Monday, July 30, 2007

Create and send your own message on iGoogle

Create and send your own message on iGoogle
A new feature of iGoogle enables anyone to send and update personal messages through gadgets on the iGoogle homepage. You can choose from seven gadget types: Photo Album, Google Gram, The Daily Me, Free Form, YouTube Channel, Personal List, and Countdown. Either send your gadgets to selected friends and family, or share them with everyone on the public directory of iGoogle gadgets. Create your iGoogle gadget: http://www.google.com/ig/gmchoices Create your iGoogle homepage: http://www.google.com/ig



Search across all content with new universal search effort
In striving to give you the best results to your search queries, we've found that the best information can take many different forms. For this reason, we have taken the beginning steps towards a new universal search effort that provides a more holistic search experience on Google. Until recently, you could find the best results for your searches within the separate and distinct Google properties (e.g., web, images, maps, videos, books) by clicking a link above the search box. Using a universal search approach, Google technology searches across all of the content sources, integrates, and then ranks the results for the best answers. So depending on your search query, you may see results from news, images, videos, local, or books integrated with the web search results. We also introduced new contextual navigational links so that you can click to see more results from a suggested type of content. And we've added a new Google navigation bar to the top of the page to provide easier navigation to Google's products. http://www.google.com


Sneak a peek with Street View
Street View gives you navigable 360-degree street-level imagery in Google Maps for selected cities. You can see images for a spot and take virtual walks along that street. So when you're trying to find the perfect outdoor cafe for lunch with friends or want a glimpse of the neighborhood you're considering moving to, use Google Maps to see what the spot actually looks like, as if you were right there in person. Currently Street View imagery is available for the San Francisco Bay Area, New York City, Las Vegas, Miami, and Denver; and we expect to launch this feature in many more cities soon. Click on the "Street View" tab at the top of the Google Maps page or follow the demo link in the left panel. http://maps.google.com


Check out Google's latest search ideas
Google Experimental showcases our latest ideas for improving the search experience - for example, viewing search results on a timeline or a map, navigating results with keyboard shortcuts, or refining your search with left-/right-hand navigation. Take a tour of these experiments, and tell us what you think by clicking "Send Feedback" from the page you're on. http://www.google.com/experimental


New tools in Google Finance
Stay on top of your investments with recent upgrades to Google Finance. View and download historical end-of-day prices for any US or Canadian company; download the latest performance, returns and transactions from your portfolio; stay on top of news from your favorite companies using feed applications like Google Reader; view events such as earnings calls and analyst meetings on company or portfolio pages. http://finance.google.com

Search across more books
In addition to the searching the full text of more than a million book titles, you can now find information on even more books using Google Book Search. Millions of metadata records have been added to the index, which means you can find images of book covers, summaries and references for even more titles in Google book results. We've also added new information to the "About this book" page so that now, in addition to basic information about the book like title and author, you'll also see reviews and references to the book from web pages as well as other books. http://books.google.com

Find your next appointment on your phone
Google Calendar is now available for mobile devices. Just point your phone's browser to calendar.google.com, and you'll immediately access your day's agenda, complete with details like date, time, location, description, and guest list. http://calendar.google.com

The Google Channel on YouTube
Much has been made of the 'YouTube' phenomenon, which has emerged thanks to relatively inexpensive and easy to operate video cameras, faster computers with more storage space (to hold all that footage) and easy uploading. The creativity and fun factor are worth celebrating -- but don't lose sight of online video's ability to show, tell, teach, and share information quickly. Increasingly, businesses are showcasing their products, promoting their initiatives and exposing their employees via video. You may learn something or you may dislike the marketing messages, but either way, better get used to it - corporate use of popular online video channels is here to stay. In Google's case, we've chosen to share quite a few talks by technology gurus and popular authors, conversations with presidential candidates (all of whom we've invited to visit our Mountain View campus), and other presentations and product demonstrations -- and we're adding more material all the time. Enjoy the view. http://www.youtube.com/google

