Tuesday, May 10, 2011

Googland

Googland

[G] Welcome to the future of video. Please stay a while.

Posted: 10 May 2011 04:58 AM PDT

Official Google Blog: Welcome to the future of video. Please stay a while.

(Cross-posted from the YouTube Blog)

It's a Saturday and you want to watch your favorite YouTube star's show, a big Hollywood movie, a clip of your friend's weekend in Austin, a newly-released music video, a global sporting event, a live concert and breaking news from Japan. Six years ago, when YouTube first arrived, you'd have to go from TV to laptop, desk to couch, or platform to platform, to do all this. Six years ago, there were two types of video: video you watched on your TV, and video you watched on your laptop. Today there's increasingly just video, and it's available everywhere: on a phone, a tablet, a laptop or a television screen, in your office, on your couch, in a cab.

YouTube isn't about one type of device or one type of video. Content from traditional media partners, made-for-web and personal videos all co-exist on the site. Like surfing? You can watch pros shoot barrels, rent your favorite surf movie and check out your friend's upload of his morning session at your favorite local spot. News junkie? YouTube has breaking news uploads from citizen journalists alongside anchored reports and live streams from news partners.

You're finding more and more of the content you love on YouTube, which is now available on 350 million devices. We know this because you're watching videos to the tune of 2 billion views a day. But you're spending just 15 minutes a day on YouTube, and spending five hours a day watching TV. As the lines between online and offline continue to blur, we think that's going to change.

Today, we're adding around 3,000 new movie titles for rent available to users in the U.S. (more on this in a post later today) that will be accompanied by reviews and behind-the-scenes movie extras. Whether it's short movie trailers, funny movie parodies or full-length blockbuster films, we encourage you to sit back and settle in to the YouTube movies experience.

In addition to expanding our movie offerings, we're also bolstering our investment in the content that's already being viewed by hundred of millions of people on YouTube. Our 20,000+ partners—folks like Machinima, Annoying Orange and Ryan Higa—are producing original content for the web and commanding TV-size audiences for their own brand of programming. Through YouTube Next, we're helping fuel the creation of this type of content with initiatives like the YouTube Creator Institute and YouTube NextUp, following past initiatives like Partner Grants (which brought us Key of Awesome, creators of one of 2010's most-watched videos) and $1,000 B&H Photo credits. In the coming year, we'll bring even more content to YouTube. Building on the success of Partner Grants and YouTube NextUp, we'll help catalyze the creation of content by devoting even more resources to creators who you'll know from TV or Hollywood, and to existing YouTube partners who have already built loyal audiences on the site. Look out for more details on this in the coming months.

While six years ago you had to move device, room and platform to get all the video that matters most to you, today you can find it all on YouTube. By expanding our content partnerships worldwide and stimulating the success of budding filmmakers, artists and entrepreneurs, we'll ensure that YouTube remains the best place for the world to see and discover rich talent. So stay tuned—there's much more to come.

Posted by Salar Kamangar, Head of YouTube
URL: http://googleblog.blogspot.com/2011/05/welcome-to-future-of-video-please-stay.html

[G] From Alaska: Old Harbor Books, the 250th indie bookseller of Google eBooks

Posted: 10 May 2011 04:58 AM PDT

Official Google Blog: From Alaska: Old Harbor Books, the 250th indie bookseller of Google eBooks

(Cross-posted from the Google Books Blog)


From time to time we invite guests to post about topics of interest and we're pleased to have Don Muller join us from Old Harbor Books. Don is a co-founder of Old Harbor Books, an independent bookstore where he has worked for 35 years in Sitka, Alaska. Through our partnership with the American Booksellers Association and its IndieCommerce e-commerce platform for booksellers, Old Harbor Books is now able to sell Google eBooks from its website. In this post, Don talks about the significance of this milestone to his bookstore and—most importantly—his customers. - Ed.

Based in Sitka, Alaska, Old Harbor Books was opened 35 years ago last week by a group of devoted book lovers including myself. Old Harbor is an independent bookstore specializing in Alaskana, Native American and Alaska Native, children's, ecology, travel, natural history, philosophy and, of course, nautical books. And starting today, we also sell Google eBooks on our website. In fact, we're the 250th independent bookseller to start selling Google eBooks since the service launched last December.

