Maybe now we can see why Yahoo wanted to buy location-based check-in service Foursquare last April – it’s sinking its teeth deeper into the geolocation arena. The search engine and content aggregator announced this morning the release of Yahoo PlaceFinder , an expansion of their mapping and location capabilities that take aim in the direction of check-in services like Foursquare and Gowalla and other location features like Twitter Places. While Yahoo may have been a little late to the social game, it seems determined to not fall behind in the next big thing – mobile social. Sponsor Yahoo PlaceFinder replaces the Yahoo Maps Geocoding API , which simply provided a longitude and latitude given an address. Whereas the geocoding API supported only such basic characteristics (nine in total) as you might see on the front of a letter, Yahoo PlaceFinder will add 23 new fields, including things like time zone, area code and neighborhood. In addition to these more standard fields, PlaceFinder will also support the “Where On Earth ID” that is already supported by other Yahoo APIs, such as Flickr and Weather. The most telling addition, however, might be that of reverse geocoding , wherein providing a longitude and latitude coordinate (such as might be provided using a GPS-enabled mobile device) returns the nearest physical address. Taking GPS coordinates and being able to cross-reference them with the addresses of businesses around you can be a rather handy capability for any mapping service, of course. Beyond its attempts at buying Foursquare, Yahoo did make an entry into the LBS arena with last month’s acquisition of Indonesian LBS Koprol . In all, PlaceFinder “supports building-level address recognition in over 75 countries, and points of interest, airports, cities and other place names (including administrative areas) for these countries and the rest of the world,” according to the company’s release. PlaceFinder looks to be the counterpart of another beta Yahoo API, Placemaker , which “helps developers make their applications location-aware by identifying places”. Discuss

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For many years, unified chat clients like Digsby or Adium have provided users with a single app with which to manage several chat protocols at once. Whether your friends are on AIM , Yahoo Messenger , ICQ , or Facebook Chat , chances are there’s an app that will aggregate your various buddy lists into one tidy window. Skype , however, has remained on its own outside of these clients, but thanks to the forthcoming SkypeKit SDK , the popular voice and video chat app will soon be integrated into other applications. Sponsor This morning, Skype announced a beta program for use of its brand new SkypeKit SDK which will allow developers and manufacturers to incorporate Skype into both desktop applications and consumer electronics devices. The SDK will be initially invite only, launching on Linux for devices tomorrow, and on Mac and Windows for desktop apps in a few weeks. “Think of SkypeKit as a ‘headless’ version of Skype – that is, a Skype client with no user interface that runs invisibly, not only on PCs, but also TVs, notebooks, and other connected devices.” – Skype Previously, Skype’s API allowed accessories like headsets and webcams to communicate better with Skype, but those applications required Skype to run in the background. With this new SDK, apps can be built that run independently of Skype, much like the popular multi-platform chat clients available today. “Think of SkypeKit as a ‘headless’ version of Skype – that is, a Skype client with no user interface that runs invisibly, not only on PCs, but also TVs, notebooks, and other connected devices,” the company said in a blog Tuesday morning. “Developers communicate with SkypeKit through the SkypeKit API, surfacing Skype calls through their own applications.” What About Mobile? What About the Web? The new SDK is only open for desktop app development and for integration by consumer hardware manufacturers. Skype says they are aware of demand for an SDK for Web developers, but has “nothing to announce at this time.” As far as mobile goes, smartphone users can already download official Skype apps, but mobile chat clients may be left out of the development fun until the SDK is expanded. It seems likely that Skype will make its SDK available on Web and mobile platforms eventually, since the company’s idea is “that every connected device can become a communications device, with the addition of SkypeKit.” For now, desktop developers and hardware manufacturers have the chance to create some interesting Skype integrations with the new SDK. Discuss

