Thursday, July 7, 2011

Googland

Googland

[G] Google Maps 5.7 for Android introduces Transit Navigation (Beta) and more

Posted: 07 Jul 2011 05:09 AM PDT

Official Google Mobile Blog: Google Maps 5.7 for Android introduces Transit Navigation (Beta) and more


(Cross-posted on the Official Google Blog)

Today we're releasing Google Maps 5.7 for Android. From Bangkok to Baltimore, we've added Transit Navigation (Beta), updated access to directions, better suggested search results, and a photo viewer to Place pages—all of which can help you whether you're traveling to an unfamiliar part of town or visiting a city across the world.

Transit Navigation (Beta)
Google Maps Navigation (Beta) currently provides over 12 billion miles of GPS-guided driving and walking directions per year. Now, GPS turn-by-turn (or in this case, stop-by-stop) navigation is available for public transit directions in 400+ cities around the globe with Transit Navigation.


Transit Navigation uses GPS to determine your current location along your route and alerts you when it's time to get off or make a transfer. This is particularly helpful if you're in a city where you don't speak the language and can't read the route maps or understand the announcements. After starting your trip with Transit Navigation, you can open another application or put your phone away entirely and Google Maps will still display an alert in your notification bar and vibrate your phone when your stop is coming up.

Left: Transit directions without Navigation. Right: with Navigation


Navigation alerts appear even if you switch to another app

Now you can spend more time enjoying the sights out the window and less time worrying about how many stops are left, where you are along the route or whether you missed your stop. Since Transit Navigation relies on GPS signals, we recommend using this feature for above-ground transit.

Updated Directions
Now that we've improved our directions services, we wanted them to be incredibly easy to pull up on your screen. If you select the driving or walking icon and your route is supported by Google Maps Navigation, the Navigation icon will automatically appear so you can get access to step-by-step directions in one click. Note: this change is currently only in place for driving and walking and does not appear for public transit.

One-click access to Navigation from directions

We've also streamlined how you access directions from within a Place page. Before, clicking directions in a Place page would bring up options for "Driving Navigation," "Walking Navigation" and "Directions." Now, you'll be taken straight to the map and see the new directions box shown above.

Improved Search Suggest
We've made two changes to search suggestions that improve their quality and speed. First, we've added category icons, so instead of all search suggestions displaying the same icon, the icon next to the listing will reflect the type of result. You'll see a pin for a Google Places listing, a star for a starred Place or location, a clock for a previously used search term, a person for contacts and a magnifying glass for "anything else."

Two examples of search suggest with new icons

Also, any place you got directions to or called directly from its Places page will be included as a suggestion for a relevant search. For example, if you recently received directions to the U.S. Post Office on Wilshire Boulevard, afterward, when you begin a search with [p] or [bou], that U.S. Post Office would appear as a search suggestion.

Photo viewer for Place pages
Since we released business photos for Place pages last October, millions of photos have been added to Place pages around the world. To enable you to view these photos on the run, a slick new photo viewer has been added so you can browse photos while deciding where to go.

Left: Business photos in Place pages. Right: New photo viewer

To start using Google Maps 5.7 for Android, download the update here. This update requires an Android OS 2.1+ device and works anywhere Google Maps is currently available. Learn more at our help center and have fun exploring, whether it be by car, transit, bike or foot.

Posted by Chris Van Der Westhuizen, Software Engineer
URL: http://googlemobile.blogspot.com/2011/07/google-maps-57-for-android-introduces.html

[G] The Data Liberation Front Delivers Google Takeout

Posted: 07 Jul 2011 04:23 AM PDT

Data Liberation: The Data Liberation Front Delivers Google Takeout

Since we began in 2007, the Data Liberation Front has been focused on one thing: making it easier for you to take your data in and out of Google. Our first step was to make it easier to get your data out of our products, one product at a time. While we've made great progress on this front, we've been on the lookout for even better ways to let you take your data out of Google.

Today we're pleased to announce the Data Liberation Front's first revolutionary product: Google Takeout.


Google Takeout lets you take your data out of multiple Google products in one fell swoop. Moreover, you'll find that all your data is in portable and open formats‚ so it's easy to import to other services quickly.