Monday, July 23, 2007

Create your own Google Maps

Create your own Google Maps
A new Google Maps feature lets you easily create maps with placemarks that incorporate your text comments, photos, and videos from YouTube and Google Video. It's a great way of sharing your stories on a map, whether it's stops you enjoyed on a recent vacation or the best places to grab a quick bite to eat in your city. To get started, just click the "My Maps" tab on the left-hand side of the Google Maps homepage. You can take a look at the maps other people have created (there's even one of the Googleplex), and then get started making your own by clicking "Create new map." If you make your map public, we will make it searchable for other folks who use Google Maps. http://maps.google.com

Call 800-GOOG-411
Use the new Google Voice Local Search experiment to connect to local businesses anywhere in the U.S. from your phone, for free. Just dial the toll-free number 1-800-GOOG-411 (1-800-466-4411) and speak the name of a business ("Giovanni's Pizzeria") or its category ("pizza"). You can choose to connect to the business directly over phone or, if you are calling from your mobile phone, you can also say "text message" and we'll send you the business's details by SMS. Google won't charge you for a thing, but note that regular phone charges may apply based on your phone service provider. http://labs.google.com/goog411

Updates to Google Docs & Spreadsheets
This month, you'll notice some changes in the spreadsheets portion of Google Docs & Spreadsheets. In addition to improving its general performance, we've added several new features: you can create simple charts, including column, bar, line, pie and scatter charts; attach comments to individual cells; quickly duplicate a spreadsheet; and search the web for the text in a cell by using the right-click menu. And heads-up: this summer, watch for a new addition to the Google Docs & Spreadsheets family: presentations. http://docs.google.com

Find your next home with Google
Searching for a place to live is rarely fun, so we've made the search experience on Google a lot easier. Now when you type in queries like [New York real estate] or [homes for rent in San Francisco], you'll see the location you're interested in and type of listing at the top of your search results. Clicking the "Go" button will display details of individual homes that Google has indexed. If a certain listing interests you, click on the provided link or image, to go straight to the listing source. http://www.google.com

Google Desktop beta for the Mac
If you're a Mac user, you can now search your computers using Google Desktop. In addition to searching everything on your Mac, you can also search your emails (including Gmail), web history and deleted files. Just click the ⌘ key twice to start using the Quick Search Box. http://desktop.google.com


We knew Google Earth was remarkable when we first saw it, but at that time we didn't imagine all the uses to which it might be put. Since we unveiled it in 2005, millions of people have enjoyed zooming in to their homes, zooming out to far-flung places around the globe. More recently, many information providers outside of Google have developed "layers" you can add to your personal Earth. You can explore Africa through the eyes of National Geographic photographers and writers; you can see "America's Favorite Buildings" from a contest held by the American Institute of Architects; you can study historical maps from the renowned Rumsey Collection. But a recent project with the United State Holocaust Memorial Museum demonstrated even a newer use: Google Earth as a powerful current events resource. By showing recent imagery from the Darfur region of the Sudan, suddenly millions of people can see the destruction and desolation for themselves. We hope this powerful combination of information and technology spurs enlightenment and action on the part of many. You can search YouTube or Google Video for 'google darfur" and find the videos talking about the project. Or visit the Museum and read more about this important geography education initiative. http://earth.google.com http://www.ushmm.org/

Thursday, July 19, 2007

Flight information from Google SMS

Flight information from Google SMS
With Google SMS, getting real-time flight information is as easy as texting a message to your friend. Simply text message your flight number to 466453 ("GOOGLE" on most mobile devices), and you'll receive a text message right back with the status details of your flight. If you're looking for more general information, you can text message the name of an airline, and you'll receive a message with the main phone number to call. This free service is available for flights departing or arriving in the U.S. http://www.google.com/sms

