Saturday, May 14, 2011

Googland

Googland

Googland

[G] New Google Analytics - Overview Reports Overview

Posted: 14 May 2011 04:19 AM PDT

Google Analytics Blog: New Google Analytics - Overview Reports Overview

This is part of our series of posts highlighting the new Google Analytics. The new version of Google Analytics is currently available in beta to all Analytics users. And follow Google Analytics on Twitter for the latest updates.

This week we're going a bit meta with an overview of the new Overview reports in the new Google Analytics. Overview reports were part of the old version of Analytics, of course, but we've made some changes to help your analysis.

Anatomy of the Overview Report
Each overview report consists of three sections. There's a timeline graph, some aggregate metrics, and a set of reports.



Whats inside of each of these sections depends on which report you're looking at. For example, the Visitor Overview shows a graph of visits and metrics like New vs. Returning visitors, while Content Overview shows metrics like pageviews and average time on page.

The Graph
We've made a few changes to the graphs in the new Google Analytics, and we'll share them here. You can now make adjustments to the graphs you see in Google Analytics from the buttons on the top right of the graph:
  • Switch a graph between Line Chart and Motion Chart
  • Graph different metrics: Select from the dropdown or the scorecard
Metrics dropdown
Metrics Scorecard
  • Compare two metrics: Graph an additional metric for comparison

  • Graph By: Change graph from between Monthly, Weekly, Daily, and even Hourly for some reports


Reports
The bottom section of an overview reports lets you look through a subset of the reports available in that section. You can flip through these reports to see where you want to start your analysis. In the Traffic Sources Overview, we can start by looking at a report of Keywords.



From here we can go view the full report or look at another report, like Referral Sources:



Intelligence Overview
Google Analytics Intelligence automatically searches your website traffic to look for anomalies. When it finds something that's out of the ordinary it surfaces this as an alert. You can also setup your own alerts by defining custom alerts.

Now you can feel like the president of the principality of Analytica with your very own Intelligence Overview report.



The Intelligence Overview report shows you all of your automatic alerts (daily, weekly, and monthly) at a glance. From the Intelligence Overview, you can click on Details to see a graph of the alert and go directly into the GA report. You can also add or review an annotation right from the pop-up graph.


I hope you enjoyed this overview of Overview Reports. Please continue to send us feedback on the new Google Analytics. Stay tuned for next week's installment in New Google Analytics series.

Posted by Trevor Claiborne, Google Analytics Team
URL: http://analytics.blogspot.com/2011/05/new-google-analytics-overview-reports.html

[G] Issue affecting Analytics data for April

Posted: 14 May 2011 04:19 AM PDT

Google Analytics Blog: Issue affecting Analytics data for April

Late last night we discovered an issue in Google Analytics that caused reports with data from April 2011 using custom reports, advanced segments, or secondary dimensions to return 0 visits. Our team has been hard at work since then, and have found the cause and are taking steps to resolve the issue.

We will update this post as we work to resolve this issue. As always, you can visit the Google Analytics Status Dashboard to see the current status of Google Analytics.

Update 5/13/11 3:45 PM PST
April data affected by this issue has been restored for all days after and including April 20th.

Update 5/11/11 10:30 AM PST
We want to reiterate that no data was lost due to this issue, and we're working hard to make the April data fully available in your Analytics reports. Our current timeline for restoring full functionality for April data is approximately 12 days, by May 23rd. We're doing what we can to shorten this period. We're restoring the data day by day so you will see it come in to your account over time and not all at once. Keep in mind, that you can view the affected April data through the standard reports.

Secondly, we've seen some comments about Fast Access mode and its relation to the issue. Fast Access mode is a change, in name only, to how we label a sampled report to help better explain why sampling happens in Google Analytics. This change was not responsible for the issue with April's data.

We'll continue to update this post with developments we work to completely resolve this issue.

Posted by Trevor Claiborne, Google Analytics Team
URL: http://analytics.blogspot.com/2011/05/issue-affecting-analytics-data-for.html

[G] One week left to Doodle 4 AdSense

Posted: 14 May 2011 02:18 AM PDT

Inside AdSense: One week left to Doodle 4 AdSense

With only one week left to submit your very own AdSense logo for our Doodle 4 AdSense showcase, we wanted to highlight the amazing submissions we've gotten so far. Take a look at our Facebook album featuring entries from creative publishers across the world. We'll be posting the submissions as they come in waves for the next few weeks, so keep checking back for more awesome doodles!

Inspired to create your own? Get doodling and submit your logo before May 20th. We'll post all submissions that adhere to our Terms and Conditions on the Facebook page, so the world can see what AdSense looks like to you.

Posted by Katrina Kurnit - Inside AdSense team
URL: http://adsense.blogspot.com/2011/05/one-week-left-to-doodle-4-adsense.html

[G] Site maintenance on Saturday, May 14

Posted: 14 May 2011 02:18 AM PDT

Inside AdSense: Site maintenance on Saturday, May 14

This Saturday, our engineers will be performing routine site maintenance from 9am to 5pm PDT. Your stats reporting may be delayed at that time, but we'll continue serving ads to your pages and tracking your clicks, impressions, and earnings as usual. Your ad targeting won't be affected and you will be able to log-in to your account.

We've converted the maintenance start time for a few cities around the world:



London - 5pm Saturday

Alexandria - 6pm Saturday

Hyderabad - 9:30pm Saturday
Jakarta - 11pm Saturday
Perth - 12am Sunday



To learn more about what goes on during these maintenance periods, check out this Inside AdSense post.