Today, we're launching with five products:


These are just the beginning: we will be adding more Google products as time goes on, so stay tuned. For now, check out the settings menu in Google+ or visit google.com/takeout to give Takeout a try.

Posted by Brian Fitzpatrick, The Data Liberation Front
URL: http://dataliberation.blogspot.com/2011/06/data-liberation-front-delivers-google.html

[G] Journalist Belva Davis Discusses Her Memoir at Google

Posted: 06 Jul 2011 07:14 PM PDT

Inside Google Books: Journalist Belva Davis Discusses Her Memoir at Google

Posted by Ariel Levine, Google eBooks Support Team

Pioneering journalist Belva Davis recently visited Google as part of the Authors@Google program  to talk about her memoir, Never in My Wildest Dreams: A Black Woman's Life in Journalism. 

Davis was interviewed by Google director Stacy Brown-Philpot, who asked her questions about her career, being black in America, technology's impact on the media, and her hopes for the future.

During her career Davis anchored at three major network affiliates, CBS, NBC and PBS, and currently hosts a highly respected political affairs program on KQED-TV in San Francisco. She has interviewed icons such as Malcolm X, Frank Sinatra, James Brown, Alex Haley, Dianne Feinstein, Fidel Castro and Condoleezza Rice. During her interview at Google, Davis said that she would like to add President Barack Obama to this list.


In the video above, Davis is interviewed on-stage as part of the Authors@Google series

When asked how she started her career, Davis pointed to the Republican National Convention of 1964. She explained that it was during that convention where she saw how the mainstream media shaped public opinion and perpetuated racism.

Seeing the media's power to tell a story of hatred to America inspired her to try to tell a different story, "I thought to myself... I want to do something like that... I want to be able to tell people what happens to us. No one is truly interested in what happens to us if we don't tell our own story."

Something that surfaced during the conversation was how important it is to continue telling your story, even after you think you've broken down a wall. Asked if she thought being black in America has changed since the 1960s, Davis said it had, but this did not mean that people should stop working toward change:
It's like two different worlds for black Americans today. There is the group we dreamed of, that people fought for, march for... And then there is the other world, where unemployment is higher than it's ever been, where poverty is at an unmeasurable amount, where walls are so high that some don't see that they can climb over them.

So as a country we need to do more, but as a people there is no denying that the world is totally different: When I was starting in this business, I was often asked to leave news conferences because no one could believe I was a real legitimate reporter. Today the president of the country is black.
In her book Davis recounts where she was the night that Barack Obama won the 2008 Presidential election, and her initial hesitation to celebrate. Once she realized his success was real and being acknowledged, she was unable to control herself and had to share her experiences. She spoke about her experience of America in the 1960s, and the miracle she felt Obama's election was. And yet, always the journalist, Davis admits:
Deep down, I suspect that this glorious glow will fade into a more complex reality. Every progressive step in America seems to evoke its own backlash. In the same way that Brown v. Board of Education and passage of the Civil Rights Act helped spawn the reactionary rhetoric of the Goldwaterites, so too will Obama's election trigger angry Tea Party movement protesters brandishing him "un-American" and clamoring to take their country "back."

Yes I choose to remain hopeful. Over the years I've followed my mantra--a note I wrote to myself years ago. Its message applies to the fate of Belvagene Metlon Davis Moore from hardscrabble Louisiana, and to the Obamas and Oprahs and Christophers of the world, and to all who follow the arch of history as it blends toward justice. It begins like this: "Don't be afraid of the space between your dreams and reality" (16).
Ultimately, Never in My Wildest Dreams, is about not giving up. Davis points out that we are living in a time when young people are throwing up their hands and abandoning their dreams. Davis wanted to let anyone who has thought of giving up that there "are rewards for hanging in there, for having wild dreams, for envisioning yourself as whatever it is that you think will make you happy."

