Thursday, April 5, 2012

Googland

Googland

[G] Moratuwa, Sri Lanka Google Summer of Code meetup

Posted: 04 Apr 2012 08:05 PM PDT

Google Open Source Blog: Moratuwa, Sri Lanka Google Summer of Code meetup



We held our fifth Google Summer of Code meetup in the Moratuwa, Sri Lanka area on March 17th. We had enormous support from the Department of Computer Science & Engineering staff at the University of Moratuwa to make it a full scale session covering many of the aspects of the program that are important to students. We had almost 150 students (a record high) in the morning introductory sessions and around 40 students during the afternoon sessions that were geared more toward second and third year university students.



Kathiravelu Pradeeban delivered an excellent 80 minute Google Summer of Code information presentation focusing on general open source fundamentals from how to communicate within open source communities to proper email/IRC etiquette to open source culture. He also discussed general information about Google Summer of Code such as important dates for the program, how to apply, guidelines on how to write project proposals, and some ideas to think about when deciding if a project is a good fit for you. In later sessions there was more of a focus on open source technologies with demos on how to effectively use these technologies for open source development work.







The students were very excited about the program, and asked many questions both publicly and to us individually after the session ended. We tried to clear up doubts students had about their own ability levels and encouraged them to participate by showing some of the great opportunities of working on a real-life project rather than the fake projects that they do at university most of the time. We also explained about the value of having connections all around the world and the spiritual happiness open source projects bring in general. Those of us that had participated as students with Google Summer of Code shared our experiences including one participant whose Google Summer of Code project caught the eye of a well known IT company who hired him.



Good luck to those students currently applying for Google Summer of Code!



By Kasun Gajasinghe, former Google Summer of Code student for DocBook Project and Gentoo Linux, 2012 DocBook Project mentor  





URL: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/GoogleOpenSourceBlog/~3/PkhppUgax8g/moratuwa-sri-lanka-google-summer-of.html

[G] Visualize U.S. demographics using Google Maps API for Business

Posted: 04 Apr 2012 08:05 PM PDT

Official Google Enterprise Blog: Visualize U.S. demographics using Google Maps API for Business

Posted by Thor Mitchell, Product Manager, Google Maps API

In April 2010, 89 million U.S. households returned a census form in which they answered ten basic questions. Once collected, aggregated, and published, the 2010 U.S. census provided rich insights into the makeup and distribution of the U.S. population. However the resulting demographics, which cover all 50 states, over 3,000 counties, over 70,000 census tracts, and over 200,000 block groups, are extremely challenging to obtain and visualize on a map.

Today we are making U.S. demographics visualization accessible and easy for our Google Maps API for Business customers with the launch of the new Demographics Layer in Maps API v3. The Demographics Layer enables Google Maps API for Business developers to add visualization of U.S. demographics provided by Nielsen to their Maps API applications.

Developers can select from 34 statistics to display on the map at state, county, census tract or block group granularity, including:
  • population
  • age
  • race
  • marital status
  • housing status

Data is available for 2010 and 2011, in addition to projected data for 2015 and 2016.

Google Maps API for Business applications using the Demographics Layer can control how the data is styled, such as defining color thresholds or gradients, and also define style rules based on expressions across statistics that are evaluated in real time. For example, by defining a gradient style based on the expression "population / area" you can visualize population density on the map.



The Demographics Layer is now available to all Google Maps API for Business customers for use in internal applications. For more information on how to add the Demographics Layer to your applications please see the documentation. If you are not an existing Google Maps API for Business customer and are interested in using the Demographics Layer, please contact the sales team by filling in this form.

We hope the Demographics Layer provides your business with the intelligence you need to put your own data into context, and empowers you to make smarter business decisions going forward.
URL: http://googleenterprise.blogspot.com/2012/04/visualize-us-demographics-using-google.html

[G] March in Review: Improved charting, expanded language support, and Apps Script updates

Posted: 04 Apr 2012 08:05 PM PDT

The Google Apps Blog: March in Review: Improved charting, expanded language support, and Apps Script updates

Another month and another batch of improvements to Google Docs. We recently debuted a new spell checker that gets smarter and grows with the web, and we've also turned on a few features that let you do more with Docs.