More personalization for your homepage
Make the Google homepage your own with the newest features for the Google Personalized Homepage. You can change the entire look of the page by choosing one of six themes. All the themes are dynamic, which means the look of your homepage will change depending on the season, time of day and weather conditions of your current location. If you can't decide which gadgets to add, you can review other users' ratings or read reviews of gadgets from the directory; name a new tab and let us select gadgets you might like based on the tab's name; or click a gadget's drop-down menu in the upper right-hand corner and select "You might also like..." to see our recommendations.
One we do recommend is the new Google Talk gadget, which lets you chat with friends and family directly from your homepage. And this gadget lets you view videos and photo albums straight from your chat window by pasting URLs from YouTube and Picasa Web Albums into your chats. There's nothing to download or install. http://www.google.com/ig http://www.google.com/ig/add?moduleurl=googletalk.xml

Google Notebook is out of beta
Google Notebook has now graduated from Google Labs and is officially out of beta. Besides launching in 17 new languages, we've added a slew of improvements to the user interface and new features too. You can add your own comments to individual notes, view your notebook content on Google Maps, and export your notebooks to Google Docs & Spreadsheets. The next time you're planning an event with friends or researching places to go for a family vacation, organize your findings with Google Notebook. http://www.google.com/notebook

Increased storage on Picasa Web Albums
Picasa Web Albums now offers 1GB of free storage, which means you can upload up to 4,000 standard resolution photos for free. We've also made it easier for you to share your photos and albums with friends. Just click the "Link to this..." link next to any Picasa Web photo or album, and copy the code provided. You can paste the code into an email, IM or the code for your website for others to see. http://picasaweb.google.com/

Improved security with Google Desktop
We've added a new safety feature to Google Desktop to protect you from suspicious sites. Now when you visit a site that might be trying to steal your personal information or install malicious software on your computer, Google Desktop will show you a warning before you use it. Google Desktop also now includes a better-looking sidebar and gadgets to match, and the ability to quickly preview a Google Desktop search result before actually opening the file or going to the web page. http://desktop.google.com/

Photos on Google Maps
Google Maps users will now find relevant photos about businesses when they do a local search. These photos will be visible in the business details information window, and more can be found by clicking the images. You'll find a range of images in the search results: from photos of buildings and storefronts to pictures of hotel interiors and delicious meals to help you decide where to make your next reservation. http://maps.google.com/

Plus Box results on Google
This month we introduced Plus Box, a new feature of Google that lets you see additional information on individual search results. When you see a "+" icon next to a result, click on it and you'll see additional data intended to help you find what you're looking for more quickly. Right now, we're showing two types of Plus Box results: stock information and maps. Expect to see more types going forward. http://www.google.com/

New software from Google Pack

Protect your PC with the newest additions to Google Pack: Symantec's Norton Security Scan, which detects and removes viruses, and PC Tools' Spyware Doctor Starter Edition, a top-rated anti-spyware utility. Like all Google Pack offerings, these applications are free and automatically updated. We've also made some major updates to the Google Photos Screensaver: Now you can turn your computer into a digital photo frame that displays pictures from photo feeds, a great way to keep current with your friends' and families' latest pictures. http://pack.google.com/
Polls on orkut
Have a tough decision to make? With the latest feature from orkut, you can get an entire orkut community's input on any question you have. Simply post a poll to any community you belong to and watch as members vote and leave comments on your question. Next time you're deciding between a holiday weekend in Aspen or Hawaii, look to your friends on orkut. http://www.orkut.com/

Google.com for mobile
Searching from your mobile phone can be tricky, as you're walking and searching, without a mouse, and scrolling through results on a small screen with just a couple of inches of real estate. Now when you visit Google.com on your phone, click the link that takes you to the new mobile search experience. You'll never be more than a click or two away from the answer that you're after. You can add modules for the types of information you're regularly searching for to your homepage so you don't have to search for updates anymore. http://www.google.com/mobile