Posted by Katrina Kurnit - Inside AdSense Team
URL: http://adsense.blogspot.com/2011/05/site-maintenance-on-saturday-may-14.html

[G] How integrating new ad sizes helped CareerPlanner.com increase revenue by 165%

Posted: 14 May 2011 02:18 AM PDT

Inside AdSense: How integrating new ad sizes helped CareerPlanner.com increase revenue by 165%

In 1997, CareerPlanner.com founder Michael Robinson decided to pursue his passion of helping people discover their true career directions. He initially wanted to go into high schools and work directly with students, but decided instead to start a website so that he could keep his day job. Today, CareerPlanner.com helps high school students, college students, and adults alike discover their optimal career paths and learn how to start careers or make career changes.

In 2007, Michael and CareerPlanner.com's top graphic designer realized that 2.5 million visitors per year weren't purchasing any CareerPlanner.com products. "These visitors were clearly looking for something, but it was not anything we offered," says Michael, so they decided to give AdSense a try. Today, AdSense is on over 95% of CareerPlanner.com's pages and the site receives over 5.5 million visitors a year. The revenue from Google AdSense now helps fund CareerPlanner.com's Research and Development efforts, IT expansion, as well as special marketing projects that they always wanted to try but could never afford.

Getting more out of AdSense

Following advice from the AdSense team, Michael decided to update his AdSense ad units with the goal of increasing performance. Instead of the three 120 x 600 skyscrapers that had been running one on top another down the right side of each page, Michael began running one 160x600 wide skyscraper on the left column, one 300 x 250 medium rectangle in the center, integrated into his content below the fold, and one 160 x 600 wide skyscraper on the right column. Michael also changed the color scheme of the ad units to match the color scheme of his webpages. Initially, Michael made these changes to 75% of his pages. Within one month, his AdSense for content revenue increased 80%.

The initial revenue growth CareerPlanner.com saw in the first month inspired Michael to take the time to implement the same changes on more of his pages. Today, Michael has optimized 99% of his pages and increased his AdSense for content revenue by 165%.
"The best news," says Michael, "is that since we have made the optimization changes, our Google AdSense revenue has been setting new records every month."

Sign in to your account to upgrade your ad units like CareerPlanner.com today!

Posted by Jane Brinkley - AdSense Optimization team
URL: http://adsense.blogspot.com/2011/05/how-integrating-new-ad-sizes-helped.html

[G] Got 2 minutes? Learn how to allow and block ads

Posted: 14 May 2011 02:18 AM PDT

Inside AdSense: Got 2 minutes? Learn how to allow and block ads

Last week, we walked you through the Performance reports tab of the new AdSense interface. In the final two videos of this series, we wanted to highlight the key controls available in your account so that you're empowered to make smart decisions about the ads that appear on your site. Take a look at the videos below to learn more about the ad review center and the additional features that enable you to allow and block ads:





We hope you've enjoyed our six videos walking you through key activities in your account, and that it has enabled you to be more comfortable with the new AdSense interface. If you haven't started using the new interface yet, we hope you'll check out these demo videos and give it a try today!

Posted by Katrina Kurnit - Inside AdSense Team
URL: http://adsense.blogspot.com/2011/05/got-2-minutes-learn-how-to-allow-and.html

[G] Technical Details of the Blueberry Release

Posted: 14 May 2011 01:41 AM PDT

The WebM Open Media Project Blog: Technical Details of the Blueberry Release

The following text assumes the reader has prior knowledge about video codecs and hardware designs.

We reached the aforementioned +0.82 dB PSNR gains by adding the following features to the encoder:
  • Improved encoding decisions and added more coding options at macroblock level
  • Enabled multiple motion vectors per macroblock (Split MV mode)
  • Added preference of "nearest", "near" and "zero" type macroblocks that are less expensive to code than others
  • Added support for up to two reference frames in motion search (immediately previous and Golden frame)
  • Added deblocking filter macroblock mode adaptivity support
  • Added ¼ pixel precision motion estimation at 1080p resolution (previously supported only up to 720p)
  • Increased the amount of token probability tracking counters (enables more efficient entropy coding)
In addition, we added support for a programmable segment map, which enables psychovisual quality optimizations and defining region-of-interests. This means we can for example code the foreground objects (i.e. people) with a better quality (smaller quantizer) than the static background. We also added new hooks to the hardware that allows us to improve the quality of the encoder by later firmware upgrades that optmize our cost function algorithms - even after the chip has been manufactured.

In terms of silicon usage, Blueberry costs 13% more logic gates than Anthill, while the internal memory requirement remains unchanged. We optimized the maximum attainable clock frequency from Anthill's 376 MHz to 392 MHz (TSMC 65nm, LP), which allows the chip manufacturer to get some more fps, which can be useful if you are doing multiple simultaneous encodes or running in a slow-motion mode (i.e. VGA 200 fps).

Comparing the quality difference between Anthill and Blueberry, we measured their average PSNR and SSIM quality over 46 test sequences and at a wide quantizer range. A few example results are shown below (positive numbers mean Blueberry was better):

SequenceResolutionPSNR [dB] SSIM
cityqcif+0.80+0.033
table qcif+0.86+0.009
iceqcif+0.89+0.005
suzieqcif+0.82+0.013
crewcif+0.46+0.012
icecif+1.21+0.006
crew4cif+0.48+0.010
soccer4cif+0.70+0.022
video_conferencing720p+1.14+0.006
rush_hour1080p+0.92+0.004
pedestrian_area1080p+1.09+0.013
whale_show1080p+0.21+0.006
sunflower1080p+1.68+0.007

As our focus in the improvement work has been on the video conferencing use case, let's dig a bit deeper there. The following graph shows PSNR quality metrics for a 720p video call, comparing the H1 Blueberry release to Anthill and libvpx Bali release in different complexity modes (higher is better).