In a town with a population of less than 9,000, we're proud to provide personal service to the readers and explorers who visit our store. We wanted to give our customers a way to buy books from us in whatever format they want—including ebooks. So whether you want to read books on your computer, tablet, smartphone or e-reader, you can now choose from hundreds of thousands of Google eBooks titles we offer.

Some of my current favorites are are Freedom by Jonathan Franzen, A Visit from the Goon Squad by Jennifer Egan and Confession of a Buddhist Atheist by Stephen Batchelor. Searching by title, subject or author in our online ebookstore, you can find just about anything you're looking for—and you can buy from us no matter where in the U.S. you are.

Old Harbor Books customer and manager with me in the middle

We hope you'll shop for Google eBooks in our newly expanded online bookstore—the 250th of its kind. If you do happen to live near Sitka, the first 40 visitors to Old Harbor Books at 201 Lincoln Street today get free Google eBooks T-shirts. We'll also show you how to sign up for an online account and get started with ebook shopping. If you can't make it to the store, this funny video made by fellow independent bookstore Green Apple Books in San Francisco, Calif. does a great job explaining how to buy Google eBooks from the independent bookseller of your choice and read them on gadgets you already own.

We're deeply grateful to Google eBooks and the American Booksellers Association for making this possible by connecting our IndieCommerce-powered website to the Google eBooks platform that lets us focus on merchandising books, rather than building the technology on our own.

Posted by Don Muller, Co-founder, Old Harbor Books
URL: http://googleblog.blogspot.com/2011/05/from-alaska-old-harbor-books-250th.html

[G] Vote for the Einsteins of the future

Posted: 10 May 2011 04:58 AM PDT

Official Google Blog: Vote for the Einsteins of the future

The results are in for the inaugural Google Science Fair: Since we first announced this competition, we've received more than 7,500 science projects from more than 10,000 students in more than 90 countries—making this the biggest science competition in the world. Out of this outstanding group of submissions we've selected the 60 best entries and now it's your turn to help us select a People's Choice winner.

There were thousands of impressive entries on a wide range of topics—from cancer treatment to renewable oceanic energy to aeronautic auto-pilot algorithms—and it was no easy task to select just 60 semi-finalists. With a team of teachers around the world, we worked diligently to evaluate the creativity, scientific merit and global relevance of each submission and we'd like to congratulate all of our semi-finalists, whose names you can see here on our official Google Science Fair blog.

From today until Friday, May 20, you can vote for your favorite project in each age category (13-14, 15-16, 17-18) to help us select our People's Choice winner, who will take home a $10,000 scholarship. On May 23, we'll announce the winner as well as our top 15 finalist projects. The finalists will be flown out to Google's headquarters in California for the final round of judging conducted by our panel of renowned scientist and innovator judges, as well as a celebration event.

Thanks to all of the students around the world who submitted projects to the Google Science Fair, and congratulations again to all the young scientists who made it to the semi-finalist round. And if you missed registration this year, sign up to receive a notification when registration opens for the Google Science Fair 2012.

Posted by Cristin Frodella, Google Education
URL: http://googleblog.blogspot.com/2011/05/vote-for-einsteins-of-future.html

[G] Google I/O: countdown to the keynote kickoff

Posted: 10 May 2011 04:58 AM PDT

Official Google Blog: Google I/O: countdown to the keynote kickoff

(Cross-posted on the Code Blog)

In less than 24 hours, we'll be kicking off Google I/O 2011, our annual developer conference here in San Francisco. With more than 5,000 participants from 60 countries, including 110 sessions, 261 speakers and 152 Sandbox partners, this year's I/O will be the biggest one yet.

This year's keynote presentations will highlight the biggest opportunities for developers and feature two of our most popular and important developer platforms: Android and Chrome. Google engineers from Andy Rubin and Sundar Pichai's teams will unveil new features, preview upcoming updates, and provide new insights into the growing momentum behind these platforms.

Plus, for the first time in Google I/O history, you'll be able to join us throughout the two days at I/O Live. We'll live stream the two keynote presentations, two full days of Android and Chrome technical sessions, and the After Hours party. Recorded videos from all sessions across eight product tracks will be available within 24 hours after the conference. Whether you'll be joining us in San Francisco or from the farthest corner of the world, bookmark www.google.com/io and check back on May 10 at 9:00 a.m. PDT for a fun treat as we count down to 00:00:00:00.