Wednesday, July 18, 2007

Tell us your Google story

+Tell us your Google story+ We admit it: we love learning about all the things people use Google to do. Such as ... how to find a lost tortoise. Here's a story we got from Jim Lyness: "After Christmas, my son Sam wanted a turtle. We bought a Russian Tortoise instead, and named him Rocky. Well, one day, we let Rocky out for a stroll around the house. We could not find him that night, and into the following day. After the boys went to school, my wife Susan and I were stumped. Did Rocky get out the front door? Susan googled [how to find a Russian Tortoise] and bang -- we had a game plan. Russian Tortoises like warm, dark spaces. We started in the boys' bedroom, again. We pulled the bunk bed back and there was Rocky at the head of the bed. Case solved. When we tell friends and family about googling How to Find a Russian Tortoise, they bust a gut in laughter! "
If you have a story about how Google search has made an impact on something on your world, we'd love to hear it. Use either of the links below - either submit your tale through a web form or upload your story on video to YouTube. (If you shoot video, be sure to tag it "google testimonial" when you upload it.)
Web form: http://www.google.com/contact/success.html YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/my_videos_upload

Search KMLs on Google Earth
KML is the XML file format people use to create overlays to enhance the geographic imagery with a vast array of detailed information. For instance, open up Google Earth, type in a query like [lord of the rings], and the results from the web (in KML files) for your query will appear in a folder below the local results as placemarks. The placemarks are based on the area in your view, so searching for [lord of the rings] while you're viewing South Africa will get you no results - but when you're viewing New Zealand, the same query will show you top 10 placemarks (green icons) from the region and by clicking on "see more" you can find tons more placemarks. With the latest version, you can search across all of the KML available on the web using either keywords or geographic locations. Our users have created millions of KML files, so start searching today. http://earth.google.com/

Open sign-up for Gmail
No more waiting for an invitation: You can now sign up for your own Gmail account. Sign-ups are open worldwide in more than 40 languages. Now everyone can get the benefits of Gmail: fast and accurate search, a ton of free storage, chatting within Gmail, and access from your mobile phone. You can still invite your friends, but now you can also just tell them to visit the Gmail homepage. Don't miss the 4-part Gmail Theatre video, featuring our engineers and a cast of puppets, now playing on YouTube. http://www.gmail.com/ http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_YUugB4IUl4


North America Updates on Google Maps
We're often freshening up the map data available on Google Maps. This month, we've added building footprints for the urban cores of 38 U.S. cities, giving Google Maps a better sense of scale, providing extra visual detail and enabling you to navigate using buildings as landmarks. For example, search for [empire state building] and zoom in all the way to get to the heart of New York City. We've also added transit information for 8 major U.S. cities (New York, San Francisco, Los Angeles, Atlanta, Boston, Baltimore, Philadelphia, and Washington D.C.), as well as nationwide Amtrak coverage. http://maps.google.com/


Share videos on orkut
A new feature of orkut makes it easier to share funny and memorable videos. Instead of sending video links via instant message or emailing them to your friends and family, from orkut you can add video links from YouTube or Google Video to your video playlist to share with anyone who visits your profile. And if you find videos that you like on your friend's profile, all you have to do is click the "Add to my favorites" button to make them appear on your playlist. http://www.orkut.com/

Google Maps on Windows Mobile(tm) devices
Those of you with Windows Mobile(tm) devices can now search for local businesses and get real-time traffic reports using Google Maps. This edition also includes some custom features: contacts integration, GPS support, draggable maps, and tap and hold menus. And since Google Maps for mobile is available on more than 300 phone models, chances are good everyone can download the application and always know where they are when they're on the go. http://www.google.com/gmm

Monday, July 16, 2007

Google recognized as #1 in the annual 100 Best Companies to Work For

+ The Best Place to Work + What makes a job somewhere you want to go day in and day out -- or not? The pay and the benefits should be good, however you define those; the culture should fit well with you and each of the employees, so that you (all) feel like doing your best. At the end of the day, though, it's the ineffable chemistry of the people, along with whatever the specific perks are, that seems to be the right combination. Recently Google was honored to be recognized as #1 in the annual 100 Best Companies to Work For, an annual survey published by Fortune Magazine. This time, 446 companies applied for consideration, and 100,000 workers evaluated their employers. Of course we're very pleased to have been chosen. But even more, we appreciate being in the company of many great businesses (all of them older than Google) that know the way to be successful is to pay attention to the people first.

