Googland |
- [G] Google Summer of Code Meetups in Sofia and Strasbourg
- [G] SES New York Is Next Week!
- [G] Let the Sunshine in
- [G] Let the Sunshine in
- [G] This green and pleasant land...
- [G] Update on planning your wedding with Google Docs
- [G] System Maintenance Scheduled for Saturday, March 20th
- [G] Making it easier to browse places in Google Earth
- [G] Meet skipfish, our automated web security scanner
| [G] Google Summer of Code Meetups in Sofia and Strasbourg Posted: 19 Mar 2010 06:52 PM PDT Google Open Source Blog: Google Summer of Code Meetups in Sofia and StrasbourgBack at the end of January, when Google first announced that Google Summer of CodeTM was on for 2010, I happened to read the mail in the company of a group of Computer Science M.Sc. students. I quickly shared the news with them but rather than cheers of enthusiasm I was surprised that all I got in return were puzzled stares. It turned out that most of the students there hadn't heard of the program before and those that had, didn't really know what it was all about.I have always thought that Computer Science students were particularly lucky to be able to participate in Open Source. Most of the time newly graduated students would have a hard time finding a decent job because of their lack of experience, which makes experience itself hard to accumulate. Open Source offers an easy way out of this: no project is going to refuse a patch simply because you don't have the necessary entries in your CV. Of course, many would say, that getting into an Open Source project is not really that easy since the learning curve in most of the popular projects is often quite steep and could prove discouraging. This is exactly why Google Summer of Code is a unique program. A hundred and fifty of the world's greatest FOSS projects get organized by proposing ideas that students know are within their reach. They also allocate mentors to guide the work of the students, and their whole communities follow and comment on the projects ... And all this happens while students are actually paid for their work! So getting the puzzled stares from CS students after mentioning the program was like looking at people who were preparing to spend a cold night in front of a warm house, because they didn't know there was a key under the doormat. After sharing this thought with a few other people that had been mentoring for SIP Communicator, we decided we definitely needed to make sure everyone knew what Google Summer of Code is and, more importantly, how it works. We therefore decided to organize a couple of quick information sessions in universities that our mentors were somehow related to: the University of Strasbourg, France (which was eventually split in two), and the Sofia University in Bulgaria. We were particularly lucky to also get the help of Shteryana Shopova from FreeBSD who agreed to join in for the Sofia session and tell us about her experience as both a student and a mentor. Both universities were particularly helpful in making room reservations and advertising the meetings to the potentially interested students. I would also like to thank Vladimir Vassilev, Alexander Todorov, and Julien Montavont for their help with the organization! Both sessions went quite well and attracted a decent number of students. Questions were mostly related to the student selection process, whether or not one could participate with a project of their own, where does the work happen, and how does one communicate with their mentor and community. I guess this is one of the advantages of attending live sessions: one gets to ask as many Frequently Asked Questions as they want ;) The Strasbourg Sessions We held two meetings there in order to make it easier for students from different campuses to attend. On both of the sessions we had Vincent Lucas, Romain Kuntz, Julien Montavont and myself (Emil Ivov), all mentors from SIP Communicator's Google Summer of Code participation in 2007, 2008, and 2009. (Unfortunately, we currently only have photos from the first meeting.)    The Sofia Sessions We already mentioned Shteryana Shopova from FreeBSD (GSoC student in 2005 and 2006, and mentor in 2007). We also had Damian Minkov from SIP Communicator (2007, 2008, and 2009), as well as Vladimir Vassilev and Alexander Todorov.     By Emil Ivov, SIP Communicator Project  URL: http://google-opensource.blogspot.com/2010/03/google-summer-of-code-meetups-in-sofia.html      |
| [G] SES New York Is Next Week! Posted: 19 Mar 2010 04:33 PM PDT Google Analytics Blog: SES New York Is Next Week!The Search Engine Strategies conference is next week in New York, and googlers from search, AdWords, AdSense, YouTube, Google Analytics and Website Optimizer will be there in force. We'll have a large booth where we'll be demoing the coolest new features from any and all of our products. Come by and say hello, and also be sure to attend some of the Google sessions.Of special note, 4:45pm on Tuesday where Sissie Hsiao, a senior product manager on Google Analytics and AdWords, will be launching something really cool at the "Getting the Most Out of AdWords Features & Tools" session. We can't say any more, but we think you'll like it. I'll also be talking at the same time at the "Deep Dive Into Analytics: When Bounce Rate No Longer Floats Your Boat". Choose one of them and you can't miss. Also - a must-see is the keynote on Day 2, given by our very own Avinash Kaushik. Here's the blurb about his keynote: Be Awesome: Ideas for Approaching Search Analytics Differently Register here and use the code 20GOOG for a 10% discount. Posted by Jeff Gillis, Google Analytics Team  URL: http://analytics.blogspot.com/2010/03/ses-new-york-is-next-week.html     |
