Wednesday, November 3, 2010

Googland

Googland

[G] A special preview of beautiful Germany in Street View

Posted: 03 Nov 2010 03:02 AM PDT

Google LatLong: A special preview of beautiful Germany in Street View


The clocks have just gone back in Europe, it's getting colder and suddenly 5pm feels like 8pm - which means that winter is just around the corner. If you live in Germany like I do, this isn't such bad news at all - because it means we're one step closer to warming ourselves up with traditional German fare such as Glühwein and enjoying delicious Lebkuchen. These delicacies are particularly well known in Bavaria in the South of Germany so it may be harder for you to get your hands on them if you're not living here! But at least starting today, you can get a much better sense for Bavaria and its traditions by exploring the streets of the picturesque Bavarian village of Oberstaufen using Street View.

So why Oberstaufen you may ask? For several months, the people of Oberstaufen, along with the mayor and the local tourist board have publicly invited us to put their town on the map so they can show it off to the world. We've been so impressed with their creativity (not to mention their cake baking skills), that we've worked extra hard in the last few weeks to get some pictures ready and into Street View, which you can explore today.

But sorry, you'll have to bake your own Lebkuchen (gingerbread) this time, as I've been busy with the people of Oberstaufen at a traditional folk festival in celebration of Street View. Where of course we had an XXL version of this cake that the local tourism director Bianca Keybach, Mayor Walter Grath and I cut together during the festival! Look at the festivities as they unfolded today here:

Picasa album of Oberstaufen event

And that's not all, because today we're also bringing you a special preview of some other fascinating German places, before we make available full Street View imagery of the largest 20 cities in Germany in the near future. Our preview includes snapshots of landmarks in 5 of the 20 cities.

You can visit Königsplatz in Munich, Castle Solitude in Stuttgart , the Köhlbrandbrücke in Hamburg or the stunning Semper Opera building in Dresden, along with the Zwinger Palace and the Imperial Church.

Semper Opera building

Other places include the Berlin Victory Column and the Federal Chancellery with its 36 meter high main facade, on the eastern bank of the River Spree.

Federal Chancellery

For German football fans (that's soccer to many of you) we have something really special indeed: ten Bundesliga football stadiums in 360-degree panoramic perspective, including the Allianz Arena in Munich, Imtech Hamburg Arena and the Veltins-Arena in Gelsenkirchen.

I hope you enjoy - I'm off to finish my piece of the Oberstaufen cake now and then I'll go pay a virtual visit to some of my own favorite football stadiums.

Posted by Wieland Holfelder, Engineering Director, Germany
URL: http://google-latlong.blogspot.com/2010/11/special-preview-of-beautiful-germany-in.html

[G] Stand out to shoppers with the Google Checkout holiday promotion

Posted: 03 Nov 2010 02:03 AM PDT

Official Google Checkout Blog: Stand out to shoppers with the Google Checkout holiday promotion

The holiday shopping season is quickly approaching, and we know merchants are busy planning ways to stand out to the right buyers and increase sales. We're excited to present a way for active Checkout merchants to partner with Google to help drive Google Checkout leads and sales during the upcoming shopping season: You can sign in to your Google Checkout account to review the details and quickly set up a holiday promotion.

Google will market the promotion through AdWords ads, emails to buyers, and social networking posts to bring buyers to the Checkout Deals Page. Last holiday season, merchants who ran a Checkout promotion increased their Google Checkout sales by an average of 209%, compared to a 25% increase for merchants who did not participate.

You can participate in the Google Checkout Holiday promotion by offering shoppers your choice of a $5 off $30, $10 off $60, $10 off $100 or $20 off $200 discount (pre-tax and shipping), limit one per user. If you participate, we'll change your standard Google Checkout button on your website to the special promotional Checkout button that features an orange starburst labeled with the promotion discount. When the minimum cart requirement is met, the discount will automatically appear for buyers when they shop with Google Checkout from November 23, 2010 at 4:00 PM Pacific to December 16, 2010, at 4:00 PM Pacific.

Additionally, if you are an AdWords advertiser, Google will change the standard Checkout badge appearing on your Google.com AdWords ads to a new badge that features the promotion discount. These badges have been introduced to enable shoppers who search on Google.com to easily identify and take advantage of promotional offers. Merchants eligible for the standard Checkout badge are eligible for the new promotional badge at Google's discretion.

To get started, sign in to your Google Checkout merchant account at http://checkout.google.com/sell, go to the 'Tools' tab, and click the 'Promotions' link in the left-hand navigation to view the promotion details and accept the offer of your choice or decline the terms. Once you accept, Google will take care of the rest. No additional integration is required.

We're looking forward to a fun and successful holiday season!  

