Or they could have redirected Googlers to www.mercedes.com. BMW's home page in the homeland was delisted briefly for breaking Google's rules of good behavior. "Delisted" means that if you typed a BMW-related query, you weren't directed to BMW's German home page, though the punishment was symbolic, because other pages, such as bmw.com and bmwusa.com, weren't quashed. BMW's PageRank was also zeroed out.

The reason: Google believed the German BMW created so-called doorway pages, according to Google Blogoscoped . The doorway page used the word gebrauchtwagen, which means used car, some 40 times. When Google searchers typed used gebrauchtwagen as a search term, one of the highest ranking pages was www.bmw.de/gebrauchtwagen-bmw.html, which automatically redirected them to www.bmw.de (see image). This page used the term only once or twice. The spat ended quickly, and bmw.de once again pops up in Google when you type BMW terms.

This tempest in a teapot was preceded by a bigger flap over the quality of the aluminum-bodied, $130,000 BMW Z8 roadster (as driven by James Bond in "The World Is Not Enough"). Some Z8 owners say the front shock-absorber towers may warp and throw the body out of alignment. BMW says it's investigating. If this is true, somebody's got a problem: Only three body shops in the U.S. are certified to work on the Z8.

Combined IQ behind the wheel hits 100? New mom Britney Spears was photographed recently driving with her five-month-old son sitting on her lap, near her home in Malibu, California. There's an empty infant car seat in the back. Britney says the media made her do it: "I was terrified that this time the physically aggressive paparazzi would put both me and my baby in danger," she said in a prepared statement. "I instinctively took measures to get my baby and me out of harm's way, but the paparazzi continued to stalk us." The media, photo agency X17, said it was "a peaceful context," near a Starbucks where her bodyguard was fetching coffee. And she was in a big SUV at the time, a vehicle well suited for settling disputes with slow-moving photographers on foot.

Corvette owner reunited with 'Vette after 37 years. Alan Poster was 26 and living in New York when his $6,000 Corvette, just three months old, was stolen from a 23rd Street garage in New York City—just five blocks from the Technoride home office, but most of us have an ironclad alibi for January 22, 1969. The car was finally located in November, 2005, in a Long Beach, California, shipping container, bound for a buyer in Sweden. U.S. Customs was on the ball, and a routine check with the National Insurance Crime Bureau database showed that the then-blue, now-silver Corvette was stolen.

New York police spent two days going through old microfilm files, located the stolen car report, and found Poster, now 63. He doesn't have to give back any insurance money, because he couldn't afford theft insurance then. (You gotta wonder how he found six grand for the car: $32,000 in today's money). Neither seller nor buyer are in trouble with the law, because the Corvette has passed through many hands before them. Once the car gets fixed – it needs a transmission and gas tank, and the engine is different – Poster plans to give it to his daughter.

The cubed friend that we all know and love—the MobiBlu DAH-1500i player—will be released in a 2GB version. The new version will be identical to the 1GB player, but cost you an additional $30, bringing the grand total to $159.99.

PC Magazine's Audio analyst, Mike Kobrin, feels that the 2GB version could be cheaper, since Apple just announced the 1GB iPod nano for $149. He brings up an interesting argument:

This means Apple now covers most of the price points for portable players, although we've got to ask, what if you're looking to spend somewhere between $99 and $149? Does this mean a 2GB iPod shuffle is on its way soon that will both fill the price point gap and undercut the 2GB MobiBlu cube?

The 2GB MobiBlu should be available next week. More on Kobrin's thoughts here.

Do drivers want to see a photorealistic image of the road ahead on their navigation displays? Google, Volkswagen, and nVidia think so, and they're working on a mapping and navigation system that could present actual images of highways and buildings. Since 2005, Volkswagen of America's Electronic Research Lab in Palo Alto, California, has been developing prototype vehicles with just those systems. So far, though, there's no projected date for the concept to become reality in production vehicles.

In-car navigation has been available for more than a decade. The first system used CD-based overhead views that could be rotated to follow the direction of travel (instead of North always being up). Essentially, these are electronic road maps and show icons for gas stations, ATMs, and diners.

More recently, in-car nav has evolved to DVD based systems with birds-eye-view maps, meaning nearby roads are big, and roads farther away recede into the background. Now some map databases show the outlines of major buildings in big cities. Many drivers take a day or two to grow accustomed to the different perspective and then stick with the birds-eye-view maps.