She writes, "If you can somehow along the way convince yourself to do the work that it takes to get where you want to go, then there you are."


is available in the Google eBookstore for $7.99.
URL: http://booksearch.blogspot.com/2011/06/journalist-belva-davis-discusses-her.html

[G] What folks are saying about the FTC’s review

Posted: 06 Jul 2011 07:03 PM PDT

Google Public Policy Blog: What folks are saying about the FTC's review

Posted by Mistique Cano, Manager, Public Policy Communications

Since we announced last Friday that the FTC is reviewing our business practices, there's been a lot of commentary about what it all means. We thought we'd share just a few of those views.

Search Engine Land's Greg Sterling wrote:
"...the notion of limiting or regulating what Google can show on its [search results pages] is a bad idea. Antitrust law is not supposed to protect companies from competitors but protect the marketplace in general and consumers in particular. Right now there's no evidence that Google has harmed consumers. And the booming startup market suggests that innovation hasn't been adversely affected by Google's rise."
Advertisers are weighing in. Covario, a San Diego-based search engine marketing firm, writes:
"Our position then, as it is now, is that there is no antitrust case in paid search due to the way pricing is set in the market for paid search keywords. Google acts as market facilitator, not market enforcer. [...] [Google is] quite transparent when it comes to how they determine Quality Score, and advertisers who do not benefit from this understanding either have not put in the work, or are simply unhappy with the result (they are bidding on irrelevant keywords, which hurts quality score, which raises price – those are the publicized rules of the auction – play or don't play)."
Antitrust attorney and former FTC official David Balto wrote in Huffington Post:
"The proponents of an antitrust investigation of Googles suggest Google is inhibiting competition by setting up barriers harming consumers. But a close examination of Google's entry into multiple consumer markets illustrates the opposite – that where Google competes, consumers benefit."
And Tom Lenard and Paul Rubin of the Technology Policy Institute wrote in Forbes:
"While the FTC may know things we don't, there is thus far no evidence in the public domain that Google is guilty of violations similar to those of which Microsoft was convicted a dozen years ago. [...] Google's market position was earned precisely because it found a way of ranking search results that is more useful for consumers, and it will quickly lose that position if someone can find an even better ranking algorithm."
URL: http://googlepublicpolicy.blogspot.com/2011/06/what-folks-are-saying-about-ftcs-review.html

[G] Examining the impact of clean energy innovation

Posted: 06 Jul 2011 07:03 PM PDT

Google Public Policy Blog: Examining the impact of clean energy innovation

Posted by Bill Weihl, Green Energy Czar, and Charles Baron, Google.org, Clean Energy Team

(Cross-posted from the Official Google Blog.)

At Google, we're committed to using technology to solve one of the greatest challenges we face as a country: building a clean energy future. That's why we've worked hard to be carbon neutral as a company, launched our renewable energy cheaper than coal initiative and have invested in several clean energy companies and projects around the world.

But what if we knew the value of innovation in clean energy technologies? How much could new technologies contribute to our economic growth, enhance our energy security or reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions? Robust data can help us understand these important questions, and the role innovation in clean energy could play in addressing our future economic, security and climate challenges.

Through Google.org, our energy team set out to answer some of these questions. Using McKinsey's Low Carbon Economics Tool (LCET), we assessed the long-term economic impacts for the U.S. assuming breakthroughs were made in several different clean energy technologies, like wind, geothermal and electric vehicles. McKinsey's LCET is a neutral, analytic set of interlinked models that estimates the potential economic and technology implications of various policy and technology assumptions.