New charting options 
We've added a bunch of new ways to make richer charts in Google spreadsheets. You can now control the opacity of an area chart, set fonts to be bold or italic, and label sections of your charts along the axis.


These new features bring the number of charting improvements up to 30 since the beginning of the year, which is about 1 new feature every 3 days. Some of our favorite charts updates include annotations, error bars, a second Y axis, donut charts, and loads of formatting options.

OCR and spreadsheets support more languages
With Google Docs, you can upload PDFs and images of scanned text and have them automatically converted into Google documents using our Optical Character Recognition (OCR) technology. Starting this week, this is available in four new languages: Hebrew, Hindi, Chinese Traditional, and Cherokee.

Language support got better in Google spreadsheets too. For Hebrew and Arabic speakers, sheets and cells now offer right-to-left support.

More ways to use Google Apps Script 
Google Apps Script is a way for developers to customize Google Docs and other Google products. Over the past month, we've made some changes which developers may find helpful, including:

  • Support for adding your own HTML to your script's dialogues and pages. Let's say you wrote a script that prompts collaborators to play a game when they open a certain spreadsheet. It's now possible to include more sophisticated HTML, like a table in the dialog that you built. 

  • The option to programmatically set sheet protection in Apps Script. If you're a teacher, you could add a script that automatically looked at all your spreadsheets and made sure that you're the only one allowed to edit any sheet named "Grades". 
  • A redesign to the Apps Script menus. Sometimes when you're starting a new project you'll want to use scripts that you've already created. The menu changes make it easier for you to reuse scripts that you've already built and to share your scripts with other people . 


Posted by Michael Schidlowsky, Software Engineer
URL: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/GoogleAppsBlog/~3/wpU64WHpDhM/march-in-review-improved-charting.html

[G] Adding a new ad unit helps Concertboom boost revenue 400% while maintaining site quality

Posted: 04 Apr 2012 08:05 PM PDT

Inside AdSense: Adding a new ad unit helps Concertboom boost revenue 400% while maintaining site quality

With a background in database and computer science, Internet marketing, and search engine optimization, Kooshiar Azimian is a self-described wearer of many hats. In early 2011, he channeled his diverse expertise to create Concertboom, a comprehensive concert database. Concertboom is monetized through ticket sales and Google AdSense, serving more than four million ad impressions monthly. "AdSense creates the least amount of ad waste — the advertiser gets the most value out of their ads, and the publisher gets the most money," says Kooshiar, recalling his decision to use AdSense. As traffic increased to one million unique visitors per month, Kooshiar was looking for new ways to increase revenue from AdSense. 

A simple change brings booming revenue
Initially, Kooshiar showed just one 300x250 ad on some of his pages. A few months later, he received a personalized email from the Google AdSense team, who periodically share optimization tips to help publishers maximize revenue. The email suggested adding an ad unit or two, for a maximum of three units per page.

This surprised Kooshiar, who had previously thought one ad unit per page was the maximum allowed. "I was also a little skeptical about losing page quality, and I didn't want to have to change my interface to serve another ad. But I said, 'Let's give it a shot.' I added one unit and the result was shocking. My revenue more than quadrupled in the first week," he recalls. 

Quality matters most
Given the benefits of this simple implementation, Kooshiar recommends other publishers give it a try, but not at the expense of site quality and user experience. "A quality site serves the right content, especially if your audience comes from search engines. Don't trick your audience into content you don't have. Provide content that is accurate, updated and served in a timely fashion with nice, clean graphics. Be sure to maintain page quality and a quick load time. Know your audience and consider which ad formats work best with your content. Also, make sure you're not compromising your site aesthetic, so your website doesn't just look like ad junk," he advises.

Kooshiar also points out that since he maintained his focus on quality, he did not experience any change in his search ranking after adding a new ad unit.

A solid venture
After witnessing his revenue quadruple, Kooshiar is seeing Concertboom in a new light. "Before, this site was just extra cash for me, and now it's a growing business. I can start hiring people to help me create more content," he says. "This AdSense optimization has changed the whole dynamic of Concertboom."