The partnership of Google, VW, and nVidia proposes a concept that will jump ahead of existing systems on two fronts: it will offer actual images showing terrain, roads, buildings and foliage, and provide real-time information on services; for example, gas stations that are open currently, not just 18 months ago when the car's DVD disc was manufactured. By seeing the roadway in the context of nearby buildings and landmarks, drivers will have a better sense of where they are and whether they're on course.

Other nav-system vendors are working on the timeliness issue too, with hard disks that replace or supplement the map DVDs. Updates would arrive either wirelessly (via satellite downloads or cellular data), by WiFi to the car when it's parked at home, or (the least likely method, because it would require user intervention) removing the hard disk and docking it to a USB-connected PC.

A prototype of the Google-VW technology at the 2006 Consumer Electronics Show in January gave attendees a taste for what may be possible in a couple years. Using cellular wireless such as EVDO or other high-speed wireless (WiMax is a possibility), the system calls on Google online maps, Google Search, and Google Earth capabilities. The route, other key roads, and POIs (points of interest) are overlaid on the images. Since there's a wireless link to the Internet, the driver could check on gasoline prices or determine if a restaurant is still open.

But photorealistic views may not always be better in a moving vehicle. Some drivers might find it a challenge to orient themselves quickly with the image, even when it's facing in the direction they're traveling. For one thing, the images are shot from overhead. Also, images shot in winter, for example, may not resemble those shot in spring (less of a problem in urban areas where skyscrapers look the same all year).

Also, the images may provide more detail than drivers need at a glance. (A similar debate rages over which night vision technology is better: the Mercedes/Automotive Lighting active infrared system, which provides exceptional detail that's as good as black-and-white TV but at less distance and possibly with distracting extra elements, versus the Delphia/GM and now BMW/Siemens VDO passive IR systems, which show just hotspots such as people, cars, and animals but have twice the range.) Realistic images are not generally considered to be well suited for the head-up displays that appear to float just above the end of the car hood. With current nav systems, an HUD usually displays iconic arrows, not a road map.

The quality of data – of gasoline prices, for instance – will depend less on Google, VW, and nVidia than on the data providers. Currently you can check gasoline prices online or via wireless PDA, but drivers often find that the data covers only a fraction of stations in the area, and prices may not be the most current. So the most fascinating technology Google brings to the car may be the ability to see exactly what the road ahead looks like before you drive it, especially in urban areas.

Tony Alleyne transformed a failed relationship and over $170,000 of credit card debt into a replica of a starship (Enterprise, Voyager, take your pick) from the Star Trek: The Next Generation universe.  I must give props to him for a visually stunning transformation of a Hinckley (UK) flat, but i also must point out that he's recently declared bankruptcy becuase of the credit card debt.  Alleyne still seems to be showcasing his starship (and related startup interior design business) on his website (warning! heavy use of Flash), but check it out fast, since I'm sure once he's slashdotted, his bandwidth usage will tap out whatever funds he has left. 

The before/after pictures are particularly notable, and the pictures make the flat look more authentic than the offical Star Trek installation out in Vegas (warning! heavy use of Flash), but damn me if it doesn't look like an uber-trendy Soho bar in his kitchen. 

[Thanks to Gizmodo for keeping hailing frequencies open.]

I'm addicted to playing Sudoku. I have yet to buy the Sudoku Electronic Handheld Device, as I'm still trying to get through my book, "Sudoku for your Coffee Break" ($6.95) of 100 puzzles. I wish I owned a Game Boy Advance though, to play Global Star's Sudoku Fever.

The GBA game is said to include an infinite number of puzzles with Sudoku Classic, Eight, Mini, and Junior Puzzles; a Sudoku Solver for when you just want to give up; and the option to switch from numbers to letters to challenge yourself even more. The coolest thing about the game is the fact that it comes with 4 playable grid sizes: 9X9, 8X8, 6X6, and 4X4.

Pre-order Sudoku Fever for $19.99.

[Found via Kotaku]

It looks like a bullet and could get you into trouble at airport security, but the Turbo Charge ($19.95 direct) is actually a little portable charger for your cell phone or PDA. (Before you link over to the company site, be warned, there is cheesy audio on the page.) Just connect the bullet to one of the included tiny cell phone adapters and you can recharge you phone on the go. And unlike many of portable chargers, the Turbo Charge uses standard AA batteries.

If you are really worried about running out of juice this is great gadget to slip into your glove compartment or briefcase. I am not so addicted to my phone that the Turbo Charger to really appeals to me personally. My eleven year-old son on the other hand.....