The Latest from Google Labs....

As you may know, Google allows their engineers to spend lots of time on their pet projects.  Some of these projects end up on the scrap heap, but a lucky few end up as Google Labs projects that we get to play with.  Some of the more interesting ones I've seen lately are:

• Plan a trip with public transportation - http://www.google.com/transit/ - While this seems to be limited in its scope (for example, there aren't any northeastern states on the list of cities where you can do this, I'm going to be going to both Portland and Seattle, and this might be a good way to get to and from my flights and trains.  I'll write back if the experience warrants mentioning.
• View the surface of Mars - http://www.google.com/mars/ - While I'm not sure why you would want to do this, it's pretty cool that it can be done.