Yuri Gagarin becomes the first man in space on April 12, 1961

Google main page art today celebrates Yuri Gagarin as he becomes the first man in space on April 12, 1961 .

(image found on cnet)

"Yuri Alekseyevich Gagarin, a 27-year-old lieutenant in the Soviet air force, blasted off aboard the Vostok 1 spacecraft at 6:07 a.m. GMT on April 12. He completed one orbit around the world before re-entry, ejecting from his descent capsule and making a successful landing by parachute.

The one-hour, 48-minute flight was an international sensation, giving the Soviet Union a widely perceived lead in the infant manned space race. Alan Shepard would complete a brief sub-orbital flight aboard a NASA Mercury-Redstone rocket on May 5, 1961, but Gagarin's orbital flight was viewed by many as a daunting achievement of Soviet technology, spurring the development of increasingly sophisticated spacecraft."

Google offers $20,000 if you can hack their Chrome browser at the Pwn2Own hacking competition

For all those who will be a contestant at the Pwn2Own hacking competition scheduled on March 9-11 in Vancouver the pot got just a little bit sweeter. The contest cash award fund was at $105,000. But, thanks to Google anyone who can hack the Chrome browser will get $20,000 on top of the $15,000 they will already win.

Along with Chrome there will be other web browsers open to being hacked at the event like Microsoft's Internet Explorer, Mozilla's Firefox, and Apple's Safari browser too. They will be available on two operating systems only, Microsoft Windows 7 or Mac OS X (Snow Leopard). Both OS's running in 64-bit mode.

All contestants that win will also win the laptop they are given to use at the event too. The current roundup includes the following laptops: Apple MacBook Air 13", Alienware m11x, and a Sony Vaio.

Now for someone to hack Chrome it will require "escaping the Chrome sandbox using vulnerabilities only in Google-written code -- the competitor will win $20,000 and a Google CR-49 Chrome OS netbook."

Mobile device hacking will be also available. Offering devices like iPhone 4, Blackberry Torch 9800, Dell Windows 7 Phone and Nexus S running Android.

This competition should be an interesting sight to see, especially since so many of us use mobile devices and one of the above mentioned web browsers in day to day activities in our lives.

Information Week - Google Bets $20,000 You Can't Hack Chrome

The Register - Google offers $20,000 prize in annual hack-off

Google changes its name....

Talk about a great April Fools Day welcome from Google.

If you are like most people you touch Google at least once a day. I love using their site features throughout my day as often as i can. But, much to my surprise when i fired up my browser this morning and went to Google.com i was greeted not by Google but by the following. I guess we aren't in Silicon Valley any more....



Now don't forget to also click below the Google Search button on the "Not in Kansas: learn about our new name"



I guess Google is off to see the Wizard.....

Google launches ads into news queries searches....

(image found on cnet)
Don't be suprised when the next time you do a Google search for new content you might find a new addition to the mix. With times being hard for all Google is looking at new areas of generating income. So now, Google will be introduced ads now when someone does a search query for Google News. This new venture is a bit risky because of the legalities it might bring up from assorted media outlets and newspapers from around the world wanting a taste of the new income that is greatly appreciated by anyone in these economic hard times.

Josh Cohen, a business project manager at Google, announced the change in a post on the official Google News blog on Wednesday.

"What this means is that when you enter a query like iPhone or Kindle into the Google News search box, you'll see text ads alongside your News search results -- similar to what you see on regular Google searches," Cohen wrote.

A search for Kindle, Amazon's electronic book reader, for example, returns links to news articles and a list of "sponsored links" such as Amazon's Kindle page and ads for other readers such as Sony's eBook device.

"In recent months we've been experimenting with a variety of different formats," Cohen said. "We've always said that we'd unveil these changes when we could offer a good experience for our users, publishers and advertisers alike."

"We'll continue to look at ways to deliver ads that are relevant for users and good for publishers, too," Cohen said, adding that the ads would only appear on Google News search-results pages in the United States.

Google News aggregates headlines from more than 4,500 English-language news sources around the world and provides links to articles on their websites.

The articles are selected, according to Google, "by computers that evaluate, among other things, how often and on what sites a story appears online."

