Thursday, December 9, 2010

Googland

Googland

[G] Discover more than 3 million Google eBooks from your choice of booksellers and devices

Posted: 09 Dec 2010 03:03 AM PST

Inside Google Books: Discover more than 3 million Google eBooks from your choice of booksellers and devices

Posted by Abraham Murray, Product Manager, Google Books

Today is the first page in a new chapter of our mission to improve access to the cultural and educational treasures we know as books. Google eBooks will be available in the U.S. from a new Google eBookstore. You can browse and search through the largest ebooks collection in the world with more than three million titles including hundreds of thousands for sale. Find the latest bestsellers like James Patterson's Cross Fire and Jonathan Franzen's Freedom, dig into popular reads like Laura Hillenbrand's Unbroken and catch up on the classics like Great Expectations, A Tale of Two Cities and Gulliver's Travels.




We designed Google eBooks to be open. Many devices are compatible with Google eBooks—everything from laptops to netbooks to tablets to smartphones to e-readers. With the new Google eBooks Web Reader, you can buy, store and read Google eBooks in the cloud. That means you can access your ebooks like you would messages in Gmail or photos in Picasa—using a free, password-protected Google account with unlimited ebooks storage.

In addition to a full-featured web reader, free apps for Android and Apple devices will make it possible to shop and read on the go. For many books you can select which font, font size, day/night reading mode and line spacing suits you—and pick up on the page where you left off when switching devices.

You can discover and buy new ebooks from the Google eBookstore or get them from one of our independent bookseller partners: Powell's, Alibris and participating members of the American Booksellers Association. You can choose where to buy your ebooks like you choose where to buy your print books, and keep them all on the same bookshelf regardless of where you got them.

When Google Books first launched in 2004, we set out to make the information stored in the world's books accessible and useful online. Since then, we've digitized more than 15 million books from more than 35,000 publishers, more than 40 libraries, and more than 100 countries in more than 400 languages. This deep repository of knowledge and culture will continue to be searchable through Google Books search in the research section alongside the ebookstore.


Launching Google eBooks is an initial step toward giving you greater access to the vast variety of information and entertainment found in books. Our journey has just begun. We welcome your feedback as we read on to the next chapter.

(Cross-posted from the Official Google Blog)
URL: http://booksearch.blogspot.com/2010/12/discover-more-than-3-million-google.html

[G] An update on Chrome, the Web Store and Chrome OS

Posted: 09 Dec 2010 12:44 AM PST

Google Chrome Blog: An update on Chrome, the Web Store and Chrome OS

On the Chrome team, we're constantly amazed by the speed of innovation on the web. We designed Chrome to make the web shine, and we hope our upcoming efforts will help support this vibrant ecosystem even more. By making the web faster, helping people discover great apps, and making computers more fun to use, the next year of computing should be even more exciting than the last one.

Chrome

This year, the number of people using Chrome has tripled from 40 to 120 million. Speed is what people love most about Chrome, and we're always working to make the browser even faster. Therefore we're bringing Google Instant to the Omnibox, showing search results and loading web pages as you type. We've also overhauled V8, Chrome's JavaScript engine. It now runs complex JavaScript programs up to twice as fast as before. These two features are available in our early access channels and will be rolling out to all users soon.

Chrome Web Store

Today the Chrome Web Store is open for business. Developers have already started uploading apps, and we expect the number to grow over time. Right now the store is only available in the U.S., but will expand to many countries and currencies early next year. The store will be featured prominently in Chrome, helping people discover great apps and developers reach millions of users around the world.

Chrome OS

Last year, we announced our effort to design an operating system that is built and optimized for the web. Many people already spend all their time in a web browser, and by building an operating system that is essentially a browser, we can make computers faster, much simpler and fundamentally more secure.

We're not done yet, but Chrome OS is at the stage where we need feedback from real users. Some of the features of Chrome OS require new hardware, but we didn't want to sell pre-beta computers. Instead we're launching a pilot program where we will give test notebooks to qualified users, developers, schools and businesses. We're starting with the U.S. and will expand to other countries once we get the necessary certifications. To participate in the pilot program, visit the Chrome notebook website.

The test notebooks exist only to test the software—they are black, have no branding, no logos, no stickers, nothing. They do have 12.1 inch screens, full-sized keyboards and touch pads, integrated 3G from Verizon, eight hours of battery life and eight days of standby time. Chrome notebooks are designed to reach the web instantly, are easy to share among friends and family, and simply by logging in, all of your apps, bookmarks and other browser settings are there. Setting up a new machine takes less than a minute. And even at this early stage, we feel there is no consumer or business operating system that is more secure.

In the first half of next year Chrome notebooks will be available for sale from Acer and Samsung. More manufacturers will follow. Also, Chrome OS is designed to work across a wide range of screen sizes and form factors, enabling our partners to deliver computing devices beyond notebooks.

We're excited to get Chrome notebooks into the hands of users. The data from our test pilots is key to building something wonderful. We look forward to working together to make computers better.