From left to right: Andy Rubin, Vic Gundotra, Sundar Pichai

If you're attending the conference this year, we can't wait to meet with you and share our vision for the future of web and mobile development. If you aren't able to make it this year, you can continue to follow us on the Google Code Blog and on Twitter (#io2011) over the next two days as we share photos, videos, news and recaps of the event. It's going to be an exciting 48 hours!

Posted by Vic Gundotra, Senior Vice President of Engineering
URL: http://googleblog.blogspot.com/2011/05/google-io-countdown-to-keynote-kickoff.html

[G] Using the power of mapping to support South Sudan

Posted: 10 May 2011 01:55 AM PDT

Google LatLong: Using the power of mapping to support South Sudan

[Cross-posted from the Official Google Blog]

Last Thursday, the Google Map Maker team, along with the World Bank and UNITAR/UNOSAT, held a unique event at the World Bank Headquarters in Washington, D.C., and a satellite event in Nairobi at the same time. More than 70 members of the Sudanese diaspora, along with regional experts from the World Bank, Sudan Institute, Voices for Sudan, The Enough Project and other organizations gathered together to map what is expected to become the world's newest country later this year: the Republic of South Sudan. UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has asked the international community "to assist all Sudanese towards greater stability and development" during and beyond this period of transition.

South Sudan is a large but under-mapped region, and there are very few high-quality maps that display essential features like roads, hospitals and schools. Up-to-date maps are particularly important to humanitarian aid groups, as they help responders target their efforts and mobilize their resources of equipment, personnel and supplies. More generally, maps are an important foundation for the development of the infrastructure and economy of the country and region.

The Map Maker community—a wide-ranging group of volunteers that help build more comprehensive maps of the world using our online mapping tool, Google Map Maker—has been contributing to the mapping effort for Sudan since the referendum on January 9. To aid their work, we've published updated satellite imagery of the region, covering 125,000 square kilometers and 40 percent of the U.N.'s priority areas, to Google Earth and Maps.

The goal of last week's event was to engage and train members of the Sudanese diaspora in the United States, and others who have lived and worked in the region, to use Google Map Maker so they could contribute their local knowledge of the region to the ongoing mapping effort, particularly in the area of social infrastructure. Our hope is that this event and others like it will help build a self-sufficient mapping community that will contribute their local expertise and remain engaged in Sudan over time.

We were inspired by the group's enthusiasm. One attendee told us: "I used to live in this small village that before today did not exist on any maps that I know of...a place unknown to the world. Now I can show to my kids, my friends, my community, where I used to live and better tell the story of my people."


The group worked together to make several hundred edits to the map of Sudan in four hours. As those edits are approved, they'll appear live in Google Maps, available for all the world to see. But this wasn't just a one-day undertaking—attendees will now return to their home communities armed with new tools and ready to teach their friends and family how to join the effort. We look forward to seeing the Southern Sudanese mapping community grow and flourish.

Posted by France Lamy, Program Manager, Google.org
URL: http://google-latlong.blogspot.com/2011/05/using-power-of-mapping-to-support-south.html

[G] Google Earth optimized for Android-powered tablets

Posted: 10 May 2011 01:55 AM PDT

Google LatLong: Google Earth optimized for Android-powered tablets

Cross-posted from the Official Google Blog

When we launched Google Earth in 2005, most of us were still using flip phones. At the time, the thought of being able to cart around 197 million square miles of Earth in your pocket was still a distant dream. Last year, that dream came to fruition for Android users when we released Google Earth for Android. With the recent release of tablets based on Android 3.0, we wanted to take full advantage of the large screens and powerful processors that this exciting new breed of tablets had to offer.

Today's update to Google Earth for Android makes Earth look better than ever on your tablet. We've added support for fully textured 3D buildings, so your tour through the streets of Manhattan will look more realistic than ever. There's also a new action bar up top, enabling easier access to search, the option to "fly to your location" and layers such as Places, Panoramio photos, Wikipedia and 3D buildings.

Moving from a mobile phone to a tablet was like going from a regular movie theatre to IMAX. We took advantage of the larger screen size, including features like content pop-ups appearing within Earth view, so you can see more information without switching back and forth between pages.

One of my favorite buildings to fly around in Google Earth has always been the Colosseum in Rome, Italy:




With the larger tablet screen, I can fly around the 3D Colosseum while also browsing user photos from Panoramio. The photos pop up within the imagery so I can interact with them without losing sight of the Colosseum and its surroundings. Also, by clicking on the layer button on the action bar, I can choose which layers I want to browse.

