Friday, November 19, 2010

Googland

Googland

Googland

[G] Street View comes to 20 German cities

Posted: 19 Nov 2010 02:52 AM PST

Google LatLong: Street View comes to 20 German cities


Two weeks ago, we celebrated with the people of Oberstaufen when we made available the first ever images for Street View in Germany. Today I'm pleased to let you know that you can explore even more of Germany because we've just released 360-degree, street level imagery of Germany's 20 largest cities, including Berlin, Hamburg, my home town of Munich and more.

If you haven't yet been to Germany, or if you simply want to refresh your memory from a previous visit, here are some places that might be fun to explore. These panoramic images that virtually transport you without the hassle of a plane ticket are now accessible directly from Google Maps.

Okay, I know it's obvious, but the Brandenburg Gate in Berlin is one of Europe's most iconic monuments:


For a complete change of scenery, check out this traditional German architecture, near Hamburg's historic port in Speicherstadt:


And here's a personal recommendation for a place where I spend a lot of time and is a good example of a traditional German cafe:


In this latest Street View release, we're also making some improvements to the way we obscure images of houses, cars or people when asked to do so using our "Report a problem" tool. Our new manual blurring process completely blocks out a house, car or person, but no longer cuts out all the surrounding scenery as well, such as a nearby street sign or trees. This enables us to respect requests for removal without blacking out the entire area. You can see an example below.


Since first using this new blurring method in Germany a couple of weeks ago, we're now rolling this out everywhere Street View is available for all new removal requests. As always, people should continue to use the "Report a problem" tool and we'll review all requests promptly.

We hope you enjoy your virtual travels to Germany!

Posted by Andreas Tuerk, Product Manager
URL: http://google-latlong.blogspot.com/2010/11/street-view-comes-to-20-german-cities.html

[G] YouTube highlights – 11/18/2010

Posted: 18 Nov 2010 07:57 PM PST

Official Google Blog: YouTube highlights – 11/18/2010

This is the latest in our series of YouTube highlights. Every couple of weeks, we bring you regular updates on new product features, interesting programs to watch, and tips you can use to grow your audience on YouTube. Just look for the label "YouTube Highlights" and subscribe to the series. – Ed.

Since our last update, we've reached a new milestone in video uploads, seen new comedy and music programs launch, and shared a new, more "cinematic" YouTube viewing experience with Google Chrome. Read about all of it below.

35 hours of video uploaded to YouTube every minute
Remember in March when we shared that more than 24 hours of video was being uploaded to YouTube every minute? Well, our users continue to amaze us, and as of last week, 35 hours of video are uploaded to YouTube every minute. If we were to measure that in movie terms (assuming the average Hollywood film is around 120 minutes long), it's the equivalent of more than 176,000 full-length Hollywood releases every week.

Laugh along with us and Comedy Thunder
NextNewNetworks, the YouTube partner responsible for bringing original content like Obama Girl and Key of Awesome to YouTube, recently launched a new series called "Comedy Thunder." Eight comedy teams and comedians will each post a video based on a specific theme that changes every week. Here's one of the latest videos:



Do you love K-POP?
Korean pop music or "K-POP" has earned millions of fans around the world. MBC, a major TV network in Korea, has joined with YouTube to search the world for the next big K-POP talent. Check out some of the top Korean music labels like YG Entertainment, SM Entertainment and JYP Entertainment for inspiration before submitting an audition video. Don't worry if you don't speak Korean; you can audition in any language.


The Mexican Revolution on YouTube
November 20 marks the 100th anniversary of the start of the Mexican Revolution and we'll observe that anniversary on YouTube by celebrating a new revolution: Mexican film-making. Thanks to YouTube partner Mubi, we'll present feature film Revolución, made up of 10 individual shorts that explore the topic of Mexico's revolution from celebrated filmmakers such as Gael Garcia Bernal, Diego Luna, Carlos Reygadas, Rodrigo Garcia and Patricia Riggen. You'll also have the opportunity to get your questions answered by the filmmakers using Google Moderator for YouTube.



Google Chrome browser extensions for YouTube
For you movie buffs out there, we did some research and found a few handy Chrome extensions that can make your YouTube viewing experience more "cinematic." For example, Window Expander for YouTube maximizes YouTube videos to fill your entire browser. With Turn Off the Lights, you can make the entire page outside the video fade to dark like you're in a movie theater. The OpinionCloud extension summarizes comments on YouTube, so you can quickly get the crowd's overall opinion.

The Google Chrome team also recently released an extension called YouTube Feed, which notifies you whenever new videos are available in your YouTube homepage feed. You can directly access, rate and like videos—right in your browser.

Give YouTube Topics on Search a whirl
We know that sometimes people come to YouTube looking for a specific video, but at other times, they have only a rough idea of the kind of videos they want. We've been there too, and have been thinking for a while about this challenge of searching when you don't yet know exactly what you're looking for. Here's our take on how discovery for videos could work on YouTube in the not-too-distant future. Find out what happens when we search for [LOL] and [cat] to find funny cat videos.



YouTube marketing tips for advertisers
Many businesses use YouTube to get the word out about their company, launch a new product or connect with customers. Orabrush has earned 13 million video views from a video made for just $500 about its tongue-cleaner, and has used YouTube along with Google AdWords to achieve more than $1 million in sales. The Orabrush team offered five tips for success in this recorded webcast with AdAge.

And finally—if you missed the live-streamed Bon Jovi concert, you can still catch it on the band's YouTube channel. To stay-up-to-date on YouTube news and events, visit us on the YouTube Blog.

