Thursday, December 15, 2011

Googland

Googland

[G] A big YouTube winner in the year of Google search

Posted: 15 Dec 2011 03:51 AM PST

YouTube Blog: A big YouTube winner in the year of Google search

Each year here at YouTube, we take a look back at the videos that captured our attention and our imagination during the year. We'll be releasing the most viewed videos of 2011 next week, but today it's the turn of our friends over at Google to take a look at the year in search.



And one of our homegrown YouTube stars - Ms. Rebecca Black - topped the fastest rising search term list in the U.S. and around the whole world! Congratulations Ms Black … Google is one thing, but come back here next week to see if she also managed to top the list of the most-viewed YouTube videos around the world in 2011.



Meanwhile, you can visit Google's Zeitgeist site for a sneak peak at some of the year's biggest searches on YouTube.



Kevin Allocca, YouTube Trends Manager, recently watched "YouTube Challenge: I gave my kids a terrible present."


URL: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/youtube/PKJx/~3/vE91Ow-q7aU/big-youtube-winner-in-year-of-google.html

[G] Introducing the Google Affiliate Network API

Posted: 15 Dec 2011 03:51 AM PST

Google Affiliate Network: Introducing the Google Affiliate Network API

Today, we're publicly launching the first version of the Google Affiliate Network API, which allows advanced publishers and advertisers to automate various tasks related to Google Affiliate Network.

The features in this release include:
  • Advertiser lookup: Publishers can now use the Google Affiliate Network API to more easily access data that advertisers have chosen to share with them (such as payout rank and advertiser category). Previously, publishers had to manually access this shared data through the Google Affiliate Network interface. Advertisers can also access their own information through the API.

  • Event and order details: Developers can easily integrate data from events that occur in Google Affiliate Network into their own website's workflow and internal systems. This API, in particular, allows access to all significant event-level data for transactions and actions.

  • Publisher lookup: Advertisers can use the API to look up data that publishers have chosen to share with them (such as payout rank and publisher classification). Previously, advertisers had to manually access this shared data through the Google Affiliate Network interface. Publishers can also access their own information through the API.
For more information, please refer to Google Affiliate Network's API documentation page.

Posted by Ali Pasha, Product Manager
URL: http://googleaffiliatenetwork-blog.blogspot.com/2011/12/introducing-google-affiliate-network.html

[G] Flock to Google Books to Unlock Secrets in Angry Birds Seasons

Posted: 15 Dec 2011 03:51 AM PST

Inside Google Books: Flock to Google Books to Unlock Secrets in Angry Birds Seasons

Posted by Oliver Chiang, Google Books Strategist


Tis the season to be... angry! We're partnering up with Angry Birds this holiday season to bring you an early gift. In the latest adventures of your favorite furious feathered friends — Angry Birds Seasons for Chrome — the birds have locked away bonus levels in the game. Being avid readers, they've hidden clues to unlock the bonus levels in the new Google Books app for Chrome.

We're not going to reveal the birds' secret here, but read on for some hints:

First, if you haven't already, download the Angry Birds Seasons app for Chrome. To do so, open your Chrome web browser, then download the game by going here in Chrome. (Don't have Chrome yet? It's a fast and free browser available for download here, with Angry Birds Seasons and Google Books app pre-installed.)


To get the bonus levels in Angry Birds Seasons, you'll need to head over to the Google Books app to find your first clue. Open your Chrome web browser, and go here to download the Google Books app. Once you've installed the Books app, open it up to find out how to unlock the bonus levels in Angry Birds Seasons.

What levels are the Angry Birds hiding? Find out with Google Books!
URL: http://booksearch.blogspot.com/2011/12/flock-to-google-books-to-unlock-secrets.html

[G] Mapping made easier with the new Google Map Maker

Posted: 15 Dec 2011 03:51 AM PST

Google LatLong: Mapping made easier with the new Google Map Maker


With 2012 approaching, we're getting a head start on our New Year's resolution to shed some excess weight and improve our overall appearance. You may have seen our ongoing efforts to improve the look, feel, and user experience across many other Google products to date. And with Google Map Maker available in the United States, Canada, and more than 180 other regions, it's time for another makeover. Today, we're revealing a new version of Google Map Maker to help users map the places they know best and make their hometowns sparkle on Google Maps.


Start with a walkthrough of the new Google Map Maker

With Map Maker, you can easily help ensure that the changing world around you is accurately reflected on the map. Add your favorite gift shop, the nearest tree farm, or even the golf course where you once got that hole in one. It's also easier to mark the best route to Grandma's house and draw better buildings with courtyards and crisper corners. The options are endless when it comes to mapping the places you know and love. Once approved, your contributions will appear on Google Maps, Google Earth and Google Maps for mobile for all the world to see.





