driving

Review: Access files between computers and devices using Google Drive for Mac

As users work with multiple computers and even smartphones, cloud storage is becoming more important for file access. Google Drive for Mac gives users a significant amount of storage in an easy to use platform that is available on many device types.

Google Drive for Mac comes with a free version that allows access to up to 5GB of cloud storage. Additional storage is available at different levels for a monthly fee. The program downloaded and installed into the test system quickly and did not need any user input to complete. The application itself has no real interface beyond a … Read more

Google Drive documents list goes empty for users

Some Google Drive users discovered their list of documents to be empty on Friday, though the documents themselves appeared to remain intact.

Several readers reported the problem, in which the Google Drive page was devoid of Google Docs, Sheets, and Slides files as well as other files stored in Google's cloud-synchronized, Web-based tools.

However, at least in some cases, open documents still worked, new documents could be created, existing documents could be found through the Web page's search bar, and local search on a person's computer could retrieve files stored on local hard drives.

Google's status … Read more

Amazon cloud photos app hits iOS, syncs with camera roll

Amazon's got a new app for iOS that gives users of Apple devices a way to view and sync up with photos they have stored on Amazon's Cloud Drive, including photos they've taken on other devices.

Every time the app (iTunes) is opened up, it can tap into a user's camera roll and automatically sync up photos people have taken. Amazon is the latest company, along with Facebook, to offer such software, and the app works over both Wi-Fi and cellular connections.

Other features include the option to share stored photos on Twitter and Facebook, as … Read more

From the Web to Google Drive with just the click of a button

Google wants to help you keep track of all the important files you save from the Web. Whether it's a bill, an e-book, or your favorite cat photo, you can now save it to your Google Drive with just one click -- or really two clicks -- of a button.

Drive users can now click the "Save to Drive" button to save files directly from a Web site to their Drive account, the company announced in a blog post Thursday.

"We surf the Web for a million different reasons -- for everything from school research projects … Read more

Six reasons to love, or loathe, autonomous cars

The technical reality of autonomous cars is coming sooner than you think, but societal acceptance of autonomous cars may be some way off. Technologies such as adaptive cruise control and lane-keeping assist make the tip of this iceberg among production cars, while Google has already done extensive testing of an autonomous car system. Automakers are beginning their own self-driving car programs, and the Department of Transportation is running tests of vehicle-to-vehicle and vehicle-to-infrastructure communication, an important safety technology that will also play a key role for autonomous cars.

But not everyone likes the idea of self-driving cars. CNET editors Wayne … Read more

Top six storage devices: A digital hoarder's wish list

There's more to digital storage than you might be aware of, and your needs often require devices across the entire spectrum. Start with the internal drive, then get an external drive, then a portable drive, then something you can access remotely or stream content from. Or just maybe, you might find you need something that works both as a portable drive and a media streamer, even when you're out and about. Yes, you could just realize that you want too much!

But no worries, you won't need to spend too much time on your search. The six … Read more

WD and SanDisk team up in SSHD effort

If you were wondering where the solid-state part in WD's new solid-state hybrid drive, the WD Black, comes from, the answer is SanDisk.

The two storage vendors today announced their collaboration in creating solid-state hybrid drives, with the first being the WD Black.

According to both parties, SanDisk is supplying a SanDisk iSSD storage device for the WD Black SSHD. The WD Black comes with up to 32GB of iSSD storage and currently offers a total of 500GB mixed iSSD and platter-based storage.

The drive is superslim, being just 5mm thick while still retaining the 2.5-inch laptop-standard design. … Read more

Tesla eyes 'autopilot' partnership with Google

Tesla, the electric car maker, has been in talks with Google about the development of a self-driving car, the former's CEO revealed Tuesday.

In a Bloomberg interview, Tesla CEO Elon Musk said that his company has "had some technical discussions with Google" about the search giant's self-driving car technology. However, he pointed out that the technology that Google uses, which is based on laser sensors to detect what's around, is too expensive to be feasible anytime soon.

Instead, Musk told Bloomberg, he'd like to see a camera-based system that "sees" what's … Read more

Seagate steps strongly into the solid-state market with four new SSDs

Seagate's involvement in solid-state storage market shifted into high gear today as the company unveiled four new drives: the Seagate 600 SSD, the Seagate 600 Pro SSD, the Seagate 1200 SSD, and the Seagate X8 Accelerator.

Among these new drives, the Seagate 600 SSD is the first from the storage vendor that's designed for general consumers; the rest are geared toward enterprise use.

The Seagate 600 SSD comes in both 7-millimeter and, for the first time among SSDs, 5-millimeter thicknesses. The drive retains the 2.5-inch laptop design, supports SATA 3 (6Gbps), and offers up to 80,000 … Read more

Study: Most parents drive distracted with child in car

Many parents apparently still aren't getting the message about the dangers of distracted driving.

Among 618 parents surveyed for a study out today from the American Academy of Pediatrics, almost 90 percent of them admitted to chatting on the phone, texting, fiddling with the GPS, or doing other things while driving with their children in the car.

The parents who participated in the poll were asked specifically how often they engaged in distracting activities while driving with their child over the last month. Those activities included talking or texting on a cell phone, surfing the Internet, finding directions on a GPS or map, and changing a CD or DVD, as well as eating or grooming, and taking care of their child.… Read more