The introduction of ads to Google News search is the latest attempt by the Mountain View, California-based company to monetize its various Web ventures.

With recent ad content additions to Google Finance & Google Earth something like this was bound to happen. But, this could be an interesting new way of generating possible income, i guess time will tell how litigious this idea might get. Someone is bound to get their feathers ruffled and make a law suit against the Search Engine giant in trying to get big piece of the pie too.

Personally, I think Google does a fantastic job of putting together the news in a great concise package for all to see when they want for free. I wish them luck in this new revenue venture.

something extra i found:

Google did not immediately respond to questions on the possible legal ramifications of its News search ads. Sandra Baron, executive director at the Media Law Resource Center, suggested an "economic tension" exists between publishers and Google that could bubble up into legal action.

"A significant issue for content providers is whether or not what Google provides becomes a substitute for going to the actual content providers site," she said. "When that tension becomes too great, people seek legal solutions to it."

That said, she said U.S. legal precedent appeared to offer no obstruction to content aggregators and search providers compiling headlines or short summaries along with links, regardless of whether those pages contain ads.

It's a different story beyond our borders, where Google News has faced some challenges. In one high profile court case in Belgium, a group of content owners succeeded in forcing Google to remove their content from both Google.be and Google News.

Legal issues aside, Google may face a big hurdle in achieving ad relevance in Google News search, where user intent can be very different from general search. In several tests of the new ad experience, Google's paid results seem a poor match for the apparent intent of a news query. For instance, a search for "Polo" turns up pages of news stories on the water sport, whereas the sponsored links are exclusively geared toward men's clothing.

Google introduces ads to Google News (AFP)
Google shakes AdWords snowglobe again (the Register)
Google adds ads to Google News searches (cnet)
Ads in Google News Search May Tempt Media Lawsuits (clickz)

Google Gmail Service Crashes Today, But is Restored in a Few Hours

(image found on Telegraph.co.uk)
Earlier this morning Google's Gmail email service was hit with a major outage. The problem was fixed a few hours later. No additional information was made available about the outage. This glitch affected users in the US, UK as well as across most of Europe and even hitting people as far away as India and Australia.

"If you've tried to access your Gmail account today, you are probably aware by now that we're having some problems," Acacio Cruz, Gmail site reliability manager, wrote in a blog post. "Shortly after 9:30am GMT our monitoring systems alerted us that Gmail consumer and businesses accounts worldwide could not get access to their e-mail."

"We know how important Gmail is to our users, so we take issues like this very seriously, and we apologize for the inconvenience," Google said in a statement.

Customers who had enabled Gmail offline in the U.S. and the U.K. were able to access their inboxes during the outage, but they could not send or receive e-mail. An unrelated glitch earlier this month also sent some legitimate email to Gmail's spam folders.

Talk about a wow moment, I am glad to see they were on the ball and got things fixed quickly.

Google promises that customers paying for the Google Apps service will have access to Gmail at least 99.9 percent of the time each month or Google has to pay a penalty. So far Google hasn't dipped below that, the company said last year.

The company took advantage of the problem to tout the new Gmail Labs feature that permits offline access to Gmail for customers in the U.S. and U.K. With it, people can read, search, label, and archive their e-mail and compose new messages, but of course messages aren't sent or received until network access is restored.

Outages pose problems for Google as it tries to persuade companies to buy into its cloud-computing vision, in which applications are hosted on the Internet rather than on corporate computers. But Google argues its service availability is competitive with most organizations' abilities to run their own e-mail servers.

One good thing that came from this was that many "major companies, including Telegraph Media Group and The Guardian, have switched to using the Google Apps suite in place of conventional desktop email. Google Apps allows users to work collaboratively on documents via the web, as well as share calendars, and provides instant messaging and chat alongside Gmail email services."

So even though it was a minor inconvenience, things didn't just halt they just went to another venue until service was restored. It was a nice test under fire to see how things worked when it hit the fan. Great job getting things back up and running Google....

