This is awesome! Google App Inventor for Android will make any kid with a computer into an Android developer

This story is all over the news today (here's a link to the New York Times take on it) but I can't get over how great an idea this is. Google is releasing a software development framework that makes it drop-dead easy to build and publish simple Android apps.

My kids are only 3 and 5, but I'm already thinking of ways to expose them to software development as a fun activity (e.g., Lego Mindstorms, etc.), and I love the idea of a free toolkit that will let them create simple apps for my phone.

I'm already on record as an Android fanboy so this will come as no surprise, but I fully expect Google's mobile OS to become the global standard for mobile devices within the next few years (with a dominant position in the developing world). The education market has been an Apple stronghold for decades, but Google's moves here and elsewhere will give Google's brand a familiar and positive aura among schoolkids worldwide. Nice move, Google.

Google Open Spot for Android: If I still lived in SF I'd be all over this app!

  Android apps at AppStoreHQ

Just spotted on Hacker News: Google Labs has just released an Android app + game called Open Spot that shows a map of open parking spots (as reported by drivers). Their description says it all:

Open Spot works by letting people who are leaving parking spots share their spots with people who are searching for parking.

Start helping others find parking, and together we'll all save time, save gas, and reduce pollution. Like to keep score? The more open spots you mark, the more parking 'karma points' you'll get.

I don't have to fight for parking all that often in Seattle, but if I still lived in San Francisco I'd have this app on my start screen for sure. Nice work, guys....