Posted by Linus Upson, VP Engineering and Sundar Pichai, VP Product Management
URL: http://chrome.blogspot.com/2010/12/update-on-chrome-web-store-and-chrome.html

[G] YouTube 2.1 App Now Available on Android Market

Posted: 08 Dec 2010 07:28 PM PST

Official Google Mobile Blog: YouTube 2.1 App Now Available on Android Market

When you're watching a video on YouTube, how often do you JUST watch the video? If you're like me, you scroll down, maybe read the video description and glance over at the related videos to choose what you might watch next.

Today the latest YouTube app, version 2.1, is available on the Android Market, so YouTube app updates aren't tied to Android OS releases anymore. The app was rebuilt from the ground up to mirror the YouTube desktop experience and is our fastest, most intuitive YouTube mobile app to date.

What's new:
  • In-page playback: you can read the video description, browse related, rate or flag videos without having to interrupt video playback.
  • Posting comments: you can post a comment while the video is playing, just like on the desktop website.
  • Subscription updates: we've made it easier to access new videos from your subscriptions. If you are signed into your account, you will see all your subscription updates right on the home screen of the app.
  • New full-screen UI: To enter full-screen mode simply rotate the phone. The new player controls make it easier to seek within the video, and you can pause or resume the playback by just tapping on the screen.
Following our famous mantra 'launch early, iterate often', we first released an early version of the unbundled app a few of weeks ago, collected user feedback, and addressed the key user requests in version 2.1.

Please note that the new YouTube app only works on devices running Android 2.2. To install it, search for 'YouTube' in Android Market. It also comes pre-installed on many upcoming Android 2.3 devices, such as the Nexus S.



Posted by Andrey Doronichev, YouTube Mobile Product Manager, recently watched "Huge Bike Jump into a Pond 35 feet in the air"
URL: http://googlemobile.blogspot.com/2010/12/youtube-21-app-now-available-on-android.html

[G] Santa’s calling (from his Google Voice number)

Posted: 08 Dec 2010 07:23 PM PST

Google Talkabout: Santa's calling (from his Google Voice number)

Growing up, December was always a favorite month of mine. School would let out for two weeks, snowflakes would start falling and I'd write my letter to Santa to remind him that I'd been especially good that year (and ask if he'd mind bringing me a few Ninja Turtles). He never answered those letters—he's a busy guy, after all—but what if he could pick up the phone and call me instead? What if Santa had Google Voice and could easily call all the kids on his list?

Well, this year he can—with your help. If you know a kid (of any age) who'd like to hear from Santa, create and send a personalized phone call from the jolly man in the red suit himself at sendacallfromsanta.com.

There are hundreds of options to choose from, so you can send unique, customized phone calls to anyone you know, from your nieces and nephews to old college friends, over the phone (to U.S. numbers only) or via email, Facebook or Twitter.

If you or your kids have a special request or message for Santa, you can leave him a message at his Google Voice number: 855-34-SANTA. Although he's too busy to return messages himself, you can always create one on his behalf at the Send a Call From Santa site.

Ready to spread some holiday cheer? Listen to a sample message, and visit sendacallfromsanta.com to send a message of your own.

And don't forget—if you want to keep up with Santa as he travels around the globe delivering presents on Christmas Eve, you can track his journey on Google Maps, on Google Earth with the plug-in and on your mobile phone, too.

Posted by Michael Bolognino, Product Marketing Manager
URL: http://googletalk.blogspot.com/2010/12/santas-calling-from-his-google-voice.html

[G] Aspiring filmmakers invited to enter Tropfest 2011

Posted: 08 Dec 2010 06:54 PM PST

YouTube Blog: Aspiring filmmakers invited to enter Tropfest 2011

This is a guest post by John Polson, the founder and director of the world's largest short film festival, Tropfest. Entries are now open for Tropfest 2011, and for the first time it's a truly global initiative - finalists will be flown from anywhere in the world to the festival screening in Sydney on February 20, 2011. John talks here about how Tropfest came about.

There are two things I know about good ideas: They almost never happen overnight and they're almost never borne of a single person.

Certainly, that's how it was for Tropfest. Today, the world's largest short film festival attracts a crowd of around 150,000 in Sydney each February, as well as thousands more in New York and other cities at other times of the year.

But it certainly didn't start out that way. I made a short film when I was 27 and, unable to afford a cinema, decided to screen it at the Tropicana café in Sydney where much of it was shot. Expecting around 20 cast and crew to show up, I arrived on the night to find 200 people there, waiting to see my movie.

The film was pretty average (it was called "Surry Hills: 902 Spring Roll" so that gives you some idea…) but the night was an undisputed triumph. Dozens and dozens of people crammed into the café, trying to get a glimpse of the screen I'd borrowed for the occasion.

Almost immediately, this one-night event took on a life of its own, largely because of the enthusiasm of a whole new breed of young filmmakers that were hanging around the Tropicana Café at the time, looking for something to pour their creative energy into.