Google Gmail Restored After Service Outage Reported (eweek)
Google’s Gmail service crashes across world (Telegraph.co.uk)
Google Suffers Gmail Outage Early Tuesday (PCmag)
Google apologizes for Gmail outage (cnet)

Chicago's Mayor Richard Daley has a YouTube Channel now

(image found on WashingtonTimes)
Joining the ranks of other famous people in the public eye, President Obama, The Pope, The Queen of England and now Mayor Richard Daley of Chicago. It was just a matter of time until Mayor Daley got his spot on YouTube. The good thing is with Chicago being a democratic city that has options for a new mayor every 4 years. This spot gives Mayor Daley a chance to speak and be heard by the masses.

www.youtube.com/mayordaley

This site is an opportunity to talk to residents directly,” he said, noting YouTube’s wide reach.

Daley made the announcement at the Loop headquarters of Google Chicago, his partner in creating and running the site. It will promote Chicago across the globe, the mayor said.

“I guess it promotes me,” he added later, when asked about the political edge the site might provide. “Yes, I’m the mayor of the City of Chicago, and it promotes Chicago."

Asked whether the site would include videos that were critical of him, he responded, “We’ll see, I don’t know yet.”

Some of the 23 videos on the site, www.youtube.com/mayordaley, feature Daley meeting with out-of-town dignitaries and business leaders. In one, he jokes around in his office with local personality Billy Dec, co-host of NBC’s “24/7 Chicago: Secrets of the City.”

In another, a pre-election Barack Obama praises the mayor.

Obama talks about the improvements in the city since he moved there in 1985, saying they show “astonishing leadership that this man has shown over two decades. . . . He is an outstanding mayor.”

Not to be seen were any of the mayor's well-known tongue-twisters or testy exchanges with the media.

Since President Bill Clinton first held televised town hall meetings, contemporary politicians have ought new ways to bypass the often-critical coverage of the mainstream media and speak directly to voters.

When asked if he was trying to do the same, Daley said he is the only public official in Illinois to hold “a press conference three or four times a week.”

Jim Lecinski, managing director of Google’s central region, said no taxpayer dollars were used to create the site, and Daley said it did not involve spending taxpayer funds.

But some of the videos up on the site were made with city money for the Chicago Works cable TV channels. They were originally produced to be aired on the city’s municipal access channel, not for the mayor’s Web site, said Jacquelyn Heard, the mayor’s press secretary."

I was beginning to wonder when it would happen. I think its actually a very great idea for all people in the public eye to have a spot on YouTube for people to hear what they have to say. We live in a time now where we just don't have the time to put a mic under every single person and then somehow find a schedule for everyone to see what they have to say.

With having a YouTube Channel, people can make statements and also answer questions on their time and then giving the public on their time a chance to see what they have to say. The other thing is it gives them an option to hear peoples remarks and also reply back to them in either written or video blog form. Also, they did a great job on the site design too. Looks Great.

Daley has a YouTube channel (Chicago Tribune)

Dean Radin talks at Google on "Science and the Taboo of PSI"

You can click on the photo or this wording to see the video at YouTube/Google

Last month Dean Radin spoke at Google on a great but Taboo subject. I loved listening to this lecture and i felt that readers of OMNI would enjoy it too. You will need to click on the above phototo or link below to get taken to the YouTube/Google link to view it. Google has disabled the embed link for this video clip.

"Google Tech Talks
January, 16 2008

ABSTRACT

Do telepathy, clairvoyance and other "psi" abilities exist? The majority of the general population believes that they do, and yet fewer than one percent of mainstream academic institutions have any faculty known for their interest in these frequently reported experiences. Why is a topic of enduring and widespread interest met with such resounding silence in academia? The answer is not due to a lack of scientific evidence, or even to a lack of scientific interest, but rather involves a taboo. I will discuss the nature of this taboo, some of the empirical evidence and critical responses, and speculate on the implications.

Speaker: Dean Radin
Dean Radin is a researcher and author in the field of parapsychology. He is Senior Scientist at the Institute of Noetic Sciences and four-time former President of the Parapsychological Association. He holds an undergraduate degree in electrical engineering from the University of Massachusetts Amherst, and a masters degree in electrical engineering and a doctorate in educational psychology from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. He has worked at AT&T Bell Labs and GTE Labs, mainly on human factors of advanced telecommunications products and services, and held appointments at Princeton University, Edinburgh University, University of Nevada, Las Vegas, SRI International, Interval Research Corporation, and Boundary Institute. At these facilities he was engaged in basic research on exceptional human capacities, principally psi phenomena."