Posted by Jessica Smallman, Google Checkout Team
URL: http://googlecheckout.blogspot.com/2010/11/stand-out-to-shoppers-with-google.html

[G] Hear about best practices for moving to Google Apps from Google’s Deployment Lead, Alex Diacre

Posted: 02 Nov 2010 11:09 PM PDT

Official Google Enterprise Blog: Hear about best practices for moving to Google Apps from Google's Deployment Lead, Alex Diacre

Google's Deployment Lead, Alex Diacre, will be hosting a live webcast this Thursday, November 4th at 11:00 AM PT. Alex has been at Google since 2007 and has been leading the Enterprise Deployment Team in deploying Google Apps at businesses all over the world. Join us to hear from Alex and his team about exactly what you need to do to deploy Google Apps in your organization.

This live and interactive webcast with the Google Enterprise Deployment Team will give you tips for replacing traditional on-premise applications such as email with Google Apps:

* Learn how to scope your deployment process
* Hear about the key design points for moving to Google Apps
* Discover best practices that can be used by your organization

Register today for this live webcast Thursday, November 4, 2010 2:00 PM ET / 11:00 AM PT / 6:00 PM GMT

Posted by Ashley Chandler, Google Apps team
URL: http://googleenterprise.blogspot.com/2010/11/hear-about-best-practices-for-moving-to.html

[G] New service activity graphs in the Google Apps control panel

Posted: 02 Nov 2010 11:09 PM PDT

Official Google Enterprise Blog: New service activity graphs in the Google Apps control panel

The control panel is an integrated place for administrators to manage all their Google Apps services. You can manage user accounts and email lists, customize sharing capabilities within applications, turn services on and off, manage mobile device policies and more. Last week, we added new service activity graphs so Google Apps administrators can see at-a-glance how their users are accessing Google Apps. This information can help customers evaluate the success of Google Apps deployments and scale internal support resources efficiently.

The activity graphs display information about the number of active users in your organization as measured by login activity. We display trend lines showing user activity for the prior 1-, 7- and 30-day periods for Gmail, Google Docs, Google Calendar, and Google Sites.






To view the graphs for your organization, click "View Usage and Reports" under the "Advanced Tools" tab of the Google Apps control panel. We'll have more service activity data options to share with administrators soon, but in the meantime, you can check out the Reporting API for even more granular data on Google Apps activity within your organization.

Posted by Jaideep Mirchandani, Google Apps Product Manager, and Ashish Kumar, Google Apps Engineer
URL: http://googleenterprise.blogspot.com/2010/11/new-service-activity-graphs-in-google.html

[G] Freddiew’s "Roadtrip" teaches amateur filmmakers tricks of the trade

Posted: 02 Nov 2010 08:53 PM PDT

YouTube Blog: Freddiew's "Roadtrip" teaches amateur filmmakers tricks of the trade

Freddie Wong and his production partner, Brandon Laatsch, describe themselves as "just some cool dudes making sweet vids with rad FX!" And if you've ever seen their action-packed, colorfully explosive videos, you know this to be true. Wong is starting a new series called "YouTube Roadtrip 2010," where he's driving across the U.S. in an RV, meeting with fans and teaching them filmmaking skills. The series just premiered on his primary channel, where he'll be uploading new episodes for the next couple of months, and he'll be putting supplementary videos on his secondary channel.



1) How did you come up with this idea?
Brandon and I were walking around our street one day (we had just bought ice cream), talking about locations, and how we felt like our industrial looking area was getting a little boring as a location. Over the last six months, we've gotten boatloads of emails from our viewers asking us to visit their hometowns, or showing off cool locations near them, and we thought, "Well, why can't we go and make videos where our viewers are?" So that's basically how it started: we wanted to get out of L.A., we wanted to meet our viewers in person, and we wanted to collaborate and make videos with them.

2) What's your favorite place visited so far?
The House on the Rock in Wisconsin, which is apparently one of four possible things to do in Wisconsin (the other three being, in no particular order, cow tipping, football, and cheese curds). Basically, this guy named Alex Jordan totally idolized Frank Lloyd Wright, and one day got the opportunity to show Wright some of his architectural drawings. Wright basically told Alex that all his drawings were horrible and he wasn't fit to design a chicken coop, so, jilted, he decided to build a Japanese-style house on a rock in the middle of Wisconsin.

Thing is, Alex was clearly NUTS because he kept building and made the whole thing into this giant sprawling complex featuring giant music machines, the world's largest indoor carousel, suits of armor, dolls, dollhouses, ridiculous guns, dioramas of circuses, and more. I struggle to define in words the sheer amount of spectacle within those walls, and by the end, you leave the museum dazed from everything you've just seen.

It's a place that has to be experienced. I highly recommend it to anybody.

3) If someone wants you guys to stop in their town, how do they make that happen?
The best way is to have a location that they either own or have permission to use. We have a submission form at our website http://facerocker.com/submit

Otherwise, they can send me a message on Twitter. Best bet is to send along a photo or something, as well, so we know what we're getting into.

4) What is the most common mistake or misconception among the budding filmmakers you meet?
The idea that equipment and software are the two most important things you need to become a filmmaker. We started out with cameras that shot on VHS tapes, and we used to edit with VCRs, but that never stopped us. It blows my mind to see how awesome cameras are nowadays – even on cell phones. The fact is, the cheapest camera today is a trillion times better than anything we had access to when we were younger.