The analysis is based on a model and includes assumptions and conclusions that Google.org developed, so it isn't a prediction of the future. We've decided to make the analysis and associated data available everywhere because we believe it could provide a new perspective on the economic value of public and private investment in energy innovation. Here are just some of the most compelling findings:
  • Energy innovation pays off big: We compared "business as usual" (BAU) to scenarios with breakthroughs in clean energy technologies. On top of those, we layered a series of possible clean energy policies (more details in the report). We found that by 2030, when compared to BAU, breakthroughs could help the U.S.:
    • Grow GDP by over $155 billion/year ($244 billion in our Clean Policy scenario)
    • Create over 1.1 million new full-time jobs/year (1.9 million with Clean Policy)
    • Reduce household energy costs by over $942/year ($995 with Clean Policy)
    • Reduce U.S. oil consumption by over 1.1 billion barrels/year
    • Reduce U.S. total carbon emissions by 13% in 2030 (21% with Clean Policy)
  • Speed matters and delay is costly: Our model found a mere five year delay (2010-2015) in accelerating technology innovation led to $2.3-3.2 trillion in unrealized GDP, an aggregate 1.2-1.4 million net unrealized jobs and 8-28 more gigatons of potential GHG emissions by 2050.
  • Policy and innovation can enhance each other: Combining clean energy policies with technological breakthroughs increased the economic, security and pollution benefits for either innovation or policy alone. Take GHG emissions: the model showed that combining policy and innovation led to 59% GHG reductions by 2050 (vs. 2005 levels), while maintaining economic growth.
This analysis assumed that breakthroughs in clean energy happened and that policies were put in place, and then tried to understand the impact. The data here allows us to imagine a world in which the U.S. captures the potential benefits of some clean energy technologies: economic growth, job generation and a reduction in harmful emissions. We haven't developed the roadmap, and getting there will take the right mix of policies, sustained investment in technological innovation by public and private institutions and mobilization of the private sector's entrepreneurial energies. We hope this analysis encourages further discussion and debate on these important issues.
URL: http://googlepublicpolicy.blogspot.com/2011/06/examining-impact-of-clean-energy.html

[G] Google Summer of Code: Putting Haiku on the fast track of development

Posted: 06 Jul 2011 05:06 PM PDT

Google Open Source Blog: Google Summer of Code: Putting Haiku on the fast track of development


Haiku, an open-source operating system, has been a mentoring organization for Google Summer of Code for the past five years. After each of those years, the monies earned for mentoring have been used to further the Haiku project. This has been, and continues to be, handled by a 501(c)3 non-profit organization called Haiku, Inc.

For the first time ever, we have offered one of the project's long time contributors a 6 month employment contract to work on Haiku! This is literally a ground breaking event, both in terms of raising the needed funds and supplying the project with an extremely capable developer for an extended period of time. The developer is Michael Lotz (mmlr). He is well recognized within the project for his abilities and positive attitude of contributing to areas that are in need of additional help. Simply put, he gets the job done and done right. The goal of his contract is to work on anything and everything to bring Haiku closer to its first production quality release, better known simply as "R1".

On top of this, the project has just released its third alpha release, Haiku R1 Alpha 3. Give Haiku a whirl today, see what you think and discover what you have been missing!

By Matt Madia, Haiku Organization Administrator for Google Summer of Code


URL: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/GoogleOpenSourceBlog/~3/-SuvcY6nJGE/google-summer-of-code-putting-haiku-on.html

[G] New insight into how users are accessing your site

Posted: 06 Jul 2011 11:04 AM PDT

Inside AdSense: New insight into how users are accessing your site

Today, we're excited to offer you a brand new report that shows you the platforms that your visitors are using to access your site. You'll be able to see a breakdown of your earnings based on where your traffic is coming from, which you can use to then optimize your site and give users a better experience. For instance, if you find that you're receiving a high percentage of traffic from mobile devices, we'd encourage you to create a mobile version of your website and monetize it with AdSense for mobile content.

With this feature, you'll be able to see your performance data broken out into these categories:

- Desktop - all traffic coming from desktop users
- High-end mobile devices - includes smartphone devices
- Other mobile devices - includes low end and mid-range phones

Try out this new report by navigating to the new interface and clicking on the Performance reports tab. Choose Platforms in the left navigation.


And as a quick reminder, we're gradually moving away from the older version as we continue to focus on reporting improvements like these. Do you have feedback about this new report, or are there other reports you'd like to see? Please share your thoughts and suggestions in the comments field below. If you haven't yet tried the new interface, learn more about getting started today.

