Like the 2008 U.S. Presidential Election, the 2008 Olympics in Beijing, China are being followed in a whole new way this time around, thanks to the Internet.

The Google Android mobile operating system will likely take the mobile industry by storm when it is released. From what I've read they are already lining up handset manufacturers who want to run Android when it becomes publicly available, and it's expected to be available on around a dozen different handsets running it when launched later this year.

Google has launched a service called My Location, and it could be a huge breakthrough in mobile mapping technology. My Location is available at no cost to those who use Google Maps on a mobile device, but don't have GPS capabilities built-in. Technicalities aside, it uses cell towers to approximate the location of the user so that it is easier to find out where you are headed.

Go to Google Maps and you'll notice the addition of a Terrain Button which is in the location where the "Hybrid" button used to be. This new Terrain feature reminds me of what you'd see if you looked at a geographical map (versus a political map).

There has seemed to be a lot of love and care for Google Maps lately. They just announced a new feature that lets anyone customize the location of a business, or even an address such as your own house.

Google has been able to offer basic directions to users of their map service for quite some time, just like what most other map services out there offer. All you do is enter in your starting and ending destinations and then Google calculates the fastest route. It's always been a pretty quick process, but Google wanted to make it even faster and better than some of their competitors.

If you visit Google today, you'll notice the usual logo has been replaced with the one you see pictured to the right.  It's Google's 9th Birthday, and they're celebrating! While there are actually several dates that could be considered Google's birthday, clearly they acknowledge today, September 27th as their official birthday, the day that they became incorporated and their name was officially Google inc.

I find myself frequently mapping sites to figure out how to get from point A to point B, and today I've got an extension that will speed up the process even more. The extension is called Minimap Sidebar Extension, and it's entire purpose is make viewing a map an unobtrusive and efficient process.

Finally! Google now lets you embed Google Maps into your own site, and even customize various aspects of them! The way they implemented it isn’t extremely technical...they just use an embeddable frame for you to put on your site. So you’re essentially serving up another website inside your own site.

If you live in a big city, you know that getting from point A to point B usually involves lots of cars, honking, and stop and go traffic which can add time to your trip.  When you get directions from Google Maps, they conveniently tell you how many miles the trip is, and about how long it will take.  The problem though, is that the estimated time really does you no good in the city.