You don't have to be an expert to start using Google Map Maker. High school student and Eagle Scout Tommy Bruce is a mapping superstar who finds mapping fun, fulfilling, and a simple way to help those in his community have the best, most comprehensive information possible. He started by mapping bike trails in his hometown of Mooresville, North Carolina and is now on an exchange program in Puebla, Mexico, mapping unmarked rivers that run through town! After witnessing Tommy's accomplishments firsthand at the U.S. Geo User Summit, even his mother Margaret began thinking of places that she's eager to put on the map. Why not make your New Year's resolution to improve the map for millions of people? Start here.

Posted by Kaushik Sridharan, Software Engineer
URL: http://google-latlong.blogspot.com/2011/12/mapping-made-easier-with-new-google-map.html

[G] K-Pop - the latest genre in YouTube music

Posted: 15 Dec 2011 03:51 AM PST

YouTube Blog: K-Pop - the latest genre in YouTube music

The Korean music genre K-Pop had a big global moment in 2011.



The October SM Town Live showcase in New York — featuring SHINEE, Girls' Generation, and TVXQ — sold out Madison Square Garden. Wonder Girls, who previously opened for the Jonas Brothers' 2009 North American tour, have seen millions of views from around the world in just a few weeks for their latest single "Be My Baby." American producers are also moving in on the K-Pop action. Michael Jackson veteran Teddy Riley produced Girls' Generation's new track "The Boys." and will.i.am has been at work with 2NE1 on new material. And when YouTube livestreamed the Mnet Asian Music Awards at the end of November, more than 90 percent of the views were from outside of Korea.



Since K-Pop has broken so big, we thought it was a good time to add give this unique set of artists their own genre on YouTube.com/music. If you select "K-Pop" from the menu, you'll get the latest K-Pop videos and a list of upcoming concerts near you.







We'll hopefully be adding more and more Korean music labels and artists in the future, so check back on the K-Pop section of the Music page to see the latest singles from your favorite artists and some songs from people you may not have known.



Sun Lee, YouTube Marketing Manager for Asia-Pacific, who recently watched "2NE1 - Lonely + I Am The Best [MAMA 2011 in Singapore]"


URL: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/youtube/PKJx/~3/VQsyVlSzixs/k-pop-latest-genre-in-youtube-music.html

[G] Google Apps is the ticket for success at Ticket River

Posted: 15 Dec 2011 03:51 AM PST

Official Google Enterprise Blog: Google Apps is the ticket for success at Ticket River

Posted by Lance Trebesch, CEO, Ticket River

Editors note: Today's guest blogger is Lance Trebesch, CEO of Ticket River, an event e-commerce company with 5 business units in the U.S., Australia and the United Kingdom. They offer services and products including online event management, ticket printing and design and customer-configured perforated paper. A PDF version of their case study is also available.

At Ticket River, we've helped customers set-up, manage and promote over 300,000 events. We're based in Harlowton, Montana, but our customer support and software development teams are distributed across North America and Argentina and we have fulfillment partners in Australia and the U.K.

We developed and built all of our systems to be used in the cloud. All of our internal management systems, order processing and order-management systems are web-based and hosted by a provider. The one major exception was email. We were using Microsoft® Exchange but we were becoming increasingly constrained and frustrated with it. It's expensive for a small business like ours, and it required a lot of IT resources to support.

We looked into Google Apps and were impressed by its capabilities and minimal training requirements. As a small business working with an extended team in six countries on three continents, Google Apps enables us be much more efficient with our communications and projects.

Google Apps has allowed us to streamline our software development, a process that extends across time zones and continents. Gmail gives our employees easy access to email on their Androids and iPhones, letting them stay on top of important issues wherever they are. This fast, easy, mobile access to Gmail allows us to run extended, remote teams with very little IT support.

Gmail capabilities such as message threading and integrated chat allowed us to improve our customer support process. This led to a 38% reduction in the average number of responses needed to resolve a customer issue, and an increase in single-response resolutions. The impact on IT support costs is equally dramatic. By taking Exchange out of the equation, as well as making our processes more efficient, we decreased our IT operating budget by about 28%.

Our relationship with Google extends well beyond Google Apps. Ticket River and our sibling site TicketPrinting.com use Google AdWords as part of our inbound marketing model and we are heavily search engine optimized. We see Google as a huge enabler of startups and small businesses. Harlowton is a rural town of only 1000 people, yet Google's products are helping us build a thriving international business that provides great jobs.
URL: http://googleenterprise.blogspot.com/2011/12/google-apps-is-ticket-for-success-at_14.html

[G] Utah K-12 Schools go Google

Posted: 15 Dec 2011 03:51 AM PST

Official Google Enterprise Blog: Utah K-12 Schools go Google

Posted by Julia Stiglitz, Google Apps for Education Team

Today, we're thrilled to announce that the Utah State Board of Education has decided to begin offering support for Google Apps for Education to K-12 schools and districts across the state. The decision has the full support of the Utah Technology Coordinators Council (TCC), a group of IT professionals from Utah's 42 school districts and other organizations that regularly advises the State Office of Education and Utah public schools on technology issues.