From the graph it can be seen that the Blueberry release encodes the video conference content at the same quality using up to 30% less bits than Anthill. It also beats libvpx's simplest real-time setting at a much lower bitrate than before.

While more improvements are on the way for the third release of the H1 encoder, the current performance is already very competitive - and the hardware now comes with hooks for further software-based optimizations.

Aki Kuusela is Engineering Manager of the WebM Project hardware team in Oulu, Finland.
URL: http://blog.webmproject.org/2011/05/technical-details-of-blueberry-release.html

[G] “Blueberry” VP8 Hardware Encoder IP Released

Posted: 14 May 2011 01:41 AM PDT

The WebM Open Media Project Blog: "Blueberry" VP8 Hardware Encoder IP Released

"Blueberry," the second release of the H1 VP8 hardware encoder, is now available through the WebM Project hardware page. Due to the short growing season and abundant light during the summer, Nordic blueberries are exceptionally sweet and rich with vitamins. The Blueberry encoder is not too bad either!

In Blueberry we focused primarily on improving the encoder for video calling use, as many of the semiconductor companies that have licensed the H1 encoder plan to use it in these use cases. Compared to Anthill, the average measured PSNR improvement was 0.82 dB, while SSIM figures were improved by 0.011. This is also shown in the following chart for 720p video call content, where Blueberry achieves the same quality as Anthill with 25% less bits!



In the next release, we plan to further improve the compression rate at the low bitrate range, as well as focus on new features such as two-pass encoding and visual optimization using segmentation maps. The third release is planned to be available at the end of Q2 2011.

The H1 IP has been licensed already to over twenty semiconductor companies, and we are looking forward to sharing the technology with new partners.

For licensing details about the H1, see our hardware page. For those interested in technical details, please keep reading here.

Aki Kuusela is Engineering Manager of the WebM Project hardware team in Oulu, Finland.
URL: http://blog.webmproject.org/2011/05/blueberry-vp8-hardware-encoder-ip.html

[G] Make beautiful interactive maps even faster with new additions to the Fusion Tables API

Posted: 14 May 2011 01:39 AM PDT

Official Google Research Blog: Make beautiful interactive maps even faster with new additions to the Fusion Tables API

Posted by Rebecca Shapley, Jayant Madhavan, Rod McChesney, and Kathryn Hurley, Fusion Tables team

Google Fusion Tables is a modern data management and publishing web application that makes it easy to host, manage, collaborate on, visualize, and publish data tables online. Since we first launched Fusion Tables almost two years ago, we've seen tremendous interest and usage from dozens of areas, from journalists to scientists to open-data entrepreneurs, and have been excited to see the innovative applications that our users have been able to rapidly build and publish.

We've been working hard to enrich what Fusion Tables offers for customization and control of visual presentation. This past fall we added the ability to style the colors and icons of mapped data with a few clicks in the Fusion Tables web app. This spring we made it easy to use HTML and customize what users see in the info window that appears after a click on the map. We've enjoyed seeing the impressive visualizations you have created. Some, like the Guardian's map of deprivation in the UK, were created strictly within the web app, while apps like the Bay Citizen's Bike Accident tracker and the Texas Tribune's Census 2010 interactive map take advantage of the Fusion Tables SQL API to do even more customization.


Of course, it's not always convenient to do everything through a web interface, and today we're delighted to invite trusted testers to try out the new Fusion Tables Styling and Info Window API. Now developers will be able to set a table's map colors and info windows with code.

Even better, this new Styling and Info Window API will be part of the Google APIs Console. The Google APIs Console helps you manage projects and teams, provision access quotas, and view analytics and metrics on your API usage. It also offers sample code that supports the OAuth 2.0 client key management flow you need to build secure apps for your users.

So if you've been looking for a way to programmatically create highly-customizable map visualizations from data tables, check out our new APIs and let us know what you think! To become a trusted tester, please apply to join the Google Group and tell us a little bit about how you use the Fusion Tables API.
URL: http://googleresearch.blogspot.com/2011/05/make-beautiful-interactive-maps-even.html

[G] Celebrating 150 years of MIT

Posted: 13 May 2011 08:58 PM PDT

Official Google Blog: Celebrating 150 years of MIT

2011 marks the 150th anniversary of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, founded to speed along America's industrial progress through scientific innovation. MIT has been at the forefront of computer science with key advancements in the field, like the invention of core memory, the first file sharing system and RSA, the algorithm for public key encryption. MIT and Google share many of the same goals and philosophies, and as part of MIT's 150th anniversary celebration, we wanted to take stock of the many ways we've been working together.

More than 500 MIT graduates work at Google, in Boston and beyond—on Android, Chrome, crisis relief efforts and more. At our Cambridge, Mass., office—just down the road from MIT's campus—and at the newly acquired ITA office, you can spot many MIT alumni Googlers proudly sporting red and gray in celebration of the milestone anniversary.

We love our Googler MIT grads, but our partnership with the university goes beyond an alumni relationship: we also support the university's mission of discovery and innovation in the sciences. Recently, we gave a focused research award to CSAIL to further research in computer science and artificial intelligence. We also partnered with researchers at the MIT Media Lab on Konbit, a service that helps communities rebuild themselves after a crisis. In the same lines, we're sponsoring MIT Next Lab, a group that researches and develops ways in which people can use mobile platforms to solve global and economic issues. And finally, as part of their 150th anniversary celebration, MIT announced a major Intelligence Initiative (I²) that we're helping to support. Beyond the pure scientific goals, it's hoped that this research will lead to practical applications in the form of more intelligent systems and software that will benefit society broadly

In addition, we have close relationships with some of MIT's faculty, like Hal Abelson, Professor of Computer Science and a member of Google's Visiting Faculty program, who has used our technology to conduct education outreach. He started the Young Android Project in 2007 and helped design App Inventor, which launched in 2010. Hal also teaches classes to non-engineers about building Android apps.

