Google plug-in recommends gadgets

Let's face it, virtual habits can get just as rote as those in the real world. E-mail, news reader, weather: Check. But the routine can cause us to miss the weirdness and wonder of the Web.

Companies like StumbleUpon.com try to counteract the doldrums with Web-recommendation software, and now Google has its own cure. A software developer has built a Google plug-in called Interesting things for you, which points to popular sites and gadgets related to an individual's search history. People can add the module, via RSS, to their Google home page and see new recommendations whenever they log onto to their account.

According to the Google OS blog, the company apparently provided this feature independently on its Search History Trends page before. Now it's just more personal, front and center on a user's Google home page.