"The Utah State Board of Education and I are pleased to have worked out terms with Google to allow our Utah students and teachers to take advantage of Google Apps for Education," said State Superintendent of Public Instruction Larry K. Shumway. "Google Apps for Education will allow greater collaboration between students, teachers, parents and schools to advance academic achievement." Under the agreement, over 575,000 students and 25,000 teachers statewide will have access to Google Apps.

To support educators transitioning to Google Apps, the Utah Education Network will provide professional development to any school across the state that would like to receive training on Google Apps. In addition, the Southwest Educational Development Center and Washington County School District have offered to provide technical support to schools.

Charlie Roberts, the Technology & Media Director for 27,000 students at Washington County School District, estimates that his school district has saved more than $100,000 from switching to Google Apps. Beyond cost savings, teachers across the district are also using Google Apps to interact with students and parents in new way -- relying on Google Calendar to schedule parent teacher conferences, creating Google Forms for student elections, and setting up class websites using Google Sites.

Roberts has also added a few labs of Chromebooks. "It is a very exciting prospect because we anticipate little or no increase in overall support even though we will be adding hundreds of devices," he said. "As students move to the Chromebooks, use of other hardware and client based software will be reduced or eliminated entirely, which will cause a reduction of the necessary support."

Utah joins eight other states with statewide support for Google Apps for Education: Colorado, Iowa, Maryland, Missouri, New York, Oregon, Rhode Island, and Wisconsin. In addition to Washington County, many other districts within Utah are already using Google Apps, including Alpine, Nebo and Davis school districts.

To learn more about the agreement, join representatives from Google and the Utah State Board of Education for a webinar on Monday, January 9, at 10:00am PT/11:00am MT.
URL: http://googleenterprise.blogspot.com/2011/12/utah-k-12-schools-go-google.html

[G] A Silicon Valley Story: VigLink has gone Google

Posted: 15 Dec 2011 03:51 AM PST

Official Google Enterprise Blog: A Silicon Valley Story: VigLink has gone Google

Posted by Steve Arentzoff, VP of Marketing, VigLink

Editor's note: Today's guest blogger is Steve Arentzoff, VP of Marketing at VigLink. VigLink helps site owners monetize their online content by tagging outbound links so publishers get paid when readers make purchases. New links are also weaved into content by recognizing when web page content references products and merchants. See what other organizations that have gone Google have to say.

From the beginning, we understood the value of cloud computing for a small business. Two years ago our founder, a former Microsoft employee, chose to start VigLink with Google Apps. He felt this was an easy decision for two key reasons: first, Google Apps was built from the ground up to be a cloud solution with real-time, multi-user features; second, our business is running about 75% Apple computers and 25% PCs, so we needed a solution that would support both platforms equally. With Google Apps, we didn't have to download any new software or buy new hardware. The tools just worked through the power of the web, no matter what devices we were using.

Google Apps was not only cost-effective for a startup, but it also equipped us with the tools we needed to communicate and work together, no matter where we were. We have nineteen employees and offices in both San Francisco and Indiana, and with Google Apps, we're able to connect all our employees and seamlessly communicate despite the distance between us.

We use Gmail and Google Docs heavily in our business, and we also take advantage of embedded chat and other collaboration features that make it easy for us to work together. My marketing team uses Google Docs pretty extensively, especially when working on new articles and press releases. VigLink is a startup, so there are no regular hours. Google Apps provides us with a great way for people to interact at two in the morning during the nighttime marathons. Our employees also enjoy the advantages of some of the other cool features that come with Google Apps. They make their calls through Google Voice and receive voicemail transcripts in their inboxes, which are easy to read and easy to search. VigLink's mission is to help site owners around the world monetize their online content, and Google Apps has been a key tool to our success.
URL: http://googleenterprise.blogspot.com/2011/12/silicon-valley-story-viglink-has-gone.html

[G] Greater insights from the Site Speed report - Technical section

Posted: 15 Dec 2011 03:51 AM PST

Google Analytics Blog: Greater insights from the Site Speed report - Technical section

Speed is an important part of the users experience of your website and is a key way to understand and improve your site performance. So we're happy to extend the Site Speed report with more metrics in Google Analytics to help site owners improve performance.



So what's new?

In the Site Speed report we're exposing a new set of metrics available in the "Technical" section that can be found in each one of the Site Speed tabs (Explorer, Performance, and Map Overlay).