We hear a lot of people talking about how they'll start making movies once they get that camera they've been saving up for, or that piece of software they know the pros use. That's not the way to do it – use ANY camera you can get, use iMovie or Windows Movie Maker to edit, if you have to – the key is to get out there and start doing it. You become a filmmaker by making films, not staring at equipment catalogs dreaming of how awesome that camera will make your films look.

You don't become a great guitarist without practicing scales, you don't become a great painter without sketching a lot of fruit, and you certainly don't become a good filmmaker without shooting a lot of movies, and you don't need thousands of dollars worth of equipment to start practicing.

5) If your RV could talk, what would it say?
RV: "Freddie, change my oil!"
Freddie: "No, you're a rental."



To follow along with the roadtrip, subscribe to freddiew and freddiew2.

Mia Quagliarello, Product Marketing Manager, recently watched "Portland Hat Chase."


URL: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/youtube/PKJx/~3/EXAqF3GBPiY/freddiews-roadtrip-teaches-amateur.html

[G] More midterm election search trends

Posted: 02 Nov 2010 07:14 PM PDT

Official Google Blog: More midterm election search trends

Election Day is finally here in the U.S., and many people are turning to the web to get information before heading out to vote. On Hot Trends at 1pm PT today, 13 of the top 20 searches were election-related, most of which had to do with figuring out where to vote. Terms like [polling place locator], [voting locations by zip code] and [where do i vote] have been popular all day, as well as state-specific searches like [nc board of elections] and [where to vote in minnesota]. Others are turning to the Internet to ask how long they have to vote, with searches like [what time do the polls close]. And earlier today, we even saw a handful of hot searches like [am i registered to vote in texas] and [voter registration]—apparently some well-meaning citizens have left one important part of the process until the last minute!

Of course, many people are also looking to make decisions about how to vote. The terms [vote smart] and [voters guide] have been popular today, indicating that people are trying to squeeze in some research before heading to the polls. Naturally, searches for various candidates, from [bill white] of Texas to [charlie baker] of Massachusetts, have increased today as well. Other searches like [massachusetts ballot questions 2010], [oklahoma state questions] and [amendment 4 florida] spiked this morning as people look for information about statewide measures. And at 1pm PT, three of the top 20 terms on Hot Trends had to do with California's proposition 19.

People are also already looking to get information about returns—searching for [exit polls 2010], [gallup poll], [voter turnout], [2010 election results] and [voting results], even though polls don't close on the East Coast for several more hours.

Looking back over this past weekend, we saw a steady stream of political searches coming in. Search volume for California Republican Senate candidate Carly Fiorina spiked last Friday when news broke that she had entered the hospital for an infection, but searches for Fiorina have since dropped below those for her opponent, Sen. Barbara Boxer. And amidst growing speculation about the possibility of his becoming Speaker of the House (and back-and-forth barbs with President Obama over the weekend), searches for Republican House Minority Leader John Boehner rose steadily across the country. Finally, last weekend was the culmination of nearly two months of national interest in Jon Stewart and Stephen Colbert's Rally to Restore Sanity and/or Fear. On Saturday, October 30, more than half the terms on Hot Trends were related to the rally, and related searches like [comedy central rally] and [keep fear alive] have exploded, increasing by more than 5,000% in several cases.

We'll be back later on with the latest on our election search trends. Until then, go find your polling place and vote!

Posted by Emily Wood, Google Blog Editor
URL: http://googleblog.blogspot.com/2010/11/more-midterm-election-search-trends.html

[G] New! Holiday Marketing Central by Google

Posted: 02 Nov 2010 06:43 PM PDT

Official Google CPG Blog: New! Holiday Marketing Central by Google

Cross posted from the Google Retail blog by Heidi Spector, Google Retail Team






Do you know that 89% of consumers started their holiday shopping online?

Or that searches for 'coupons' peak on Saturdays?

If not, you should visit our ThinkHoliday site: www.google.com/thinkholiday where you'll be privy to a wealth of exclusive information on consumer shopping behavior, hot products and the latest holiday insights.

We'll be updating the site frequently as holiday approaches so bookmark it and check back often. The holidays are . . . on!


URL: http://google-cpg.blogspot.com/2010/11/new-holiday-marketing-central-by-google.html

[G] Recapping the Google Sites webinar

Posted: 02 Nov 2010 06:14 PM PDT

Official Google Docs Blog: Recapping the Google Sites webinar

Guest post: Stephen Hind (commonly known as Steegle) has been a Top Contributor in the Google Sites help forum since its launch in January 2009. Top Contributors are Google-recognized participants of our help forums who exemplify excellent product knowledge, are consistently kind and respectful to others, and are helpful in the forum. He's an avid user of Google Sites both professionally and personally, and creates and manages Google Sites for other businesses. His website (www.steegle.com) contains many FAQs and how-tos for Google Sites and receives 30,000 visits per month.

