The Best Apple Announcement...

...isn't from Apple. It's Google Earth for the Mac. Very cool. Runs fine on my rather dog-eared Titanium 1GHz with a T-1 equiv DSL connection. Navigational interface easy to use, lots of hooks back to Google content. Had no problem searching for Palo Alto, finding and zooming down my office window (since the photos of the old Mayfield section were somewhat oblique). From there zoomed out, 'drove' down 280 and 85 and revisited the sections of Almaden Quicksilver Park that I'd hiked on Sunday.

We had actually looked at Keyhole, the company that originated this technology, prior to the Google acquisition. The discussion never went far, as they were visibly struggling with the go-to-market issues associated with using the technology as a point solution. As an element of an information organization and management platform, however, it's come into its own. A case of real synergy in an acquisition, Google is to be commended for both insight and execution. (Now why haven't they done so well with Blogger, one wonders...)

HT: 'Cicero'