   Where to access the Site Speed Technical section 







   Site Speed with Technical section metrics overlayed



What are the new metrics and what you can do with them?

The Technical section of the Explorer and Map Overlay tabs provides details on the network and server metrics. Similarly, the additional sections of the Performance tab shows summaries for each of these metrics. These network and server metrics are one component of Avg. Page Load Time; the other component is browser time, i.e., the browser overhead for parsing and executing the JavaScript, rendering the page and other overheads such as fetching additional resources (scripts/stylesheets/images).



In addition to Avg. Page Load Time, the Site Speed report displays the following network and server metrics in the Technical sections:

  • Avg. Redirection Time - the time spent in redirection before fetching this page. If there are no redirects, the value for this metric is expected to be 0.

  • Avg. Domain Lookup Time - the average amount of time spent in DNS lookup for this page.

  • Avg. Server Connection Time - the time needed for the user to connect to your server.

  • Avg. Server Response Time - the time for your server to respond to a user request, including the network time from the user's location to your server.

  • Avg. Page Download Time - the time to download your page.

If you notice that some of the metrics are higher than expected, review your site operations and test if changes lead to improvements. For example, if you notice that Avg. Domain Lookup Time is high, you might want to change your DNS provider. A high Server Connection Time, on the other hand, is a metric that you might not be able to reduce. 


To most significantly increase your website's speed, evaluate your Site Speed report for metrics that have the largest values and target those for improvement. Below is a list of actions that you can take to help solve issues with each of these metrics: 
  • High Avg. Redirection Time - analyze whether the redirects are necessary. Also check sources to see if a specific referrer is causing high redirect latency.

  • High Avg. Domain Lookup Time - consider changing DNS provider that provides consistent and lower response times.

  • High Avg. Server Response Time - reduce backend processing time or place a server closer to users.

  • High Avg. Page Download Time - reduce your initial data size.

Looking for additional ways to improve your site speed? Be sure to view your site's performance by browser type and Geo location. Your pages may need to be optimized to display faster on a specific browser or for a specific country. Visit the Map Overlay tab to gain insights by region and add "browser" as a secondary dimension to see the impact by browser. 


We hope you'll gain insights into how your site performs for your users from this newly updated report and be able to use it to optimize your pages.



Thanks,

The Google Analytics Site Speed team


URL: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/blogspot/tRaA/~3/QpPV-OFyrwk/greater-insights-from-site-speed-report.html

[G] Google Cloud Print picks up steam

Posted: 15 Dec 2011 03:51 AM PST

Official Google Blog: Google Cloud Print picks up steam

Last April, we announced our plans for Google Cloud Print (GCP), the service that powers printing on Chromebooks as well as a new generation of connected apps and devices. The goal of GCP is to enable simple, secure printing from any app on any device to any printer—and with the latest cloud-ready printers, you can also print without using drivers or cables.

Since launching earlier this year, we've seen a surge of enthusiasm from users and developers. More than 6 million printers have already been connected to GCP using Google Chrome; dozens of cloud-ready printers have been released or announced by manufacturers like Epson, HP and Kodak; and the developer community has released a flurry of apps and extensions to enable cloud printing from both Android and iOS.

While developers and printer manufacturers have embraced GCP, we've also released a variety of improvements to the service. You can now share and control access to your printers so your friends and family can use them too. With "Save to Google Docs," it's easy to save your online receipts and confirmation pages to an archive in the cloud. The management page has a new tablet-friendly design and a "Print" button so you can upload and print files to your cloud printers from anywhere.


Finally, webmasters can add the print button element to their site to enable printing functionality for tablets and mobile phones.

People with Chromebooks have always had access to the latest and greatest Google Cloud Print features, but today, we've reached a new milestone: starting with the latest release of Chrome, anyone using the browser on Windows, Mac and Linux will be able to print any webpage to Google Cloud Print. We've also turned on print preview for Chromebooks, so you'll get the same familiar experience wherever you use Chrome.

In the coming months, we'll enable GCP from more Google products and work with partners to add more printers and printing services. Happy printing!

Posted by Akshay Kannan, Product Manager
URL: http://googleblog.blogspot.com/2011/12/google-cloud-print-picks-up-steam.html

[G] Google+ Hangouts: going beyond the status update

Posted: 15 Dec 2011 03:51 AM PST

Official Google Blog: Google+ Hangouts: going beyond the status update

All too often, physical distance and frantic schedules get in the way of spending time together, especially during the holidays. But you know what? They don't have to.

With Google+ Hangouts, you can go beyond "status updates," and connect with the people you care about using multi-person video. For free. And today we're rolling out a number of improvements that make it even easier to say hello to your loved ones, face-to-face-to-face.

