Wednesday, July 28, 2010

Googland

Googland

[G] Stargazing in Pittsburgh

Posted: 28 Jul 2010 01:53 AM PDT

Official Google Blog: Stargazing in Pittsburgh

Humans have always been fascinated by the night sky. And Googlers are no exception. Over the years, Google engineers have used their 20 percent time to create Google Sky, Moon, Mars and most recently Google Sky Map for Android. This handy app, built by engineers in our Pittsburgh office, turns your Android-powered phone into a live map of the night sky. You just point your phone to the sky and it gives you information about the stars and planets that you're looking at. Since we introduced the app a year ago, Sky Map has been downloaded more than 5 million times.

On Sunday night we had a wonderful opportunity to share our passion for astronomy with our community in Pittsburgh at the Deep Sky Urban Star Party, held in the abandoned swimming pool at Leslie Park in Lawrenceville. We loaded up a bunch of Android phones with Sky Map and joined the Amateur Astronomers Association of Pittsburgh—who brought along their telescopes—and several hundred local residents for a night of stargazing.

As a Sky Map engineer the biggest thrill I get is when we get emails from people who have used our app to show a planet to their children for the first time. At the Star Party we were delighted to have the chance to show people around the night sky in person. It was great to meet so many people who were both excited by astronomy and interested in Google's technology. Thanks for all of your ideas for new features, and a big thank you to the Leslie Park Pool Collective and all involved for organizing such a fun event.


Photos by Jason Parker-Burlingham

Posted by John Taylor, Software Engineer
URL: http://googleblog.blogspot.com/2010/07/stargazing-in-pittsburgh.html

[G] Translation and undo smartquotes in documents

Posted: 27 Jul 2010 09:46 PM PDT

Official Google Docs Blog: Translation and undo smartquotes in documents

Document translation

You can now translate your documents in the new editor into one of the 53 Google Docs languages by selecting Tools -> Translate document.... From there, you can create a translated copy of the document by choosing a title for the translated document and selecting the language you want to translate into.


Undo smartquotes

When you type a quote character (') in Google Docs we automatically make it a smartquote (') which indicates its direction. If you don't want a smart quote, you can press Ctrl Z (Cmd Z on a Mac) after you type it and the smartquote will become a regular quote. We'll be adding a preference soon that lets you permanently disable smartquotes.

Let us know what you think on the forums.

Posted by: Lily Xia, Software Engineer
URL: http://googledocs.blogspot.com/2010/07/translation-and-undo-smartquotes-in.html

[G] And the award goes to...

Posted: 27 Jul 2010 08:31 PM PDT

Official Google Research Blog: And the award goes to...

Posted by Fernando Pereira, Research Director

Google's very own Tushar Chandra along with his coauthors, Vassos Hadzilacos, and Sam Toueg, received the prestigious Dijkstra Prize in Distributed Computing at the ACM Symposium on Principles of Distributed Computing conference in Zürich. This award is given for outstanding papers that have had great impact on the theory and practice of distributed computing for over a decade.

Their papers introduced and precisely characterized the notion of unreliable failure detection in a distributed system:

Tushar currently works on large-scale machine learning and distributed systems at Google.

You can find more information about the award and the papers here.

Congratulations to Tushar, Vassos, and Sam!
URL: http://googleresearch.blogspot.com/2010/07/and-award-goes-to.html

[G] Googlers receive multiple awards at the 2010 International Conference on Machine Learning

Posted: 27 Jul 2010 08:31 PM PDT

Official Google Research Blog: Googlers receive multiple awards at the 2010 International Conference on Machine Learning

Posted by Fernando Pereira, Research Director

Googlers were recognized in three of the four paper awards at ICML 2010:
I feel a particular connection to this last paper as Rob and Yoram were members of technical staff and Erin a student intern at the department I headed at AT&T Labs when this work was done.

Congratulations to all!
URL: http://googleresearch.blogspot.com/2010/07/googlers-receive-multiple-awards-at.html

[G] Two Chilean cities added to Google Building Maker

Posted: 27 Jul 2010 08:04 PM PDT

Google LatLong: Two Chilean cities added to Google Building Maker

[Cross-posted from the SketchUp blog]

For those of you who haven't yet tried it, Google Building Maker is our simple 3D modeling tool that allows you to construct buildings by aligning various types of blocks to photos - all from your Internet browser. The completed models are automatically geo-located and then reviewed for inclusion in the 3D Buildings layer on Google Earth. When the tool was originally released last fall, users could create buildings in 50 cities. Since then, more cities have continually been added, and the growing tally is now at 94.

