This is somewhat a non-argument because subpeona's are easy to serve against you now. THe argument that they might be easier to serve on a company with no emotional attachment to you is countered by the fact that they have a much much bigger legal pocket and a desire to keep a "good" image to the public (by refusing banal subpoena's).
As to:
> and no black hat on the planet can break into my wallet without being in immediate physical proximity to me.
Maybe not. But any old pickpocket on the street can. Indeed there are more people that can steal your wallet than can break into Google's servers :)
Of course, this would raise the storage cost because the service provider can't use deduplication on all the user's data. The storage provider also would be unable to use data mining on the data. Thus, it probably could only be offered as a payed service.