Upgrade any conversation from long-form to live
Certain posts act as kindling for face-to-face interaction. Suppose your sister gets engaged, or your roommate lands a job, or your favorite singer shares their concert schedule. You can obviously write comments back and forth, but it's moments like these when you really want to connect in person. That's why we're making it easy to start a hangout from any post on Google+.

Just click "Hangout" underneath a post that you're passionate about, and we'll add your invitation to the comments. If others are hanging out already, you'll see their invitation in the comments as well.

Starting a hangout on a post (left); Joining a hangout already in progress (right)

The desire to "go live" isn't limited to your desktop computer, of course, so we're also bringing hangouts to Google+ Messenger on mobile devices. Simply tap the new hangout icon when the time is right, and you'll flip from text and photos to smiles and laughter.

Google+ Messenger: tap once to start a hangout (left); tap again to continue typing (right)

The new Google+ app will be available in Android Market within a few days, and it's coming soon to the App Store.

Broadcast and record what matters most
The Black Eyed Peas, the Dalai Lama and even the Muppets have all used Hangouts On Air to share their performances and peace talks with the world. On Air is still under active development, but today we're doing three things to get us closer to general availability:
  • We're turning it on for hundreds more public figures, celebrities and other Google+ users with large followings
  • We're making Hangouts On Air completely self-service, so you can broadcast whenever you're in the mood
  • We're integrating it with YouTube, so once you're off the air, we'll upload a full-length (and private) recording to your account
Starting an On Air hangout (left); Watching an On Air hangout in the stream (right)

To get started, just look for the new "broadcast and record" option after starting a hangout. If you don't see it yet, then don't worry: we're working hard to give everyone the chance to go On Air.

In the meantime, you can still watch or join On Air broadcasts directly from the stream. Just look for the red banner while reading your posts or checking your hair, and you'll know you're in the right place.

Dial-in friends and family, from all over the world
Not everyone has a webcam or a front-facing mobile camera, but that shouldn't stop them from spending time with the people they're close to. Fortunately, nearly everyone has a telephone, and today we're making it possible to dial-in anyone, from almost any country, directly into your hangout. Calls to the U.S. and Canada are free, and international calling rates are super, super low.

Dial-in hangout participants from almost anywhere

Never miss a chance to connect
When friends and family invite you to hang out on Google+, we want to make sure the opportunity doesn't pass you by. So we're making active hangouts more accessible in two important ways:
  • On the right-hand side of the stream, you'll see up to three live hangouts that you can join
  • Whether you're at your desk or on the go, we'll ring your device and notify you when you're invited to a hangout
From left to right: live hangouts you can join; desktop notification in chat; mobile notification

Whether it's sharing baby news, or your niece's new dance moves, Google+ users continue to use hangouts to build intimate onscreen experiences. We hope these two improvements help you discover more of them, more often.

Have some fun, add some antlers
Back in NMovember, we helped the Google+ community add millions of virtual moustaches to their faces. Now that it's December we're introducing a pair of antlers, so by all means, unleash your inner reindeer! Looking ahead, developers will be able to create their own effects using the updated Hangouts API, so stay tuned for lots more fun.

Moustaches in Movember (left); Antlers in December (right)

By bringing people together, face-to-face-to-face, we're hoping to make the world a bit cozier, and lift people's spirits a bit higher. So give hangouts a try this holiday season, and let us know what you think.

Posted by Vic Gundotra, Senior Vice President
URL: http://googleblog.blogspot.com/2011/12/google-hangouts-going-beyond-status.html

[G] Updates to the Gmail app for iOS

Posted: 15 Dec 2011 03:51 AM PST

Official Gmail Blog: Updates to the Gmail app for iOS

Posted by Ingrid Fielker, Software Engineer

When we launched the Gmail app for iPhone, iPad and iPod touch, we said we were just getting started and would continue to release updates regularly. Today we updated the app with some new features and interface improvements.

We've added the ability to set a custom signature for your mobile messages and a vacation responder, both available through the gear icon at the top of the menu view. We've also improved labels with support for nested labels:


Additionally, if you are using iOS 5, we've changed the notification sound so that it's easier to distinguish when you've received an email.

We've also got another fun feature to make your language even more colorful (in a good way!). In the Gmail app and Gmail for mobile you can now open up a canvas and scribble a message that will be attached to your email. It's perfect for sending a quick sketch that is hard to express in words or adding a fun graphic to make your email more personal.

Scribbles support different colors, brush sizes, lines, erasers and spray paint. This example was created in the Gmail app on an iPad:


Behind the scenes, we're continuing to work on highly requested features like banner notifications, multiple login support and the ability to send-as from any account already configured in Gmail. We want to make sure these are done right as we continue to improve the Gmail app.