This summer we're looking forward to welcoming high school students into our Boston office through the MIT MITES program to introduce a whole new crop of future scientists to the joys of science and engineering. Plus, 50 MIT students will join Google as interns this summer alone.

Although MIT was established more than 100 years before the Internet was invented, the institution has continued to remain a world leader in technological research, development and advancement. We're excited to celebrate the university on its anniversary, and look forward to a continued and strong relationship for the next century to come.

Posted by Steve Vinter, Engineering Director, Google Boston
URL: http://googleblog.blogspot.com/2011/05/celebrating-150-years-of-mit.html

[G] 3D dreams in the modern browser

Posted: 13 May 2011 06:26 PM PDT

Google Chrome Blog: 3D dreams in the modern browser

[cross-posted on the Official Google Blog]

Some of the most compelling experiences on the web come when inspirations of old are brought to life with modern technologies. Last August, "The Wilderness Downtown" brought the wistful feeling of nostalgia to the browser as you run down the streets where you used to live in an HTML5 music experience based on the Arcade Fire song "We Used to Wait."

"3 Dreams of Black" is our newest music experience for the web browser, written and directed by Chris Milk and developed with a few folks here at Google. The song, "Black," comes off the album ROME, presented by Danger Mouse & Daniele Luppi, featuring Jack White and Norah Jones on vocals and soon to be released on the record label Parlophone/EMI. ROME is inspired by Italian soundtracks from the 1960s and the classic Italian Western genre. In fact, the album was recorded with the original orchestra from Italian director Sergio Leone's westerns (remember The Good, The Bad & The Ugly?).

"3 Dreams of Black" is a visual voyage through three dream worlds, told through rich 2D drawings and animations that are interspersed with interactive 3D sequences. At various points in this web experience, you can take control with your computer's mouse and guide your journey through the unfolding narrative. You can even contribute to the dream by creating your own relics using a 3D model creator. Some of the best user creations will be integrated into the experience and become a part of others' "3 Dreams" exploration.










In "3 Dreams in Black", the browser is transformed into a theater for these lucid virtual dreams through WebGL, a new technology which brings hardware-accelerated 3D graphics to the browser. With WebGL in modern browsers like Google Chrome, you can interact with 3D experiences with no need for additional software. For curious web developers out there, we've made all the code completely open and available so that you can dig in, have a look around and try it out for yourself.

Because "3 Dreams in Black" is an experiment built with the latest web technologies, it requires a browser that supports WebGL like Chrome, and Windows Vista / Mac OS X 10.6 or above to help ensure that your computer has up-to-date graphics drivers. For those of you who may have hardware constraints, we've put together a short video that we hope will provide a glimpse into this unique experience. To explore these dreamscapes, visit www.ro.me.

Posted by Aaron Koblin, Google Data Arts Team
URL: http://chrome.blogspot.com/2011/05/3d-dreams-in-modern-browser.html

[G] A flock of apps storming the Chrome Web Store

Posted: 13 May 2011 06:26 PM PDT

Google Chrome Blog: A flock of apps storming the Chrome Web Store

They are coming. They are angry. Protect your pigs.

Angry Birds, the most popular game for mobile devices, has arrived in the Chrome Web Store. Built using the latest technologies, Angry Birds is as much fun on the web as on your phone. In addition, you can try beating the new web-only, Chrome-inspired levels.

While firing up that slingshot, you may also want to try out some of the other apps that were recently added to the store. To keep up with the world of finance, you can install the Reuters and Fortune 500 apps. ESPN Cricinfo brings the latest cricket news straight to your new tab page. For the photo enthusiasts among you, LiveShare helps aggregate your friends' photos from events you attended together.

In addition to the new apps added today, popular apps such as Springpad and Graphicly have been updated to work offline. This makes them even more useful, especially to those of you who snap up one of our new Chromebooks.

Finally, for those of you who prefer to surf the web in a different language, we've made the Chrome Web Store available in 41 languages. This is just a first step towards launching the store in 15 more countries with locally relevant applications. Some, like SKY for the UK and EXAME for Brazil, have already appeared in the store.

To play with all of these goodies and the more than 19,000 other items in the Chrome Web Store, you can start by downloading Google Chrome at google.com/chrome.

Posted by Rahul Roy-chowdhury, Product Manager
URL: http://chrome.blogspot.com/2011/05/flock-of-apps-storming-chrome-web-store.html

[G] A new kind of computer: Chromebook

Posted: 13 May 2011 06:26 PM PDT

Google Chrome Blog: A new kind of computer: Chromebook

A little less than two years ago we set out to make computers much better. Today, we're announcing the first Chromebooks from our partners, Samsung and Acer. These are not typical notebooks. With a Chromebook you won't wait minutes for your computer to boot and browser to start. You'll be reading your email in seconds. Thanks to automatic updates the software on your Chromebook will get faster over time. Your apps, games, photos, music, movies and documents will be accessible wherever you are and you won't need to worry about losing your computer or forgetting to back up files. Chromebooks will last a day of use on a single charge, so you don't need to carry a power cord everywhere. And with optional 3G, just like your phone, you'll have the web when you need it. Chromebooks have many layers of security built in so there is no anti-virus software to buy and maintain. Even more importantly, you won't spend hours fighting your computer to set it up and keep it up to date.