Posted by Serena Satyasai, Marketing Manager, The YouTube Team
URL: http://googleblog.blogspot.com/2010/11/youtube-highlights-11182010.html

[G] A curious guide to browsers and the web

Posted: 18 Nov 2010 07:57 PM PST

Official Google Blog: A curious guide to browsers and the web

Twenty years ago this month, Tim Berners-Lee published his proposal for the World Wide Web. Today, the web is an explosion of pages and apps teeming with videos, photos and interactive content. These powerful new web experiences—such as "The Wilderness Downtown," our HTML5 collaboration with the band Arcade Fire—are possible thanks to cutting-edge web technologies that bring all this content to life in the modern browser.

But how do browsers and the web actually work? What is HTML5—or HTML, for that matter? What do terms like "cookies" or "cloud computing" even mean? More practically, how can we keep ourselves safe from security threats like viruses when we're online?

To help answer these questions, we collaborated with the wonderful illustrator Christoph Niemann to publish an online guidebook called "20 Things I Learned about Browsers and the Web." This handy guide is for those of us who'd like to better understand the technologies we use every day.


"20 Things" is written by the Chrome team, and continues our tradition of finding new ways to help explain complex but fascinating ideas about technology. Many of the examples used to illustrate the features of the browser refer back to Chrome.

We built "20 Things" in HTML5 so that we could incorporate features that hearken back to what we love about books—feeling the heft of a book's cover, flipping a page or even reading under the covers with a flashlight. In fact, once you've loaded "20 Things" in the browser, you can disconnect your laptop and continue reading, since this guidebook works offline. As such, this illustrated guidebook is best experienced in Chrome or any up-to-date, HTML5-compliant modern browser.

For things you've always wanted to know about the web and browsers but may have been afraid to ask, read on at www.20thingsilearned.com (or, you can use the handy shortened URL at goo.gl/20things). If you find "20 Things" informative, don't forget to share it with your friends and family!

Posted by Min Li Chan, Product Marketing Manager, Google Chrome
URL: http://googleblog.blogspot.com/2010/11/curious-guide-to-browsers-and-web.html

[G] Tips & Tricks: Creating new Google Docs from your mobile

Posted: 18 Nov 2010 03:29 PM PST

Official Google Docs Blog: Tips & Tricks: Creating new Google Docs from your mobile

Yesterday, we announced mobile editing on Google Docs, which we've now rolled out to all English-language users.

One of the new features that launched is creating new documents and spreadsheets on your phone. This is particularly useful to jot down quick notes on the run, whether it's capturing that game-changing idea for your company while at the gym, or typing out your grocery list on the train ride home.

Head to docs.google.com from your mobile and tap the create new icon at the top of your mobile Docs List. From here, you can name the spreadsheet or document and get started editing immediately:


For now, we support certain mobile devices, though we're working hard to accommodate other platforms as well.

Creating a new doc is just one of several new features available on your mobile device, and we'd love to know how you're using your Docs on the go -- be sure to let us know in the comments.

Posted by: Bob Rose, Senior Software Engineer
URL: http://googledocs.blogspot.com/2010/11/tips-tricks-creating-new-google-docs.html

[G] Ten times more applications for Google Apps customers

Posted: 18 Nov 2010 09:31 AM PST

Official Google Blog: Ten times more applications for Google Apps customers

(Cross-posted on the Google Enterprise Blog and the Google Small Business Blog)

As customers begin to recognize large productivity gains with Gmail, Google Docs and the rest of Google Apps, they frequently ask when they'll be able to use services like Google Voice, Reader, Blogger and AdWords with their Google Apps accounts. We've steadily added new functionality to Google Apps and recently added support for third-party apps, but we're thrilled to swing the floodgates of new functionality wide open now. Starting today, customers worldwide can access a full spectrum of services from Google—including more than 60 productivity-boosting applications that extend far beyond any traditional software suite.

Coupled with the ability for administrators to provide different sets of applications to different groups of users, the possibilities for empowering workers in new ways are remarkable. For example, you could equip your marketing team with Picasa Web Albums so they can collect and share photos from customer appreciation events, and let that team publish your company's blog with Blogger. Services like iGoogle and Alerts, on the other hand, may be broadly useful, and could be enabled for your whole organization.



Existing customers can transition at their own pace over the next couple months to the new infrastructure supporting these applications from the administrative control panel. New customers will automatically have the new infrastructure. The additional services are not covered by the Google Apps SLA or telephone support, but we'll be watching for feedback how we can make these new applications even more useful.

In tandem with this big improvement, we're also simplifying the names of the versions of Google Apps. Here's how we now refer to our line-up:
  • Google Apps is our free service geared towards families, entrepreneurs and other groups up to 50 users.
  • Google Apps for Business offers 25GB of email storage per user, a 99.9% uptime guarantee, data migration capabilities, advanced management tools, telephone support, added security features and more, all for $50 per user per year.
  • Google Apps for Government is FISMA certified and designed with local, state and federal agencies in mind.
  • Google Apps for Education offers many benefits of Google Apps for Business, but at no cost to schools, universities and qualifying non-profits.
The team has worked hard to unlock all of this new functionality for our customers, and we think many of these new applications will become indispensable within your organization. To help get you started, each day the Google Enterprise Blog will profile how your organization could put a different application to use. The first post tomorrow will focus on Google Reader, so visit the Enterprise Blog to follow the series.

Posted by Derek Parham, Lead Software Engineer, Google Apps
URL: http://googleblog.blogspot.com/2010/11/ten-times-more-applications-for-google.html
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