Google is a company that never ceases to amaze me.  Now, instead of just offering overhead satellite images within Google Maps, you can see a 360 degree view of what it would look like if you were standing on that street.  This new feature is only available right now in major urban areas such as New York and San Francisco.

If you're curious how they did it, I've been told that specially equipped vans have been driving around cities worldwide for a while now, preparing for such a feature.  The vans have 360 degree cameras strapped to the top, and take an image periodically as the van drives down the street.  You can even see the people standing on the sidewalk when the Van drove by… I smell a challenging new variation on Where's Waldo…

If you love Google Earth, you'll have to check out this new feature in Google Maps.

Google Maps - Street View Demo

Hey folks, either reply, delete, or file away for later reply or reference- empty out your inbox, or you might end up like the folks who are declaring e-mail bankruptcy:

The supposed convenience of electronic mail, like so many other innovations of technology, has become too much for some people. Swamped by an unmanageable number of messages — the volume of e-mail traffic has nearly doubled in the past two years, according to research firm DYS Analytics — and plagued by annoying spam and viruses, some users are saying "Enough!"

E-Mail Reply to All: 'Leave Me Alone' - washingtonpost.com

From the New York Times, an article about a new printer from Kodak that is trying to break the cycle of exorbitantly high printer ink costs:

In some ways, the world of electronics is a great big game of Us vs. Them, filled with imbalances of power that the little people can't do anything about. Through learned helplessness, we've come to accept that the gadget we buy today will be passe in a year, period. Calling technical support is going to be a nightmare, tough rocks. Buying cartridges for an inkjet printer will cost twice as much as the printer itself each year.

Paying More for a Printer, but Less for Ink - New York Times

Just in case you need another reason to call your congressman:

If you sell anything online, own an ISP, produce online content, send electronic data, or rely on Internet connectivity for your paycheck, then you better pay attention to a movement that states and local governments are pushing for. The states and local agencies are trying to achieve an ban on Internet taxation. The truth is that it is already hard to know just what is being gone after, but the two most common taxes are of course "SALES TAX" on online shopping, and what is the equivalent of more "ACCESS TAXES" on ISP's. In theory you could even ultimately end up with an email tax if this were allowed to go unchecked.

24/7 Wall St.: Internet Taxation Woes Headed Your Way

(thanks, bk) 

To a computer consultant, this is also known as job security.

Proof that users will click on virtually anything — behavior that hackers depend on — has been laid out by a researcher, whose Google ad touted instant infection. More than 400 clicked through.In a six-month experiment by security researcher Didier Stevens, some users weren't warned off by a Google sponsored link that read:

Drive-By Download
Is your PC virus-free?
Get it infected here!

Of the 259,723 times the ad was viewed, it was clicked on 409 times, said Stevens.

People click on the darndest things

So you probably have heard, that Cingular (now AT&T again?!) has exclusive rights in offering its subscribers the much-touted Apple iPhone, due out in about a month.  More details have emerged that suggest that this exclusivity is a long term phenomenon.

…if you live in the US and don't want to move to AT&T, it's going to be 2012 before you even have a chance at an iPhone.

Apple iPhone on AT&T for five years? - Engadget

Don't laugh…

About 25 members of the NYPD have been trained to use the Police Department's 10 new Segways, which will hit Coney Island, Central Park, Prospect Park, Orchard Beach, the Bronx Zoo and Flushing Meadows-Corona Park beginning this week, according to the NY Daily News.

N.Y. cops hop on Segways | Crave : The gadget blog

Surprisingly excellent information from CNN.com:

So you want to change the world — or at least a little part of it — using the power of the Internet? Here are some tips to help get you started.

How to run an online campaign - CNN.com

Apple's stock took a brief 2.2% plunge yesterday due to a rumor that its much anticipated iPhone was going to be delayed until the Fall (it's currently scheduled to be released in June).  Of course, the rumor, which was started by the tech-blog Engadget, turned out to be bogus, and the stock returned to normal.
Engadget sends Apple stock plunging on iPhone rumor | Crave : The gadget blog

Google's changing the way we search… yet again:

Google Inc. said today that it was unifying its approach to Web search, combining its established service with specialized searches ranging from news and images to videos.

Google Revamps Its Search System - New York Times