So what was it that grabbed us all that night? I believe, without realizing it, we were tapping into something that's inside all of us: the basic human desire for story.

People need stories. Cavemen would come back after a big hunt, frustrated that they weren't able to convey the emotion and excitement of what they'd been through, so they'd tell stories – paint pictures – so that others could feel like they were right there with them.

Stories about other people give context to our own lives. They're used for entertainment, for teaching, and for passing on knowledge and wisdom. The technologies we use today may be new, but storytelling itself is anything but.

Speaking of technology, there has never been a better time in the history of the planet to pick up a camera or a mobile phone and tell your own visual story. People share their stories every day (see here for some Tropfest highlights from the past few years). This year, we're proud to continue to empower storytelling through YouTube, and we're calling on you to submit your short film for the 19th annual Movie Extra Tropfest competition. You can be of any age and nationality, and for the first time ever, any filmmaker from outside Australia whose film is chosen as a finalist to screen at the festival will be flown to Sydney, Australia, for the event on February 20, 2011.



You can find all the guidelines for submission here, and entries close on Thursday January 6, 2011 at 6pm (Australian Eastern Daylight Time).

So if you've got an idea, or even if you haven't, pick up a camera and see what happens.

Here's a story for you: a guy makes a short film and 150,000 people show up. That's my story and I'm sticking to it.

John Polson, Founder and Director of Tropfest, recently watched Lucky.


URL: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/youtube/PKJx/~3/VrtZt3l6tmY/aspiring-filmmakers-invited-to-enter.html

[G] Now available with Google Apps: Google Checkout

Posted: 08 Dec 2010 05:42 PM PST

Official Google Enterprise Blog: Now available with Google Apps: Google Checkout



Editor's note: We recently launched an improvement that makes over 60 additional Google services available to Google Apps users. This series showcases what's new and how your organization can benefit.



Welcome to Google Checkout
With global online sales measured in hundreds of billions of dollars annually*, how does your company process its online orders? Do you worry about order path friction causing customers to drop out before completing their purchase? How do you help your customers feel secure and protected from fraud when they purchase online? Whether you don't yet have a checkout solution or you're looking to give your customers multiple checkout options, you now have an additional tool at your disposal that is integrated with Google Apps: Google Checkout.

Google Checkout is a fast and highly secure online checkout process that allows your customers to buy from you quickly and easily with a single login.


Not only does Google Checkout provide a flexible shopping cart and payment infrastructure that enables customers to buy from you online, but the use of Google Checkout can also bring other benefits to you as a seller. For example, Google Checkout's fast, convenient checkout process reduces transaction friction by using customers' existing Google accounts and has increased conversion rates by as much as 40% for some sellers. Also, our data shows that Google Checkout customers click on search advertisements 10% more often if those ads feature the Google Checkout badge, bringing more traffic to those sellers' sites.

Most importantly, Google Checkout gives customers peace of mind when they shop online because our fraud policy offers protection against unauthorized purchase and users can use their existing Google account instead of entering their data again. Sellers also benefit directly from fraud protection with our Payment Guarantee Policy.

Best of all, it's quick and easy to add Google Checkout functionality to your website using various integration options, including Buy Now buttons, custom shopping carts, and the Google Checkout Store Gadget, which allows you to quickly set up a storefront for buyers in over 140 countries.



Google Checkout runs in Google's cloud, so there is no hardware to maintain or software to update. And Google Checkout can be integrated with your Google Apps account, allowing you to quickly and easily insert a Checkout store gadget into a site you create with Google Sites or Blogger.

Learn more and get started
Google Checkout can be enabled by your domain administrator from the Google Apps Control Panel at https://www.google.com/a/[your_domain.com] (replace [your_domain.com] with your actual domain name). If your organization isn't using Google Apps yet, you can learn more and sign up today at http://www.google.com/apps/more.

For more information about Google Checkout, take our product tour. You can visit our Help Center for answers to specific questions or check out our blog for the latest updates.

Share your story
Have you already started using Google Checkout at your organization, or plan to now that it's available? Please share your story and your organization could be featured in the next Gone Google ad campaign!


Posted by Satyajeet Salgar, Product Manager, Google Checkout

Note: Google Checkout may not be available in all areas.
* Source eMarketer, 2009.
URL: http://googleenterprise.blogspot.com/2010/12/now-available-with-google-apps-google_08.html

[G] Chrome notebooks check-in to the world’s largest hotel chain

Posted: 08 Dec 2010 05:42 PM PST

Official Google Enterprise Blog: Chrome notebooks check-in to the world's largest hotel chain

Editor's note: Bryson Koehler is Senior Vice President for Global Revenue & Guest Technology at InterContinental Hotels, the world's largest hotel group. IHG owns a portfolio of well recognized and respected hotel brands including InterContinental Hotels & Resorts, Hotel Indigo, Crowne Plaza Hotels & Resorts, Holiday Inn Hotels and Resorts, Holiday Inn Express, Staybridge Suites and Candlewood Suites and also manages the world's largest hotel loyalty program, Priority Club Rewards with 52 million members worldwide.

