The world turns

Google Launches Free 411 Service:

Google threw a new product called Goog-411 into Google Labs today - a free telephone based information service that could replace toll 411 calls. About 2.6 billion 411 calls are made in the U.S. each year, and it is a $7 billion/year market.

Of course 411 used to be free back in the days when it was called, prosaically, information, and obtained by simply saying “information, please” to the operator.

(“Information Please” was also the name of a hugely popular radio quiz show in the 1940's.)