Sometimes you come back from the weekend already feeling behind. Here are a few of the latest tech stories to help you get back up to speed:

Microsoft Office 2010 gets the buzz award of the day. The new version of the mammoth computer applicaiton suite, which will be released to a select group today,  is expected to challenge Web-based applications, like Google Docs, which have been gaining popularity. From TechCrunch:

As a direct challenge to Google Apps, Microsoft is rolling out lightweight, FREE, Web-browser versions of Word, PowerPoint, Excel and OneNote. All based in the cloud, the web-based versions of these products have less features than their desktop cousins but still give users basic tools to edit and change documents.

More on what Office 2010 means in the big scheme of things from CNET:

According to Microsoft, the focus of this update was on three things: to make work flows more efficient; to effectively use Web applications to make your work available anywhere; and to make collaboration with others much easier.

Mashable has a good post on location-based phone services. A new survey says the number of people using location-based services will double to 5.7 million this year. The rise in GPS-enabled smartphones - those that know where you are and act like mini-computers - accounts for much of the increase.

Some cool ways to use these services, from the blog:

Apps are responding in kind. Zhiing is a new mobile app for sending friends your location as quickly as possible, Yowza sends you coupons based on what stores are nearby, and Google Latitude helps map out where you and all of your friends are. This type of information helps get the most relevant information to you as quickly as possible. Weather forecasts, nearby friends, and local train schedules are automatic.

For the parents among us, BusinessWeek has an interesting story on the federal government's slashing of a program to put more technology in schools. Check out the story for the details of the impact, but the core of the story is in this factoid:

The Obama Administration in May proposed slashing funding for Enhancing Education Through Technology (EETT), one of the main government sources of technology for public schools, to $100 million in 2010, a 63% decline from this year's $269 million.

Finally, for those looking to purchase some of the many new gadgets out there - especially the iPhone 3G S - take note of this Ars Technica post, which says bricks instead of phones are turning up in some retail boxes. But don't blame the Apple store, the site says:

The general consensus, however, is that customers themselves are responsible for the large majority of these cases. People purchase an expensive item, take it home, replace it with bricks, and sometimes even shrinkwrap the box for a return. Many retail stores won't check a box that looks like it was never opened in the first place, making this an easy switch to pull.

For President Obama's 100th day in office, the White House rolled out a stream of photos on Flickr, the photo-sharing site.

My personal favorite is the one at right, which shows the president and first lady watching the Super Bowl in 3D glasses. Thanks to a co-worker at iReport for passing that along.

As Wonkette notes, Obama used a Flickr account during his campaign, but his photographer hadn't posted any photos of his time in the White House until today. (check out CNN's special coverage of Obama's first 100 days).

Such fun, back in the day, when you could look at “Barack Obama’s Photostream” on the Flickr. But then, he became President, and suddenly no more fun pictures. Well, rejoice! White House photographer Pete Souza uploaded a whole bunch of great White House Official Pix, and you can look at them, because you OWN them (if you paid taxes).

The stream seems to reinforce the message that Obama is hip to social media. Instead of pushing out photos and information only through official sites - like WhiteHouse.gov - the administration has become known for using social media like Twitter and Facebook to get its message across.

I find it interesting that celebrities and politicians seem to use these mediums to get closer to their fans and constituents. Never before could so many people talk so directly with famous people as they can now online. The Flickr photos also are a technological follow-up to Obama's national address where he took Internet questions and streamed the answers online in video format.

As a counterpoint, the UK's Telegraph writes about how today's milestone is merely another opportunity for the American media to gush about the president:

... the American media have already put Mr Obama on a pedestal. The sometimes cranky Washington Post columnist David Broder described the president's 100 day sprint as "a bravura opening". For Time Magazine (where Mr Obama is once again on the cover) the columnist Joe Klein described Mr Obama's legislative achievements to date as "stupendous" – listing the $789 billion stimulus bill, a budget plan that is still being hammered out and progress on a landmark safety-net programme aimed at providing universal health insurance.

What do you think? Which photos are your favorites? Do you find politicians on social media to be genuine? Is it more than a PR stunt? Feel free to weigh in on this post with comments.

Here are a few stories CNN.com is watching today:

INDIA: By now, you've probably heard of the One Laptop Per Child project (background from CNN), which seeks to lift poverty and spread peace by giving kids in developing countries inexpensive laptops. Ars Technica, the tech blog, writes about an interesting development in that effort: India has decided to jump on board after it opposed the program. The country also has stopped trying to create a $10 laptop after that turned out not to be possible, the site reports:

OLPC launched a pilot program in India in 2007 with 20 XO laptops at a school in Khairat-Dhangarwada village in the state of Maharashtra. Although the pilot program was successful, the country's Ministry of Human Resource Development (MHRD) was highly skeptical about OLPC, and expressed concerns about the health implications of prolonged laptop use among students.

The MHRD later reversed its views about the health implications of youth computing and launched its own dubious program to build a competing $10 laptop. Unsurprisingly, the $10 laptop never materialized. When the country finally unveiled its highly ambiguous plans for its $10 "Sakshat" computing initiative earlier this year, it was revealed that the device would not be a laptop and would cost significantly more than $10 to produce.

OBAMA: President Obama wants us to be creative, NYTimes staffer Andrew Revkin writes on his blog DotEarth. The president made the remark in front of a group of scientists, saying also that the scientific community needs to get out in the public. The remarks seem to go right along with Obama's apparent philosophy that innovation will help the U.S. address many of its problems. More from the post:

In the address, he called for scientists to move out of the laboratory into society, essentially becoming emissaries in what he said must be a national movement to inspire and enable young people “to be makers of things, not just consumers of things.”

CREATIVITY: CBSNews.com has a blog post saying the economic recession has put Obama's technology agenda on hold. Here are some of the projects and appointments that have been delayed, according to the post:

Some of the most important pieces of the president's technology policy are only beginning to unfold. Less than two weeks ago, Obama appointed Virginia's secretary of technology, Aneesh Chopra, to be his chief technology officer. Chopra is responsible for formulating an open government directive within the next 20 days and will work closely with Obama's chief information officer, Vivek Kundra.

Obama's pick to chair the Federal Communications Commission, Julius Genachowski, has yet to be confirmed, but he is expected to push for more Net neutrality regulation.

All three appointments, Scott said, "reflect a strong commitment to a new kind of technology policy, (and) a commitment to making technology work for the government."

What's on your mind today? Any technology or science stories catching your attention? Feel free to weigh in with a comment.