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Google seems never to stand still.

The latest offerings from Google’s laboratories include an update to Google Earth. There is a huge amount of detail included for South Africa. I was able to find decent images of a number of places previously available only in very low resolutions. Obviously the satellite images are not up to date. The areas I concentrated on seem to be about 2 years or so old. Nonetheless, this is an excellent toy for the armchair traveller.

A bunch of features have been added to the new release of Google Desktop. This is certainly a tool that I use quite heavily. Included in the new release is the ability to index and tag a bunch of additional file types and a new sidebar. Google is picking up on the trend that Apple introduced a while ago, namely the use of widgets. In Google’s case, the gadgets provide some informative and useful floating desktop applications, indicating anything from date and time to battery state and wireless network connections. If you have a large screen, these gadgets can be packed neatly in a corner and provide instant visual feedback.

To complete the Google roundup, there’s the addition of a PayPal rival in the form of Google Checkout. Google takes a cut of every transaction, similarly to PayPal. Initial indications are that Checkout will be cheaper to use than PayPal. Payments are (theoretically) secure, as all transaction interaction occurs directly with Google and the relevant credit card details entered by the user. There may currently be a lack of sites supporting Google Checkout, but this is certain to change as the service attracts more users and establishes a presence. This is Google, after all – it’s unlikely that this service won’t become a standard and a threat to existing players.