I began using Google Sites when it was first released for Google Apps in February 2008. When I created my first site, I saw that Google Sites offered the features I wanted on any site: a navigation gadget; a breadcrumb trail; a hierarchical structure; a simple editor; and a configurable look and feel. Since then, I've been offering support to other users because I enjoy helping others get the most out of their sites.

At the beginning of September, Google invited me to present a webinar as part of the Get British Business Online campaign (gbbo.co.uk) to demonstrate how to get more out of Google Sites. The webinar was offered three times that day maximize how many people could watch. During the webinar I presented on these topics:
  • how to create and edit pages
  • revert to previous versions of pages
  • add a logo
  • change and customise themes
  • change site width
  • edit sidebar and horizontal navigation
  • add images directly and from Picasa Web Albums
  • add gadgets for maps, contact us forms and videos.

After the presentation I held a Q&A session. Two questions surfaced in every session: "Why does my site not appear in Google Search?" and "How can I see how many people have visited my site?" I answered these by explaining how to register a Google Site with Google Webmaster Tools and demonstrating how to add Google Analytics to the site. It was great to offer these simple tips to help attendees guarantee the success of their own sites.

It was a wonderful opportunity to show others how Google Sites provides an easy and quick way to create informative and reliable websites. The feedback I received, and continue to get, gives me great encouragement to continue to help the Google Sites community, and I look forward to future opportunities to increase Google Sites usage.

Posted by: Stephen Hind, Google Sites Power User
URL: http://googledocs.blogspot.com/2010/11/recapping-google-sites-webinar.html

[G] New in Google Docs and Google Sites

Posted: 02 Nov 2010 06:14 PM PDT

Official Google Docs Blog: New in Google Docs and Google Sites

Two big advantages of building web applications are frequent feature releases and easier cross-product sharing. Today we have a little of both for you. This week, we are adding version history to uploaded files in the documents list as well as drop downs in horizontal navigation and a new sharing experience to Google Sites.

Version history
Earlier this year, we added the ability to "Upload any file" to Google Docs so that you upload, store, and share any file up to 1 GB in size. Now you can upload new versions of the same file to your document list. Previously, each time you updated a file, you would have to upload the new version as a new file with a new URL, re-share it, and put in the correct folders again.

When you select the "Add or manage versions" option on any file, you can upload new versions of a file, download previous versions, and delete older versions.

Drop down menu in horizontal navs
Sometimes, you want to group information using drop downs and now you can by going More actions > Manage site > Site layout.


New sharing experience
Back in June, we made sharing easier in Google Docs. Today, we extended this simplified sharing experience to Google Sites, unifying the sharing experience across Google Docs and Google Sites. As with Google Docs, Google Sites now be set to one of three visibility options: private, anyone with the link, or public on the web.


The new visibility option is always available at a glance at the top of each site.

With this update, the new "Anyone with the link" setting makes your site available to anyone that knows the unique URL, but blocks search engines from indexing the site. And for those times that someone sends you a link to a site but you don't have access, you can now request access to that site from the access denied page.

As always, we'd love your feedback and if you have any questions, please check out our document list and Google Sites help pages.

Posted by: Mike Procopio, Software Engineer
URL: http://googledocs.blogspot.com/2010/11/new-in-google-docs-and-google-sites.html

[G] New in Google Docs and Google Sites

Posted: 02 Nov 2010 06:13 PM PDT

Official Google Docs Blog: New in Google Docs and Google Sites

Two big advantages of building web applications are frequent feature releases and easier cross-product sharing. Today we have a little of both for you. This week, we are adding version history to uploaded files in the documents list as well as drop downs in horizontal navigation and a new sharing experience to Google Sites.

Version history
Earlier this year, we added the ability to "Upload any file" to Google Docs so that you upload, store, and share any file up to 1 GB in size. Now you can upload new versions of the same file to your document list. Previously, each time you updated a file, you would have to upload the new version as a new file with a new URL, re-share it, and put in the correct folders again.

When you select the "Add or manage versions" option on any file, you can upload new versions of a file, download previous versions, and delete older versions.

Drop down menu in horizontal navs
Sometimes, you want to group information using drop downs and now you can by going More actions > Manage site > Site layout.


New sharing experience
Back in June, we made sharing easier in Google Docs. Today, we extended this simplified sharing experience to Google Sites, unifying the sharing experience across Google Docs and Google Sites. As with Google Docs, Google Sites now be set to one of three visibility options: private, anyone with the link, or public on the web.


The new visibility option is always available at a glance at the top of each site.

With this update, the new "Anyone with the link" setting makes your site available to anyone that knows the unique URL, but blocks search engines from indexing the site. And for those times that someone sends you a link to a site but you don't have access, you can now request access to that site from the access denied page.

As always, we'd love your feedback and if you have any questions, please check out our document list and Google Sites help pages.

Posted by: Mike Procopio, Software Engineer
URL: http://googledocs.blogspot.com/2010/11/new-in-google-docs-and-google-sites.html

[G] Guest post: Writing a book using Google Docs

Posted: 02 Nov 2010 06:12 PM PDT

Official Google Docs Blog: Guest post: Writing a book using Google Docs

Guest post: November is National Writing Month and to celebrate, we've invited Dr. Steven Daviss to talk about how he used Google Docs to write a book with two colleagues. Dr. Daviss is currently the Chairman of Psychiatry at Baltimore Washington Medical Center in Maryland and has been increasingly leveraging his clinical and administrative experience towards a career merging health care policy, informatics, and health care reform.