At the core of each Chromebook is the Chrome web browser. The web has millions of applications and billions of users. Trying a new application or sharing it with friends is as easy as clicking a link. A world of information can be searched instantly and developers can embed and mash-up applications to create new products and services. The web is on just about every computing device made, from phones to TVs, and has the broadest reach of any platform. With HTML5 and other open standards, web applications will soon be able to do anything traditional applications can do, and more.

Chromebooks will be available online June 15 in the US, UK, France, Germany, Netherlands, Italy and Spain. More countries will follow in the coming months. In the US, Chromebooks will be available from Amazon and Best Buy and internationally from leading retailers.

Even with dedicated IT departments, businesses and schools struggle with the same complex, costly and insecure computers as the rest of us. To address this, we're also announcing Chromebooks for Business and Education. This service from Google includes Chromebooks and a cloud management console to remotely administer and manage users, devices, applications and policies. Also included is enterprise-level support, device warranties and replacements as well as regular hardware refreshes. Monthly subscriptions will start at $28/user for businesses and $20/user for schools.

There are over 160 million active users of Chrome today. Chromebooks bring you all of Chrome's speed, simplicity and security without the headaches of operating systems designed 20 to 30 years ago. We're very proud of what the Chrome team along with our partners have built, and with seamless updates, it will just keep getting better.

For more details please visit www.google.com/chromebook.




Posted by Linus Upson, Vice President of Engineering and Sundar Pichai, Senior Vice President, Chrome
URL: http://chrome.blogspot.com/2011/05/new-kind-of-computer-chromebook.html

[G] Google Transit goes to Washington

Posted: 13 May 2011 06:05 PM PDT

Google Public Policy Blog: Google Transit goes to Washington

Posted by Noam Ben Haim, Product Manager, Google Maps

(Cross-posted from the Official Google Blog.)

Every day, many thousands of commuters, locals, and tourists ride public transit in Washington, D.C. To help all of these transit riders find their way around the metro area, today we're making comprehensive information about D.C.'s public transportation available on Google Transit.

In partnership with the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority (WMATA), we're adding all of D.C.'s Metro and bus stations, stops and routes, as well as connections to other transit systems in nearby cities. You can find this information on Google Maps as well as Google Maps for mobile—no matter where you are, you can get to where you're going. With Google Transit, D.C. metro-area commuters—including those in Baltimore, Montgomery and Jefferson counties—may discover a quicker route to work, while visitors can easily make their way from Reagan National Airport straight to the Smithsonian.

Public transportation is a vital part of city infrastructure and can help alleviate congestion and reduce emissions. But planning your trip on public transit can be challenging, especially when there are multiple transit agencies and you need to use information from multiple sources to figure out the best route. With mapping tools like the transit feature, we're working to make that easier.

Directions are also available on Google Maps for mobile—so if you're graduating from GWU and want to meet some friends in Adams Morgan to celebrate, it's as easy as pulling out your phone. If you're using an Android device, for example, search for [Adams Morgan] in Google Maps, click on the Places result and select "Directions." Switch to Transit in the upper-left corner and find out which bus gets you there fastest.


Wherever your journey takes you, whether using public transit, driving, biking or walking, we hope Google Transit directions in D.C. make finding your way a little easier.
URL: http://googlepublicpolicy.blogspot.com/2011/05/google-transit-goes-to-washington.html

[G] Keynote and session videos from Google I/O now live

Posted: 13 May 2011 02:49 PM PDT

Official Google Blog: Keynote and session videos from Google I/O now live

With Google I/O 2011 just two days behind us, we wanted to thank the nearly 1 million developers who joined us at Moscone Center, attended I/O Extended events and watched online via I/O Live from 161 countries around the world.

The keynote presentations highlighted the momentum and vision for two of our most important developer platforms: Android and Chrome.

On the topic of Android, Hugo Barra, director of Android Product Management, opened Day 1 of the conference with the themes of "Momentum, Mobile and More," announcing Movies in Android Market, Music Beta by Google, Android @ Home, Android Open Accessory and a preview of the new Ice Cream Sandwich logo. Read the blog post summary or watch the keynote in its entirety below.



The Day 2 keynote was all about Chrome, which has grown to 160 million active users, up from 70 million last year. Sundar Pichai, senior vice president of Chrome, discussed the launch of the HTML5 version of Angry Birds built with GWT on App Engine, Chromebooks for consumers and businesses and in-app payments. If you missed it, watch the Chrome keynote below.



These launches are just a few of the more than 30 announcements we made over the two days, including the launch of Google App Engine 1.5, a updated Google Prediction API, new additions to the Fusion Tables API and many more. For more information about these and the other news coming out of the event, visit the Google I/O label on the Google Code Blog.

Additionally, in case you missed any of these announcements, HD recordings of the sessions are now available online.

Find the highlights from this year's event at www.google.com/io, where we'll feature photos, announcements and the latest videos. Also stay tuned for a feature on "Backstage at Google I/O" where we'll highlight the developers and artists who helped to make the event possible this year.

Google I/O kicked off the year as our biggest developer event—but we're only getting started. As of today, we're announcing locations for our eight Google Developer Days (GDDs), which will take place all over the world with more than a few DevFests in between. Stay tuned for more info on the 2011 event details, but we'll look forward to seeing you in Brazil, Argentina, Prague, Moscow, Tokyo, Sydney, Israel and Germany for our Google Developer team world tour.

