Today, in Tech Monitor: Dilbert on the iPhone scandal, how Europe took to the air after the ash cloud cleared and what hypnotizing chickens has to do with the US military and PowerPoint.

• In Germany, officials were "horrified" to discover that Google's Street View cars map the location of wi-fi hotspots, as well as collecting information and pictures of roads and streets. The Register reports that the UK's Information Commissioner's Office is now also interested in finding out what Google does with the data:



A spokeswoman told The Register the ICO had been unaware the Street View fleet has been recording the MAC addresses and locations of Wi-Fi networks as they photograph national road networks - until its German counterpart launched an attack last week."

• Google has also decided to try to fend off any more criticism by publishing a FAQ on what it does and doesn't collect.



"We collect the following information--photos, local WiFi network data and 3-D building imagery. This information enables us to build new services, and improve existing ones."

• The firm and its maps are also in the news because of a new feature. Google has added its 3D map application Google Earth to its web-based maps. Mike Melanson at ReadWriteWeb is pleased:



So rarely do I install an actual application on my computer these days, when I run across a download dialog I have to consider whether or not I'll actually open the program or if it will just clutter up my desktop and start menu. Such is the reason, silly as it may be, I have yet to install Google Earth onto my netbook. As of yesterday, my Google Earth-less days are over, as Google has released its all-encompassing 3D view of the earth as a browser plugin, making sure I never have to stray far from my workaday path to peruse Peru or browse Belize."

• The New York Times has a piece about the US military command and its fondness for Powerpoint, Microsoft's presentation tool. The piece kicks off with a slide that was shown off by the leader of American and Nato forces in Afghanistan "that was meant to portray the complexity of American military strategy, but looked more like a bowl of spaghetti".



The slide has since bounced around the internet as an example of a military tool that has spun out of control."

The story also introduces readers to the intriguing, if bizarre, phrase "hypnotizing chickens". Supposedly, this describes a US military news conference that "lasts 25 minutes, with five minutes left at the end for questions from anyone still awake."

• Currently, Apple stocks are at an all-time high. Software engineer Kyle Conroy has calculated how much money people would have today if they had purchased stock instead of an Apple product. Top of the table is the Apple PowerBook G3 250. If you had used your $5,700 to buy stocks back in 1997 instead of a computer, you would have $330,563 today. If you're an Apple-owner, check your cupboards now... and perhaps be prepared to weep.

• Europe is still finding its feet after the eruption and subsequent ash cloud from the Eyjafjallajokull volcano in Iceland. ITO has created a beautiful visualisation of the northern European airspace as it returned to use.

• And finally, the story occupying much of the tech press at the moment is the police seizure of computers belonging to Jason Chen, the editor of Gizmodo, which recently bought an iPhone prototype that a Apple employee had left in a California bar. Amid the analysis and speculation, Scott Adams, the man behind the Dilbert cartoon strip, offers his take on the story.

Links in full

• Chris Williams | The Register | UK data watchdog to quiz Google on Streetview Wi-Fi database

• Peter Fleischer | Google European Public Policy blog | Data collected by Google cars

• Mike Melanson | ReadWriteWeb | Google Earth Gets in Maps: Browser-Based & Embeddable

• Elisabeth Bumiller | The New York Times | We Have Met the Enemy and He Is PowerPoint

• Kyle Conroy | Kyle Conroy's blog | What if I had bought Apple stock instead?

• Scott Adams | Dilbert.com | That Lost 4G Phone