At InterContinental Hotels, we're always looking for the latest and greatest technologies to better serve our customers. For instance, our IT staff develops most of our new internal applications as web apps using Google Web Tooolkit, a set of development tools that make it easier to build complex browser-based applications. So when we heard about Chrome notebooks, we jumped at the opportunity to try them out in several different parts of our business. The speed, simplicity and security benefits of this pure cloud computing model were too compelling to resist, particularly in contrast to the costs and hassles of desktop computing.

Some compelling use cases for Chrome notebooks include:

Call centers: We have 13 call centers around the world with thousands of agents whose goal is to get our customers the information they need as fast as possible. We believe the Chrome notebooks will provide our agents with the fastest experience for the web apps and sites that they use to support our customers. By reducing the average time per call, we'll both increase customer satisfaction and significantly reduce our costs. And from an IT perspective, we won't have to spend countless hours manually installing security patches and upgrades to operating systems and client software. Instead, we'll be able to focus our time on creating more innovative apps to the benefit of our customers and our agents.

Business service centers: We have thousands of business service centers around the world that provide Internet access to our guests. The guest login feature of the Chrome notebook is great for this situation since it gives our hotel guests an extremely secure, state-of-the-art browsing experience while preventing them from leaving behind any sensitive information. With the Guest Mode feature, a user doesn't even need to login to the notebook and all of their information including browsing history, cookies, etc. is deleted when they log out of Guest Mode.

Hotel guests: We're even looking into providing Chrome notebooks to some of our hotel guests during their stay. Imagine leaving your laptop at home on your next trip, and just picking up a Chrome notebook from the front desk at check-in. You log-in and it's just like your notebook at home: all your apps, bookmarks and preferences are available at your fingertips!

This is just the beginning. We are excited to pilot Chrome notebooks in all these areas of our business and begin exploring using them for every employee at the company. For us, the web is the platform and we're excited at the potential of Chrome notebooks to delight our users, save us money, make us even more secure, and allow IT to focus on what makes our business unique. I look forward to making Chrome Notebooks our default computer!

Editor's note: If you're interested in getting Chrome notebooks for your team or entire organization, apply for the Chrome notebook Pilot program.

Posted by Kevin Gough, Head of Enterprise Partner & Platform Marketing
URL: http://googleenterprise.blogspot.com/2010/12/chrome-notebooks-check-in-to-worlds.html

[G] Update your Website Optimizer scripts to secure your site

Posted: 08 Dec 2010 05:32 PM PST

Official Google Website Optimizer Blog: Update your Website Optimizer scripts to secure your site

Earlier this week we notified affected Website Optimizer users of a potential security issue with the Website Optimizer Control Script. If a website or browser has already been compromised by a separate attack, a hacker might also be able to execute malicious code by exploiting a bug in the Website Optimizer Control Script.

We have not seen any evidence indicating that sites using Website Optimizer have been targeted through this bug, but wanted to proactively reach out to site owners. While the probability of this attack is very low, we are urging Website Optimizer users to take action by updating their Control Scripts. We have taken action, so all new experiments created after December 3 are not susceptible.

Any experiments you are currently running need to be updated to fix the issue on your site. Additionally, if you have any Website Optimizer scripts from paused or stopped experiments created before December 3, you should remove or update that code as well.

There are two ways to update your code:
  1. Stop current experiments, remove the old scripts, and create a new experiment.
  2. Update the code on your site directly. We strongly recommend creating a new experiment as it is the simpler method.
Instructions for both methods are available here at the Website Optimizer Help Center.

We're committed to keeping Website Optimizer secure, and we will proactively work to prevent any future vulnerabilities.

Posted by Trevor Claiborne, Website Optimizer team
URL: http://websiteoptimizer.blogspot.com/2010/12/update-your-website-optimizer-scripts.html

[G] Life in a Day will premiere on January 27th on YouTube and at the Sundance Film Festival

Posted: 08 Dec 2010 03:48 PM PST

YouTube Blog: Life in a Day will premiere on January 27th on YouTube and at the Sundance Film Festival

Imagine a momentary glimpse into the lives of 80,000 people around the world. A goat farmer in the Ukraine heads to work in the morning. Three Angolan women sing a song as they beat corn into meal at lunchtime. A young man in the United States comes out to his grandmother.



You'll see these scenes and more in the final cut of "Life in a Day" when it premieres globally on YouTube and at the Sundance Film Festival at 8:15PM EST on Thursday, January 27th.