Posted by Caroline Halpin, AdSense Optimization Specialist



URL: http://adsense.blogspot.com/2012/04/adding-new-ad-unit-helps-concertboom.html

[G] Build better maps with Analytics for Google Maps API for Business

Posted: 04 Apr 2012 08:05 PM PDT

Official Google Enterprise Blog: Build better maps with Analytics for Google Maps API for Business

Posted by Daniel Schramm, Associate Product Manager Intern, Google Maps API

Every day people rely on maps to help them make purchasing decisions. Location matters for everything from choosing a restaurant for dinner, to picking the perfect home. It's important to understand how users view and interact with this information so you can create a map experience tailored specifically to your customers' needs. Today we make this possible with the release of Analytics for Google Maps API for Business:



Just as Google Analytics shows you how visitors interact with your website, Analytics for Google Maps API for Business provides detailed information on how customers interact with maps on your website. Do customers have to pan and zoom to find what they need? How often is 45 degree imagery used? Should you consider using a different map type? Now this information is at your fingertips.

Analytics for Google Maps API for Business delivers reports for map interactions, services, the Places, and Street View. Make changes to your map and immediately see how these enhance user behavior, allowing you to quickly customize your map to the needs of your customers.

Analytics for Google Maps is a feature included with your license of Google Maps API for Business. You can enable Analytics for Google Maps API for Business for your maps with the click of a button in the Google Enterprise Support Portal. All information recorded is anonymized and aggregated to protect the privacy of users.

For more information on how to enable and access Analytics for Maps API for Business, please see the Maps API for Business Developer Guide. If you need further assistance, or have ideas for additional features you would love to see in Analytics for Maps API for Business, please contact the Google Enterprise Support team.
URL: http://googleenterprise.blogspot.com/2012/04/build-better-maps-with-analytics-for.html

[G] March in Review: Improved charting, expanded language support, and Apps Script updates

Posted: 04 Apr 2012 08:05 PM PDT

Docs Blog: March in Review: Improved charting, expanded language support, and Apps Script updates

Another month and another batch of improvements to Google Docs. We recently debuted a new spell checker that gets smarter and grows with the web, and we've also turned on a few features that let you do more with Docs.

New charting options 
We've added a bunch of new ways to make richer charts in Google spreadsheets. You can now control the opacity of an area chart, set fonts to be bold or italic, and label sections of your charts along the axis.


These new features bring the number of charting improvements up to 30 since the beginning of the year, which is about 1 new feature every 3 days. Some of our favorite charts updates include annotations, error bars, a second Y axis, donut charts, and loads of formatting options.

OCR and spreadsheets support more languages
With Google Docs, you can upload PDFs and images of scanned text and have them automatically converted into Google documents using our Optical Character Recognition (OCR) technology. Starting this week, this is available in four new languages: Hebrew, Hindi, Chinese Traditional, and Cherokee.

Language support got better in Google spreadsheets too. For Hebrew and Arabic speakers, sheets and cells now offer right-to-left support.

More ways to use Google Apps Script 
Google Apps Script is a way for developers to customize Google Docs and other Google products. Over the past month, we've made some changes which developers may find helpful, including:

  • Support for adding your own HTML to your script's dialogues and pages. Let's say you wrote a script that prompts collaborators to play a game when they open a certain spreadsheet. It's now possible to include more sophisticated HTML, like a table in the dialog that you built. 

  • The option to programmatically set sheet protection in Apps Script. If you're a teacher, you could add a script that automatically looked at all your spreadsheets and made sure that you're the only one allowed to edit any sheet named "Grades". 
  • A redesign to the Apps Script menus. Sometimes when you're starting a new project you'll want to use scripts that you've already created. The menu changes make it easier for you to reuse scripts that you've already built and to share your scripts with other people . 


Posted by Michael Schidlowsky, Software Engineer
URL: http://googledocs.blogspot.com/2012/04/march-in-review-improved-charting.html

[G] Coming Soon to YouTube and Google Play: Hundreds of Movies from Paramount Pictures

Posted: 04 Apr 2012 08:05 PM PDT

YouTube Blog: Coming Soon to YouTube and Google Play: Hundreds of Movies from Paramount Pictures

When it comes to movie rentals, we've been focused on adding as many of your favorite movies as possible. Today we're pleased to announce a new licensing agreement with Paramount Pictures which will bring nearly 500 new movie titles to YouTube and Google Play over the next few weeks to people in the U.S. and Canada.

