Steve
writes a good column, especially if you're interested in utilities that
make driving our digital beasts just a bit easier or more fun. 
From today's column:

“Maps, Maps, and More Maps

Y'all like maps–that's pretty obvious from all the e-mail I
received after “Maps for Fun and Business” hit your inboxes:
http://www.pcworld.com/news/article/0,aid,121387,tk,sbx,00.asp

* Google Earth. Tons of you complained that I didn't mention
Google Earth in that newsletter. This one's a stunner–and a time killer. Our
uberboss, Harry McCracken, describes it in detail in his blog, “First
Impressions: Google's Amazing Earth”:
http://blogs.pcworld.com/techlog/archives/000748.html

Unfortunately, you can't have it: The Google folks pulled
the beta. Too many people accessing it, they said. There may still be a way for
you to get it, though. Read through the comments at Harry's follow-up blog:
http://blogs.pcworld.com/techlog/archives/000761.html

You could also try going to a mirror site:
http://find.pcworld.com/48978 

And when you do get a copy, I promise, you'll kill an hour
or more playing with it (which is why this newsletter's being filed late).

* Mapdex. Jeremy Bartley wrote to tell me about Mapdex, a
“GeoGoogle” for map servers. Jeremy is the assistant GIS Coordinator
and Geoinformatics Project Lead of the Kansas Geological Survey at the
University of Kansas (hey, I get paid by the word). He explained that Mapdex
uses roughly 1550 servers, serving 26,000 map services, containing more than
400,000 GIS layers, and covering more than 3,250,000 columns. Check it out:
http://www.mapdex.org

* ESRI Conference. It's too late this year, but mark your
maps for the next “Virtual Woodstock for digital mapmakers from 110
countries around the globe.” It's the ESRI International User Conference
for GIS geeks (meaning “geographic information system”). Here's the
Web site:
http://www.esri.com/uc