google drive

Google Drives into gear: The search giant's answer to cloud computing services

Google announced the arrival of its latest project Tuesday and dubbed the cloud computing service "Google Drive."

Drive allows users to access their files at anytime, on any platform and starts users off with 5GB of free storage. The new service will ultimately replace Google Docs once an account switches over to Drive, but will retain many of the same features that Google Docs provided.

Users of the service simply install an app for their Windows PC or Mac and can then sync their files with their Drive account so no matter what, the files will be updated in real time and can be accessed from your tablet, phone, work, or anywhere for that matter.

Drive also has interesting features like its Optical Character Recognition (OCR) technology which allows Drive to recognize text in scanned PDF’s and images, giving users the ability to search for text within an image.

People will still be able to create and collaborate on documents like they did while using Google Docs and in the future, the service will be integrated with Gmail accounts so that users can also attach said files from their Drive storage into an e-mail.

Google is the latest to join in on the battle of cloud computing, but what exactly will make them stand out from say, Apple’s iCloud or Dropbox?

Engadget has a helpful table comparing the benefits of all the different cloud computing services out there and Google’s Drive seems to lead the pack with cost and affordability.

Drive also has interesting features like its Optical Character Recognition (OCR) technology which allows Drive to recognize text in scanned PDF’s and images, giving users the ability to search for text within an image.

While Google Drive may not unseat Dropbox as the primary go-to service for cloud computing, The Next Web pointed out that it may appeal to users already entrenched in Google services: “There are those who aren’t as tied to their Dropbox accounts and would welcome deeper Google integration.”

We’ll just have to wait and see whether or not Drive will be the service that allows Google to flourish even more, and it looks like Google is set on trying to make this service work.

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Users can switch over to Google Drive by going to this website, here. Google will be releasing an iOS app for the service soon.

Self-driving Roller Coaster

More self-driving cars expected to roll out in Austin for 2025

Waymo car

Photo courtesy of Waymo via KVUE

Various brands offering self-driving cars are on-and-off in Austin.

Expect to see more self-driving rideshare vehicles, also known as robotaxis, on Austin roads next year.

Robotaxi company Waymo, which you may have already seen on Austin's roads, is partnering with Uber. At some point next year, customers will be able to use the Uber app to call a self-driving ride.

Austin-based company Avride is in the testing phase and plans to roll out its robotaxis next year.

Currently, Volkswagen ADMT and Amazon's Zoox are in the testing phase in Austin, while Hyundai's Motional is in the mapping phase.

Last year, robotaxi company Cruise paused operations in Austin after the California Department of Motor Vehicles revoked the company's permits to operate driverless vehicles in the state. And last week, General Motors said it would no longer fund the company because of the time and resources needed.

This way of getting around has come with its safety concerns and issues. The city is tracking those concerns. According to the Transportation Department, the problems span from blocking the roads and parking in front of people's homes for weeks with lights beaming through their windows, to actual wrecks.

Since July 2023, robotaxis have been involved in 75 incidents. Only 21 of those incidents happened in 2024. It's important to note that Cruise has not been operating in Austin this year.

Since July 2023, driverless rideshare vehicles have been involved in 22 near collisions, eight collisions and seven instances where driverless taxis ignored directions from the Austin Police Department (APD).

According to the data, at least four of those Austin police incidents happened in recent months. The issues varied from driving through police checkpoints, to malfunctioning and getting stuck at an APD road closure near pedestrians, causing safety concerns.

A Waymo spokesperson said their vehicles have gesture recognition capabilities, which they've been training APD officers on using.

As the report shows, sometimes it does not work and Waymo said it is working to improve that. The spokesperson said that as of just last week, Waymo's First Responder Program has been independently verified by TÜV SÜD, making Waymo the first autonomous vehicle (AV) company to receive third-party validation for our emergency response protocols. They also said the data to date indicates the Waymo Driver is already reducing traffic injuries and fatalities in the places where the company currently operates.

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Read the full story and watch the video at KVUE.com.

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