The update is available in the App Store and works on all devices running iOS 4+.
URL: http://gmailblog.blogspot.com/2011/12/updates-to-gmail-app-for-ios.html

[G] Giving back in 2011

Posted: 15 Dec 2011 03:51 AM PST

Google Public Policy Blog: Giving back in 2011

Posted by Shona Brown, SVP, Google.org

(Cross-posted from the Official Google Blog)

As the holiday season approaches we thought it was a good moment to update you on some grants we're making to support education, technology and the fight against modern day slavery.

STEM and girls' education
Science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) open up great opportunities for young people so we've decided to fund 16 great programs in this area. These include Boston-based Citizen Schools and Generating Genius in the U.K., both of which work to help to expand the horizons of underprivileged youngsters. In total, our grants will provide enhanced STEM education for more than 3 million students.

In addition, we're supporting girls' education in the developing world. By giving a girl an education, you not only improve her opportunities, but those of her whole family. The African Leadership Academy provides merit scholarships to promising young women across the continent, and the Afghan Institute of Learning offers literacy classes to women and girls in rural Afghanistan. Groups like these will use our funds to educate more than 10,000 girls in developing countries.

Empowerment through technology
We've all been wowed by the entrepreneurial spirit behind the 15 awards in this category, all of whom are using the web, open source programming and other technology platforms to connect communities and improve access to information. Vittana, for instance, helps lenders offer loans to students in the developing world who have have a 99 percent repayment rate—potentially doubling or tripling a recipient's earning power. Code for America enables the web industry to share its skills with the public sector by developing projects that improve transparency and encourage civic engagement on a mass scale. And Switchboard is working with local mobile providers to help African health care workers create networks and communicate for free.,/p>

Fighting slavery and human trafficking
Modern day slavery is a multi-billion dollar industry that ruins the lives of around 27 million people. So we're funding a number of groups that are working to tackle the problem. For instance, in India, International Justice Mission (IJM), along with The BBC World Service Trust, Action Aid and Aide et Action, are forming a new coalition. It will work on the ground with governments to stop slave labor by identifying the ring masters, documenting abuse, freeing individuals and providing them with therapy as well as job training. Our support will also help expand the reach of tools like the powerful Slavery Footprint calculator and Polaris Project's National Trafficking Hotline.

To learn more about these organizations and how you can get involved, visit our Google Gives Back 2011 site and take a look at this video:

These grants, which total $40 million, are only part of our annual philanthropic efforts. Over the course of the year, Google provided more than $115 million in funding to various nonprofit organizations and academic institutions around the world; our in-kind support (programs like Google Grants and Google Apps for Education that offer free products and services to eligible organizations) came to more than $1 billion, and our annual company-wide GoogleServe event and related programs enabled individual Googlers to donate more than 40,000 hours of their own volunteer time.

As 2011 draws to a close, I'm inspired by this year's grantees and look forward to seeing their world-changing work in 2012.

URL: http://googlepublicpolicy.blogspot.com/2011/12/giving-back-in-2011.html

[G] Get more into gaming...on the big screen

Posted: 15 Dec 2011 03:51 AM PST

YouTube Blog: Get more into gaming...on the big screen

Interested in watching the latest game reviews? Can't get past that final level? If you are a gamer like me, there is a video for you on YouTube. From reviews, to cheats, to walkthroughs, you can now experience YouTube like never before on your Xbox 360.



Through the YouTube application on Xbox 360 we are announcing today, you can explore the most popular trending videos, delve into a category to discover something new, get help with your gaming, or search for any video you want. The YouTube you know and love is now on the big screen in your house. Interested in learning more? Watch some of these great videos from our gaming partners.















Sang Kim, Gaming Partner Development, recently watched "Mahalo Video Games Guide: Youtube for Xbox."


URL: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/youtube/PKJx/~3/c_1sSN_RvJw/get-more-into-gamingon-big-screen_14.html

[G] Giving back in 2011

Posted: 15 Dec 2011 03:51 AM PST

Official Google Blog: Giving back in 2011

As the holiday season approaches we thought it was a good moment to update you on some grants we're making to support education, technology and the fight against modern day slavery.

STEM and girls' education
Science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) open up great opportunities for young people so we've decided to fund 16 great programs in this area. These include Boston-based Citizen Schools and Generating Genius in the U.K., both of which work to help to expand the horizons of underprivileged youngsters. In total, our grants will provide enhanced STEM education for more than 3 million students.

In addition, we're supporting girls' education in the developing world. By giving a girl an education, you not only improve her opportunities, but those of her whole family. The African Leadership Academy provides merit scholarships to promising young women across the continent, and the Afghan Institute of Learning offers literacy classes to women and girls in rural Afghanistan. Groups like these will use our funds to educate more than 10,000 girls in developing countries.