Lawsuit on Google Street View thrown out

(image found on arstechica)
Worried about Googles camera eye taking photos of you and your home. Well get over it says a US District Court Judge that just dismissed the lawsuit pending on Google.

The home of Aaron and Christine Boring as seen on Google Street View. (brisbanetimes)

"A ruling issued Wednesday by Judge Amy Reynolds Hay in a Pennsylvania district court states that Google's Street View mapping service is not an invasion of privacy. Judge Reynolds has dismissed a lawsuit against the search giant and has denied a request for injunctive relief that sought to block Google from publishing Street View imagery.

The lawsuit was filed last year by Aaron and Christine Boring, who contend that Google violated their privacy when a Street View camera car drove past a "private road" sign in their driveway in order to take pictures of their house.

Google contended that "complete privacy does not exist" and pointed out that photos of the home and floor plans are already available to the public on the Internet from the website of the Allegheny County assessor's office.

Google also argued that it already provides adequate measures to protect privacy by making it possible for individuals to ask to have pictures of their property removed from Street View. As we noted in our previous coverage, this is consistent with Google's opt-out approach to YouTube and other websites--they don't proactively review or ask permission to publish each piece of content, but provide a framework for requesting content removal.

Judge Reynolds sided with Google and concluded that the Street View service doesn't meet the criteria for an unlawful intrusion. Case law precedents define an actionable intrusion as one that causes "mental suffering, shame, or humiliation to a person of ordinary sensibilities." Reynolds doesn't believe that sufficient evidence was provided to demonstrate that Street View can cause such damage.

"While it is easy to imagine that many whose property appears on Google's virtual maps resent the privacy implications, it is hard to believe that any—other than the most exquisitely sensitive—would suffer shame or humiliation. The Plaintiffs have not alleged facts to convince the Court otherwise," the Judge wrote in the decision.

The Judge also pointed out that the Borings have not taken steps to have the images removed from Street View through Google's opt-out process and have, in fact, decreased their own privacy by drawing attention to themselves with the lawsuit. They did not file the suit under seal, which would have minimized exposure.

"'Googling' the name of the Borings' attorney demonstrates that publicity regarding this suit has perpetuated dissemination of the Borings' names and location, and resulted in frequent re-publication of the Street View images," Judge Reynolds notes. "The Plaintiffs' failure to take readily available steps to protect their own privacy and mitigate their alleged pain suggests to the Court that the intrusion and the their suffering were less severe than they contend."

Google's ambitious goal of indexing all of the world's information raises many questions about the role of privacy in the Internet age. General expectations have certainly diminished as more personal information becomes available on the Internet, but one could argue that much of this information was already public in some capacity. What has changed is the ease with which it can be remotely accessed. Google has attempted to mitigate the erosion of privacy inherent in Street View by blurring faces and providing easy opt-out tools. For now, that seems to be enough to satisfy the law.

So it looks like we will all be ready for our close up whether we want it or not.

Smile you might be on Google....

Judge throws out lawsuit against Google Street View (arstechnica)
Judge Dismisses Case Against Google's Street View (PCmag.com)
Judge Dismisses Boring Lawsuit Against Google (Channel Web)
Google wins Street View privacy case (brisbane times)

Google Android phone 2 coming this summer to Europe

(image found on Daily Tech)
Just announced, the next line of Google phones is coming out.
"European smartphone users can start getting ready for the second phone running Google's Android operating system. The HTC Magic at first will only be available in Europe through Vodaphone.

Unlike the G1 Android phone that U.S. customers have gotten used to, the HTC Magic will operate without a slide-out QWERTY keyboard, instead relying on a 3.2-inch TFT-LCD touch screen with 320 x 480 HVGA resolution. The trackball that G1 users are used to, however, will still remain.

An internal GPS antenna helps ensure that the device is location-aware and connectivity is handled through the usual means. Bluetooth 2.0 with enhanced data rate is build into the HTC Magic, and Wi-Fi 802.11b/g provides a quick and reliable connection to the Web.