As part of our latest offering, we're excited to announce that the cities of Santiago and Valparaiso in Chile are the first South American cities available in Google Building Maker.


Modeling in Santiago, Chile with Google Building Maker

We should note, however, that geo-modeling with Google SketchUp has been steadily increasing in that region for some time now. For example, avid user gananunez has been modeling in Valparaiso for a year and has more than 50 models in the 3D Buildings layer in Google Earth!


Valparaiso, Chile

Two other long-time users, GecKo StuDio. and Sergio, have been modeling Santiago since 2007 and each has more than 30 models in the 3D Buildings layer. Some users, like jgago93, are just getting started in the area.


Santiago, Chile

Now everyone can help model these two cities with Google Building Maker. Click here to start, and get your models on the 3D map!

Posted by Nicole Drobeck, Geo Community Advocate
URL: http://google-latlong.blogspot.com/2010/07/two-chilean-cities-added-to-google.html

[G] Google Places team answers questions via YouTube

Posted: 27 Jul 2010 08:04 PM PDT

Google LatLong: Google Places team answers questions via YouTube


When Google Places was reintroduced with its new name and additional features earlier this year, we thought it'd be an opportune time to experiment with a new way of engaging with our users. So we launched a Google Moderator page and invited business owners who use Google Places to ask and vote on questions and submit product ideas. Our team also committed to answering the top posts via video.

Many takes later, we're excited to share eleven new videos that are now live on the Google Places YouTube Channel. While we're aware that the film quality could be improved, we hope you enjoy putting faces to the names of our forum guides, seeing some of our team's personalities reflected in the videos, and even getting to hear from a Google intern.

Video responses are a new method of interaction for us, so we'll track viewership, business owners' reactions and other factors to determine if this is a useful project we should continue. In the meantime, feel free to watch our most popular video to date about ranking from local product manager Jeremy Sussman, or any of our other video responses.




Happy viewing, and we hope these videos are helpful, informative and interesting for all you business owners using Google Places!

Posted by Brianna Brekke, Sr. Strategist, Google Places
URL: http://google-latlong.blogspot.com/2010/07/when-google-places-was-reintroduced.html

[G] Updates to how our partners work with advertisers

Posted: 27 Jul 2010 03:55 PM PDT

Inside AdWords: Updates to how our partners work with advertisers

In order to provide the best online marketing experience, we want to make sure that you understand how each dollar you invest in AdWords is performing.

Today, we're announcing some upcoming changes to the way our third party partners provide reports and information about AdWords to their clients. If you work with another company to manage your AdWords campaigns, you should be able to find out how much of your advertising budget (cost) was spent on AdWords, how many times your ads appeared (impressions) and how many times users clicked on your ads (clicks). We'll include these requirements in our legal terms and agreements starting in February 2011.

Almost all of our third party partners are already providing advertisers with this basic information today, but for those who will need to make changes to their systems, we're offering six months so that there's plenty of time to prepare to meet these new requirements. We'll be working with our partners and sharing more details about the requirements in the coming months.

To learn more about these changes, you can visit the AdWords Help Center.

Posted by Jason Shafton, Inside AdWords crew
URL: http://adwords.blogspot.com/2010/07/updates-to-how-our-partners-work-with.html

[G] Empowering users to control their privacy

Posted: 27 Jul 2010 02:49 PM PDT

Google Public Policy Blog: Empowering users to control their privacy

Posted by Will DeVries, Policy Counsel

How do you come up with solutions for online privacy when technology is constantly evolving? It's a challenge that engineers face every day when figuring out how to make it intuitive, simple, and useful for Internet users to take control of their privacy and security. It's also the topic that Dr. Alma Whitten, Google's lead privacy engineer, will be addressing alongside representatives from Apple, AT&T, and Facebook later today at a Senate Commerce Committee hearing.

Alma's testimony will focus on how we put our privacy principles into practice. She'll talk about products like the Google Dashboard (which provides users with a one-stop, easy-to-use control panel for the information they store with their Google accounts and products) and our Ads Preferences Manager (which allows users to edit the categories used to serve them interest-based ads, or opt out altogether). These are examples of how we've developed privacy tools by focusing on transparency, user control, and security.

You can read Alma's full written testimony here, and we'll be posting video of the hearing after it's over.