Empowerment through technology
We've all been wowed by the entrepreneurial spirit behind the 15 awards in this category, all of whom are using the web, open source programming and other technology platforms to connect communities and improve access to information. Vittana, for instance, helps lenders offer loans to students in the developing world who have have a 99 percent repayment rate—potentially doubling or tripling a recipient's earning power. Code for America enables the web industry to share its skills with the public sector by developing projects that improve transparency and encourage civic engagement on a mass scale. And Switchboard is working with local mobile providers to help African health care workers create networks and communicate for free.

Fighting slavery and human trafficking
Modern day slavery is a multi-billion dollar industry that ruins the lives of around 27 million people. So we're funding a number of groups that are working to tackle the problem. For instance, in India, International Justice Mission (IJM), along with The BBC World Service Trust, Action Aid and Aide et Action, are forming a new coalition. It will work on the ground with governments to stop slave labor by identifying the ring masters, documenting abuse, freeing individuals and providing them with therapy as well as job training. Our support will also help expand the reach of tools like the powerful Slavery Footprint calculator and Polaris Project's National Trafficking Hotline.

To learn more about these organizations and how you can get involved, visit our Google Gives Back 2011 site and take a look at this video:



These grants, which total $40 million, are only part of our annual philanthropic efforts. Over the course of the year, Google provided more than $115 million in funding to various nonprofit organizations and academic institutions around the world; our in-kind support (programs like Google Grants and Google Apps for Education that offer free products and services to eligible organizations) came to more than $1 billion, and our annual company-wide GoogleServe event and related programs enabled individual Googlers to donate more than 40,000 hours of their own volunteer time.

As 2011 draws to a close, I'm inspired by this year's grantees and look forward to seeing their world-changing work in 2012.

Posted by Shona Brown, SVP Google.org
URL: http://googleblog.blogspot.com/2011/12/giving-back-in-2011.html

[G] New ways to discover apps in the Chrome Web Store

Posted: 15 Dec 2011 03:51 AM PST

Google Chrome Blog: New ways to discover apps in the Chrome Web Store

A few weeks ago, we redesigned the Chrome Web Store to make it easier to discover apps. Today, we're introducing a few new features that make it even easier to find what you're looking for.

You can now view the most popular and highest-rated apps using two new sorting filters. These are available in the store's homepage and category view.


You can also find new apps and extensions to try by using the new "Related" tab. Let's say you find a great Mahjong game and you want to find more apps like it - just click on "Related" and you'll find similar apps. This tab will also show a list of other apps by the same developer.


Finally, there are two new collections with apps and extensions that can help you plan your winter holidays and make the most of the new year.

To discover more fun and useful extensions and apps, visit the Chrome Web Store after you've installed Chrome.

Posted by Shannon Guymon, Product Manager
URL: http://chrome.blogspot.com/2011/12/new-ways-to-discover-apps-in-chrome-web.html

[G] Get your personal Chrome experience on all your devices

Posted: 15 Dec 2011 03:51 AM PST

Google Chrome Blog: Get your personal Chrome experience on all your devices

If you've used Chrome for awhile, you know that it fits you better and better over time—it just wouldn't be your Chrome without your favorite bookmarks, apps, extensions, history, and other settings.

Signing in to Chrome lets you take your Chrome stuff with you, so you can always have your personal Chrome experience on all of your devices.



When you're signed in to Chrome, changing something on one device instantly changes it on all your other devices. For example, add a bookmark on your laptop, and it automatically appears on your desktop, so you can always pick up right where you left off.

Signing in to Chrome is also helpful if you only have one computer, because it securely backs up your Chrome stuff online. That way, your Chrome stuff is safe, even if a truck runs over your laptop.

To sign in to Chrome, just go to the Wrench menu and select "Sign in to Chrome."



But what if you share a computer with other people? You don't want your bookmarks, apps, and extensions getting mixed up with everyone else's, and you don't want your Chrome stuff syncing to all their devices.

With today's Stable channel release, you can now add new users to Chrome. Adding new users lets you each have your own personal Chrome experience, and lets you each sign in to Chrome to sync your stuff. To add a new user to Chrome, go to Options (Preferences on a Mac), click "Personal Stuff," and click "Add new user." Check out our latest Beta blog post for a few quick tips.

Keep in mind that adding new users to Chrome isn't intended to secure your data against other people using your computer, since it just takes a few clicks to switch between users. We're providing this functionality as a quick and simple user interface convenience for people who are already sharing Chrome on the same computer today. To truly protect your data from being seen by others, please use the built-in user accounts on your operating system of choice.

That wraps up our last Stable channel release for the year. If you haven't taken Chrome for a spin yet, try it out and see what you think!