Posted by Vincent Zanotti - AdSense Engineering


URL: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/blogspot/tuAm/~3/EnXTW7Spcs0/new-insight-into-how-users-are.html

[G] Google Maps 5.7 for Android introduces Transit Navigation (Beta) and more

Posted: 06 Jul 2011 10:15 AM PDT

Official Google Blog: Google Maps 5.7 for Android introduces Transit Navigation (Beta) and more

(Cross-posted on the Google Lat Long Blog and the Google Mobile Blog)

Today we're releasing Google Maps 5.7 for Android. From Bangkok to Baltimore, we've added Transit Navigation (Beta), updated access to directions, better suggested search results and a photo viewer to Place pages—all of which can help you whether you're traveling to an unfamiliar part of town or visiting a city across the world.

Transit Navigation (Beta)
Google Maps Navigation (Beta) currently provides over 12 billion miles of GPS-guided driving and walking directions per year. Now, GPS turn-by-turn (or in this case, stop-by-stop) navigation is available for public transit directions in 400+ cities around the globe with Transit Navigation.



Transit Navigation uses GPS to determine your current location along your route and alerts you when it's time to get off or make a transfer. This is particularly helpful if you're in a city where you don't speak the language and can't read the route maps or understand the announcements. After starting your trip with Transit Navigation, you can open another application or put your phone away entirely and Google Maps will still display an alert in your notification bar and vibrate your phone when your stop is coming up.


Left: Transit directions without Navigation. Right: with Navigation



Navigation alerts appear even if you switch to another app

Now you can spend more time enjoying the sights out the window and less time worrying about how many stops are left, where you are along the route or whether you missed your stop. Since Transit Navigation relies on GPS signals, we recommend using this feature for above-ground transit.

Updated Directions
Now that we've improved our directions services, we wanted them to be incredibly easy to pull up on your screen. If you select the driving or walking icon and your route is supported by Google Maps Navigation, the Navigation icon will automatically appear so you can get access to step-by-step directions in one click. Note: this change is currently only in place for driving and walking and does not appear for public transit.


One-click access to Navigation from directions

We've also streamlined how you access directions from within a Place page. Before, clicking directions in a Place page would bring up options for "Driving Navigation," "Walking Navigation" and "Directions." Now, you'll be taken straight to the map and see the new directions box shown above.

Improved Search Suggest
We've made two changes to search suggestions that improve their quality and speed. First, we've added category icons, so instead of all search suggestions displaying the same icon, the icon next to the listing will reflect the type of result. You'll see a pin for a Google Places listing, a star for a starred Place or location, a clock for a previously used search term, a person for contacts and a magnifying glass for "anything else."


Two examples of search suggest with new icons

Also, any place you got directions to or called directly from its Places page will be included as a suggestion for a relevant search. For example, if you recently received directions to the U.S. Post Office on Wilshire Boulevard, afterward, when you begin a search with [p] or [bou], that U.S. Post Office would appear as a search suggestion.

Photo viewer for Place pages
Since we released business photos for Place pages last October, millions of photos have been added to Place pages around the world. To enable you to view these photos on the run, a slick new photo viewer has been added so you can browse photos while deciding where to go.


Left: Business photos in Place pages. Right: New photo viewer

To start using Google Maps 5.7 for Android, download the update here. This update requires an Android OS 2.1+ device and works anywhere Google Maps is currently available. Learn more at our help center and have fun exploring, whether it be by car, transit, bike or foot.

Posted by Chris Van Der Westhuizen, Software Engineer
URL: http://googleblog.blogspot.com/2011/07/google-maps-57-for-android-introduces.html

[G] Share your Machu Picchu photos with the world

Posted: 06 Jul 2011 09:20 AM PDT

Google Photos Blog: Share your Machu Picchu photos with the world

Posted by Debbie Jaffe, New Business Development Director, Latin America

Much has changed in the world of photography since I first visited the "Lost Inca City" of Machu Picchu in 1997 after my wedding in Peru. On my first trip I had a "regular" point and shoot camera with cartridge film. I had to scan the prints and host them on my own website to share photos with my friends. When I visited Machu Picchu with my parents last year, digital cameras were everywhere, and we were able to capture the sites and quickly share photos via Picasa Web Albums.