Whether you're a fan of a five-time Oscar winning movie about a boy's adventures in Paris, everyday vehicles that change into terrifying robots, a charming high school slacker who takes a day off from school, or the most perfect mafia trilogy ever made, YouTube and Google Play will have what you're looking for thanks to Paramount.

Celebrating its 100th anniversary this year, Paramount has been responsible for some of the most memorable films in cinema history. With the addition of Paramount, we now have five of the six major studios and over ten independent movie studios offering nearly 9,000 movies for rent to millions of people around the world. It's still early days for us, and we'll continue adding new titles and expanding our service to more countries this year.

Many of these movies are available today, and the rest will be added to YouTube and Google Play over the next few months. So grab your popcorn, sit back and press play.

Malik Ducard, Director of Content Partnerships at YouTube, recently rented, "Coming to America"


URL: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/youtube/PKJx/~3/vJbBOanDcMA/coming-soon-to-youtube-and-google-play.html

[G] Coming Soon to YouTube and Google Play: Hundreds of Movies from Paramount Pictures

Posted: 04 Apr 2012 06:57 AM PDT

YouTube Blog: Coming Soon to YouTube and Google Play: Hundreds of Movies from Paramount Pictures

When it comes to movie rentals, we've been focused on adding as many of your favorite movies as possible. Today we're pleased to announce a new licensing agreement with Paramount Pictures which will bring nearly 500 new movie titles to YouTube and Google Play over the next few weeks to people in the U.S. and Canada.

Whether you're a fan of a five-time Oscar winning movie about a boy's adventures in Paris, everyday vehicles that change into terrifying robots, a charming high school slacker who takes a day off from school, or the most perfect mafia trilogy ever made, YouTube and Google Play will have what you're looking for thanks to Paramount.

Celebrating its 100th anniversary this year, Paramount has been responsible for some of the most memorable films in cinema history. With the addition of Paramount, we now have five of the six major studios and over ten independent movie studios offering nearly 9,000 movies for rent to millions of people around the world. It's still early days for us, and we'll continue adding new titles and expanding our service to more countries this year.

Many of these movies are available today, and the rest will be added to YouTube and Google Play over the next few months. So grab your popcorn, sit back and press play.

Malik Ducard, Director of Content Partnerships at YouTube, recently rented, "Coming to America"


URL: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/youtube/PKJx/~3/vJbBOanDcMA/coming-soon-to-youtube-and-google-play.html

[G] Google Affiliate Network expanding in the UK

Posted: 04 Apr 2012 06:56 AM PDT

Google Affiliate Network: Google Affiliate Network expanding in the UK

After testing Google Affiliate Network in beta throughout the UK, we're excited to announce that we're expanding to more UK advertisers and agencies. This means more relevant deals and promotions will be available to publishers with UK audiences. We've worked hard to enhance our international product offering and now have a team based in the Google London office actively supporting UK users.

Key benefits for UK users:
  • Market-leading insights and reporting available in local timezone, language and currency
  • Publisher payments available in over 40 currencies in 80 countries
  • Product feed integration via Google Merchant Centre
  • Ability to create accounts with different payouts, advertiser-specific terms and local market presence
  • Custom recruiting for select advertisers

For UK publishers:
UK publishers can now apply for UK affiliate programmes including Blue Nile, Onlineticketexpress.com, Orvis UK, Shoes.com, Skechers and more. Follow the steps below to to get started:

1.) Log in to your account (or apply to join our network)
2.) Go to the Advertisers tab
3.) On the left-hand navigation, click 'Countries' and choose United Kingdom
4.) Apply to programmes

For UK advertisers:
If you're an advertiser interested in starting an affiliate programme with Google Affiliate Network, please contact us and a member of our team can provide more information.

We look forward to helping advertisers, publishers and agencies achieve their goals in the UK, and doing our part to grow the UK affiliate market! For more information, please visit our website.