A 3.2-megapixel camera without a flash is also standard for the new Google-operated device, although some users may lament the fact that there is no flash to accompany the camera. The HTC Magic supports MP4 and 3GP video types.

A microSD memory card expansion slot enhances the 192 MB of RAM and 512 MB of ROM memory on the Magic.

Like the G1, the HTC Magic comes prepared to support the full range of Google applications, including Google search, Gmail, Google Talk and Google Maps.

I think its great that a new phone is coming out. I just wish they would have kept the slide out keyboard option because i find it easier to use when typing then the screen touch screen on most phones. Who knows maybe this new touch screen keyboard will change my mind.

Vodaphone gets HTC Magic Exclusive (Daily Tech)
HTC's 'Magic Touch: Google Android Phone No. 2 (Channel Web)
UPDATE: Mobile World, Vodafone, HTC launch Android Phone (CNNMoney.com)

Nvidia unveils the world's first HD mobile internet device that also runs on Android too

(image found on ameinfo)
Nvidia Corporation, the inventor of the graphics processor, today introduced a new platform, based on the Nvidia Tegra 600 Series computer-on-a-chip, always-on, always-connected HD mobile internet device (MID) that can go days between battery charges. Nvidia has been working on this new chip with internet giant Google for use on the open source Android mobile platform too."Nvidia will work "within the Open Handset Alliance to continually strengthen the ability of Android to tap into advanced mobile graphics and media acceleration to make interaction with handheld technology more intuitive and instinctive," Michael Rayfield, general manager for mobile business at Nvidia, said in a statement."

"Nvidia's Tegra line comprises an ARM-based processor core, a GeForce graphics core, and other components. A Tegra system on a chip for mobile Internet devices and netbooks is expected to start shipping in the second half of the year. Nvidia, however, hasn't named any manufacturers planning to ship Tegra-based smartphones or mobile Internet devices."

"The Tegra MID delivers:

• 720p and 1080p video playback

• Days of use between charges

• Full Wi-Fi and 3G connectivity

• Optimised hardware support for Web 2.0 applications for a true desktop-class internet experience

• A complete software solution including Microsoft Windows Embedded CE OS, application viewers, full Internet browser, UI framework, board support package (BSP), software development kit (SDK), Web mail client, and more

'The next generation of smart, connected, service-oriented devices are centered around rich multimedia experiences and enhanced functionality,' said Mukund Ghangurde, Director, CE and Consumer Product Management at Microsoft Corp. 'We are pleased to collaborate with Nvidia to develop a platform resources that assists OEMs in quickly bringing these new devices to market.'"

This could definitely be an interesting year for development with this new chip being unveiled also on an open source platform giving more small companies and individuals a chance to create some cool new applications for the mobile device platform.

Nvidia unveils Chip Support for Android (Information Week)

Nvidia Plans Tegra Platform for $99 MIDs (techtree)

Nvidia enables the world's first HD mobile internet device (ameinfo)

Google - Site Warnings mis-informed

(image found on zdnet)
Update: Google has fixed the issue that was giving people a mis-informed warning about sites they were searching for using the Google search engine.

"Google shows the problem this morning with the entire internet, with all sites. In the beginning I thought the problem may be local, but then I saw other news services reporting the problem from around the world.

Here is what they say.

Google Blows Up, Suggests the Internet is Harmful writes Aaron Brazell from Technosailor. "It appears some sort of bug has snuck into the Google secret sauce. A feature that was intended to warn users of potential phishing sites has jumped the shark declaring the internet harmful. That’s right, every single result is deemed by Google to be harmful."

Google search currently broken, warnings on every query writes Neowin from Netherlands. Digital Lifestyle says "Google Breaks." Google has broken in a major way. If you search for anything on Google search, the warning message “This Site May Harm Your Computer” appears underneath each of the results."

The problem seems to be widespread accross the world. It is noticed by itWire from Australia, ThaIndian from Thailand and from UK. Thaindian reported the news at roughly 9:40 pm on 31st Jan 2008 (Thai time GMT +7).

At this time no word from Google that we know of. Hopefully the engineers are working to solve this issue ASAP. It affects not only the search engine but the credibility of the websites. Expect some webmasters receiving emails where the visitors may complain about the risks of the websites.