| Posted: 19 Mar 2010 03:22 PM PDT Google Public Policy Blog: Let the Sunshine inPosted by Ginny Hunt, Head, Public Sector LabPublic=Online is the the rallying cry during this year's Sunshine Week, an annual event to highlight the importance of open government and the freedom of information. The week is sponsored by the American Society of News Editors, and many editorial boards have echoed the thoughts of the Cleveland Plain Dealer: "...government information ought to be made available to the public as quickly as possible, with a minimum of rigmarole and in the easiest, most accessible way possible--which these days means via the Internet."We agree--and what better way to celebrate Sunshine Week than with leading thinkers on government, media and citizen engagement on all sides of the political spectrum who feel the same? Yesterday at our Google D.C. office, the Sunlight Foundation announced its Public=Online campaign. It's exciting to see growing support for transparency and to see the progress that's been made in the last year alone. Every day, through sites like Data.gov and projects like Open Congress, OMB Watch and our Public Data Explorer, more data is available online. But there's still a gap between having access to government data and easily understanding what it means. To help fill this gap, Google has partnered with the Sunlight Foundation in its Design for America contest to make government data more comprehensible to the public.   URL: http://googlepublicpolicy.blogspot.com/2010/03/let-sunshine-in.html     |
| Posted: 19 Mar 2010 03:22 PM PDT Official Google Blog: Let the Sunshine inCross-posted on the Google Public Policy Blog.Public=Online is the the rallying cry during this year's Sunshine Week, an annual event to highlight the importance of open government and the freedom of information. The week is sponsored by the American Society of News Editors, and many editorial boards have echoed the thoughts of the Cleveland Plain Dealer: "...government information ought to be made available to the public as quickly as possible, with a minimum of rigmarole and in the easiest, most accessible way possible--which these days means via the Internet."We agree--and what better way to celebrate Sunshine Week than with leading thinkers on government, media and citizen engagement on all sides of the political spectrum who feel the same? Yesterday at our Google D.C. office, the Sunlight Foundation announced its Public=Online campaign. It's exciting to see growing support for transparency and to see the progress that's been made in the last year alone. Every day, through sites like Data.gov and projects like Open Congress, OMB Watch and our Public Data Explorer, more data is available online. But there's still a gap between having access to government data and easily understanding what it means. To help fill this gap, Google has partnered with the Sunlight Foundation in its Design for America contest to make government data more comprehensible to the public. Posted by Ginny Hunt, Head of Google Public Sector Lab  URL: http://googleblog.blogspot.com/2010/03/let-sunshine-in.html     |
| [G] This green and pleasant land... Posted: 19 Mar 2010 03:22 PM PDT Google LatLong: This green and pleasant land...Last week, we announced several new locations added to Street View, along with existing areas updated. One area updated significantly was the United Kingdom. World renowned for its history, rolling green hills and quaint picturesque villages, the UK (although not abundant with dramatic mountainous scenery one see may elsewhere), there are nonetheless many different sights to see. As a UK citizen, I thoroughly enjoyed exploring my home country and want to share with you some places outside the usual tourist belt... and of course some quirky scenes too! Firstly, going all the way back to the year AD 122, Hadrian's wall is a UNESCO World Heritage Site built by the Roman empire. Parts of the wall are still intact, and each year thousands of people flock to walk sections of the route. Now, you can too without having to worry about getting wet (the UK is famous for its rain for a reason, after all): View Larger Map Synonymous with many great examples of English literature, particularly poetry, the Lake District is a showcase of English countryside. Green pastures rise high to form beautifully sculptured valleys with lakes nestling in between. It's easy to see how poets such as William Wordsworth felt inspired when surrounded by scenes like this: View Larger Map One form of building construction I am particularly fond of, used in many parts of the UK, is 'thatching'. Using different grasses, primarily straw, these roofs create very attractive buildings and often form the basis of the 'picture postcard' views in areas such as in the Cotswolds. This view below from the Isle of Wight is a classic example of thatching in use to make this quaint English villages scene. View Larger Map In 2008, the city of Liverpool was joint holder of the European Capital of Culture. Well known as the birth place of the Beatles, Liverpool is currently undergoing significant regeneration. Outside China, Liverpool is home to one of the largest and oldest Chinese communities, and this image below shows the entrance to Chinatown: View Larger Map Belfast, the capital city of Northern Ireland has a long and fascinating history. In recent years, the city has enjoyed much growth and continues to be a popular tourist destination. If it's not up next on your own travel agenda, you can tour through Street View. I suggest visiting Belfast City Hall -- built over a century ago, the hall now stands out as an excellent example of Baroque revival architecture. View Larger Map One of the most distinguished cities in the UK and known for its very distinctive architecture, Bath was added