POWER TIP If you were lucky enough to get a new PC over the holidays, you may be wondering what kind of interesting things you can do with it. Might we suggest the Google Pack? It's a free collection of essential software for your Windows PC. With the programs in Google Pack, you can explore the world in 3D, organize your photos, removespyware and viruses, and more. You can download and install the whole Google Pack in just a few clicks, and the Google Updater (included) helps you discover new programs and keep your current software up to date. http://%20pack.google.com/
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NEW PRODUCTS & UPDATES
Google Video + YouTube Recently, we've added YouTube videos to the Google Video search index. Now you can search Google Video to find content hosted on both Google Video and on YouTube. This is part of our overall goal to give you the highest quality search results possible. Give it a try: search for [Labradoodle] on Google Video to watch some incredibly cute puppy footage from YouTube. http://video.google.com/

Google Groups out of beta Google Groups doesn't just have a new look; now there are additional features that make it easier to manage and share activities and ideas online with your friends, family, colleagues and teammates. You can create and edit web pages with other group members, customize the look of your group, upload and share files and photos, and view member profiles. The next time you need to organize your soccer team, family reunion, knitting club or pretty much anything else, look to Google Groups for online collaboration. http://groups.google.com/

Google Earth 4 Six months after it was first introduced as a beta product, Google Earth 4 is now out. Along with a new interface, we've added tons of multimedia content that's been created by online communities plus content from such established sources as Discovery Networks and National Geographic. Be it photo-sharing through Panaramio, hiking trails from Tracks4Africa, Wikipedia articles, or restaurant reviews from Yelp, you can explore all this information in Google Earth's 3D view. And it now also includes the highest-quality textured 3D models of buildings from the 3D Warehouse as a layer ("Best of 3D Warehouse"). For example, check out Canary Wharf in London, landmarks in Manhattan, or the entire Denver downtown. http://earth.google.com/

Google SkectchUp 6: Design enthusiasts take note: there's a new version of Google SketchUp. This 3D modeling software tool is easy to learn, simple to use, and lets you place your models in Google Earth. One of the cool new features is Photo Match, with which you can trace a photo to create a 3D model of the photographed object or match an existing model with a background photo. To stylize your models, there are features for adding fog, creating sketched effects, watermarks, 3D text, and more. And now the integration between Google Earth, 3D Warehouse and SketchUp is seamless, so that you can easily share and reuse models from other 3D Warehouse users. And as noted above, Google Earth now has the "Best of 3D Warehouse" layer that showcases the highest quality models from SketchUp users. http://sketchup.google.com/
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Sunday, July 15, 2007

Google Patent Search

Google Patent Search
With the new beta release of Google Patent Search, you can discover the fascinating ideas behind products you use every day -- from adhesive tape and contact lenses -- to obscure inventions you may have never heard of before. You can search the full text of over 7 million U.S. patents, and as with Google Book Search, scroll through pages or zoom in on text and illustrations. http://www.google.com/patents

Holiday offerings through Picasa
We've updated Picasa Web Albums, Google's photo sharing site, to make this season of photo sharing even more merry and bright. Now you can upload videos to the web and share them with family and friends just as you do with photos. You can also search through all the photos and videos you've uploaded, and tag your photos for easier browsing and searching. And two of our partners, Shutterfly and PhotoWorks, have special offers when you order through Picasa Web Albums. -- Take 20% off all PhotoWorks products when you use code: C850-38-5124-11 during checkout; valid until 1/17/07. -- New Shutterfly users get 15 free, film-quality prints. Click "Learn More" for details after you select Shutterfly. http://picasaweb.google.com/