Posted by: Tony Nelan, Head of Google Affiliate Network for Europe
URL: http://googleaffiliatenetwork-blog.blogspot.com/2012/04/google-affiliate-network-expanding-in.html

[G] Bringing the Halls of Museums Into Classrooms Everywhere

Posted: 04 Apr 2012 06:56 AM PDT

Google Public Policy Blog: Bringing the Halls of Museums Into Classrooms Everywhere

Posted by Piotr Adamczyk, Google Art Project Team

The last known photo portrait of Abraham Lincoln. A masterpiece made up of thousands of tiny painted dots. Scenes of the American West that will leave you breathless. Some of our nation's greatest treasures -- all at your fingertips.

In a few hours I will join art enthusiasts, students, and local leaders at the Art Institute of Chicago to announce a major expansion of the Google Art Project. We are thrilled to have partnered with 151 museums in 40 countries including 29 American institutions in 16 cities.


Now anyone with an Internet connection can take a virtual field trip to see some of the finest art around the world and right here in America. No permission slip, sack lunch or bus fare needed! All before lunch, from their desk, a student could walk through the East Room of the White House, visit one of the greatest collections of the American West in the world at the Denver Art Museum, and take a quick trip to Massachusetts to see some of the great illustrations at the Norman Rockwell Museum. They could, of course, also go see South African rock art, street graffiti from Brazil or Australian aboriginal art.

All told, the Art Project puts over 30,000 works of art at your fingertips and allows you to:
  • Explore inside museums: We've adapted mapping technology to take 360-degree images of the interior of selected galleries which were then stitched together, enabling smooth navigation of more than 385 rooms within the museums. You can also explore the gallery interiors directly from within Street View in Google Maps.
  • Discover history: Our partners have provided the backstory of many of the works in the Art Project and the artists that created these pieces. The Art Project is a fantastic classroom tool with hundreds of short educational videos created by SmartHistory presented by Khan Academy.
  • Get up close: We now have 46 artworks available with our "gigapixel" photo capturing technology, photographed in extraordinary detail using super high resolution so you can study details of the brushwork and patina that would be impossible to see with the naked eye.
  • Curate your own collection - build a personalized collection, provide your own commentary, and share it with your friends and family.
To learn even more about the Google Art Project and today's announcement read this post on the Official Google Blog.
URL: http://googlepublicpolicy.blogspot.com/2012/04/bringing-halls-of-museums-into.html

[G] What's new in DoubleClick for Publishers

Posted: 04 Apr 2012 06:56 AM PDT

DoubleClick Publisher Blog: What's new in DoubleClick for Publishers

Spring is here and so are a couple of new features in DFP! For a complete list, please visit the DFP or DFP Small Business Help Centers.

Available in DFP and DFP Small Business:

  • Integrated Change History: To help you keep a closer eye on your ad operations, we've integrated our change history feature into the orders page in addition to its home in the Admin tab. The change history can help you quickly identify and review all changes made to your orders and line items, including: what has changed (e.g., line item), what change occurred (e.g., from "Paused" to "Ready"), who made the change, and the date and time the change was made.
  • Creative Preview Links: "What will my creative look like on your site?" You've told us that this is one of the most common requests that you hear from advertisers. With our creative preview tool, you've been able to create an internal test page for QA purposes, and send screenshots to advertisers to see how their ad would appear, but advertisers could not interact with their creative on your site unitl it went live. We've changed that with the release of external creative preview links. You can now send your advertisers a link to a test page that displays their creative on your site so they can easily preview and interact with their creative on your site before it's live.
  • Bulk Creative Upload: We've designed DFP so there are less steps, clicks, and screens throughout the trafficking process to help you save time when trafficking your campaigns. In efforts to help you streamline your workflows even further, we've introduced the ability to bulk upload multiple creatives. With this tool, you can easily drag and drop multiple image, Flash, or text creatives from your desktop directly into your line item with a single gesture rather than uploading multiple individual creatives, helping you save time and minimizing clicks.