"Life in a Day" is a unique documentary filmed by YouTube users that tells the story of a single day on earth -- July 24, 2010. For the past five months, director Kevin Macdonald, editor Joe Walker, and a team of researchers have been editing footage received from over 80,000 of you into a feature film. Almost 5,000 hours of video from 192 countries were submitted and, today, a 94-minute film remains. Here's a message from the film's director, Kevin Macdonald:







To be among the first to see the film, tune in to the live broadcast from the Sundance Film Festival, which will be followed by an interactive Q&A with director Kevin Macdonald. And if you can't make the 8:15PM EST showing on January 27th, not to worry! We'll repeat the broadcast shortly thereafter in different time zones around the world. An on-demand version of the film will also be available (and free) later in the year.



To stay up to date with the latest on the project, be sure to subscribe to the Life in a Day channel at http://www.youtube.com/lifeinaday. You can also browse thousands of videos submitted by users in the gallery, which is made possible by LG.



Tim Partridge, Product Marketing Manager, recently watched "John Cooper on Life in a Day."


URL: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/youtube/PKJx/~3/QS_bteOvlsk/life-in-day-will-premiere-on-january_08.html

[G] Life in a Day will premiere on January 27th on YouTube and at the Sundance Film Festival

Posted: 08 Dec 2010 03:21 PM PST

YouTube Blog: Life in a Day will premiere on January 27th on YouTube and at the Sundance Film Festival

Imagine a momentary glimpse into the lives of 80,000 people around the world. A goat farmer in the Ukraine heads to work in the morning. Three Angolan women sing a song as they beat corn into meal at lunchtime. A young man in the United States comes out to his grandmother.



You'll see these scenes and more in the final cut of "Life in a Day" when it premieres globally on YouTube and at the Sundance Film Festival at 8:15PM EST on Thursday, January 27th.



"Life in a Day" is a unique documentary filmed by YouTube users that tells the story of a single day on earth -- July 24, 2010. For the past five months, director Kevin Macdonald, editor Joe Walker, and a team of researchers have been editing footage received from over 80,000 of you into a feature film. Almost 5,000 hours of video from 192 countries were submitted and, today, a 94-minute film remains. Here's a message from the film's director, Kevin Macdonald:





To be among the first to see the film, tune in to the live broadcast from the Sundance Film Festival, which will be followed by an interactive Q&A with director Kevin Macdonald. And if you can't make the 8:15PM EST showing on January 27th, not to worry! We'll repeat the broadcast shortly thereafter in different time zones around the world. An on-demand version of the film will also be available (and free) later in the year.



To stay up to date with the latest on the project, be sure to subscribe to the Life in a Day channel at www.youtube.com/lifeinaday. You can also browse thousands of videos submitted by users in the gallery, which is made possible by LG.



Tim Partridge, Product Marketing Manager, recently watched "John Cooper on Life In a Day."


URL: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/youtube/PKJx/~3/0TkzAVvUcY8/life-in-day-will-premiere-on-january.html

[G] Santa’s calling (from his Google Voice number)

Posted: 08 Dec 2010 02:32 PM PST

Official Google Blog: Santa's calling (from his Google Voice number)

(Cross-posted from the Google Voice Blog)

Growing up, December was always a favorite month of mine. School would let out for two weeks, snowflakes would start falling and I'd write my letter to Santa to remind him that I'd been especially good that year (and ask if he'd mind bringing me a few Ninja Turtles). He never answered those letters—he's a busy guy, after all—but what if he could pick up the phone and call me instead? What if Santa had Google Voice and could easily call all the kids on his list?

Well, this year he can—with your help. If you know a kid (of any age) who'd like to hear from Santa, create and send a personalized phone call from the jolly man in the red suit himself at sendacallfromsanta.com.

There are hundreds of options to choose from, so you can send unique, customized phone calls to anyone you know, from your nieces and nephews to old college friends, over the phone (to U.S. numbers only) or via email, Facebook or Twitter.

If you or your kids have a special request or message for Santa, you can leave him a message at his Google Voice number: 855-34-SANTA. Although he's too busy to return messages himself, you can always create one on his behalf at the Send a Call From Santa site.

Ready to spread some holiday cheer? Listen to a sample message, and visit sendacallfromsanta.com to send a message of your own.

And don't forget—if you want to keep up with Santa as he travels around the globe delivering presents on Christmas Eve, you can track his journey on Google Maps, on Google Earth with the plug-in and on your mobile phone, too.

Posted by Michael Bolognino, Product Marketing Manager
URL: http://googleblog.blogspot.com/2010/12/santas-calling-from-his-google-voice.html

[G] Street View in Romania

Posted: 08 Dec 2010 02:19 PM PST

Google LatLong: Street View in Romania


Bram Stoker's world famous novel Dracula was believed to have been inspired by fifteenth century Wallachian Prince, Vlad Dracul from Romania (better known to many as Vlad the Impaler). The legend of the vampire is still deeply rooted in Transylvanian culture today, and tourists from across the world come to explore the history and mystery of the many beautiful castles that can be found here.

But of course those aren't all the sights Romania has to offer, and now you can see for yourself, because today we're making 360-degree Street View imagery available in Romania for several cities and roads.