The new Blogger
Blogger is more powerful than ever, and still easy to use. Customize the page elements of your blog's design; create a private blog and control who sees it; add a feed for all your comments; manage multiple blogs from the re-designed dashboard; label posts to group related entries -- all without any HTML or CSS knowledge. http://www.blogger.com/

Google Toolbar for Firefox
When we released the latest Google Toolbar for Internet Explorer, Firefox users wanted to know when they'd see new Toolbar features in their favorite browser too. Now there's a new Toolbar beta for Firefox that lets you access your bookmarks from any computer, add custom buttons to your Toolbar, and share web pages via Gmail, Blogger and SMS. There's even a nifty feature only available in the Toolbar for Firefox: you can open document and spreadsheet files right in the browser using Google Docs & Spreadsheets. http://www.google.com/tools/firefox/toolbar/FT3/intl/en/


New features on Google Finance
There are quite a few improvements to Google Finance: a newly designed homepage, currency information, sector performance for the U.S. market, and a listing of top market movers along with the relevant and important news of the day. See which companies are the day's Top Movers in the market by price, market cap, volume, and popularity as determined by our own Google Trends. Track U.S. stocks on more comprehensive charts, which now display up to 40 years of data. And Google Finance has richer capabilities for importing your other online portfolios, using different views, and adding transactions. You can also add and view your Google Finance portfolios on the Google Personalized Homepage. http://finance.google.com/

Domain registration with Google Apps for Your Domain
When we launched Google Apps for Your Domain in August, we made it a lot easier for companies to offer private-labeled email, instant messaging and calendar accounts to their users for free. Now we've partnered with GoDaddy.com and eNom, two leading domain registration services, to offer companies and individuals without their own website domain a way to register one for as little as $10 a year, including private registration. You find a domain name that you like, register it, and automatically configure everything so it works with Google Apps for Your Domain right away. http://www.google.com/a

Google Earth's Geographic Web layer
If you've pondered what it's like to walk in someone else's shoes, now you can. The Google Earth Geographic Web layer uses the rich data of Wikipedia, Panoramio and the Google Earth Community to bring you the writings, photos and postings of travelers who have circled the globe. Just launch Google Earth and click on the new icons -- the Wikipedia globe, the Panoramio star, or the information "i" from the Google Earth Community. http://earth.google.com/

Multi-point driving directions on Maps
With the latest addition to Google Maps, you can plan your road trip from one stop to the next, all in one sweep. When you go to Google Maps, get directions between any two places as you normally do and then just click on the "Add destination" link below to add more stops. You can add as many destinations as you'd like, and to re-order your trip, just drag and drop the destinations in the left panel. http://maps.google.com/

Saturday, July 14, 2007

The power of collaboration

Google Friends Newsletter - November 2006
Late-autumn greetings to all of our Google Friends. We hope you enjoy this month's update on our products and services.

POWER TIP

Click-to-call on Google Maps

Google Maps isn't just for searching local businesses anymore; now you can "click to call" the business listings on Google Maps directly for free, anywhere in the United States. When you search for a business within the U.S., ring it up by clicking the "call" link next to the business's phone number. You'll be asked to enter your phone number and after clicking "Connect for free," we'll call your phone and automatically connect you without sharing your phone number with the business. The numbers you call from Google Maps will be stored automatically in your phone's caller ID, so you can call them again. And, by checking the box to remember your phone number, you can make future calls from Google Maps with just two mouse clicks.
http://maps.google.com


NEW PRODUCTS & UPDATES

Happy holidays from Google Checkout
Throughout this holiday season, when you shop online through Google Checkout, you'll be able to save $10 on purchases of $30 or more (or $20 on purchases of $50 or more, depending on the merchant). And you can purchase from thousands of merchants using just one user name, password and account with Google Checkout.
http://checkout.google.com/gifts