to the list of World Heritage Sites in the late 1980s. Established as a spa town by the Romans, Bath is visited each year by millions of people eager to capture the image of rows of houses built from the aptly named Bath Stone: View Larger Map Along with these historic and picturesque settings that you'd probably expect from the UK, there are also plenty of amusing things to find through Street View. If you're a fan of long, funny words (like I happen to be), you must visit Llanfairpwllgwyngyllgogerychwyrndrobwllllantysiliogogogoch in Wales, with one of the world's longest placenames. Here the image shows the place name written on a business in the town centre. View Larger Map You may not expect our Street View drivers to also serve occasionally as wildlife photographers, but that seems to be what happened with this "Bird View": View Larger Map And sometimes we stumble across things that we just can't explain: View Larger Map Now if that small selection of oddities has your brain considering what else might be lurking out there, perhaps it's time to visit Loch Ness. With Urquhart Castle in the foreground, maybe Nessie is out there somewhere. You be the judge: View Larger Map I hope you have enjoyed my guided Street View tour of the United Kingdom. I wonder what else you can find? Posted by Phil Verney, Geo Data Specialist & Unofficial UK Tour Guide  URL: http://google-latlong.blogspot.com/2010/03/this-green-and-pleasant-land.html     |
| [G] Update on planning your wedding with Google Docs Posted: 19 Mar 2010 01:00 PM PDT Official Google Docs Blog: Update on planning your wedding with Google DocsLast month, we launched a series of Google Docs templates that make it easier to plan your wedding. To infuse these templates with helpful tips, we teamed up with Style Me Pretty.Over the past month, over 25,000 templates have been used by wedding couples and the number keeps growing. To celebrate our collaboration, Style Me Pretty held a month long sweepstakes with the winner receiving a free consultation with celebrity event planner Michelle Rago and a $500 gift certificate to Wedding Paper Divas. On Tuesday, they announced the randomly selected winner, Janel, who submitted this as her biggest challenge planning a wedding: "My wedding challenge is finding a balance between what we can fit in our budget, and what I obsess over in wedding magazines! I keep reminding myself that this day should reflect my fiance and I, and not pretty wedding magazines."To learn more about planning your wedding with Google Docs, check out docs.google.com/wedding. Posted by: Peter Harbison, Product Marketing Manager  URL: http://googledocs.blogspot.com/2010/03/update-on-planning-your-wedding-with.html     |
| [G] System Maintenance Scheduled for Saturday, March 20th Posted: 19 Mar 2010 01:00 PM PDT Google Affiliate Network: System Maintenance Scheduled for Saturday, March 20th
 URL: http://googleaffiliatenetwork-blog.blogspot.com/2010/03/system-maintenance-scheduled-for.html     |
| [G] Making it easier to browse places in Google Earth Posted: 19 Mar 2010 01:00 PM PDT Google LatLong: Making it easier to browse places in Google EarthGoogle Earth is a great way to take a quick tour around your neighborhood or fly to your next holiday destination. Infomation about hotels, parks, mountains and other interesting places is available at your fingertips. You can check out the nearest bus or train station for a spontaneous trip or click on a city name to learn more about it from your desk chair. Since there's so much rich content in Earth, we know that it can sometimes be challenging to find what you're looking for. That's why we've made some minor changes that will make it easier to browse for places and content. We've regrouped and simplified some of the content in the Layers panel to make it easier to use. You can still find the same photos, places of interest, parks, and transit stations as before -- just organized a little differently.  We've also added descriptive new icons to help you identify places of interest as you browse the globe:  Another way to explore lots of great content provided by Google Earth users is with the Google Earth Gallery. Here you'll find 3D tours like U.S. College Basketball Arenas or Vancouver Olympics venues, or a map of real-time Earthquakes. If you have your own great content you want to share with others, you can submit your KML to the Earth Gallery.  We hope these changes to Google Earth help you explore your world more easily and learn about some new places you've never seen before. Posted by Carmen Erni, Google Earth team  URL: http://google-latlong.blogspot.com/2010/03/making-it-easier-to-browse-places-in.html     |
| [G] Meet skipfish, our automated web security scanner Posted: 19 Mar 2010 11:47 AM PDT Google Online Security Blog: Meet skipfish, our automated web security scannerPosted by Michal ZalewskiThe safety of the Internet is of paramount importance to Google, and helping web developers build secure, reliable web applications is an important part of the equation. To advance this goal, we have released projects such as ratproxy, a passive security assessment tool; and Browser Security Handbook, a comprehensive guide for web developers. We also worked with the community to improve the security of third-party browsers. Today, we are happy to announce the availability of skipfish - our free, open source, fully automated, active web application security reconnaissance tool. We think this project is interesting for a few reasons:
To download the scanner, please visit this page; detailed project documentation is available here.  URL: http://googleonlinesecurity.blogspot.com/2010/03/meet-skipfish-our-automated-web.html     |
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