This version is available for devices with Android 2.1 and above. The new tablet design is available for devices with Android 3.0 (Honeycomb) and above. Please visit the Google Earth help center for more information.

To download or update Google Earth, head to m.google.com/earth in your device's browser or visit Android Market. Enjoy a whole new world of Google Earth for tablets!

Posted by Peter Birch, Product Manager
URL: http://google-latlong.blogspot.com/2011/05/google-earth-optimized-for-android.html

[G] Google I/O: countdown to the keynote kickoff

Posted: 09 May 2011 10:47 PM PDT

Official Google Mobile Blog: Google I/O: countdown to the keynote kickoff

(Cross-posted from the Code Blog)

In less than 24 hours, we'll be kicking off Google I/O 2011, our annual developer conference here in San Francisco. This year's keynote presentations will highlight the biggest opportunities for developers and feature two of our most popular and important developer platforms: Android and Chrome. Google engineers from Andy Rubin and Sundar Pichai's teams will unveil new features, preview upcoming updates, and provide new insights into the growing momentum behind these platforms.

Plus, for the first time in Google I/O history, you'll be able to join us throughout the two days at I/O Live. We'll live stream the two keynote presentations, two full days of Android and Chrome technical sessions, and the After Hours party. Recorded videos from all sessions across eight product tracks will be available within 24 hours after the conference. Whether you'll be joining us in San Francisco or from the farthest corner of the world, bookmark www.google.com/io and check back on May 10 at 9:00 a.m. PDT for a fun treat as we count down to 00:00:00:00.

Posted by Vic Gundotra, Senior Vice President of Engineering
URL: http://googlemobile.blogspot.com/2011/05/google-io-countdown-to-keynote-kickoff.html

[G] Share and personalize your Google Goggles experience with Goggles 1.4

Posted: 09 May 2011 01:49 PM PDT

Official Google Mobile Blog: Share and personalize your Google Goggles experience with Goggles 1.4

Since its launch, we have worked to make Google Goggles faster and more accurate when returning search results for a wide variety of images. Today, we are taking several steps to make Goggles a better and more personal experience. Goggles 1.4 for Android devices introduces an enhanced search history experience, the ability to suggest better results to Google if we are not able to accurately match your image, and improved business card recognition.

Enhanced search history
The new search history experience lets you search your Goggles results, make personal notes on specific results and share your results with friends. When you add a personal note to a Goggles result, the note will appear in your search history. I'm trying to learn more about wine, so when I taste something new, it's easy for me to add a note to help me remember what I liked about the wine. Later, I can search my search history for words in my note to help me find that bottle that went so well with steak. Read more about how to enable search history for Goggles here.

To make a personal note, tap the pencil in the corner when viewing a search result.

Notes are intended to help you better organize your search history, so if you choose to share a result with a friend, your notes will not be shared. However, you can always add a personalized message to your friend when you share your results with them.

Share a result by sending a link to your friends.


Suggest a better result
We are constantly working to improve the accuracy of Goggles at recognizing certain categories of items, but visual recognition is still a complicated task. With Goggles 1.4, you are now able to suggest a better result when Goggles cannot find an image match, or the quality of the result is poor.

To send your suggestion to Google, tap "Can you suggest a better result?" on the results page. You can then select the relevant part of the image and submit a tag. Tags will be used to improve recognition in object categories where Goggles already provides some results, like artwork or wine bottles.

When suggesting a better result, you can crop the image and add a description.


Improved business card recognition
Business card recognition is one of the most popular uses of Google Goggles, so we're rolling out some new updates to make the experience even quicker and easier. Additionally, instead of simply recognizing the content as text, Goggles now recognizes the information as a contact, making it easier to add to your phone's contact list.

Call or add the person directly as a contact

Google Goggles is available for Android 1.6+ devices. Download it by visiting Android Market or by scanning the QR code below:
Posted by Jacob Smullyan, Software Engineer
URL: http://googlemobile.blogspot.com/2011/05/share-and-personalize-your-google.html

[G] Get more into movies on YouTube

Posted: 09 May 2011 01:13 PM PDT

YouTube Blog: Get more into movies on YouTube

Here at YouTube, we can't get enough video. When it comes to movies, we're just as excited: YouTube hosts a great selection of movie trailers and showcases a variety of independent films in our Screening Room; last year we announced the ability to rent movies from Sundance Film Festival; and this year at Sundance we premiered Life in a Day, a documentary film about a single day on earth filmed by thousands of YouTube users, produced by Ridley Scott and directed by Kevin Macdonald.