Gmail on the go
We've released the mobile version of Gmail as a new downloadable application. Once installed on your mobile device, you're just a click or two away from the messages in your Gmail inbox. You'll find that Gmail for mobile devices offers all the features of Gmail you've come to expect and love: searching your inbox in seconds, reading long email threads easily in conversation view and the familiar Gmail look and feel. Other perks: You can view attachments like PDF files and pictures right on your mobile phone, and your Gmail account keeps itself in sync, which means if you send an email from your mobile device, you'll find it in the 'Sent Mail' folder on your PC.

http://www.google.com/mobile/gmail
Orkut talks
We've integrated Google Talk into orkut so that orkut users can stay in touch with their friends using Google Talk. By enabling Google Talk in your orkut account, you can check to see if your friends are online and using Google Talk. If they're available, chat with them or call, leave a voice message, and transfer files. There are also orkut-only features for Talk users: you can scrap your orkut pals, receive instant notifications when they scrap you, and jump quickly to different orkut profiles. Finally, orkut no longer requires an invite -- anyone can sign up for an account.
http://www.google.com/talk/whatsnew.html http://www.orkut.com

A new cover for Google Book Search
Google Book Search is now just about 2 years old, and we're celebrating with some improvements. Now you can zoom in on text and images and find the size that's best for you; view pages without waiting for each one to reload; scroll through books quickly using the scrollbar, your mouse wheel, or by simply dragging; and find related titles or scholarly references from the "More about this book" link.
http://books.google.com

Don't forget about Google Maps
We have just added Google Maps to your search history, so if you find yourself searching often for an address, a business, or directions, now you can browse, search for, and bookmark all the searches you do on Maps from Google Personalized Search. (You can already do this with your web, images, news, Froogle and video history.)
http://www.google.com/psearch

Get social with Google Calendar
If you're seeking more holiday festivities, or want to find local events in a new city, you can now search public events in Google Calendar. These are created by other Google Calendar users, and there are also movie listings, concerts and other fun happenings we've added with the help of partners. And if you don't find something of interest, you can list a public event of your own.
http://calendar.google.com

The new look of Google Desktop
The latest version of Google Desktop features a visual update to the Sidebar, the vertical bar on your desktop where you can conveniently organize your Google Gadgets. The Sidebar is now transparent, making a more seamless-looking desktop, and content-heavy gadgets sport new frames and icons. This new version of Google Desktop is also compatible with the latest software including Microsoft Vista, Office 2007 and Mozilla Firefox 2.0.

http://desktop.google.com
A buffed Google Page Creator
The latest iteration of Google Page Creator has three features to make website creation even easier. You can now edit images right from within your browser; create up to five sites with different URLs; and tell your friends to check out your site from their cell phones -- because every Google Page Creator site automatically has a mobile edition.
http://pages.google.com


MISCELLANY

+ The power of collaboration +
It seems that every article about technology innovation these days talks about the rising power of online sharing and collaboration. Before technology entered our lives in so many ways, of course, collaborating was most often done around a table. There's certainly a big -- perhaps bigger than ever -- need for face to face gatherings, of course. But perhaps the real power of today's online collaboration comes from its global dimension. Now it's entirely possible to meet and collaborate with strangers -- across continents even -- and accomplish something. We recently participated in a project with Global SchoolNet, a 20+ year-old organization founded by teachers who want students in our connected world to gain a global perspective. Using Google Docs & Spreadsheets, 80 students from 20 countries collaborated online to craft 50 ideas we all can use to do something about global warming, no matter where we live or what our circumstances. It's a small step, but we hope that having tools that enable easy online collaboration will lead to more productive, and more fun, ways to engage our neighbors across the world.
www.google.com/educators/globalwarmingideas
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Friday, July 13, 2007