Available in DFP:

  • DFP Optimization: Publishers can now supercharge ad performance with DFP Optimization - an advanced optimization system that supercharges ad performance to help publishers increase the value of their premium inventory, and boost yield for non-premium inventory. DFP Optimization leverages Google's infrastructure and processing capabilities to automatically deliver the best ad, to the best user, at the best time. Read more.
  • First-party audience segmentation: Publishers are increasingly taking control of their audience data as one of the key assets of their digital businesses. To help you manage and control this data, we've introduced the ability to define and manage audience segments directly in DFP to help you increase the value of their inventory while gaining insights on how different audience segments engage with your content. Read more.

Available in DFP Mobile:

  • Click-To-[Action] Creative: As mobile advertising becomes a greater emphasis for your advertisers, it's important to recognize that their campaign objectives may differ from their web-based campaigns. On mobile, advertisers may define success as driving downloads of a mobile application, calling a telephone number, or opening a map versus visiting a website. To provide your advertisers with uniquely mobile experiences, we've released a new mobile creative type that enables you to specify an action (ie. download) as the destination. This new creative type will help you differentiate your mobile offering and provide your advertisers with the latest mobile formats and functionality.

Available in DFP Video:
  • VPAID Linear SWF Creatives: Creative agencies are building more VPAID compliant video ads than ever before. DFP Video now supports the VPAID standard as defined by the IAB, allowing you to accept more video ad campaigns without needing extra technical development. VPAID introduces a common language between ad servers and video players for handling interactive video ads for Flash and HTML5 environments.
 Posted by Alex Strittmatter, DFP Product Specialist
URL: http://doubleclickpublishers.blogspot.com/2012/04/whats-new-in-doubleclick-for-publishers.html

[G] Two new gadgets to make your blog better with Google+

Posted: 04 Apr 2012 06:56 AM PDT

Blogger Buzz: Two new gadgets to make your blog better with Google+


Imagine being able to share your blog with like-minded people across the web. Today we've made doing that easier with the introduction of two Google+ gadgets, the +1 button and Google+ Badge.

Unlike the +1 button that can appear below a post, this gadget is specific to your blog. Displaying it on your blog will allow visitors to endorse your blog and share it with their friends.  

+1 button for blog

If you're wondering what a +1 means, think of it as a public stamp of approval from your readers. As soon as someone clicks on the +1 button next to your blog, they'll also have the option to share it with their friends, contacts, or the rest of the web.  

+1s from your readers will appear to people in their circles whenever your blog shows up in Google search results.Here's an example:


We're also introducing the Google+ badge gadget, which allows you to connect your blog to your personal profile or your Google+ page on Google+. Adding the badge to your blog helps you connect with friends, fans, and customers. It enables your readers to add you, or your blog to their circles and follow your blog posts on Google+.

If you are happy to blog under your real name, people can follow your stream on Google+. If you prefer to blog under a nickname or an established pseudonym, you can create a Google+ Page to represent your blog. Bloggers who wish to remain anonymous should continue to blog as usual.

To add these gadgets to your blog, select "Add a Gadget" from the "Layout" tab of Blogger, and select them from the list of gadgets under "Basics". You'll need to copy your Google+ ID (personal or Page) to configure the brand badge gadget for your blog.
Add the +1 and Google+ brand badge gadgets to your blog today to grow and engage your audience.

Bora Toska, Product Marketing Manager
URL: http://buzz.blogger.com/2012/04/two-new-gadgets-to-make-your-blog.html

[G] Moving to the New Blogger Interface

Posted: 04 Apr 2012 06:56 AM PDT

Blogger Buzz: Moving to the New Blogger Interface


Last September, we introduced a new user interface that makes it easier to find what you need and focus on writing great blog posts. Since then, we've implemented a number of updates and improvements based on your feedback.

In the coming weeks, we will change the default interface for those of you still using the old version, and bring the advantages of Blogger's improved interface to everyone. If you are already on the new interface, there will be no change.

If you have been using the old interface, give the new look a try today by clicking "Upgrade Now" at the top of the page. This is, of course, a free upgrade and all major features are present in the new interface. You can still temporarily switch back to the old interface by clicking the "Old Blogger interface" link located in settings, but not for much longer.