Posted by Tim Steele, Software Engineer
URL: http://chrome.blogspot.com/2011/12/get-your-personal-chrome-experience-on.html

[G] Get more into gaming...on the big screen

Posted: 15 Dec 2011 03:51 AM PST

YouTube Blog: Get more into gaming...on the big screen

Interested in watching the latest game reviews? Can't get past that final level? If you are a gamer like me, there is a video for you on YouTube. From reviews, to cheats, to walkthroughs, you can now experience YouTube like never before on your Xbox 360.



Through the YouTube application on Xbox 360 we are announcing today, you can explore the most popular trending videos, delve into a category to discover something new, get help with your gaming, or search for any video you want. The YouTube you know and love is now on the big screen in your house. Interested in learning more? Watch some of these great videos from our gaming partners.

















Sang Kim, Gaming Partner Development, recently watched "YouTube on your TV! (Bonus announcement video!)"


URL: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/youtube/PKJx/~3/bnW8zHtsSnw/get-more-into-gamingon-big-screen.html

[G] Experience the tsunami-affected areas of Japan through Street View

Posted: 15 Dec 2011 03:50 AM PST

Google LatLong: Experience the tsunami-affected areas of Japan through Street View

(Cross posted on Official Google Blog)

Back in July, we announced our initiative to digitally archive the areas of Northeastern Japan affected by the March 11 earthquake and tsunami. Today, we're making good on that promise—after driving more than 44,000 kilometers through the affected regions, 360-degree panoramic imagery of those areas is now available through the Street View feature in Google Maps. The images can also be viewed via a special website called "Memories for the Future," where you can easily compare before and after shots of the towns changed by these events.

A virtual tour via Street View profoundly illustrates how much these natural disasters have transformed these communities. If you start inland and venture out toward the coast, you'll see the idyllic countryside change dramatically, becoming cluttered with mountains of rubble and debris as you get closer to the ocean. In the cities, buildings that once stood proud are now empty spaces.



In the bottom left corner of each image you'll also see a month and year that tells you when a particular photograph was taken. When looking at images of the magnificent cities side-by-side with images of the ruins left in their place, this additional context demonstrates how truly life-changing this tragedy has been for those who live there and witnessed the destruction of their homes, neighborhoods and even entire districts. This timestamp feature has been the most requested Street View feature for the last few years, and it is now available on Street View imagery worldwide. Professionals such as historians, architects, city planners and tourism boards—as well as regular users including travelers and home-buyers—can now get a sense of how fresh the online photos are for a locations that interests them.

In the case of the post-tsunami imagery of Japan, we hope this particular digital archiving project will be useful to researchers and scientists who study the effects of natural disasters. We also believe that the imagery is a useful tool for anyone around the world who wants to better understand the extent of the damage. Seeing the street-level imagery of the affected areas puts the plight of these communities into perspective and ensures that the memories of the disaster remain relevant and tangible for future generations.

Posted by Kei Kawai, Senior Product Manager, Street View
URL: http://google-latlong.blogspot.com/2011/12/experience-tsunami-affected-areas-of.html

[G] New 45° imagery available for 21 cities

Posted: 15 Dec 2011 03:50 AM PST

Google LatLong: New 45° imagery available for 21 cities


Viewing 45° imagery can make the map much more fun and informative by enabling you to see a tilted aerial perspective of some of your favorite spots. In this month's 45° imagery update in Google Maps, I highlight one of my favorite towns in Colorado.

Boulder, Colorado is a mecca for outdoor hiking, cycling, and climbing excursions and 45° imagery can help users plan their adventures. Located at the base of the Rocky Mountains, Boulder is at an elevation of 5,430 feet (1,655m) above sea level which makes for fun terrain to look at from a bird's eye view. Here's an image of Folsom Stadium at the University of Colorado, Boulder:


The "Strip" in Las Vegas, Nevada is also included in the latest batch of 45° imagery. Now you can see the some of the large casinos and resorts that dot the famous Las Vegas Boulevard.



Next we head to the southern hemisphere to Brasilia, the capital of Brazil. The city sits high up on a plateau and some say the aerial view of Brasilia resembles an airplane. Now you can fly even closer and get a 45° look.


Happy exploring!

Here is a list of updated cities:

U.S.
Albuquerque (west), NM; Benton, AR; Boulder, CO; Eldridge, IA; Boston (east), MA; Centennial (south), CO; GooglePlex, CA; Indianapolis (south), IN; Las Vegas Strip, NV; Montgomery (outskirts), AL; Olathe, KA; Petaluma, CA; Tulsa, OK

South America
Brasilia, Brazil

Posted by Wayne Thai, Geo Data Strategist
URL: http://google-latlong.blogspot.com/2011/12/new-45-imagery-available-for-21-cities.html
Posted by at

No comments:

Post a Comment

Subscribe to: Post Comments (Atom)