Friday, October 8, 2010

Googland

Googland

[G] Bowls and Learning

Posted: 08 Oct 2010 04:37 AM PDT

Official Google Research Blog: Bowls and Learning

Posted by Phil Long, Research Team

It is easy to find the bottom of a bowl no matter where you start -- if you toss a marble anywhere into the bowl, it will roll downhill and find its way to the bottom.

What does this have to do with Machine Learning? A natural way to try to construct an accurate classifier is to minimize the number of prediction errors the classifier makes on training data. The trouble is, even for moderate-sized data sets, minimizing the number of training errors is a computationally intractable problem. A popular way around this is to assign different training errors different costs and to minimize the total cost. If the costs are assigned in a certain way (according to a "convex loss function"), the total cost can be efficiently minimized the way a marble rolls to the bottom of a bowl.

In a recent paper, Rocco Servedio and I show that no algorithm that works this way can achieve a simple and natural theoretical noise-tolerance guarantee that can be achieved by other kinds of algorithms. A result like this is interesting for two reasons: first, it's important to understand what you cannot do with convex optimization in order to get a fuller understanding of what you can do with it. Second, this result may spur more research into noise-tolerant training algorithms using alternative approaches.
URL: http://googleresearch.blogspot.com/2010/10/bowls-and-learning.html

[G] YouTube highlights – 10/7/2010

Posted: 08 Oct 2010 03:39 AM PDT

Official Google Blog: YouTube highlights – 10/7/2010

Welcome to the first in a regular series of YouTube updates. We'll keep you informed every couple of weeks about new product features, interesting programs to watch, and tips anyone can use to grow your audience on YouTube. Just look for the label "YouTube Highlights" and subscribe to the series. – Ed.

YouTube is where the world comes together to share stories—people around the world upload 24 hours of video every minute and watch more than 2 billion videos every day. We've been busy keeping up and adding new features and the last two weeks are no exception. Here are our recent updates:

Farm Aid live stream
This year, Farm Aid broadcast its 25th anniversary concert live on YouTube in HD. If you couldn't make it for the live event in Milwaukee or online, you can still catch performances from Willie Nelson, John Mellencamp, Neil Young, Dave Matthews, Norah Jones, Band of Horses, Wilco's Jeff Tweedy and others. Farm Aid was founded with the mission to raise awareness about America's family farms, and to date, it's raised more than $37 million to better connect urban food lovers with food grown on family farms.


Willie Nelson & Steven Tyler - One Time Too Many (Live at Farm Aid 25)

Video editor enhancements and more languages
We've recently announced a handful of new releases to make creating great video content even easier and to bring YouTube to more audiences around the world.

We've enhanced our video editor, which lets you combine and trim your videos right on YouTube.com, without installing any software. Now you can rotate your videos via the editor and add transitions, like cross-fades and wipes, between video clips. Just select the transitions tab in the media picker, drag the transition and drop it between any two videos in the storyboard.


YouTube is also now available in seven new languages (Arabic, Bulgarian, Lithuanian, Romanian, Slovenian, Ukrainian and Vietnamese). Welcome!

See details of these and other enhancements in our monthly release notes.

Tips for videomakers
How do you get as many video views as some of our top partners like Fred? Make it easy for viewers to find and watch more of your video content by using annotations and playlists. We recently shared this handy tip you can use to easily let your viewers know what to do or where to go next.

If you're looking to be the next Quentin Tarantino, the Howcast Filmmakers Program can help address your biggest fears and answer your most burning questions about being a filmmaker in the digital age.

Advertisers and agencies get inspired
With so much popular content on YouTube, many businesses large and small have discovered the cost-effective reach of online video advertising. From Old Spice to Dynomighty, advertisers have found their audience when it comes to marketing their products on YouTube. Find out what makes a successful online campaign and how to appeal to the masses with our latest installment of YouTube Show & Tell, a documentary series featuring the creative minds behind Old Spice, Dynomighty, Axe and Show & Tell itself.

