I speculate to what extent this is a deliberate feature. You are forced to keep proprietary resources (data, code, etc.) in "the cloud". Which is precisely wh

I speculate to what extent this is a deliberate feature. You are forced to keep proprietary resources (data, code, etc.) in "the cloud". Which is precisely what many businesses want. They don't want information floating around on individual machines, potentially un-backed-up and inaccessible to the business. Replacing the occasional machine with a bad SSD is a minor inconvenience, by comparison. See it from the business's perspective, not the individual's. P.S. Yes, there is a contrary fear of relying on a third party for storage and security (and continued accessibility). But... Google doesn't have that concern WRT deploying this to their own workforce. And... giving it too much consideration doesn't sell their own services (Google Apps, Drive, etc.). And I still don't think Google really wants to be in the hardware business as a primary product and revenue stream. Oh, and... have your own "cloud", to whatever degree. Google can sell that, too. (It has already, to various agencies of the U.S. Federal government.)