Posted by Vic Gundotra, Senior Vice President of Engineering
URL: http://googleblog.blogspot.com/2011/05/keynote-and-session-videos-from-google.html

[G] This week in search 5/13/11

Posted: 13 May 2011 02:49 PM PDT

Official Google Blog: This week in search 5/13/11

This is part of a regular series of posts on search experience updates that runs on Fridays. Look for the label "This week in search" and subscribe to the series. - Ed.

This week, you can find what you're looking for more easily, as we introduced Google Images with sorting and made Google Instant available for even more people.

Sort by subject in Google Images
When you're searching for an image, sometimes it can be hard to describe in words what you're looking for. Now when that happens, you can use Google Images with sorting to find that image more easily.

Let's say you're searching for a picture of [flowers]. It's such a broad topic that instead of browsing through all the different results, you can click "Sort by subject" in the left-hand panel and your image results will be organized into related categories. The categories help narrow down your search and pinpoint what you need, whether it's roses, lilies or tulips.


Instant on iPad and in Italy, Spain and Germany
This week, more people will experience the speed of Google Instant as it rolls out over the next few days to everyone in Italy, Spain and Germany, whether you are signed in or not. Additionally, if you're an iPad owner and searching on google.com, you can now see search predictions and results as you type.


Are you feeling lucky?
If you're feeling lucky this Friday the 13th, see how fast you can try and solve today's A Google a Day puzzle at www.agoogleaday.com.


Posted by Mike Cassidy, Director of Product Management
URL: http://googleblog.blogspot.com/2011/05/this-week-in-search-51311.html

[G] YouTube highlights 5/13

Posted: 13 May 2011 02:49 PM PDT

Official Google Blog: YouTube highlights 5/13

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.

More great content on YouTube
This week we announced the addition of 3,000 major movies titles on youtube.com/movies. We've been offering a slew of free movie rentals on YouTube since 2009, but now you can rent and enjoy your favorite movies right on YouTube for a few bucks, from classics like Goodfellas to newer blockbusters including Inception, The King's Speech and Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows. There's no downloading or software required—you can enjoy the growing selection of movies right in your browser.

Aside from professionally produced content, original content producers like like Machinima, Annoying Orange and Ryan Higa to reach TV-size audiences on YouTube week after week. In the coming year, we plan to equip more creators with the necessary tools to produce unique, valuable content. Read more from Salar Kamangar, head of YouTube, on how we plan to expand the availability of great content.

Inspired educators gather on YouTube
The Teaching Channel, one of our newer YouTube EDU partners, is a great example of technology actively elevating education standards. On the channel, teachers can discover new teaching methods and classroom ideas, and get feedback from other teachers while sharing their expertise. The hope is that teachers and schools around the country will use video to learn from each other and improve the educational experience of every child. Explore the channel yourself and pass it along to teachers you know.



Royal festivities around the world
On April 29, we live streamed the Royal Wedding on the official YouTube Royal Channel. While we knew many people would tune in, we didn't expect numbers this large—the wedding was streamed 72 million times across 188 countries! Add that to the millions of people who caught the action later that day, and you have 101 million total streams on April 29 alone. Find more stats about the live stream event on the YouTube blog, and if you were one of the few to miss the wedding, the entire live stream and video highlights are permanently housed on The Royal Channel.



This week in trends
From the world of YouTube Trends:

  • A woman plays a tune across three instruments, becoming the most watched and shared video in Taiwan this week
  • News on Bin Laden draws reactions from around the country
  • 10 ways kids are asking each other to the prom
  • Millions watched President Obama's speech at the White House Correspondent's Dinner




Visit the YouTube Blog for much more from the world of video.

Posted by Neha Mandal, Product Marketing Manager, The YouTube Team
URL: http://googleblog.blogspot.com/2011/05/youtube-highlights-513.html

[G] Blogger is back

Posted: 13 May 2011 02:49 PM PDT

Official Google Blog: Blogger is back

(Cross-posted from the Blogger Buzz blog)

What a frustrating day. We're very sorry that you've been unable to publish to Blogger for the past 20.5 hours. We're nearly back to normal—you can publish again, and in the coming hours posts and comments that were temporarily removed should be restored. Thank you for your patience while we fix this situation. We use Blogger for our own blogs, so we've also felt your pain.

Here's what happened: during scheduled maintenance work Wednesday night, we experienced some data corruption that impacted Blogger's behavior. Since then, bloggers and readers may have experienced a variety of anomalies including intermittent outages, disappearing posts, and arriving at unintended blogs or error pages. A small subset of Blogger users (we estimate 0.16%) may have encountered additional problems specific to their accounts. Yesterday we returned Blogger to a pre-maintenance state and placed the service in read-only mode while we worked on restoring all content: that's why you haven't been able to publish. We rolled back to a version of Blogger as of Wednesday May 11, so your posts since then were temporarily removed. Those are the posts that we're in the progress of restoring.

Again, we are very sorry for the impact to our authors and readers. We try hard to ensure Blogger is always available for you to share your thoughts and opinions with the world, and we'll do our best to prevent this from happening again.

Posted by Eddie Kessler, Tech Lead/Manager, Blogger
URL: http://googleblog.blogspot.com/2011/05/blogger-is-back.html

[G] 3D dreams in the modern browser

Posted: 13 May 2011 02:49 PM PDT

Official Google Blog: 3D dreams in the modern browser

Some of the most compelling experiences on the web come when inspirations of old are brought to life with modern technologies. Last August, "The Wilderness Downtown" brought the wistful feeling of nostalgia to the browser as you run down the streets where you used to live in an HTML5 music experience based on the Arcade Fire song "We Used to Wait."