We hope you've enjoyed our first roundup of YouTube news. For more information about what we're up to at YouTube, visit our blog.

Posted by Serena Satyasai, Marketing Manager, The YouTube Team
URL: http://googleblog.blogspot.com/2010/10/youtube-highlights-1072010.html

[G] Virtually travel the Northeastern U.S.

Posted: 08 Oct 2010 02:14 AM PDT

Google LatLong: Virtually travel the Northeastern U.S.


The Google Earth and Maps Imagery team has just finished pushing out a new set of images for you to explore and enjoy. Fall - when the weather isn't too hot or too cold - is typically a beautiful season in the the American Northeast, and we've made some timely updates in the Poconos and Connecticut to help you see the places you might be planning to visit. For all you folks heading to Washington, D.C. for this month's Rally to Restore Sanity and the March to Keep Fear Alive, we also recently updated our imagery of the D.C. metro area. Check out the all the sites, prepare for you trip, and don't forget that you can find metro stops from your Google Maps for mobile app!

Jim Thorpe, Pennsylvania


Washington, D.C.

High Resolution Aerial Updates:
USA: Allentown (PA), Bridgeport (CT), Stamford (CT), Camden County (NC), Washington DC
French Polynesia: Manihi

Countries receiving High Resolution Satellite Updates:
Mexico, Cuba, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua, Costa Rica, Panama, Colombia, Venezuela, Ecuador, Peru, Brazil, Bolivia, Paraguay, Uruguay, Argentina, Chile, Poland, Hungary, Slovenia, Croatia, Austria, Serbia, Albania, Montenegro, Macedonia, Bulgaria, Greece, Russia, Turkey, Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia, Libya, Egypt, Mauritania, Senegal, Guinea, Sierra Leone, Liberia, Mali, Ivory Coast, Burkina Faso, Ghana, Benin, Niger, Nigeria, Cameroon, Chad, Central African Republic, Sudan, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Somalia, Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania, Rwanda, Burundi, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Congo, Angola, Zambia, Malawi, Mozambique, Botswana, Namibia, South Africa, Madagascar, Lesotho, Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Jordan, Israel, Syria, Iran, Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan, Pakistan, India, Nepal, China, Myanmar, Thailand, Cambodia, Vietnam, Indonesia, Philippines, Korea, Mongolia, Australia, New Zealand

Countries receiving Medium Resolution Satellite Updates:
Cuba, China, India

These updates are currently only available in Google Earth, but they'll also be in Google Maps soon. To get a complete picture of where we updated imagery, download this KML for viewing in Google Earth.

Posted by Matt Manolides, Senior Geo Data Strategist
URL: http://google-latlong.blogspot.com/2010/10/virtually-travel-northeastern-us.html

[G] Shining a Spotlight on Video News

Posted: 08 Oct 2010 02:03 AM PDT

Google News Blog: Shining a Spotlight on Video News

Posted by Natasha Mohanty, Google News Software Engineer

Today in the U.S. we're launching a new section in Google News called "Spotlight Video" that showcases popular videos from news channels on YouTube like "NOVA: The Secret Life of Scientists: Jean Berko Gleason" from PBS.



Google News has always helped users find recent articles from a wide variety of sources. But we recognize there are other types of stories that our users are interested in. So last year, we created the Spotlight section to feature stories of more lasting interest. Like the rest of Google News, Spotlight articles are selected by our computer algorithms, but they aren't your typical breaking news. Instead you'll find stories of enduring appeal such as feature articles, investigative reporting and opinion pieces. In fact, Spotlight quickly became one of our most popular sections.

So now we're shining the spotlight on videos too. In the right-hand column you can find the new Spotlight Video section and check out recently popular news clips, like "Singer-producer Bruno Mars Continues to Rise" from the Associated Press.

If your news organization isn't already making its video content available on YouTube and Google News, we encourage you to get started. More information on how to submit your news videos to Google News can also be found in the News Publishers' Help Center. And here are some additional tips on news search engine optimization.