Apparently something bad was happening in the search engine this morning that effected all the webmasters. However, it's good that it seems to be fixed now. At least I don't see those messages from North Carolina at 10:30AM EST."

As many of us get up in the morning to check out some of the sites on the web, many people were greeted with an assortment of website warnings from reputable sites on the Google search. It turns out that an update of an issue on Google evolved into a headache for all. Google has informed the public that it is on the issue and a fix is in the mix.

Google search suffers outage (zdnet)

Google Fixes Search Bug Affecting Internet Search (Huliq news)

At Last At Last - Google G-Drive

(image found on PCworld)
The rumors have been circulating for a while now but it looks like Google has another gift for us all in the works. The Google Drive (G-Drive) storage solution for all your files giving you access anytime from anywhere and any device.

(image found on cnet news)
A nice detailed description of the drive was found in a file on the Google Pack suite for Google Desktop by blogger Brian Ussery. This is a nice little taste of things to come.

Take a Peek at the Google Drive (PCWorld)
More details surface on Googles alleged G Drive(Cnet news)
Well, At Least Google Has a Description of GDrive( PCmag.com)

The Internet - Over 1 Billion Served

(image found on blog.searchenginewatch.com)
Well look out McDonald's, it looks like there is someone else working on the billion served motto. Its official folks there are now over 1 Billion users of the Internet according to comScore Inc. These numbers were reaches in December 2008.

"The Asia-Pacific region now accounts for 41 percent of all Internet users, with China ranked as the largest Internet population in the world, says ComScore. China now has 180 million Internet users, or about 18 percent of the worldwide cyberspace audience. The United States ranks second at 16.2 percent, followed by Japan, Germany and the United Kingdom.

“Surpassing 1 billion global users is a significant landmark in the history of the Internet,” says ComScore CEO Magid Abraham. “The second billion will be online before we know it, and the third billion will arrive even faster than that.”

(image found on blog.searchenginewatch.com)
Top sites include:
Google with 776 million visitors
Microsoft with 647 million visitors
Yahoo with 562 million visitors
Facebook with 222 million visitors (in January there were twice as many recorded for Facebook usage, I have a feeling that the recent election of the new President had something to deal with those numbers)
MySpace with 125 million visitors

Please note these number are issued in the following ways:
"ComScore (Nasdaq: SCOR) said its numbers include Internet users ages 15 or older, from home or work computers. They do not include traffic from public computers, like Internet cafes, or access from mobile phones or PDAs."

So in reality it is alot more but these would be conservative estimates for usages. It would be interesting if someone was out there actually including all of the other online usage resources from PDA's to now Cars.

Global Internet Audiences Exceeds 1 Billion in December 2008 (blog.searchenginewatch.com)

Internet audience tops 1 billion (Nashville Business Journal)

Internet hits major milestone, surpassing 1 billion monthly users (ComputerWorld)

Internet Users Top 1 Billion, Most of Them Asian (PCmag.com)

Google Takes Video to the Next Level

(image found on PCWorld.com)
Google offers an interesting compromise to media owning organizations. As people continue to upload various video media to You Tube, Google police's the video by using its Content ID system to help identify accepted media for posting and removing content that violates copyright.

(image found on arstechnica.com)
Google has come up with the following option. "If a consumer posts video content from a TV show, then any ad revenue that YouTube generates from that clip will be shared with the legal rights holders of that video content. " This way it can help cut down on some of the lawsuits on infringement and also help to line peoples pockets for use of their material on You Tubes site. Basically also giving the owners material free advertising for their product they have being viewed on You Tube by millions of people.

Its actually a very cleaver idea because the fact remains people will always continue to post videos whether legal or not. This way the owners of the material can get some well deserved free world wide advertising and get paid on top of it. Expecting Google to catch every single violating clip is just ridiculous in itself. They may catch a lot of it but people will always find ways around it and still post aways. Whether it be by changing the names, splitting it into various parts or some other idea. We live in a You Tube world today. At least Google is trying to make it a more pleasant and less litigious playground for all to enjoy.