"3 Dreams of Black" is our newest music experience for the web browser, written and directed by Chris Milk and developed with a few folks here at Google. The song, "Black," comes off the album ROME, presented by Danger Mouse & Daniele Luppi, featuring Jack White and Norah Jones on vocals and soon to be released on the record label Parlophone/EMI. ROME is inspired by Italian soundtracks from the 1960s and the classic Italian Western genre. In fact, the album was recorded with the original orchestra from Italian director Sergio Leone's westerns (remember The Good, The Bad & The Ugly?).

"3 Dreams of Black" is a visual voyage through three dream worlds, told through rich 2D drawings and animations that are interspersed with interactive 3D sequences. At various points in this web experience, you can take control with your computer's mouse and guide your journey through the unfolding narrative. You can even contribute to the dream by creating your own relics using a 3D model creator. Some of the best user creations will be integrated into the experience and become a part of others' "3 Dreams" exploration.




In "3 Dreams in Black", the browser is transformed into a theater for these lucid virtual dreams through WebGL, a new technology which brings hardware-accelerated 3D graphics to the browser. With WebGL in modern browsers like Google Chrome, you can interact with 3D experiences with no need for additional software. For curious web developers out there, we've made all the code completely open and available so that you can dig in, have a look around and try it out for yourself.

Because "3 Dreams in Black" is an experiment built with the latest web technologies, it requires a browser that supports WebGL like Chrome, and Windows Vista / Mac OS X 10.6 or above to help ensure that your computer has up-to-date graphics drivers. For those of you who may have hardware constraints, we've put together a short video that we hope will provide a glimpse into this unique experience. To explore these dreamscapes, visit www.ro.me.


Posted by Aaron Koblin, Google Data Arts Team
URL: http://googleblog.blogspot.com/2011/05/3d-dreams-in-modern-browser.html

[G] Google Transit goes to Washington

Posted: 13 May 2011 02:49 PM PDT

Official Google Blog: Google Transit goes to Washington

Every day, many thousands of commuters, locals and tourists ride public transit in Washington, D.C. To help all of these transit riders find their way around the metro area, today we're making comprehensive information about D.C.'s public transportation available on Google Transit.

In partnership with the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority (WMATA), we're adding all of D.C.'s Metro and bus stations, stops and routes, as well as connections to other transit systems in nearby cities. You can find this information on Google Maps as well as Google Maps for mobile—no matter where you are, you can get to where you're going. With Google Transit, D.C. metro-area commuters—including those in Baltimore, Montgomery and Jefferson counties—may discover a quicker route to work, while visitors can easily make their way from the airport straight to the Smithsonian.


Public transportation is a vital part of city infrastructure and can help alleviate congestion and reduce emissions. However, planning your trip on public transit can be challenging, especially when there are multiple transit agencies and you need to use information from multiple sources to figure out the best route. With mapping tools like the transit feature, we're working to make that easier.

Directions are also available on Google Maps for mobile—so if you're graduating from George Washington University and want to meet some friends at Adams Morgan to celebrate, it's as easy as pulling out your phone. If you're using an Android device, for example, search for Adams Morgan in Google Maps, click on the Places result and select "Directions." Switch to Transit in the upper left corner and find out which bus will take you there the fastest.


Wherever your journey takes you, whether using public transit, driving, biking or walking, we hope Google Transit directions in D.C. make finding your way a little easier.

Posted by Noam Ben Haim, Product Manager, Google Maps
URL: http://googleblog.blogspot.com/2011/05/google-transit-goes-to-washington.html

[G] Graduate with Google Apps

Posted: 13 May 2011 02:49 PM PDT

Official Google Blog: Graduate with Google Apps

Millions of students will leave college this year with more than just a diploma. There's a good chance that the graduating class of 2011 will also be experts in another field: Google Apps for Education.

If you attended a university that's "gone Google" or just sought out Google products on your own, you've learned how to use Apps to collaborate and communicate with your professors and peers. Perhaps you've used Gmail to power through email efficiently, Docs to revise group projects without the hassle of attachments, Calendar to keep up with extracurriculars, forms to quickly collect and analyze data or Sites to organize resources around your projects. Using these tools has equipped you with valuable expertise for life after college—just like the finance skills you learned in your major or the Spanish language abilities you picked up while studying abroad.

With this in mind, we've created the Google Guides program to help you take your Google Apps expertise to your future job. When you become a Google Guide, we'll equip you with resources to introduce and implement Apps in your workplace. You'll make an immediate impact by saving your company money and facilitating collaboration among coworkers. Once your company is up and running with Google Apps, you'll get to continue using all the Apps tools you learned and loved in college—not to mention be known as your company's in-house Google expert.

If you're not sure where you'll be picking up your paycheck yet, don't fret. The Google Guides program also provides tips and tools for your job search, including resume templates.



You can sign up as a Google Guide at google.com/apps/graduate and read our FAQ for more details. And for those of you not graduating this year, you can always get information specifically for students on the Official Student Blog.

Posted by Lauren Kolodny, Google Apps Marketing Manager
URL: http://googleblog.blogspot.com/2011/05/graduate-with-google-apps.html

[G] This week's Trends: slow motion, translation, and birds

Posted: 13 May 2011 02:21 PM PDT

YouTube Blog: This week's Trends: slow motion, translation, and birds

Each weekday, we at YouTube Trends take a look at the most interesting videos and cultural phenomena on YouTube as they develop. We want take a moment to highlight some of what we've come across this week:







Check back every day for the latest about what's trending on YouTube at: www.YouTube.com/Trends



Kevin Allocca, YouTube Trends Manager, recently watched "The Tragedy of First Position."