Two other psychiatrists (Anne Hanson and Dinah Miller) and I have been writing a popular blog (Shrink Rap) about the practice of psychiatry since 2006. A year later, we started a podcast (My Three Shrinks) that has received great reviews in iTunes. Late in 2007, we decided to take some of those posts and weave them together to write a book.

We started out using a desktop word processor to write the book, each chapter being a separate document. We learned about the limitations of making edits and sending out each of our revisions to the other two: we very quickly had multiple out-of-sync versions and the whole thing was a mess. This is from one of Dinah's emails back then: "With 3 people doing this, I need to be able to keep track of what everyone wants to write. As I revise it, I'll change the file to reflect the date, but remember that if you and steve are sending me changes and edits simultaneously, I may not see them or it may get very confusing. Your color is red."

After several weeks of this, we were all seeing red, which was causing a lot of unnecessary tension.

I had used Google Docs collaboratively before to write a couple articles and a few grant proposals, but wasn't sure if we could successfully use it to write an entire 250-plus page book. But I knew it had to be better than what we were doing.

Once we switched to Google Docs, writing the book together became a much more fluid process because we were able to focus on the writing and not on the complications of getting the technology to keep up with us. We imported the first couple chapters and proceeded from there, making each chapter a separate document shared by the three of us and (eventually) our editor. We could write our own chapters privately until they were ready to show our co-authors, then sharing was as simple as clicking a couple buttons. Whenever we changed our minds about what to take out, we were able to restore sections from previously saved versions. We didn't have to think about which version of word processing software someone was using, or if the documents would lose formatting between Mac and Windows. And, I could see when my co-authors were also working on the book, so I knew when to call and talk about the project.

Eighteen months after getting the book contract, we had a completed manuscript ready for copy editing.

Google Docs also helped to save our relationship. Initially, despite being good friends, the three of us had many conflicts about the technology and about the way we wanted to write (e.g., grammar, tense, tone, characters). When we were using emailed versions of documents, our arguments increased. After switching to Google Docs, we went back to our usual level of bickering ;-).

The book is being typeset now by Johns Hopkins University Press and will be out in May of 2011. And we have Google Docs to thank.

Posted by: Steve Daviss MD
URL: http://googledocs.blogspot.com/2010/11/guest-post-writing-book-using-google.html

[G] 2010 Google Summer of Code Mentor Summit

Posted: 02 Nov 2010 05:04 PM PDT

Google Open Source Blog: 2010 Google Summer of Code Mentor Summit

The 2010 Google Summer of Code Mentor Summit was held Saturday and Sunday, October 23rd and 24th, 2010 at Google's headquarters (the "Googleplex") in Mountain View, California. 230 Mentors and Organization Admins from over 120 open source projects attended the summit, once again demonstrating how productive, vibrant, and creative our community is.

The conference was organized as an "unconference," where attendees were responsible for deciding on and providing content for sessions on site. This format works very well because FOSS community members naturally seem to enjoy taking initiative to effect positive change. From organizing conference sessions, to solving logistical issues, to cleaning up conference rooms after the event, everyone helped to efficiently get things done.

The major activities of the conference can be summed up in three words: fellowship, food, and fun.

Attendees began arriving on Friday evening to the meet-and-greet party by the hotel pool, where old friendships were renewed and new ones were formed. Guests turned in relatively early though, as two very full days lay ahead...

Saturday Highlights

• Saturday morning breakfast and lunch at Charlie's Cafe at the Googleplex. Great fuel!
• Saturday unconference session selection process - A surprisingly efficient way to schedule conference sessions very quickly, and with good humor.
• 56 scheduled conference sessions were interesting and well-attended. Notes from many sessions are on the Mentor Summit wiki.
• Although it was a rainy Saturday night, you would never have known it from the amount of fun we had at the hotel. Massive amounts of pizza (and quite a bit of beer) was consumed while equally impressive amounts of social and technical networking was happening at tables in the lounge, in the hot tub, and in the covered tents around the pool.
• Live musical entertainment was provided by Bart Massey, David Percy, myself, and lots of people who sat in on guitar, bass, and keyboards. Thank you all!

Sunday Highlights:

• More great sessions!
• The Google on-site store was open for business and many summit attendees loaded up with top quality swag. Android figurines proved to be extremely popular this year.
• A guided tour of the Googleplex.
• We received our 2010 Mentor Summit t-shirts!
• The summit wrap-up session was built around the question "How can we make the Mentor Summit better?" Many interesting suggestions were discussed during this introspective, conversational talk, and will no doubt be incorporated into future mentor summits.