Google Takes Viral Video to Another (contentinople)
You Tube to Let Big Media Bring Its Own Ads (PCWorld)
YouTube to allow Big Media to bring own ads, take on Hulu (arstechnica.com)

Google offers virtual trip for New York City

(image taken from screen capture of nycgo website)

Planning a trip just got easier. Everyone knows the hassle that comes when planning a trip to see all the cool sites, museums and other hot spots around the city. Well Google and the City of New York have launched a virtual website to help you make your trip virtually easier before venturing out into the city to do it in person. The new website allows you to explore the Big Apple from the comfort of your home, phone or where ever else you can surf in from. This program even gives you options to see buildings in 3D and also experience New York in the "Google Street View" experience too.

(video originally found on YouTube Website - Google)
I would definitely recommend to watching this video and judge for yourself how amazing this service really is to the public.

The Mayor of New York city Michael Bloomberg launched the new website nycgo.com to the public for all to see. The information center for this project is located in Manhattan on 810 Seventh Avenue, between 52nd and 53rd Streets. The center itself offers touch screen interfaces for people to use in person. The video segment above gives you a glimps at how amazing and cutting edge this center really is. I think young and old will be in awe when visiting the information center in person.

""This dynamic site uses Google Maps to help you plan your New York experience," Bloomberg said in a posting at Google's website.

"So whether you are a visitor or a resident, we invite you to explore New York City from your home computer, your mobile phone -- and of course, in person."

People can use nycgo.com to learn about attractions, promotions, events and more, then map itineraries using Google software and send the information to mobile telephones for reference while on the move."

(image found on raising the bar: winter roof hotspots on nycgo.com)

I had a chance to check out the site and try it a bit. I enjoy the layout and design. The site is designed in a simple and user friendly format. I think this is a big plus because there are to many sites that just over complicate things. I especially enjoyed the assorted views of the inside of various places to get an idea of what it looks like. To many times all we get a chance to see is the outside which leaves many times much to the imagination.

This tool is a great way to view a city. I look forward when this kind of project is unveiled for my home Chicago and then some of the other metropolitan city's around the United States. This is definitely a step in the right direction when it comes down to broadening our horizons and really having a chance to see all the beauty the city has to give. This is definelty another "WoW" product from Google.

So if you have some free time check out the site and enjoy all that the Big Apple has to offer.

Google and New York City Launch town-touring technology tools (AFP)

New York uses Google Maps to guide Tourists (ComputerWorld Government)

Google-Powered Nycgo.com Site is Great Lesson in Interactive Web Maps (Google Watch)

Google Android G2 Phone glimps

(image of Android G2 phone found on Gizmodo.com)

Well the rumors have been circulating for sometime now about a new Google Android G phone being called the G2. These are some photos I recently came across on Gizmodo showing a new design that seems to be only offered in this white color. Look out Apple iPhone, it looks like someone is knocking on your door.

(image of the G1 found on dbtechno website)
This new design has gotten rid of the G1 keyboard option to replace it with just a touch screen. I don't know whether to love it or wonder if its a bad design move. Granted everything is getting to be a touch screen environment. But, when it comes to usage these PDA phones hold a lot of information, if the touch screen has an issue and is not working rite, the user could have a big problem. I think having the keyboard option is a nice safety net when it comes to the usability of the device itself. Plus, there are still many people who prefer a physical keyboard instead of a virtual one on a screen.

The device also comes equipped with a 3.2 mega pixel camera upgrade too. Expected release for this new item are being circulated as somewhere around May 2009 but nothing has been officially confirmed yet. Also, this phone does still offer a Linux-based alternative for iPhone lovers.

On my personal phone I have both a keyboard that slide up like the G1 and a touch screen keyboard option. Granted at times i do use the virtual one on the screen but its nice to know if i have a problem with the touch screen i can still use my phone when needed and not have to find a shop or use another persons phone until it can get fixed.

Plus as the current G1 phone continues to expand into Europe and other countries i think that the fan base of the touch screen and slide up keyboard option will grow in popularity and desire.
I think its great to be able to see new items that will soon be released but Google has not officially confirmed that this is what the unit will look like but its a nice peek at what may be of things to come.

Next-gen Android phone coming soon? (Cnet news)
Get your Google Android Based T Mobile G2 Pics (googlewatch.eweek.com)
T-Mobile G1 Phone Set To Expand To More Countries in Europe (dbtechno.com)