Hasta La Gadget!

Google Drive is as much about productivity as cloud storage, but it’s hard to discover this through a cursory glance at Drive’s desktop apps. That connection should soon become clearer, at least for some users — a new version of Google Drive for Windows will create shortcuts to Docs, Sheets and Slides after installation. The editing-friendly aliases should reach Google Drive over the course of the next week. There’s no word of a Mac equivalent, but we’ve reached out to Google and will let you know if a matching update is on the way.

Filed under: Storage, Internet, Software, Google

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Source: Google Drive (Google+)

Kindle Worlds has become unstuck in time. Amazon announced this morning that it has wrangled a license for Kurt Vonnegut’s work, bringing Cat’s Cradle, Breakfast of Champions and the like to the world of paid fan fiction. One rep from the author’s trust called the deal a “natural extension of his legacy and a testament to the enduring popularity of his characters and stories.” At the very least, it marks a turn toward more classic literature (and, arguably, legitimacy) for a program that thus far includes the likes of Gossip Girl and The Vampire Diaries. And certainly Vonnegut’s vast catalog offers plenty of fodder for the prospective novelist, * and all.

Filed under: Software, Amazon

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Slackers unite! Imgur for iOS is now here, giving you one more reason to shirk your responsibilities rather than tackle your to-do list. The release looks an awful lot like the Android version, but don’t let that stand as a deterrent, because there’s plenty of functionality to enjoy. This includes the ability to upload, submit and vote on images, and even manage your albums and account. You can also browse images by ranking or what’s gone viral, and then share them via email, SMS and Twitter. If anyone (such as your boss) gives you guff for spending too much time on Imgur, just remind ’em that happiness is good for productivity. Couldn’t hurt, anyway.

Filed under: Software, Mobile

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Source: Imgur (App Store)

Each week Joshua Fruhlinger contributes This is the Modem World, a column dedicated to exploring the culture of consumer technology.

Some of the following, for legal reasons, may or may not be fictional.

My first modem was a 300-baud Apple-Cat II. It was an expansion card for the Apple II and simply plugged into a phone line. It was, simply put, a bad-ass piece of technology that turned me into a total digital delinquent. While my parents thought I was innocently learning to code BBSes (bulletin board systems) I was actually learning how to get things for free and paving the way for software pirates, phone phreaks and straight-up frauds of the future.

The Apple-Cat II could connect to other Apple-Cat IIs at 1200 baud, which made file transfers pretty quick for the time. This meant we could trade entire games in about an hour. We’d log into bulletin board systems, share lists of things we had and set up times to dial one another to trade games. Usually a barter would take place — your Aztec for my Hard Hat Mack. It was a lot like trading baseball cards, I imagine.

Filed under: Misc, Internet

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According to a report from Quartz, Google is preparing to launch an improved local news card in Now. The card would be an extension of its existing local news offerings, but would bring those stories directly to your handset based on your location. Quartz confirmed the card’s existence through Johanna Wright, the vice president of search and assist at Google. She described the card as be “hyper-local,” with granularity down to individual neighborhoods. According to Wright, the card is only being tested internally right now, and there’s no guarantee of when, or even if, Google will actually bring it to the public.

In many ways Now is meant to be a filter for the absurd amount of information constantly at your fingertips. It’s supposed to deliver only the information you need, when you need it. Problem is, Google still seems to be figuring out just what information you need at any given moment. Bus schedules, boarding passes, traffic reports, tourist attractions, calendar appointments, sports scores… the depth of data served up is growing more intimidating with every day. Now already delivers links to news stories that you’re following on your desktop. The logical next step (we suppose) is to serve up articles you didn’t know you were interested in, based on your location. We’ve reached out to Google for comment and confirmation, and we’ll update this story if we hear back.

Filed under: Internet, Software, Google

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Source: Quartz