The Internet-connected DASH is now available for pre-order. That means all the techies are showing off their reviews and sharing pricing.

Some tidbits:

Compared to your usual, run of the mill GPS, whole connected navigator experience was not dissimilar from the jump between going from a VCR to a TiVo -- which is why we think maybe, just maybe, people might actually want to pay for service with this thing.

- engadget

The big news today is that the eagerly anticipated Dash Express is available for pre-order for $599 with three months of free two-way GPRS information and traffic service. After that, the service will cost $10 to $13 monthly on top of that. Pricey to be sure, but the newly unveiled features solidify the Dash's reputation as a turn-by-turn GPS navigator unlike anything seen before...

- Gizmodo

And although it is by no means the most expensive GPS system out there, it is indeed a device that reflects the true spirit of Web 2.0. ...I didn’t necessarily want to do a review of Dash, but it’s allowed me to point out something that is being forgotten in the mad scramble that is Web 2.0: The Internet is not just about the browser, but rather it is about data and how one can use it to build clever products. I think Dash, much like Amazon’s Kindle and RCA’s Small Wonder video camera, is part of a movement that is breaking Web 2.0’s browser shackles.

- GigaOm

Also of note - "Mark from Dash" chimes in regularly on blog comment threads to answer questions posed by readers. This is the way to support marketing and outreach being done by bloggers. That's another sign Dash gets Web 2.0.

It's called Traveler IQ Challenge and basically involves clicking on the location of a well-known or lesser known world locations and attractions. Among the chin strokers who consider its value is Jerome Dobson who notes any upsweep in interest in geography is good and quotes "writer Ambrose Bierce said around the time of World War I that 'War is God's way of teaching Americans geography.' "

Of amusement to me:

Travel IQ provides its own report card, of sorts, on geographical skills. Among those who use the game on Facebook, Tata Consultancy Services, a technology consulting firm based in India, had the lowest average Traveler IQ among workplaces, at least until the rankings were updated during the middle of this week. Mike McCabe, a spokesman for Tata Consultancy Services in the U.S., in an email called the findings "interesting" and said the company will consider them when training its staff, though he said, "Engineering skills and an overall cultural understanding of the company and its customers" are higher priorities at Tata than geography.

- Wall Street Journal

Per AdRants (a site about ads):

In Brazil, LIVE launched Google Maps with a Google map pin-shaped hot air balloon and tracked its flight on a map.

I'm not sure what "LIVE" is but the site referenced shows a video of the red teardrop shaped balloon, what it saw on its voyage and its route along a Google Map.

"Julien's method is so complete, and his players so adherent to the defensive mind-set, that opposing teams soon will have to Google "Mapquest" directions to find the Boston net."

- Kevin Paul Dupont, writing in the Boston Globe about the Boston Bruin's coach, Claude Juien, and his method of obscuring the net in a game against the Blue Jackets. The Blue Jackets for other non-hockey fans, are from Columbus, Ohio. And, no I didn't "Google Mapquest" to find that out; I just Googled.

You've likely seen the billboards from AT&T that create new place names from several existing ones. I misclicked on a site and found myself on the "do it yourself" version of that ad. I keyed in Somerville, Melrose and Chicago and was told I live in Somrosago. I chose a "motto" and viola, AT&T put together a t-shirt/mug/bag or sticker I could actually purchase for the Somrosago Diner with the slogan "no shirt, no service." I guess no shoes is ok in that geography...

This is all very cute, but what's the point of the ads? Oh, right, the AT&T network goes where you do, everywhere is home, maybe even: "geography doesn't matter."

Adweek reports: "The main objective of the campaign, however, is to build engagement with users through a fun experience, said Wendy Clark, svp of advertising at AT&T." Oh, and yes, apparently they are selling thousands of shirts...

- AT&T "Where do you live?"