From your virtual vantage point, you can now take a look over the bridge onto Lacul Vidraru (Vidraru Lake). This is the starting point of the most beautiful road in Romania, the Transfăgărășan mountain pass, which at its highest point reaches 2,034 meters above sea level:



Or check out the summer residence of Romanian Kings, Castelul Peleș (Peleș Castle):



It's not just Paris that has an Arc de Triomphe. You can whizz round the Romanian
Arcul de Triumf in the capital Bucharest:



And here's our parliamentary palace, Palatul Parlamentului (Parliament Palace):



There's heaps to explore but I'll leave you with one final tip, and that's to visit
Vatra Ardealului, my favorite cofee shop in Brasov, which you can see below:



Welcome to Romania and enjoy your virtual exploration!

Posted by Octavian Iercan, Operations Lead, Street View Europe
URL: http://google-latlong.blogspot.com/2010/12/street-view-in-romania.html

[G] Cricket Season Has Begun!

Posted: 08 Dec 2010 02:19 PM PST

Google LatLong: Cricket Season Has Begun!


Summer has arrived in the southern hemisphere, which in Australia, means cricket!

"The Ashes," a tournament series played between England and Australia, recently began a couple weeks ago so the competition is underway. It's said to be international cricket's most celebrated rivalry, dating back to 1882.

The series is played biennially, alternating between the United Kingdom and Australia. Since cricket is a summer sport, and the venues are located in opposite hemispheres, the break between series alternates between 18 and 30 months.


In Australia, where the tournament is being played this year, the "grounds" (stadiums) used are "The Gabba" in Brisbane, the Adelaide Oval, the WACA in Perth, the Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG) and the Sydney Cricket Ground (SCG), in that order.

A view of the Sydney Cricket Ground in Google Earth

So whether you're a cricket newbie like me, or a veteran "cricketer," we hope that you'll explore all of these grounds in Google Earth, or just enjoy our video tour, today!

Posted by Bruce Polderman, Product Manager
URL: http://google-latlong.blogspot.com/2010/12/cricket-season-has-begun.html

[G] Santa’s calling (from his Google Voice number)

Posted: 08 Dec 2010 02:11 PM PST

Google Voice Blog: Santa's calling (from his Google Voice number)


Growing up, December was always a favorite month of mine. School would let out for two weeks, snowflakes would start falling and I'd write my letter to Santa to remind him that I'd been especially good that year (and ask if he'd mind bringing me a few Ninja Turtles). He never answered those letters—he's a busy guy, after all—but what if he could pick up the phone and call me instead? What if Santa had Google Voice and could easily call all the kids on his list?

Well, this year he can—with your help. If you know a kid (of any age) who'd like to hear from Santa, create and send a personalized phone call from the jolly man in the red suit himself at sendacallfromsanta.com.

There are hundreds of options to choose from, so you can send unique, customized phone calls to anyone you know, from your nieces and nephews to old college friends, over the phone (to U.S. numbers only) or via email, Facebook or Twitter.

If you or your kids have a special request or message for Santa, you can leave him a message at his Google Voice number: 855-34-SANTA. Although he's too busy to return messages himself, you can always create one on his behalf at the Send a Call From Santa site.

Ready to spread some holiday cheer? Listen to a sample message, and visit sendacallfromsanta.com to send a message of your own.

And don't forget—if you want to keep up with Santa as he travels around the globe delivering presents on Christmas Eve, you can track his journey on Google Maps, on Google Earth with the plug-in and on your mobile phone, too.

Posted by Michael Bolognino, Product Marketing Manager
URL: http://googlevoiceblog.blogspot.com/2010/12/santas-calling-from-his-google-voice.html

[G] Staying connected in Google drawings

Posted: 08 Dec 2010 10:40 AM PST

Official Google Docs Blog: Staying connected in Google drawings

Ever since we launched the Google drawings, the most requested feature has been shape connectors. Well today, they're here.

From now on, when you add a new line in a Google drawing, you can connect that line directly to a shape (old lines will need to be replaced with new lines). Think of connectors as the glue that keeps your drawings together: no matter how much you move around or rotate your shapes, the lines attached to them will stretch so that the shapes stay connected.

To use a connector, start drawing a line and move your cursor near an existing shape. You'll see small red dots, showing you the points on the shape that you can connect to. Release your mouse when you're hovering over a point, to connect the line to that point.

Connectors are especially helpful for complex drawings with lots of shapes and lines.


We're hoping connectors will make drawing online just a little bit easier. Let us know what you think in the comments.

Posted by: Chris Nokleberg, Software Engineer
URL: http://googledocs.blogspot.com/2010/12/staying-connected-in-google-drawings.html

[G] New this week in Docs: Connectors, hidden controls, and more upload options

Posted: 08 Dec 2010 10:10 AM PST

Official Google Docs Blog: New this week in Docs: Connectors, hidden controls, and more upload options

From connectors in drawings to hidden controls, we have a lot of updates to share this week:

Connectors in drawings
Since we launched Google drawings in April, the most requested feature has been line connectors. Starting today, all new lines can connect to shapes making it easier to create flowcharts and complex diagrams.