Today, we're announcing another step in our goal to bring more of the video you love to YouTube: the addition of thousands of full-length feature films from major Hollywood studios available to rent in the US at youtube.com/movies. In addition to the hundreds of free movies available on the site since 2009, you will be able to find and rent some of your favorite films. From memorable hits and cult classics like Caddyshack, Goodfellas, Scarface, and Taxi Driver to blockbuster new releases like Inception, The King's Speech, Little Fockers, The Green Hornet and Despicable Me. Movies are available to rent at industry standard pricing, and can be watched with your YouTube account on any computer. The new titles will begin appearing later today and over the coming weeks to www.youtube.com/movies, so keep checking back.

But your movie experience won't begin and end with a single film. With 35 hours of video uploaded every minute to YouTube, there's a sea of content that can add to your movie experience. Many movie pages feature YouTube Movie Extras -- free behind-the-scenes videos, cast interviews, parodies, clips and remixes from YouTube's unique community of content creators. Movie pages also showcase reviews from Rotten Tomatoes, so you'll see feedback from critics before you decide what movie to get into. Over time we'll also be adding additional videos and features to YouTube Movie Extras so that you can get even more into movies on YouTube.

Camille Hearst, Product Marketing Manager, recently watched 300
and Matt Darby, Product Manager, recently watched YouTube Movie Extras for Reservoir Dogs


URL: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/youtube/PKJx/~3/l0bYS24nwvo/get-more-into-movies-on-youtube.html

[G] Welcome to the future of video. Please stay a while.

Posted: 09 May 2011 11:40 AM PDT

YouTube Blog: Welcome to the future of video. Please stay a while.

It's a Saturday and you want to watch your favorite YouTube star's show, a big Hollywood movie, a clip of your friend's weekend in Austin, a newly-released music video, a global sporting event, a live concert and breaking news from Japan. Six years ago, when YouTube first arrived, you'd have to go from TV to laptop, desk to couch, or platform to platform, to do all this. Six years ago, there were also two types of video: video you watched on your TV, and video you watched on your laptop. Today there's increasingly just video, and it's available everywhere: on a phone, a tablet, a laptop or a television screen, in your office, on your couch, in a cab.

YouTube isn't about one type of device or one type of video. Content from traditional media partners, made-for-web and personal videos all co-exist on the site. Like surfing? You can watch pros shoot barrels, rent your favorite surf movie and check out your friend's upload of his morning session at your favorite local spot. News junkie? YouTube has breaking news uploads from citizen journalists alongside anchored reports and live streams from news partners.

You're finding more and more of the content you love on YouTube, which is now available on 350 million devices. We know this because you're watching videos to the tune of 2 billion views a day. But you're spending just 15 minutes a day on YouTube, and spending five hours a day watching TV. As the lines between online and offline continue to blur, we think that's going to change.

Today, we're going to start adding around 3,000 new movie titles for rent available to users in the U.S. (more on this in a post later today) that will be accompanied by reviews and behind-the-scenes movie extras. Whether it's short movie trailers, funny movie parodies or full-length blockbuster films, we encourage you to sit back and settle in to the YouTube movies experience.

In addition to expanding our movie offerings, we're also bolstering our investment in the content that's already being viewed by hundred of millions of people on YouTube. Our 20,000+ partners—folks like Machinima, Annoying Orange and Ryan Higa—are producing original content for the web and commanding TV-size audiences for their own brand of programming. Through YouTube Next, we're helping fuel the creation of this type of content with initiatives like the YouTube Creator Institute and YouTube NextUp, following past initiatives like Partner Grants (which brought us Key of Awesome, creators of one of 2010's most-watched videos) and $1,000 B&H Photo credits. In the coming year, we'll bring even more content to YouTube. Building on the success of Partner Grants and YouTube NextUp, we're providing even more resources to creators who you'll know from TV or Hollywood, and to existing YouTube partners who have already built loyal audiences on the site. Look out for more details on this in the coming months.

While six years ago you had to move device, room and platform to get all the video that matters most to you, today you can find it all on YouTube. By expanding our content partnerships worldwide and stimulating the success of budding filmmakers, artists and entrepreneurs, we'll ensure that YouTube remains the best place for the world to see and discover rich talent. So stay tuned—there's much more to come.

