Nothing like an arms race to bring back those Cold War memories, when the Red Dawn seemed eminent even if we had the Iron Eagle, rock music blaring through his Walkman, to protect us. Nowadays it’s Google Earth, not Hollywood and Reagan, scaring everybody to death.

Google has launched Google Earth Outreach, a program focused on helping nonprofit organizations promote and illustrate the work they do.

If there’s any one “type” of person you can count on to be practical, it’s a military man (or woman).  And while Lt. Gen. David A. Deptula of the U.S. Air Force has admitted that some mapping software has created “huge” security problems, he also acknowledged that there’s not much anyone can do about it.

Some time ago, Google announced that it would install a number of solar panels on the much-discussed Googleplex.  Those panels are now in place, on, and, according to the company, generating “an electricity output capable of powering approximately 1,000 average California homes.”

Microsoft Corp. and Intermap Technologies have launched Microsoft’s enhanced Virtual Earth 3-D viewing platform with elevation information for all of Great Britain.

New York politicians appear to be at odds over just how dangerous Google Earth might be; Assemblyman Mike Gianaris is asking Google to blur out images of “sensitive” sites, while Mayor Michael Bloomberg feels such efforts may not be the best use of time.  

Google Earth recently incorporated some images of the seabed around Britain, and the few people who heard about this tended to shrug in response.  The introduction of Street View, on the other hand, may have generated a little too much excitement.  The latest Google Earth release – detailed images of western America – may hit a happy medium.

The good news is that the would-be terrorists targeting JFK airport weren’t all that bright. The bad news is that they’re smart enough to get their mapping information from Google Earth.

Privacy issues with Google’s new Street View may be grabbing headlines, but Google Earth has gone for some truly wet and wild stuff: a hydrographic survey of the seabed surrounding Great Britain.

Google Earth has always been about visuals – interesting sights, but pretty much no sounds.  That recently changed with the introduction of a new layer from Wild Sanctuary.  The layer features “the sounds of nature” recorded at all sorts of places and times of day and night.

Panoramio has worked hand in hand with Google for a long time, but, on Wednesday evening, the relationship became more of a hand within hand sort of thing as Google acquired the company.

The director of a U.S. intelligence agency has cautioned that the government may have to censor satellite images that could be a potential security threat to the country and its armed forces.

The warning came from Vice Admiral Robert Murret, director of the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency, which provides security information using satellite imagery.

In an interview with the AP he said," If there was a situation where any imagery products were being used by adversaries to kill Americans, I think we should act."

Over at the MSDN blogs Virtual Earth program manager Andy McGovern has come up with the following update: "we’ve been busy poking around the Virtual Earth forums and blogs, listening to corporate customers and mashuppers alike, and coming up with a list of the top features and fixes that would make the best mapping API even better—better for end users, but mainly better for you, the developer. We think you’ll like what we’ve come up with." The following are just some of the new features:

- import polylines and polygons using GeoRSS feeds.

Architecture is one of those subjects that appeals, on some level, to just about everybody; from your basic suburban house to St. Basil’s Cathedral, it’s just too entwined in our lives to go unnoticed.  Now architecture is being noticed by Google Earth – The American Institute of Architects (AIA) has helped design two new 3D layers for the software.

The sun is setting, you’re surrounded by trees, and you just heard a noise that sounded like Jabba the Hut’s rancor monster.  Never fear – Google and Trimble will get you home.  Thanks to a new GPS content layer, they’ll also get you “a wide variety of multimedia data on fitness and outdoor adventures, including routes, points of interest, pictures, video and audio.”

Google is planning on hosting a Google Developer Day on May 31, which will take place in ten countries around the globe. The event will include workshops, keynotes and discussions on Google’s APIs (application programming interfaces) and developer tools.

"We’re very excited to hold this first-ever worldwide Google developer gathering," said Google Vice President of Search Products and User Experience Marissa Mayer.

First, thanks Leon Atkinson for the compliment: “Scoble’s links are as good as the links that come out of Digg.”