Some unusual, but very popular summit sessions:

• A chocolate session was presented by Robert Kaye of MusicBrainz. This mouth-watering session included massive amounts of chocolate combined with stimulating discussion of the many merits and uses of this wonderful confection.
• An Advanced Trolling Session, presented by Bart Massey, Jonathan "Duke" Leto, and Selena Deckelmann, explored the fine art of trolling, complete with live examples, and demonstrations of how to deflect, defeat, or subvert trolls, while protecting the host venue. This session was great fun with a serious message.

Some things we learned about ourselves:

• We are part of an incredibly energetic and self-motivated community.
• Given minimal structure we are able to create a productive and enjoyable event.
• There is magic in getting together so many passionate, productive FOSS community members in one place, and allowing them the space to network and create together.
• We can squeeze a lot of practical work and good fun into just two days.
• We are always looking to improve, and given the opportunity we can create solutions and invent better ways of doing things.
• One attendee described the mentor summit as "a rare place where pretty much everybody understands what you're talking about when you discuss code and community."

Major Thanks:

• To the Google Open Source Programs Office for providing the venue, meals, travel reimbursements, and local transportation for the weekend. Special thanks go out to Carol Smith and Cat Allman for all the energy and care they put into the event.
• To OSUOSL for for ongoing hosting of the Google Summer of Code Wiki and setting up an EtherPad instance for note taking use during the conference!
• To the organization Mentors and Admins who attended for making this another productive Mentor Summit!
• To everyone who has supported Google Summer of Code through the years -- you have made a big difference countless ways!

We're already looking forward to next year!

By Marty Connor, Corporate Operations Engineering team
URL: http://google-opensource.blogspot.com/2010/11/2010-google-summer-of-code-mentor.html

[G] Rewarding web application security research

Posted: 02 Nov 2010 11:48 AM PDT

Google Online Security Blog: Rewarding web application security research

Posted by Chris Evans, Neel Mehta, Adam Mein, Matt Moore, and Michal Zalewski; Google Security Team

Back in January of this year, the Chromium open source project launched a well-received vulnerability reward program. In the months since launch, researchers reporting a wide range of great bugs have received rewards — a small summary of which can be found in the Hall of Fame. We've seen a sustained increase in the number of high quality reports from researchers, and their combined efforts are contributing to a more secure Chromium browser for millions of users.

Today, we are announcing an experimental new vulnerability reward program that applies to Google web properties. We already enjoy working with an array of researchers to improve Google security, and some individuals who have provided high caliber reports are listed on our credits page. As well as enabling us to thank regular contributors in a new way, we hope our new program will attract new researchers and the types of reports that help make our users safer.

In the spirit of the original Chromium blog post, we have some information about the new program in a question and answer format below:

Q) What applications are in scope?
A) Any Google web properties which display or manage highly sensitive authenticated user data or accounts may be in scope. Some examples could include:
  • *.google.com
  • *.youtube.com
  • *.blogger.com
  • *.orkut.com
For now, Google's client applications (e.g. Android, Picasa, Google Desktop, etc) are not in scope. We may expand the program in the future.

Q) What classes of bug are in scope?
A) It's difficult to provide a definitive list of vulnerabilities that will be rewarded, however, any serious bug which directly affects the confidentiality or integrity of user data may be in scope. We anticipate most rewards will be in bug categories such as:
  • XSS
  • XSRF / CSRF
  • XSSI (cross-site script inclusion)
  • Bypassing authorization controls (e.g. User A can access User B's private data)
  • Server side code execution or command injection
Out of concern for the availability of our services to all users, we ask you to refrain from using automated testing tools.

These categories of bugs are definitively excluded:
  • attacks against Google's corporate infrastructure
  • social engineering and physical attacks
  • denial of service bugs
  • non-web application vulnerabilities, including vulnerabilities in client applications
  • SEO blackhat techniques
  • vulnerabilities in Google-branded websites hosted by third parties
  • bugs in technologies recently acquired by Google
Q) How far should I go to demonstrate a vulnerability?
A) Please, only ever target your own account or a test account. Never attempt to access anyone else's data. Do not engage in any activity that bombards Google services with large numbers of requests or large volumes of data.

Q) I've found a vulnerability — how do I report it?
A) Contact details are listed here. Please only use the email address given for actual vulnerabilities in Google products. Non-security bugs and queries about problems with your account should should instead be directed to the Google Help Centers.

Q) What reward might I get?
A) The base reward for qualifying bugs is $500. If the rewards panel finds a particular bug to be severe or unusually clever, rewards of up to $3,133.7 may be issued. The panel may also decide a single report actually constitutes multiple bugs requiring reward, or that multiple reports constitute only a single reward.

We understand that some researchers aren't interested in the money, so we'd also like to give you the option to donate your reward to charity. If you do, we'll match it — subject to our discretion.

Regardless of whether you're rewarded monetarily or not, all vulnerability reporters who interact with us in a respectful, productive manner will be credited on a new vulnerability reporter page. If we file a bug internally, you'll be credited.

Superstar performers will continue to be acknowledged under the "We Thank You" section of this page.

Q) How do I find out if my bug qualified for a reward?
A) You will receive a comment to this effect in an emailed response from the Google Security Team.