URL: http://googlepublicpolicy.blogspot.com/2010/07/empowering-users-to-control-their.html

[G] An Even Better Way to Find Places Nearby

Posted: 27 Jul 2010 11:43 AM PDT

Google LatLong: An Even Better Way to Find Places Nearby


[Cross-posted from the Google Mobile Blog]

With six updates in six months, Google Maps for Android has been getting plenty of new features, both big and small. A continued focus with each update has been on giving you better ways to find places nearby. In the most recent updates, Maps has gotten features like swiping between search results and info like photos, reviews, and more helpful content on the result pages. With today's launch of Google Maps for mobile 4.4, we're introducing an even easier way to find places around you: a dedicated Places icon that lets you quickly look up nearby places and pick a place to go using updated Place Pages, just like on your computer.

On Android-powered phones with Google Maps 4.4, you'll find the new Places icon in the app launcher with the rest of your apps. Press and drag it right onto your home screen to use it when you're looking for a restaurant, shoe store, movie theater or any other type of local business. You'll get a detailed list of all the nearest places and can choose one to learn more about it on its Place Page.



Search for several convenient types of places with the default categories or add your own for your most frequent searches. You can also use the search bar at the top to type or speak any query. I tend to use the "coffee" search a lot, but I've also looked for "gas stations" on the road, "ice cream shops" in my neighborhood, and even specific places like "Chelsea Market" on a recent trip to New York.

Of course, you'll often want to learn more before deciding where to go. With updated Place Pages, you should be able to find all you need to know about a place, whether you're wandering into a new restaurant or deciding from your couch. In addition to photos and reviews, Place Pages now have a bunch of new details, such as prices, parking and menu links to inform your quest for the perfect steak. You'll also notice that the search results list now highlights business opening hours in addition to compass direction and distance -- consider it your late night caffeine radar.



Google Maps for mobile 4.4 is available now for Android 1.6 and above. Just search for Google Maps in Market or tap here from your phone. The Place Page and search result updates are coming soon for BlackBerry users so keep an eye out for an update at m.google.com/maps (from your BlackBerry Browser) or on our Twitter and Facebook pages.

Visit our Help Center to learn more, ask questions in our Help Forum, or give us suggestions and vote on other people's on the Mobile Product Ideas page.


Posted by Michael Siliski, Product Manager, Google Mobile Team
URL: http://google-latlong.blogspot.com/2010/07/even-better-way-to-find-places-nearby.html

[G] Google Apps Marketplace - CRM highlights, 7/27/2010

Posted: 27 Jul 2010 10:40 AM PDT

Official Google Enterprise Blog: Google Apps Marketplace - CRM highlights, 7/27/2010

Editor's note: This is the latest in a series of posts on apps in the Google Apps Marketplace that have caught our eye here at Google. We'll do this every few weeks or as we see things that we'd like to share. Look for the label "marketplace highlights" and subscribe to the series if you'd like to stay tuned.

Businesses that use Google Apps not only get access to Google's applications, they also get easy access to some of the best business apps on the web through the Google Apps Marketplace. These Marketplace apps are easy to try and buy; once more, they integrate with Google Apps "out of the box," making it simpler for businesses to run more of their systems in the cloud. You can learn more about the Marketplace and watch a short video on how it works here.

For this highlights post, we decided to focus on the top seach term for installable apps in the Marketplace: CRM. The lifeblood of all businesses, customers come in all shapes and sizes, and have different needs when interacting with businesses. We're excited to have 13 different installable CRM apps in the Marketplace that can integrate with Google Apps in just a few clicks, each with a unique approach to helping you manage customer relationships. And because things are easier to digest when they come in 3's, we've taken the liberty to present them in 3 different groups: CRM, Social CRM, and Project-based CRM.

>> CRM: apps with a focus on internal processes around selling and serving customers.

Zoho CRM is a complete customer relationship management solution for managing leads, contacts, customers, marketing activities and more. Integrations include:
  • single sign on from Google Apps
  • Gmail
  • Google contacts import
  • Google Docs attaching and sharing
Applane CRM is an enterprise grade CRM that supports complete sales cycle and customer relationship through an efficient user interface and advanced features. Integrations include:
  • single sign on from Google Apps
  • Google contacts import
  • Gmail (contextual gadget)
  • view actions in Google Calendar
Capsule CRM is a simple, flexible CRM for small businesses and sales teams that makes it easy to keep track of customers and other contacts, sales opportunities and follow-ups. Integrations include:
  • single sign on from Google Apps
  • Google contacts auto-update
  • Google calendar sharing
TimetoNote is a simple, fast, elegant tool to collaborate and share contacts, emails, notes, tasks, projects and more with your co-workers. Integrations include:
  • single sign on from Google Apps
  • Gmail (contextual gadget)
  • Google contacts synchronization
  • Google Docs attaching and sharing
Tactile CRM is an easy to use CRM to track the people and companies you do business with, the opportunities in the pipeline, and what needs to be done next. Integrations include:
  • single sign on from Google Apps
  • Google contacts import
>> Social CRM: apps with a focus on collaborative customer conversations via social web sites like Twitter, Facebook, and Google Buzz. (For more on Social CRM, see posts by Brent Leary, Paul Greenberg, and Michael Faucette)