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Google Earth’s iPhone application has just been updated with iPad support, allowing you to now touch and swipe your way through the high-resolution satellite and aerial imagery available in the desktop version of Google Earth and its prior mobile counterparts. The end result is an application that’s well worth the download, especially considering the price is free. Playing around with the new application, it’s almost as if Google Earth was originally designed for the iPad, but had to limit itself to desktop computers and tiny mobile screens until now. Yes, it’s just that good. Sponsor There aren’t many new features in this update (version 3.0) which now bundles in iPad support with the Apple mobile application, a 12 MB download. In fact, the only added feature listed on the iTunes page is a road layer for iPad and iPhone 3GS. But for some reason, this native iPad app recaptures the feeling of amazement and wonder which I honestly haven’t felt since the app’s launch, way back in 2005. (How soon we become jaded.) Falling in Love with Google Earth Again At the time, I worked in I.T. for a small business and was surprised to find some users at the branch locations had managed to install the Google Earth application on the locked-down kiosk-style computers out on the showroom floor. (Google Earth was sneaky and installed itself to user profiles, even though users had no permission to install applications themselves. A tricky workaround on Google’s part.) Although I was inevitably tasked with removing the app from the public computers, I couldn’t help but spend a few minutes in awe as the entire staff gathered around the screen to search for this person’s house, that person’s hometown and so on. It was, in a word, fascinating. And who could blame them? This was incredible technology. It almost saddened me to take it away from them, knowing that for some of these people, the work computer was their only outlet for reaching the Web and the applications it held. But unfortunately that’s how things went in the world of ‘05 I.T. Computers were tools, not toys. And definitely not the hybrid work/life devices of today. At home, though, Google Earth was a joy. For awhile, that is…until eventually, over time, those early feelings of excitement for globe-spinning geolocation application wore off and Google Earth was just Google Earth, the clunky desktop app which sat lonely and un-launched until it was eventually uninstalled. A few years later, it came to the iPhone , and we easily dubbed it a “winner” in our review. Yet it was nothing like this . Google Earth was made for the iPad, it just didn’t exist until now. We never knew what we were missing. You can download Google Earth for iPad yourself here . Discuss

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Twitter has added location to their microblogging service, according to an announcement today on the company’s blog . “Starting today, you can tag Tweets with specific places, including all World Cup stadiums in South Africa, and create new Twitter Places. You can also click a Twitter Place within a Tweet to see recent Tweets from a particular location.” Sponsor Twitter has “data partnerships” with TomTom and Localeze in order to make Twitter Locations work. Over the coming week, it is rolling Locations out to 65 countries. It is also working to add Twitter Places to Twitter for iPhone, Android, and Blackberry. Other features of Twitter Locations include the following. Foursquare and Gowalla integration . If you click on a Twitter Place, you will see standard Tweets and check-ins from Foursquare and Gowalla API . API functionality that lets developers integrate Twitter Places into their applications. Support for more browsers . Add location to your Tweets from any browser–Safari and Internet Explorer, in addition to Chrome or Firefox Discuss

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Today Rackspace announced that it plans to bring both public cloud services and VMWare-based private cloud to the U.K. by the end of 2010. Rackspace isn’t shy about its model and expertise. The company has refined the hosting experience into an energetic art form. It even has a name for that passion: “fanatical support.” It’s this focus on customers that is partially behind the two-pronged approach in the U.K. In all likelihood, Rackspace would probably prefer the Xen powered public cloud infrastructure by itself, but the company needs to support VMware in order to reach those customers that it also hosts. Sponsor Pat Matthews, VP and GM for cloud at Rackspace told us that there’s an evolving conversation happening with companies that host infrastructure and their move to cloud solutions. He says there’s a growing need to connect cloud infrastructure to hosted infrastructure – and that some of Rackspace’s customers are becoming the first customers of the new venture. The VMware solution is designed to support hybrid hosting solutions that combine the best features of cloud computing and managed hosting. It’s expected that VMware’s vCloud will help Rackspace enter into the market with enterprise-optimized cloud services that meet existing private cloud or virtualization deployments. Rackspace’s public cloud services use the Xen hypervisor. The company seems proud of the work it has done to leverage Xen in providing a powerful and cost-effective cloud infrastructure that is offered as a full suite of APIs. Rackspace is letting customers automate provisioning (and de-provisioning) cloud resources into their applications, for example as a practical tool optimized for customers. Launching Cloud in UK Market Rackspace plans to launch the offering in the U.K. at the end of the year. The company’s existing cloud infrastructure grew last year by 125% and it’s that pattern of current hosting partners becoming cloud customers that was a key reason in it investing in the U.K. Discuss

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