Q) What if someone else also found the same bug?
A) Only the first report of a given issue that we had not yet identified is eligible. In the event of a duplicate submission, only the earliest received report is considered.

Q) Will bugs disclosed without giving Google developers an opportunity to fix them first still qualify?
A) We believe handling vulnerabilities responsibly is a two-way street. It's our job to fix serious bugs within a reasonable time frame, and we in turn request advance, private notice of any issues that are uncovered. Vulnerabilities that are disclosed to any party other than Google, except for the purposes of resolving the vulnerability (for example, an issue affecting multiple vendors), will usually not qualify. This includes both full public disclosure and limited private release.

Q) Do I still qualify if I disclose the problem publicly once fixed?
A) Yes, absolutely! We encourage open collaboration. We will also make sure to credit you on our new vulnerability reporter page.

Q) Who determines whether a given bug is eligible?
A) Several members of the Google Security Team including Chris Evans, Neel Mehta, Adam Mein, Matt Moore, and Michal Zalewski.

Q) Are you going to list my name on a public web page?
A) Only if you want us to. If selected as the recipient of a reward, and you accept, we will need your contact details in order to pay you. However, at your discretion, you can choose not to be listed on any credit page.

Q) No doubt you wanted to make some legal points?
A) Sure. We encourage broad participation. However, we are unable to issue rewards to individuals who are on sanctions lists, or who are in countries (e.g. Cuba, Iran, North Korea, Sudan and Syria) on sanctions lists. This program is also not open to minors. You are responsible for any tax implications depending on your country of residency and citizenship. There may be additional restrictions on your ability to enter depending upon your local law.

This is not a competition, but rather an experimental and discretionary rewards program. You should understand that we can cancel the program at any time, and the decision as to whether or not to pay a reward has to be entirely at our discretion.

Of course, your testing must not violate any law, or disrupt or compromise any data that is not your own.

Thank you for helping us to make Google's products more secure. We look forward to issuing our first reward in this new program.
URL: http://googleonlinesecurity.blogspot.com/2010/11/rewarding-web-application-security.html

[G] Measure the phone calls you get from AdWords

Posted: 02 Nov 2010 11:34 AM PDT

Inside AdWords: Measure the phone calls you get from AdWords

What if you found out that your AdWords campaigns were bringing you more customers than you realized?

Zac Stafford, Senior Search Strategist at Nina Hale Search Marketing in Minneapolis, MN, recently discovered that this was true for his client, modern furniture retailer Room & Board. Stafford saw some encouraging results as an early beta tester of AdWords call metrics, a new feature that automatically includes a unique phone number in your ads to measure the calls that you receive from AdWords.

"By cross-checking our call metrics reports with our sales records, we saw that half the people who called the toll free number in our ad purchased online but the other half purchased in a store. Before using call metrics, we determined our ROI just by looking at the online sales numbers. Now we have proof that online search ad campaigns drive in-store purchases."

Today we're announcing that AdWords call metrics is available for more advertisers, making it easier than ever to measure the phone calls that AdWords generates for your business. Using the technology behind Google Voice, call metrics assigns your campaign a unique phone number which is automatically inserted into your ad on both desktop and high-end mobile devices, where the number is clickable.

Call metrics ad at the top of the search results:

click for full size image

Call metrics at the right of the search results:


click for full size image

Call metrics ad on a high-end mobile device:

When a user calls the number in your ad, the call is automatically routed to your business, and AdWords notes that this call took place. Then, when you look at your AdWords reports, you'll see the number of calls generated by each campaign, call duration, and in the near future, caller area code. You'll still only pay for clicks on your ads, but we intend to charge for call metrics in the future.

Once you know where your calls are coming from, you can refine your marketing strategy to make sure you're getting the most out of your ads. For example, you could test different ad text variations to see which results in the most calls or reallocate budget to campaigns that truly bring you the highest ROI.

Currently, call metrics is only available to a limited number of US advertisers. We plan to make the feature available to more advertisers in the coming months. To find out if call metrics is available in your account and to learn more about the feature, visit Google Ad Innovations.



Additionally, if you want to see call metrics in action, watch the video above.


Posted by Surojit Chatterjee, Senior Product Manager, AdWords
URL: http://adwords.blogspot.com/2010/11/measure-phone-calls-you-get-from.html

[G] Get started with mobile advertising in a new live online course

Posted: 02 Nov 2010 11:34 AM PDT

Inside AdWords: Get started with mobile advertising in a new live online course

On Wednesday, November 3rd we'll be hosting a live online course about how you can start using mobile advertising to reach more customers.

Did you know that there are now 4 billion mobile phone owners globally? Half of all new internet connections come from mobile devices, and by 2014 it's projected that there will be more mobile internet users than desktop internet users.*

In this course we'll take you through the changing landscape of mobile advertising. We'll also show you how to identify if users use mobile devices to find your services and how to set up Mobile Search and Display Campaigns.