Batchbook is a lightweight but powerful CRM that allows you to easily organize contacts, monitor social networks and track leads and deals. Integrations include:
  • single sign on from Google Apps
  • Google contacts synchronization
Bantam Live provides a social CRM workspace for business teams to collaborate internally and build relationships across the web. Integrations include:
  • single sign on from Google Apps
  • Google contacts import
  • Google calendar sharing
  • Google Docs attaching and sharing
  • Google Buzz feeds in contact records
Gist provides the full view of the contacts in your professional network by creating a rich business profile for each one that includes news, status updates, and work details. Integrations include:
  • Gmail (contextual gadget)
Rapportive searches the social web to find information which helps you establish rapport, grow your network, and be more productive.
  • Gmail (contextual gadget)
Etacts is a complete customer relationship management solution for managing leads, contacts, customers, marketing activities and more. Integrations include:
  • Gmail (contextual gadget)
>> Project-based CRM: apps with a focus on project collaboration before and after the sale.

Insightly lets you track leads, proposals, opportunities, projects and manage files, all through an easy to use interface.
  • single sign on from Google Apps
  • Google contacts import
  • Google calendar sharing
  • Google Docs attaching and sharing
Solve360 CRM is a modern CRM that integrates features to manage client projects that is ideal for small teams in service based companies that need a flexible solution.
  • single sign on from Google Apps
  • Google contacts synchronization
  • Gmail
Smartsheet pipeline gives you the core features of a CRM built into a familiar Google Spreadsheet format or with one of their sales, service, and marketing templates.
  • single sign on from Google Apps
  • Google contacts import
  • Google calendar sharing
  • Google Docs attaching and importing
If you're looking to improve the way you manage and converse with prospects and customers, we encourage you to evaluate these apps. But also know we're adding new apps to the Marketplace all the time, so check back if these don't suit your needs.

Posted by Kevin Gough, Sr. Product & Marketing Manager, Google Enterprise
URL: http://googleenterprise.blogspot.com/2010/07/google-apps-marketplace-crm-highlights.html

[G] Chris DiBona’s OSCON Keynote: Your Work in Open Source

Posted: 27 Jul 2010 09:36 AM PDT

Google Open Source Blog: Chris DiBona's OSCON Keynote: Your Work in Open Source

If you missed seeing Google's Open Source Programs Manager Chris DiBona speak live at OSCON last week, the video from his keynote is now available online.



There are also notes available from multiple OSCON sessions on Google Wave - check out the full listing if you want to catch up!
URL: http://google-opensource.blogspot.com/2010/07/chris-dibonas-oscon-keynote-your-work.html

[G] Katy Perry bares all as Lisa Nova asks your top questions

Posted: 27 Jul 2010 08:06 AM PDT

YouTube Blog: Katy Perry bares all as Lisa Nova asks your top questions

"Did you really kiss a girl?" "Do you ever laugh at the parody videos making fun of you?" "Are you and Russell planning on having kids?" The call was to ask Katy Perry anything you wanted, and you responded with a record-breaking 20,500 text and video questions submitted to Katy's channel via the Moderator tool. Over 401,600 votes were cast, and YouTube's own Lisa Nova posed the most popular questions to Perry, who was wearing a Latex getup only she could pull off:


Along with this exclusive 30-minute interview, which is highlighted on our homepage today, you might also want to check out her hit single "California Gurls" and a special behind-the-scenes peek from Lisa Nova, of what ultimately turned out to be a relaxed chat between girls.

Want to kick start your own discussion? Join Katy Perry, President Obama and others by adding Moderator to your channel page.

Michele Flannery, Music Manager, recently watched "Minnesota Gurls."


URL: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/youtube/PKJx/~3/i41-Czd8MqI/katy-perry-bares-all-as-lisa-nova-asks.html
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