Side note: today you may have noticed we also modified the left-hand navigation. Now, as you scroll down the page, the navigation menu will move with you. This way, you can always see the sectional and hot topic quick links.

Please tell us what you think and we'll keep working to improve Google News for you.
URL: http://googlenewsblog.blogspot.com/2010/10/shining-spotlight-on-video-news.html

[G] Setting international sales tax rates gets easier

Posted: 07 Oct 2010 11:40 PM PDT

Official Google Checkout Blog: Setting international sales tax rates gets easier

We're happy to share an update to merchant tax settings that we hope will make selling internationally even easier. Merchants can now set sales tax rates for all countries supported by Google Checkout from the Tax setup option under the Settings tab in the Checkout Merchant Center.


Specifically, you can specify tax rates to apply to the goods that you ship to over 140 countries, all U.S. states, and all Canadian provinces.


To learn even more about setting sales tax rates, visit our Help Center and let us know what you think in the Merchant Forum.


Posted by Sri Raga Velagapudi, Software Engineer and Satyajeet Salgar, Product Manager
URL: http://googlecheckout.blogspot.com/2010/10/setting-international-sales-tax-rates.html

[G] Fill bowl with cereal, add milk, turn on camera

Posted: 07 Oct 2010 11:02 PM PDT

YouTube Blog: Fill bowl with cereal, add milk, turn on camera

Heather Menicucci, Director, Howcast Filmmakers Program, is writing weekly guest posts for the YouTube blog on filmmaking in the digital age. This is her second post. Her first was "Embracing exploration: being a filmmaker today."



Partly motivated by wanting to hear why our filmmakers produce Howcast spots or upload to YouTube, and partly curious about what they eat for breakfast, we decided to interview them about web video last Friday morning. Since our filmmakers are all over the world, we had to conduct the interviews remotely and ask them to send in their footage.



It turns out they like to eat cereal, drink juice, and sip coffee. Puzzling creatures. It also turns out they have a lot to say about why they started uploading to the web, what's great about web video, and what's not so great. We received over 100 minutes of footage and in the end, produced a five minute video.



From Craig Staggs explaining that he started putting videos on the web, well, because there was nowhere else to put them, to Oriana Syed talking about the pressures of having to produce more quickly (and possibly skimp on her work) to William Reed's idea that his web projects offer a taste of what he could do with a real budget, all 11 of our filmmakers shared honest valuable insights.



Open a box of your favorite sugary treat, add milk, and watch. Get to know them a little better by checking out some of my favorite Howcast spots they created in the links below. Then, please, send them (and us) your questions by posting them in as comments below or as comments to the video. (But please note: comments are moderated due to spam.) These guys have a lot to say and I'm sure they'd be happy to share more of their experiences producing for the web.



So, without further adieu, we present some of our awesomest filmmakers: Craig Staggs, Dimitri LaBarge, Michael Sanchez, Luke Neumann, Morgan Crossley, Andrew Quinn, Oriana Syed, Barry Michael, William Reed, Mark and Lisa Morrison.







Come back next week for another session of our "Modern 101 for Emerging Digital Filmmakers." Next Friday: our list of websites every filmmaker should know.



Heather Menicucci, Director, Howcast Filmmakers Program, recently watched "ChatRoulette."


URL: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/youtube/PKJx/~3/e8Txn-iB-fo/fill-bowl-with-cereal-add-milk-turn-on.html

[G] Google Code-in: School’s Out, Code’s In!

Posted: 07 Oct 2010 03:41 PM PDT

Google Open Source Blog: Google Code-in: School's Out, Code's In!


We are very pleased to announce Google Code-in, an open source development and outreach contest targeted at 13-18 year old students around the world.