Insert images directly from Picasa
If you've got images stored in your Picasa web albums, the image dialog will let you insert those images directly into documents and drawings.



Hidden controls
A couple weeks ago, we introduced compact controls to the document editor. This week we're bringing compact controls to the drawing editor as well. We also added a new feature to both documents and drawings: hidden controls. Choosing View -> Hide controls will hide the title bar, menu bar, and toolbar. Once you've hidden the controls, you can always press Esc to make them appear again.

WMF upload
We now support uploading WMF (Windows Metafile) files and converting them into Google drawings.

Stay tuned for in-depth posts on throughout the rest of the week.

Posted by: Jeffrey Harris, Product Manager
URL: http://googledocs.blogspot.com/2010/12/new-this-week-in-docs-connectors-hidden.html

[G] Introducing Nexus S with Gingerbread

Posted: 08 Dec 2010 09:48 AM PST

Official Google Mobile Blog: Introducing Nexus S with Gingerbread

The very first Android phone hit the market in November 2008. Just over two years later, Android's vision of openness has spurred the development of more than 100 different Android devices. Today, more than 200,000 Android devices are activated daily worldwide. The volume and variety of Android devices continues to surpass our wildest expectations—but we're not slowing down.

Today, we're pleased to introduce the latest version of the Android platform, Gingerbread, and unveil the next Android device from the Nexus line of mobile products—Nexus S. And for developers, the Gingerbread SDK/NDK is now available as well.

Nexus S is the lead device for the Gingerbread/Android 2.3 release; it's the first Android device to ship with the new version of the Android platform. We co-developed this product with Samsung—ensuring tight integration of hardware and software to highlight the latest advancements of the Android platform. As part of the Nexus brand, Nexus S delivers what we call a "pure Google" experience: unlocked, unfiltered access to the best Google mobile services and the latest and greatest Android releases and updates.

Take a look at our backstory video for more on the vision behind this product and to understand why we think "a thousand heads are better than one":



Nexus S is the first smartphone to feature a 4" Contour Display designed to fit comfortably in the palm of your hand and along the side of your face. It also features a 1GHz Hummingbird processor, front and rear facing cameras, 16GB of internal memory, and NFC (near field communication) hardware that lets you read information from NFC tags. NFC is a fast, versatile short-range wireless technology that can be embedded in all kinds of everyday objects like movie posters, stickers and t-shirts.

Gingerbread is the fastest version of Android yet, and it delivers a number of improvements, such as user interface refinements, NFC support, a new keyboard and text selection tool, Internet (VoIP/SIP) calling, improved copy/paste functionality and gyroscope sensor support.

Here's a glimpse of the "magic" of Google on Nexus S:



You can find more Nexus S videos and information at google.com/nexus or follow @GoogleNexus on Twitter for the latest updates. After December 16, Nexus S can be purchased (unlocked or with a T-Mobile service plan) online and in-store from all Best Buy and Best Buy Mobile stores in the U.S. and after December 20 at Carphone Warehouse and Best Buy retailers in the U.K.

We'll be open-sourcing Gingerbread in the coming weeks and look forward to new contributions from the Android ecosystem in the months ahead.

Posted by Andy Rubin, VP of Engineering
URL: http://googlemobile.blogspot.com/2010/12/introducing-nexus-s-with-gingerbread.html

[G] Discover more than 3 million Google eBooks from your choice of booksellers and devices

Posted: 08 Dec 2010 09:48 AM PST

Official Google Mobile Blog: Discover more than 3 million Google eBooks from your choice of booksellers and devices

Cross-posted from the Official Google Blog

Today is the first page in a new chapter of our mission to improve access to the cultural and educational treasures we know as books. Google eBooks will be available in the U.S. from a new Google eBookstore. You can browse and search through the largest ebooks collection in the world with more than three million titles including hundreds of thousands for sale. Find the latest bestsellers like James Patterson's Cross Fire and Jonathan Franzen's Freedom, dig into popular reads like Laura Hillenbrand's Unbroken and catch up on the classics like Great Expectations, A Tale of Two Cities and Gulliver's Travels.




We designed Google eBooks to be open. Many devices are compatible with Google eBooks—everything from laptops to netbooks to tablets to smartphones to e-readers. With the new Google eBooks Web Reader, you can buy, store and read Google eBooks in the cloud. That means you can access your ebooks like you would messages in Gmail or photos in Picasa—using a free, password-protected Google account with unlimited ebooks storage.

In addition to a full-featured web reader, free apps for Android and Apple devices will make it possible to shop and read on the go. For many books you can select which font, font size, day/night reading mode and line spacing suits you—and pick up on the page where you left off when switching devices.