Salar Kamangar, Head of YouTube, recently watched "Salman Khan: Let's use video to reinvent education"


URL: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/youtube/PKJx/~3/V7xm3Y-noL0/welcome-to-future-of-video-please-stay.html

[G] Color code your Google Calendar events

Posted: 09 May 2011 09:39 AM PDT

Official Gmail Blog: Color code your Google Calendar events

Posted by Michelle Chen, Software Engineer

If your calendar ends up full of many different types of events (film nights, lunch dates, and doctor appointments, for example), there's now an easy way to categorize them using colors.


Just click on an event, then click the colored square in the top left of the pop-up bubble and pick a new color. If you don't see this option quite yet, hang tight — it'll be there for everyone within the next day or so.


Only you and anyone else you've given edit access to your calendar will be able to see the colors you choose. This has been a feature request from many of you for some time, and we hope you enjoy using it as much as we do.
URL: http://gmailblog.blogspot.com/2011/05/color-code-your-google-calendar-events.html

[G] Google Photos Salutes National Travel & Tourism Week

Posted: 09 May 2011 09:13 AM PDT

Google Photos Blog: Google Photos Salutes National Travel & Tourism Week

Posted by Brian Rose, Community Manager

Traveling is one of the most exciting things you can do, so a camera is a must-have on your packing list. Part of the fun of capturing your trip is to share it with others and relive the experience yourself years later. So in honor of U.S. National Travel & Tourism week, we'd like to invite everyone to visit Panoramio and take a virtual trip to Las Vegas, Zurich, or Hawaii; upload your latest trip to Picasa Web Albums; or edit with Picnik to highlight just how magnificent that blue sky was, and share with your friends and family.

We hope you enjoy some of the Photos team's favorite photos from our travels. To create your own photo collage with Picasa, follow these steps.


So whether you're about to leave on a trip, just returned or inspired by Travel & Tourism week to set out on an adventure, don't forget your camera. Whether you're off to some exotic destination or even your hometown, remember to share with the world the photos you've taken. Happy travels!
URL: http://googlephotos.blogspot.com/2011/05/google-photos-salutes-national-travel.html

[G] Google Photos Salutes National Travel & Tourism Week

Posted: 09 May 2011 09:12 AM PDT

Google Photos Blog: Google Photos Salutes National Travel & Tourism Week

Posted by Brian Rose, Community Manager

Traveling is one of the most exciting things you can do, so a camera is a must-have on your packing list. Part of the fun of capturing your trip is to share it with others and relive the experience yourself years later. So in honor of U.S. National Travel & Tourism week, we'd like to invite everyone to visit Panoramio and take a virtual trip to Las Vegas, Zurich, or Hawaii; upload your latest trip to Picasa Web Albums; or edit with Picnik to highlight just how magnificent that blue sky was, and share with your friends and family.

We hope you enjoy some of the Photos team's favorite photos from our travels. To create your own photo collage with Picasa, follow these steps.


So whether you're about to leave on a trip, just returned or inspired by Travel & Tourism week to set out on an adventure, don't forget your camera. Whether you're off to some exotic destination or even your hometown, remember to share with the world the photos you've taken. Happy travels!
URL: http://googlephotos.blogspot.com/2011/05/google-photos-salutes-national-travel.html

[G] Sort by subject in Google Images

Posted: 09 May 2011 08:49 AM PDT

Official Google Blog: Sort by subject in Google Images

When you're searching for images, sometimes it can be hard to come up with exactly the right words to describe what you have in mind. For example, when you think of London, you might picture the iconic clock tower or the big Ferris wheel. You may not always remember the names of those landmarks, but you can visualize them in your mind. To make it easier for you to find images in situations like these, you can now use Google Images with sorting.

When you search for [london], by default you'll see image results ranked by relevance. Click on "Sort by subject" in the left-hand panel and you'll see images organized into categories that will narrow down your search and help you find the exact image of London that you want.


Sorting by subject shows that some of the most popular images associated with London are the London Eye, Big Ben, London Bridge and the city at night. This organized view helps you find the images you were visualizing more quickly, so you might realize, "Ah, that big clock tower is called Big Ben, that's what I was looking for." You can then can click on the Big Ben group to find the best image within that subject group.

