I think I hear four sets of hoofbeats

I was just doing a search for a breakfast restaurant and stumbled on this sublime sight. Mmm, goes well with thoughts of pancakes and Eggs Benedict.

This is just sad. Microsoft is, apparently*, renting out virtual space on its Virtual Earth server. As if the net doesn't have enough ads, now they are showing up in games (the game downloads up-to-date ads and shows them on computer screens, walls and sides of trucks inside the game) and in map searches.

*I am not speaking on behalf of Microsoft. Most of the time that I comment on the company's products, such as bashing Vista, I am speaking as a user. I'm not going to divulge any secrets or in any way use my status as an employee to talk about the company's financial doings. I don't think it would be nice to say something like "Don't use Notepad. It's a second-rate product. We actually put a virus and a few backdoors in it. Oh, and we don't wash our hands after using the bathroom." If that wasn't an example, I might have hurt Microsoft. So, not going to do that. I will, however, make plenty of references to my co-workers, the office environment, the various toys I keep in my office and the hilarity that ensues whenever a bunch of sleep-deprived geeks get together.