URL: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/youtube/PKJx/~3/YkHCQ8uOodE/this-weeks-trends-slow-motion.html

[G] Introducing “News near you” on Google News for mobile

Posted: 13 May 2011 12:33 PM PDT

Official Google Mobile Blog: Introducing "News near you" on Google News for mobile

(Cross-posted from the Google News blog)

Google News for mobile lets you keep up with the latest news, wherever you are. Today we're excited to announce a new feature in the U.S. English edition called "News near you" that surfaces news relevant to the city you're in and surrounding areas.

Location-based news first became available in Google News in 2008, and today there's a local section for just about any city, state or country in the world with coverage from thousands of sources. We do local news a bit differently, analyzing every word in every story to understand what location the news is about and where the source is located.

Now you can find local news on your smartphone. Here's an example of a "News near you" mobile section automatically created for someone in Topeka, Kansas:


To use this feature, visit Google News from the browser of your Android smartphone or iPhone. If this is the first time you are visiting Google News on your phone since this feature became available, a pop-up will ask you if you want to share your location. If you say yes, news relevant to your location will appear in a new section called "News near you" which will be added at the bottom of the homepage. You can reorganize the sections later via the personalization page.


You can turn off the feature at any time either by hiding the section in your personalization settings or by adjusting your mobile browser settings. Please visit the Help Center for further details.

So, go to news.google.com from your smartphone and get the latest news from wherever you are.


Posted by Navneet Singh, Product Manager, Google News
URL: http://googlemobile.blogspot.com/2011/05/introducing-news-near-you-on-google.html

[G] Build smarter apps with the improved Google Prediction API

Posted: 13 May 2011 10:56 AM PDT

Official Google Enterprise Blog: Build smarter apps with the improved Google Prediction API

Posted by Travis Green, Product Manager, Prediction API Team

Editors note: Today we're at Google I/O, and we have a few announcements about how we're making our developer tools more available and better for businesses. The third and final, below, summarizes important improvements to the Google Prediction API.

Last year we introduced the Google Prediction API to give select developers access to Google's sophisticated machine learning algorithms to analyze a wide range of example data and provide predictions for likely outcomes. Whether you want to create an automated spam and security filter, provide recommendations based on customer demographics, or find hidden patterns in financial data, the Prediction API can quickly make your app smarter.

Today we're making the Prediction API available to everyone. We're also announcing some new features to make it more helpful to businesses including:
  • Streaming training data that allows for rapid adaptation to real-time data and allows refinement of predictive models.
  • Improved user interface that provides consistent prediction scores, error reporting, and simplified formatting.
  • 99.9% uptime service level agreement for additional assurance.
  • Gallery of pre-built third party prediction models (coming soon) that will enable the immediate deployment of established models without the need for original development, beginning with these demo models.
There are many use cases for the Prediction API, including several being developed by Ford Motor Co. Research. Ford is working to use the Prediction API to optimize plug-in hybrid electric (PHEV) vehicle energy efficiency and usage by predicting driver destinations and optimizing the driving controls based on driving conditions to conserve fuel. Using the cloud-hosted API, Ford has been able to access computationally-intensive machine learning algorithms from Google to find patterns that rank potential destinations based on previous driving paths.

The Google Prediction API is the only cloud service that allows businesses to access this depth of sophisticated machine learning with only a few API calls and by utilizing the flexibility of Google Storage. Learn more on the Google Code Blog or visit the Prediction API site to sign up for an account.
URL: http://googleenterprise.blogspot.com/2011/05/build-smarter-apps-with-improved-google.html

[G] Google Storage for Developers open to all, with new features

Posted: 13 May 2011 10:56 AM PDT

Official Google Enterprise Blog: Google Storage for Developers open to all, with new features

Posted by Navneet Joneja, Product Manager, Google Storage for Developers

Editors note: Today we're at Google I/O, and we have a few announcements about how we're making our developer tools more available and better for businesses. The second, below, summarizes important improvements to Google Storage for Developers.

Last year we introduced Google Storage for Developers, a cloud service that allows businesses to store their data on Google's infrastructure. Google Storage for Developers' high responsiveness, flexible sharing and multiple layers of data replication make it a great choice for any scenario that requires web-connected storage, including data sharing, storage for computation, static content hosting, data for web applications, backup/recovery, and more.

Starting today, you no longer need an invitation to sign up for Google Storage. Along with opening the doors, we've also implemented several significant product enhancements including:
  • OAuth 2.0 support - This authentication mechanism provides your applications with a great combination of enhanced security and flexibility.
  • Simplified sharing - Share data with anyone who has a Google account, regardless of whether or not they have a Google Storage for Developers account.
  • A new European storage region - Choose to store your data in Europe if it's closer to your customers, with the same high levels of availability and reliability as our US storage region.
  • Team-oriented accounts - A more natural development and management model, which more closely aligns with the way other Google APIs are managed.
  • Streaming uploads - Stream data directly to Google Storage without buffering it on your own servers.
  • Larger data object support - Upload objects of up to 5 terabytes in size. 
  • Free trial plan - Try Google Storage for free with up to 5 GB of free storage and 25 GB of free bandwidth into and out of Google's data centers until December 31, 2011.
These new features advance our commitment to offering highly available, scalable, and flexible business-focused storage in the cloud. Now, with our new free trial plan you can easily get started. Learn more on the Google Code Blog.
URL: http://googleenterprise.blogspot.com/2011/05/google-storage-for-developers-open-to.html
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