You can also use this feature to explore categories of a general topic that may be easier to learn about visually, like flower varieties or dog breeds. For example, if you want to get flowers for someone but you only know what their favorite kind looks like, not the name of it, you can sort by subject to learn different flower types and discover the name of the type you're looking for. Watch this video to learn more about how sorting can help you find the image you're seeking:



Sorting by subject uses algorithms that identify relationships among images found on the web and presents those images in visual groups, expanding on the technology developed for Google Similar Images and Google Image Swirl. By looking at multiple sources of similarities, such as pixel values and semantic relationships, and by mining massive amounts of data, we can make meaningful connections and groupings among images.

Sorting will be rolling out globally to nearly every domain and language over the next week. Whether you have a particular image in mind or you're just exploring a general topic, sort by subject can help you find the image you need—even if you don't have the exact words to describe it.

Posted by Donald Tanguay, Google Images team
URL: http://googleblog.blogspot.com/2011/05/sort-by-subject-in-google-images.html

[G] Google at CHI 2011

Posted: 09 May 2011 06:54 AM PDT

Official Google Research Blog: Google at CHI 2011

Posted by Yang Li, Research Scientist

Cross-posted with the Technical Programs and Events Blog

Google has an increasing presence at ACM CHI: Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems, which is the premiere conference for Human Computer Interaction research. Eight Google papers will appear at the conference. These papers not only touch on our core areas such as Search, Chrome and Android but also demonstrate our growing effort in new areas where HCI is essential, such as new search user interfaces, gesture-based interfaces and cross-device interaction. They showcase our efforts to address user experiences in diverse situations. Googlers are playing active roles in the conference in many other ways too: participating in conference committees, hosting panels, organizing workshops and teaching courses, as well as running demos and 1:1 sessions at Google's booth.

This year's CHI takes place in Vancouver, BC, from May 7th - 12th.

PAPERS

User-Defined Motion Gestures for Mobile Interaction by Jaime Ruiz, Yang Li*, Edward Lank

Experimental Analysis of Touch-Screen Gesture Designs in Mobile Environments by Andrew Bragdon, Eugene Nelson, Yang Li*, Ken Hinckley

Many Bills: Engaging Citizens through Visualizations of Congressional Legislation by Yannick Assogba, Irene Ros, Joan DiMicco, Matt McKeon*

YouPivot: Improving Recall with Contextual Search by Joshua Hailpern, Nicholas Jitkoff*, Andrew Warr*, Karrie Karahalios, Robert Sesek, Nik Shkrob

Oops, I Did It Again: Mitigating Repeated Access Control Errors on Facebook by Serge Egelman, Andrew Oates*, Shriram Krishnamurthi



WORKSHOPS
Crowdsourcing and Human Computation: Systems, Studies and Platforms by Michael Bernstein, Ed H. Chi*, Lydia B. Chilton, Björn Hartmann, Aniket Kittur, Robert C. Miller

PANELS
Designing for User Experience: Academia & Industry by Joseph 'Jofish' Kaye, Elizabeth Buie, Jettie Hoonhout, Kristina Höök, Virpi Roto, Scott Jenson*, Peter Wright

Festschrift Panel in Honor of Stuart K. Card by Ed H. Chi*, Peter Pirolli, Bonnie John, Judith S Olson, Dan Russell*, Tom Moran

CHI Should be Replicating and Validating Results More: Discuss by Max L. Wilson, Wendy Mackay, Ed H. Chi*, Michael Bernstein, Dan Russell*, Harold Thimbleby

Transferability of Research Findings: Context-Dependent or Model-Driven by Ed H. Chi*, Mary Czerwinski, David Millen, Dave Randall, Gunnar Stevens, Volker Wulf, John Zimmerman

The Future of Child-Computer Interaction by Allison Druin, Gary Knell, Elliot Soloway, Dan Russell*, Elizabeth Mynatt, Yvonne Rogers

CASE STUDIES
From Basecamp to Summit: Scaling Field Research Across 9 Locations by Jens Riegelsberger*, Audrey Yang*, Konstantin Samoylov*, Elizabeth Nunge*, Molly Stevens*, Patrick Larvie*

COURSES
Design and Analysis of Large Scale Log Studies by Susan Dumais, Robin Jeffries*, Dan Russell*, Diane Tang*, Jaime Teevan

SIG MEETING
Participatory Culture in the Age of Social Media by Dana Rotman, Sarah Vieweg, Sarita Yardi, Ed H. Chi*, Jenny Preece, Ben Shneiderman, Peter Pirolli, Tom Glaisyer

Note: * denotes a Googler
URL: http://googleresearch.blogspot.com/2011/05/google-at-chi-2011.html
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