http://www.pcworld.com/article/255204/googles_selfdriving_car_licensed_to_hit_nevada_streets.html


Click on the following link to watch the video!
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/technology/technology-video/video-can-the-google-car-drive-better-than-you/article4105615/

TODAY @ PCWORLD

Google's Self-Driving Car Licensed to Hit Nevada Streets

By Ian Paul, PCWorld    May 8, 2012 6:16 AM

Google's autonomous vehicle cruises the Las Vegas Strip. (Image courtesy of the Nevada Department of Motor Vehicles)Google's self-driving car is growing up right in front of our eyes: The fledgling autonomous vehicle program recently passed its driver's license test in Nevada, the first license of its kind in the United States. Obtaining Nevada's self-driving car license clears the way for Google to test its technology on public roads in the state.

Google's modified Toyota Prius was given the thumbs up after successful test drives in Carson City and on the Las Vegas strip. Alongside the special license, Nevada also issued the car a unique set of red license plates that include the infinity symbol and the words “autonomous car.” With any luck, those plates should differentiate all the other vehicles on the road from Google’s car, which has cameras and radar equipment strapped to the roof.

Nevada first began work on its autonomous vehicle licensing program last June when the state's lawmakers passed legislation toallow self-driving cars on public roads. In February, Nevada's Department of Motor Vehicles issued rules governing autonomous cars. The Nevada DMV rules currently limit the state's licensing to test vehicles; enthusiasts need not apply.

Image courtesy of the Nevada Department of Motor VehiclesTo be approved for road travel, autonomous cars must have a combined minimum driving time of 10,000 miles. Nevada also requires autonomous car operators to submit a complete description of their self-driving technology, a detailed safety plan, and a plan for hiring and training test drivers. The state requires a $100 licensing fee plus $13 for each set of license plates, but companies must also purchase a surety bond of $1 million to put up to 5 vehicles on the road. Nevada says a number of other unnamed companies are looking to follow Google and test self-driving cars on the state's public roads.

Despite allowing only beta cars at the moment, Nevada is looking toward a day when self-driving cars will be sold to the public. The state's DMV says it plans to issue privately owned self-driving cars a green license plate that will also include the infinity symbol. Motorists will also be required to obtain a special driver license endorsement before they can get behind the wheel of future robotic cars.

Connect with Ian Paul (@ianpaul) on Twitter and Google+, and with Today@PCWorld on Twitter forthe latest tech news and analysis.

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http://www.theglobeandmail.com/technology/tech-news/why-googles-super-specs-are-the-strange-and-awkward-future/article4225023/?service=print

Google co-founder Sergey Brin models a prototype for the new Google glasses, which will allow users to record photos and videos of their surroundings.

REUTERS/The Gavin Newsom Show/Handout

Why Google's super-specs are the (strange and awkward) future

Robert Shrimsley

Published Friday, Jun. 01, 2012 09:00PM EDT

Last updated Saturday, Jun. 02, 2012 09:16AM EDT

The future is right in front of our eyes. For a generation schooled in technology by the Mission: Impossible movies, these are tantalizing times. For Googlehas released a video demonstrating its new big idea – spectacles that act as a computer screen that responds to voice commands.
How cool is that? You can go round giving instructions to your Google-glasses and get a response in front of your eyeballs. (This, incidentally, is quite disconcerting; bluetooth technology is already making it harder to spot lunatics on the street. Time was when muttering audibly to a disembodied presence or pair of spectacles would be considered prima facie evidence of diminished responsibility, but no more). In the future, men will not only make passes at girls who wear glasses, they will already have searched up all their details and be reading them off the screen. Over time this will become increasingly sophisticated, so the specs will not only pull the girl’s details but offer helpful advice like “forget it speccy, she’s out of your league.”
Naturally, on the demonstration video the specs work beautifully. They are a tad retro in appearance and make the wearer look like that blind crew member with a visor from Star Trek: Next Generation. But let’s not quibble; it’s nothing a tie-up with Giorgio Armani won’t solve. In the demo we see a man walking in New York, the glasses tell him that the subway station is closed and helpfully offer an alternative route. Seeing an image he likes, he orders the specs to take a photo with the built-in camera and post it on his Google+ page. He can read text messages and film a view to share in a call with his girlfriend.
Sounds idyllic, doesn’t it. But I can detect certain flaws, beyond the risk of constantly walking into things. There’s that handy mapping facility, which harsh experience suggests will offer precise directions to a point roughly two streets away from the desired destination. To be fair, you can see their uses, like sightseeing when abroad and proving Jon Voight is, in fact, still alive though he’ll self-destruct in five seconds.
So it looks cool. But when you boil it down – and consider the small screen size (unless the Elton John look circa 1970 is your thing) – this is essentially for people who are tired of the draining effort that is lifting their handheld; it is the answer for everyone who has dreamed of wearing their smartphone. It is for people troubled by the interface that we technologists like to call the real world, who can now filter life through a screen wherever they are. And all the while, Google will be gathering more and more data on your life. With Google specs you need never be without a sponsored link advising you of the proximity of the nearest Starbucks. “Hey, you’re just 20 steps from a mediocre cup of coffee.” There are options for digital trickery too – who wouldn’t want their reality augmented by a foaming latte leaping out as they neared the café. The specs will also prove useful for those people always committing the faux pas of checking their BlackBerry during dinner as the conversation lags. Now you can surf the web and still keep one eye on your dinner partner. Your date will no longer think you are rude – although she may be curious about your misaligned eye and why you keep changing the subject.
This is just the start of course; contact lenses are surely next or, as a low-cost alternative, a small fold-up screen implanted in the middle of your forehead and disguised as a Hindu bindi.
This cynicism may be misplaced. I mentioned the idea to a key youth demographic over breakfast the other day. Back came the reply, “That’s epic Dad, can I have one for my birthday?” The target market, it seems, needs no persuasion.

© 2012 The Globe and Mail Inc. All Rights Reserved.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=9c6W4CCU9M4

Google's indoor Street View comes to Winnipeg

http://www.cbc.ca/news/technology/story/2012/05/29/mb-indoor-street-view-winnipeg.html

Wow, now we can even check the inside of stores through google! Scary? Or Advanced?
Price for the view vary from 150 dollars up to 800 dollars depending on Stores' sizes!

YEAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH
FIGURING IT OUT!!!

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We can do this guys! hhahahhahaha