Now everyone is invited to share their favorite Machu Picchu photos with the world. July 24 marks the 100th anniversary of the scientific discovery of Machu Picchu by American Hiram Bingham in 1911. PromPerú, Peru's tourism ministry, is celebrating the anniversary with events and a Machu Picchu centennial website where they are inviting visitors to share their most amazing pictures of this historical sanctuary in the Machu Picchu vistors photo gallery. The best photos will be recognized by PromPerú and CAN-Machu Picchu (the committee in charge of the Machu Picchu 100 year celebration) and will be published on the official anniversary website. You only have until July 31 to submit your photos, and publication of selected photos will be on Wednesday, August 3rd. Let's see if my mom lets me submit this one :)

URL: http://googlephotos.blogspot.com/2011/07/share-your-machu-picchu-photos-with.html

[G] Geo Developers at Google I/O 2011

Posted: 06 Jul 2011 06:34 AM PDT

Google LatLong: Geo Developers at Google I/O 2011



If last year's Google I/O was about the maturation of many of the Geo APIs, this year's was more about their sophistication, both in the designs discussed and the applications on display. Like the sun standing still at the solstice, let's take a moment to reflect on recent events and look ahead to the coming season.

Several new features made their debut at I/O this year. The much-anticipated Places API took the stage, as did its companion the Places Autocomplete API. Dynamic Styling was introduced for Fusion Tables layers in the Maps API, allowing layer styling to be defined by the API application via Javascript. Finally, some extremely helpful open source Javascript libraries were introduced to make Maps API development even easier.

Joining us on stage were several developers who came to share their expertise. Justin O'Beirne of 41Latitude talked about map usability and design in the "Designing Maps Applications for Usability" session. The Guardian UK's Simon Rogers joined us to talk about how the Guardian is using Fusion Tables to visualize the data they collect in "Managing and Visualizing Your Location Based Data." Yoni Samlan from SCVNGR also came to discuss developing with the Places API in "Location-based App Development."

In addition to the sessions led by the Geo team, the developer sandbox featured eight Geo API partners who engaged directly with I/O attendees. Joining us in the sandbox were HistoryPin, Icon Fitness, Ubisense, The Wall Street Journal, Footprint Feed, The Bay Citizen, Arc2Earth, and Travel Game. The apps on display ranged from location-based gaming using the Latitude API to tools for citizen journalists to map public data using Fusion Tables. You can learn more about two of our sandbox partners in these video case studies:
  • The Bay Citizen (video) - The Bay Citizen explains the benefits of the Fusion Tables layer with Google Maps API to build infographics for their online newspaper. The Bike Accident Tracker visualizes the prevalence of bike accidents across San Francisco.
  • Historypin (video) - HistoryPin lets users upload historical photos, geotag them on a Google Maps, and overlay the old imagery on top of new Street View imagery, enabling users to see what their cities looked like at different points in time.




Geo APIs Summer Learning Series (apologies to the Southern Hemisphere)

But at the heart of Google I/O are the sessions themselves. This year, speakers from the Maps, Earth, and Fusion Tables teams covered a wide range of topics, from ensuring high performance and usability across all browsers to visualizing huge data sets with Fusion Tables. The amount of material covered was enormous...but we want to expand upon it.

To that end, we're pleased to announce the "Geo APIs Summer Learning Series" on the Geo Developers Blog. Over the coming weeks, each talk will be getting its own blog post from the session speaker, pulling in what was discussed at I/O and then digging deeper into the technical content. Here is how the series will unfold:

Week of July 6th
Connecting People and Places
Location Based App Development using Google APIs
Secrets and Surprises of the Google Geo APIs

Week of July 11th
Managing and visualizing your location based data with Fusion Tables
Designing Maps Applications for Usability on Mobile and Desktop

Week of July 18th
High Performance KML for Maps and Earth
Speedy Maps

Week of July 25th
Map your business, inside and out
GIS with Google Earth and Google Maps

If you'd like a head start, videos of all the I/O sessions are linked above. Be sure to visit the Geo Developers Blog throughout July for even more great content from the Maps, Earth, and Fusion Tables teams.

Posted by Brendan Kenny, Geo Developer Relations Team
URL: http://google-latlong.blogspot.com/2011/07/geo-developers-at-google-io-2011.html
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