Sometimes the sky itself is the best show in town. On January 26, people from Perth, Australia gathered on a local beach to watch a sky light up with delights near and far. Nearby, fireworks exploded as part of Australia Day celebrations. On the far right, lightning from a thunderstorm flashed in the distance. Near the image centre, though, seen through clouds, was the most unusual sight of all: Comet McNaught.

The photogenic comet was so bright that it even remained visible though the din of Earthly flashes. Comet McNaught continues to move out from the Sun and dim, but should remain visible in southern skies with binoculars through the end of this month. The above image is actually a three photograph panorama digitally processed to reduce red reflections from the exploding firework.

Google Latitude is a feature in Google Maps for mobile and iGoogle that allows you to share your location with your friends. With Latitude, you can control how much you share about your location and who gets to see it.

The following video shows you tips on how to adjust your privacy settings in Latitude:

More information about Google Latitude is found here.

Google Earth lets you fly anywhere on Earth to view satellite imagery, maps, terrain, 3D buildings, from galaxies in outer space to the canyons of the ocean. You can explore rich geographical content, save your toured places and share with others.

So what’s new in version 5?

Mars in 3D
This is the latest stop in our virtual tour of the galaxies, made possible by a collaboration with NASA. By selecting “Mars” from the toolbar in Google Earth, you can access a 3D map of the Red Planet featuring the latest high-resolution imagery, 3D terrain, and annotations showing landing sites and lots of other interesting features.

See global changes with decades of historical imagery
If you’ve ever wondered how your local area has changed throughout time, Google Earth now gives you access to the past. With a simple click, take a look at suburban sprawl, melting icecaps, coastal erosion and more.

Dive beneath the surface of the ocean
In the new ocean layer, you can plunge all the way to the floor of the sea, view exclusive content from partners like BBC and National Geographic as well as explore 3D shipwrecks like the Titanic.

Track and share your paths with others
Take placemarks a step further and record a free-form tour in Google Earth. Simply turn on the touring feature, press record and see the world. You can even add a soundtrack or narration to personalise the journey.

Sounds to me like it’s a good time to upgrade or try this one out. Feel free to let me know what you think, or share a “trip” with the rest of us…

Found this at the telegraph this morning, a photo series showing when professional cakes go horribly, hilariously wrong! Enjoy (or cry if you ordered one):

Click here or the image to see the rest…

Microsoft Surface™, the first commercially available surface computer from Microsoft Corp., turns an ordinary tabletop into a vibrant, interactive surface. The product provides effortless interaction with digital content through natural gestures, touch and physical objects. Surface is a 30-inch display in a table-like form factor that’s easy for individuals or small groups to interact with.

At a high level, Surface uses cameras to sense objects, hand gestures and touch. This user input is then processed and the result is displayed on the surface using rear projection. It is a natural user interface that allows people to interact with digital content the same way they have interacted with everyday items such as photos, paintbrushes and music their entire life: with their hands, with gestures and by putting real-world objects on the surface.

A quick demo (commercial) is seen below:

More related video’s are found here.