We recommend that anyone currently using the old interface switch to the new one, as all accounts will be permanently upgraded very soon.

When you switch to the new interface, you'll find a number of new features that we've released recently, including:

To help you get a better sense of what's changed and how to navigate the new interface, check out the short video below or read the friendly guide "Using our upgraded interface".


We hope you enjoy the new interface and welcome your thoughts about the new look. If you have suggestions or feedback, sign in to Blogger and click "Send Feedback" at the bottom right of the screen.
URL: http://buzz.blogger.com/2012/04/moving-to-new-blogger-interface.html

[G] Zap! Finding the right app and extension just got easier

Posted: 04 Apr 2012 06:56 AM PDT

Google Chrome Blog: Zap! Finding the right app and extension just got easier

Over the past few weeks, we've introduced several new features to make it easier to discover new apps and extensions. These can be especially helpful, as the number of apps and extensions in the Chrome Web Store has grown to the tens of thousands.

Starting today, Chrome Web Store users can try out an early version of the new "Trending" view. Ranging from "warm" to "on fire", this view shows which apps and extensions are currently growing fastest in the store.


App subcategories were also recently introduced into the store. These allow you to dig deeper into each app category. For example, in the "Entertainment" category you can click on the "Music & Radio" subcategory to only view music related apps.

Searching for a particular app has also improved. Our search box now sports autocomplete suggestions that guide you to the app or extension you are looking for, faster.

And for those of you looking for apps with a particular functionality - e.g. apps that work offline - our new app badges can be of help. Just look for them on the top section of an app's landing page in the store and click on them if you want to see other apps that have the same functionality. They now come in two flavors - playable on Google+ and offline - and more will follow.


All of these improvements will especially come in handy as more apps and extensions launch every day. In the last few weeks, almost all the Google+ games have become available in the store, like the new exclusive Kingdom Age. These add to a slate of new Native Client games like MiniNinjas and new productivity and entertainment apps and extensions like Share on Meebo, Hotmail, and Google's My Chrome Theme and Google Play Movies.

Posted by Shannon Guymon, Product Manager
URL: http://chrome.blogspot.com/2012/04/zap-finding-right-app-and-extension.html

[G] Opening up the world of art with Street View

Posted: 04 Apr 2012 06:56 AM PDT

Google Lat Long: Opening up the world of art with Street View


As a continuation of our global efforts to expand Street View to the world's most interesting and unique places, we're pleased to announce a major expansion of the Google Art Project.

Since we introduced the Art Project last year, curators, artists and viewers from all over the globe have offered exciting ideas about how to enhance the experience of collecting, sharing and discovering art. Institutions worldwide asked to join the project, urging us to increase the diversity of artworks displayed. We listened.

Our global team has worked hard to expand the project to many more museums spanning the globe. Today, the Art Project includes over 30,000 high resolution artworks. Using a combination of various Google technologies and expert information provided by our partners, we have created a unique online art experience. Users can explore a wide range of artworks at brushstroke level detail, take a virtual tour of a museum and even build their own collections to share. And high resolution Street View images now cover 51 of our partner locations, with more on the way.


A wide range of institutions, large and small, traditional art museums as well as less traditional settings for great art, are represented in the expanded Art Project. Click here and take a look at the White House in Washington D.C. Explore the collection of the Museum of Islamic Art in Qatar. Continue the journey in India, exploring the Santiniketan Triptych in the halls of the National Gallery of Modern Art, Delhi.


White House: Portrait of John F. Kennedy by Aaron Shikler:  View Street View

Here are a few other new things in the expanded Art Project that you might enjoy:
  • Street View images are now displayed in higher resolution and better dynamic range than the original version and include a greater number of images for improved navigation. Our specially designed Street View 'Trolley' took 360 degree images of the interior of selected galleries which were then stitched together. The result is a truly immersive experience for art lovers and art newbies alike. The gallery interiors can also be explored directly from within Street View in Google Maps.
  • In addition to Street View, more than 30,000 artworks are featured in high resolution. Some have been photographed in extraordinary detail using super high resolution or 'gigapixel' photo capturing technology, enabling the viewer to study details of the brushwork and patina beyond that possible with the naked eye.
  • Each museum also features annotations that link you from Street View directly into the high resolution imagery for the artwork. So now as you navigate your favorite collections you can jump in to a specific piece and learn more about it and the artist. In total we have more than 4000 links of paintings, statues and artifacts to be explored.
The Art Project illustrates Google's commitment to bringing culture online and making it accessible the widest possible audience. Under the auspices of the Google Cultural Institute, we're producing high resolution images of the Dead Sea Scrolls, digitizing the archives of famous figures such as Nelson Mandela, and creating 3D models of 18th century French cities.

