In the category of "you gotta watch this," here's a video posted by Danny Sullivan on the SEW blog showing a PhD candidate at the University of Calgary who turned Google Earth into a voice and touch-screen operated tool on a table top. Here's the site from the PhD candidate, Edward Tse, offering more information on his research and the technology.
Consider the voice control aspects of this and the potential, outdoor implications too. Danny characterizes it as "Minority Report like." While it does have a sci-fi dimension, imagine some of the practical uses and applications of the capabilities demo'd in the video.