You can discover and buy new ebooks from the Google eBookstore or get them from one of our independent bookseller partners: Powell's, Alibris and participating members of the American Booksellers Association. You can choose where to buy your ebooks like you choose where to buy your print books, and keep them all on the same bookshelf regardless of where you got them.

When Google Books first launched in 2004, we set out to make the information stored in the world's books accessible and useful online. Since then, we've digitized more than 15 million books from more than 35,000 publishers, more than 40 libraries, and more than 100 countries in more than 400 languages. This deep repository of knowledge and culture will continue to be searchable through Google Books search in the research section alongside the ebookstore.


Launching Google eBooks is an initial step toward giving you greater access to the vast variety of information and entertainment found in books. Our journey has just begun. We welcome your feedback as we read on to the next chapter.



Posted by Abraham Murray, Product Manager, Google Books
URL: http://googlemobile.blogspot.com/2010/12/discover-more-than-3-million-google.html

[G] Subscribe, vote and win! Over 50 top music artists participate in MyYouTube Contest

Posted: 08 Dec 2010 09:22 AM PST

YouTube Blog: Subscribe, vote and win! Over 50 top music artists participate in MyYouTube Contest

Are you Rihanna's biggest fan? Do you just love Justin Bieber? Well now's your chance to show these artists just how devoted you really are. The MyYouTube contest launches today and the participating music artists need your help to win.

Over the next two months, the music artists will compete to score the most points on the MyYouTube Channel. But they only score points when YOU subscribe to their channels and share with your friends.

So what's in it for you?
By subscribing to your favorite artists' channels, you'll get their latest videos delivered straight to your YouTube homepage. It's a quick and easy way for you to stay up-to-date on their music videos and behind-the-scenes news.

On the MyYouTube Channel, you can flip through all the participating artist profiles, watch their exclusive videos, and even find out what YouTube channels they, themselves, like to watch.

And did we mention all the prizes?
Every artist is giving out five prizes to users who score points for them in the contest. That's over 250 prizes, ranging from t-shirts and CD's to fully-loaded ipod shuffles and concert tickets.

How to score points:
You can earn an artist up to 7 points by doing the following from the MyYouTube Channel:
  1. Subscribe to the artist's YouTube channel. (1 point)
  2. Subscribe to any of the artist's four recommended channels. (1 point for each recommended channel)
  3. Share to your Facebook and/or Twitter accounts. (1 point each)
You can view the points you have scored for an artist, as well as that artist's total points to date, next to the artist's thumbnail on the left side of the page.


These artists can't win without your help, so head on over to youtube.com/myyoutube and start subscribing now!

Becky Chappell, YouTube Product Marketing, recently watched "YouTube Subscriptions."


URL: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/youtube/PKJx/~3/utANeNHD_Q8/subscribe-vote-and-win-over-50-top.html

[G] It’s a beautiful day in this neighborhood: growing in Pittsburgh

Posted: 08 Dec 2010 06:28 AM PST

Official Google Blog: It's a beautiful day in this neighborhood: growing in Pittsburgh

Nearly five years ago, we announced that we would begin building an engineering presence in Pittsburgh, a city with a strong technology ecosystem as well as an entrepreneurial spirit and great quality of life. Since then, we've grown from two engineers to more than 150, and we're continuing our commitment to growth in the region as we've officially opened a new Google Pittsburgh office in an old Nabisco factory in Bakery Square.

The Collaborative Innovation Center at Carnegie Mellon University had been our home since 2006, and our relationship with CMU remains invaluable to us. On top of the strong pipeline of brilliant engineers emerging from local universities, we're seeing a "boomerang effect" of Pittsburghers who previously believed they had to go elsewhere to succeed with careers in computer science and engineering. We hope that the scrappy start-up culture we've maintained from the beginning at Google Pittsburgh as well as the burgeoning tech community throughout the city continues to encourage them to consider coming home.

In addition to teams focused on core initiatives related to Product Search and Ads Quality, we're proud to be home to 20% time projects including the Sky Map planetarium app for Android phones, which combines astronomy, physics and computer science to put the galaxies in your pocket (and now includes the ability to time travel!) and Sky in Google Earth, which enables you to look upward from your position in Google Earth to view the heavenly objects above. Luis von Ahn and his reCAPTCHA team lead development of a technology that improves the process of converting scanned images into plain text, which powers initiatives like Google Books, and we welcome our first Enterprise sales leads who are working to help businesses and organizations in the region consider the benefits of cloud computing with Google Apps.



Our almost-40,000 square-foot space is Googley in many ways, but my favorite characteristics include a climbable trapeze net that extends from our second floor into thin air and a massive cookie-dough mixer preserved from the former Nabisco factory, which pays homage to Bakery Square's manufacturing heritage.

If this sounds like the place for you, take a look at our open jobs and apply. We're growing in Pittsburgh.

Posted by Andrew Moore, Engineering Director, Google Pittsburgh
URL: http://googleblog.blogspot.com/2010/12/its-beautiful-day-in-this-neighborhood.html
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