Some of you may remember the pilot program from 2007-2008 we ran called the Google Highly Open Participation Contest. This contest gave 400 students around the world an opportunity to help out open source projects on the following kinds of tasks:

1. Code: Tasks related to writing or refactoring code
2. Documentation: Tasks related to creating/editing documents
3. Outreach: Tasks related to community management and outreach/marketing
4. Quality Assurance: Tasks related to testing and ensuring code is of high quality
5. Research: Tasks related to studying a problem and recommending solutions
6. Training: Tasks related to helping others learn more
7. Translation: Tasks related to localization
8. User Interface: Tasks related to user experience research or user interface design and interaction

It was a huge success, and we're looking forward to another great year ahead of us with the contest with its new name, Google Code-in.

Be sure to check out our Frequently Asked Questions about the contest for answers to your questions about participating.We're hoping to get pre-university students from all over the world involved. So please help us spread the word.

Stay tuned to this blog and to our mailing list for more updates on the contest. We will announce the mentoring organizations that are participating on November 5. The contest starts on November 22, 2010!

By Carol Smith, Open Source Team
URL: http://google-opensource.blogspot.com/2010/10/google-code-in-schools-out-codes-in.html

[G] Tips for partners: ZackScott tells it like it is

Posted: 07 Oct 2010 09:54 AM PDT

YouTube Blog: Tips for partners: ZackScott tells it like it is

YouTube loves random weirdness, comedy bits, and cute pets. We also love when our partners make it really easy for us to watch one video after another through playlists, and when they catch our attention with witty annotations. In our series of partner optimization tips, we covered metadata with Betty from BettysKitchen and then we covered how to use playlists and annotations to easily direct viewers to your other videos.



Zack from ZackScott, does a great job creating playlists and also using annotations to call out interesting things in his videos, or to ask for subscribers and comments. Zack joined the partner program in 2008 and he tries to capture and show off real things he finds interesting or funny. He caught our eye with his clever videos about his cats such as "Kitten still loves Puppy" or his surreal spider videos like "Giant Kitchen Spider".



We asked Zack to tell us how he uses playlists to group his wide array of videos and to shed some light on his best tips for annotations. We think you will find Zack's tips as entertaining and enlightening as his video on, "Amazing Nintendo Facts".







Let us know in the comments section of Zack's video if you have other great tips to share on using playlists or annotations or if you have any questions for Zack. We'd also love to hear how you arranged your videos through playlists after watching Zack's video, or share some interesting use of annotations that you have found!



Julie Kikla and Mahin Ibrahim, Account Managers, YouTube Partnerships recently watched "Shark Surfer."


URL: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/youtube/PKJx/~3/a-gOslXHV8w/tips-for-partners-zackscott-tells-it.html

[G] An easier way to use Google Latitude on your computer

Posted: 07 Oct 2010 09:40 AM PDT

Official Google Mobile Blog: An easier way to use Google Latitude on your computer

We're happy to introduce an easier way to use Google Latitude from your computer at google.com/latitude. You can now see where your friends are, start using Latitude apps, and share your location all from one place when you're at your computer.

Find your friends
We launched Latitude with a desktop iGoogle gadget to help you stay in touch with friends and family that may not have a smartphone. We've since learned that a desktop experience is important to you even if you're already using Latitude on your phone. Today, you can now visit a dedicated site that makes it easier than ever to use Latitude when you're already on your computer. From the Friends tab, you can:
  • See where your friends are on Google Maps
  • Add friends and accept sharing requests
  • Control your privacy settings


Do more with Latitude
You'll also now find Latitude and Latitude apps together in one place. After browsing your friends list, go to the History or Apps tabs to turn on optional Latitude apps such as:


Share your location
Just like on your phone, you can choose to share your location with friends and family from your WiFi-enabled computer. Before you can share your location, you'll need to first give Latitude permission to access your location when prompted by your supported browser. You can always change your browser or Latitude privacy settings later. Learn more in the Help Center.

To get started, go to google.com/latitude on your computer. If you're new to Latitude, you can then start on your phone by sending yourself a text message or choose to start on your computer.

Posted by Kenneth Leftin, Software Engineer, Google Mobile Team
URL: http://googlemobile.blogspot.com/2010/10/easier-way-to-use-google-latitude-on.html
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