Together with the fantastic input from our partners from around the world, we're delighted to have created a convenient, fun way to interact with art - a platform that we hope appeals to everyone.

To take a look visit the Art Project or the Street View gallery.

Posted by Posted by Ryan Falor, Product Manager Street View Special Collects and James Davis, Program Manager Art Project
URL: http://google-latlong.blogspot.com/2012/04/opening-up-world-of-art-with-street.html

[G] Now see service alerts for the London Underground in Maps

Posted: 04 Apr 2012 06:56 AM PDT

Google Lat Long: Now see service alerts for the London Underground in Maps


Ahead of a busy summer in London, we are bringing real time service alerts for the London Underground to Google Maps. We'll let you know of any disruptions on the Underground that are happening at the time you need them most. To see these alerts, click on a station in a timetable or in the public transport directions results.



Last summer we announced live transit updates, providing travelers with up-to-date information when planning their trips. We are excited about adding real time alerts for the 1 billion passengers that use the Underground every year.

In addition to the service alerts in real time, we've included planned engineering works for the weekends in our journey planner as well. When planning a trip for the coming weekend, we will show you the relevant subway alerts as part of the directions results. You can plan a trip for the weekend by changing the departure time in the 'Get directions' tab. Should there be planned engineering works for your route, you won't run into any surprises on the day of travel.

As usual, this information is available on maps.google.co.uk for desktop and mobile, but also on Google Maps for Android. So even when you're on the go, you'll always be informed of the latest status of the Underground. Just tap on a station to see if there are any alerts active, or get directions to your destination to see if an alert affects your travels.


  


Public transport directions in Britain are available for all national train routes, London Underground, Overground, DLR and bus routes, and many local bus routes.

Whether you call London home or you're one of the expected 31 million tourists visiting the city this year, we know that the addition of service alerts to Google Maps will make your travels across the city easier, faster and more convenient.

Posted by Thijs van As, Associate Product Manager, Google Transit
URL: http://google-latlong.blogspot.com/2012/04/now-see-service-alerts-for-london.html

[G] Get typical traffic for roads, not just highways

Posted: 04 Apr 2012 06:56 AM PDT

Google Lat Long: Get typical traffic for roads, not just highways


Have you ever been stuck in traffic during the heavy morning commute, or found yourself late for dinner plans because you left work right in the middle of the Friday night traffic? In addition to using Google Maps to find alternate routes and reach your destination faster, you may have also found the feature that shows typical traffic patterns on highways to be useful. Knowing the usual highway conditions during certain times of the day, like rush hour, can help you avoid traffic. And if you plan to avoid these highways, it's also helpful to know the typical traffic patterns on the surrounding arterial roads as well.

Starting today, if you're planning a trip for which you anticipate traffic, you can find out what typical traffic is like on these arterial roads, rather than just on highways. Simply type in your starting and ending points to get directions in Google Maps, enable the traffic layer on the upper right hand side of the viewport, and then click "change" in the legend to switch from live traffic to Typical Traffic for these roads.

Click traffic layer and then select day and time

You can now access this data for important arterials in cities around the world to help you get where you want to go, and on time! To illustrate the improved comprehensiveness of the traffic data now available, below are the before and after traffic screenshots for London:

London traffic for both highways and major roads

And of course, you can always help your fellow drivers and improve traffic data about road conditions and speeds by turning on the My Location feature on Google Maps for Android.

We wish you safe and happy driving!

Posted by Szabolcs Payrits, Software Engineer, Google Maps
URL: http://google-latlong.blogspot.com/2012/04/get-typical-traffic-for-roads-not-just.html
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