This course is for those of you interested in learning more about mobile advertising and how to easily set up your AdWords account to target more users on mobile devices. The interactive course will be delivered by an Online Media Specialist and will take approximately 1 hour including time for Q&A. It will take place on Wednesday 3rd November from 3pm - 4pm BST / GMT+1 (London), 10am-11am EST (New York), 7am-8am PST (San Francisco).

If you're interested in this course, sign up now!

*Morgan Stanley report, 'Internet Trends' published on April 12, 2010.

Posted by Gordon Zhu, Inside AdWords crew
URL: http://adwords.blogspot.com/2010/11/get-started-with-mobile-advertising-in.html

[G] Election results and trends, live on YouTube tonight

Posted: 02 Nov 2010 10:09 AM PDT

YouTube Blog: Election results and trends, live on YouTube tonight

It's been a memorable campaign season on YouTube, but the time for persuasion and debate is over -- now it's time to vote. As polling results come in from across the country, we're partnering with CBS News to live stream election results and highlight election trends on YouTube and Google. Tune in starting at 9 p.m. ET to youtube.com/CBSNews.



Already, CBS has been highlighting election trends through data from Google and YouTube platforms. In addition to analyzing the top political videos on YouTube, they're watching Google Trends and Insights for Search to determine what people are searching for and watching online. This approach of examining web trends adds a new level of depth to election reporting and is a model that news organizations can use for any major event or milestone. You can expect more data on tonight's broadcast. We've already seen today that 9 of the top 10 searches on Google.com today are election-related -- most of them queries on where to vote.



In addition to following the election trends tonight, CBS is also asking for your election feedback and ideas on a Google Moderator series on their channel. Login now and submit your thoughts and questions. The top-voted submissions could end up on air.



Ramya Raghavan, YouTube News and Politics, recently watched "I Remember"


URL: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/youtube/PKJx/~3/n574GxIv6YA/election-results-and-trends-live-on.html

[G] Announcing the Panoramio Photo Contest

Posted: 02 Nov 2010 09:29 AM PDT

Google LatLong: Announcing the Panoramio Photo Contest

The Panoramio community enables you to share your photos and explore them on Google Earth, Google Maps and other places. If you've never geo-tagged a photo, watch this video to learn how easy it is to add photos to the Panoramio layer in Google Earth.

Now you can add some excitement to your photo project and enter your photos to the monthly Panoramio Geotagged Photo Contest! Starting this month, we'll be giving away the new Casio Hybrid-GPS camera EX-H20G to the winner of each category (Scenery, Heritage, Travel and Unusual Location). The Panoramio community reviews all of the submissions and votes for what they consider to be the best each month.


Casio's new Hybrid-GPS camera combines a GPS engine with autonomic positioning made possible by a motion sensor. This makes geotagging easy—both outdoors and indoors.


If you haven't joined the Panoramio community yet, try it out and don't forget to participate in our monthly contest. To enter your photo, click on "Submit to the contest" and choose a category. Good luck and we can't wait to see your photos!

Posted by Gerard Sanz, Panoramio Community Manager
URL: http://google-latlong.blogspot.com/2010/11/announcing-panoramio-photo-contest.html

[G] Google Places now more widely available in Asia

Posted: 02 Nov 2010 09:29 AM PDT

Google LatLong: Google Places now more widely available in Asia


People often use the Internet to look for businesses in their nearby vicinity. For example, a mother in Karachi might be trying to find a dentist for her teenager, or a young professional in Colombo may find himself in need of a computer repair shop. People also go online to research places they might visit when traveling, such as a dive shop in Palau, a backpacker hostel in Kathmandu, or a cooking class in Phnom Penh.

Because of this increasing trend in which people search online to find local establishments, business owners all over the world are realizing how simple and easy it is to reach their target customers through free business listings on Google.com and Google Maps. We've been gradually expanding access to our online database of local information, called Google Places, and it has recently become available to businesses and locations in 30 additional countries in Asia.

Example of business listings displayed on google.com

If you haven't already claimed your free listing in Google Places, doing so can help ensure that customers see accurate information about your business, and increase your likelihood of being found from desktop and mobile devices - even if you don't have a website. With your free Google Places account, you can:
  • Be found: Verify your information to make sure people can find you on Google
  • Stand out: Engage customers with photos, coupons, custom posts on your Place page and more
  • Get insights: Use info about your listing to make smarter business decisions
Any business located in a region where Google Places is available (now more than 100 countries) can sign in to Google Places at any time to claim or update their listing. And for those of you specifically located in South Asia (Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Maldives), Southeast Asia (Macau, Cambodia, Myanmar, Brunei, Laos), Western Asia (Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan), North Asia (Nepal, Afghanistan, Bhutan, Mongolia), and the Pacific (Fiji, French Polynesia, New Caledonia, Guam, Papua New Guinea, Northern Mariana Islands, Vanuatu, Solomon Islands, Tonga, Samoa, American Samoa and Palau), we warmly welcome you and invite you to check it out!

Posted by Andrew McGlinchey, Product Manager
URL: http://google-latlong.blogspot.com/2010/11/google-places-now-more-widely-available.html
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