Google - The Friend

NEW PRODUCTS & UPDATES
Google Docs & Spreadsheets
October marked the graduation of a product from Google Labs and a marriage of sorts: Writely, the web word processor, and Google Spreadsheets are now available under one name, Google Docs & Spreadsheets, and now share a common look and feel. You still have all the features of both, with the added benefit of being able to access files for the two in one convenient location. You can create, store, share and publish your documents and spreadsheets online, which means you can access your files from any computer with a web browser. It's easy to get to your saved files and collaborate with friends, classmates and coworkers. http://docs.google.com/

Google for Educators
Teachers tell us they use Google for the classroom, so we've pulled together a big batch of resources in one handy place for K-12 teachers. Google for Educators offers lesson ideas and resources for everything from collaborative writing with Google Docs & Spreadsheets to searching the full text of out-of-print books with Google Book Search or to drawing in 3D with Google SketchUp. Teachers can test out some of our ideas in the classroom, then submit your own. You can share your expertise with fellow educators by sending your story to educators-feedb...@google.com. We'd love to feature it at Google for Educators. http://www.google.com/educators

Google Groups 3 Beta
The newest version of Google Groups has a slicker, cleaner interface and offers lots of new features. Now it's possible to customize your groups with colors and photos, upload and share documents, and even create and collaborate on web pages right inside your group. Come see your existing group in the new interface, or create a new group. http://groups-beta.google.com/
And by the way, you can even view and share this newsletter using Google Groups 3 Beta. http://groups-beta.google.com/group/google-friends

Google Maps for your Palm Treo
A top requested feature of Google Maps for mobile is now available: Google Maps on your Palm OS Treo. This is our fastest version yet, and it includes some Treo-specific features too: quicker start-up time, maps you can drag with your stylus, transluscent bubbles and tool tips that don't obscure the map. Don't have a Treo? We support over 350 other phones too. http://www.google.com/gmm



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MISCELLANY
+ Google Student Speakout -- for teachers and students +
Through recent films like "An Inconvenient Truth," people are becoming more knowledgeable about global warming, but there's always more to learn. We think it's an important topic for all ages to study and discuss. Together with Global SchoolNet, we've organized a Global Warming Student Speakout, and welcome teachers to engage students to work together on this subject. The Speakout is a 1-2 day project that could result in your students' ideas appearing in a November edition of The Washington Post. Interested teachers must sign up for a Google Docs & Spreadsheet account by November 3 (please be sure to list "Google" as a collaborator), and then submit the collective ideas of your students no later than November 7th. Our partners at Global SchoolNet will judge all the entries, and the top 50 ideas will be posted online and in a Washington Post ad, along with the names of every participating school. http://www.google.com/educators/globalwarming.html

+ Google Gadget Awards -- for university and college students + *
Attention, university and college students! If you're procrastinating on your studies, and want to dabble in some fun web design, Google Gadgets may provide a little relief. It's easy to create a gadget for the Google Gadget Awards - and we're looking for clever and creative entries from university and college students across the U.S. No prerequesite courses are required, either -- just an email address ending in .edu. We have a distinguished panel of judges who'll be judging across all categories from the "prettiest gadget" to the "gagdet most likely to get you a date." How often do you get to be awarded by Commander Taco of Slashdot or Chris Anderson, Wired Magazine's Editor in Chief? And of course any gadgets you create are automatic resume-boosters, too. http://www.google.com/gadgetawards

POWER TIPS

1) Gadgets for your desktop and the Google homepage
Google Gadgets are the small creative applications that sit on your desktop screen, or in your Google Personalized Homepage, that add a bit of information, fun and flair to your computing. We have developed some gadgets ourselves, and lots of people have submitted their own. Gadgets can be anything from a game to a communication tool. There's a multi-definition dictionary, a world clock, a webpage counter, a sketch pad, among others. Gadgets are very easy to use, and almost as easy to create yourself. http://desktop.google.com/plugins

2) Featured Content for Earth
Zooming around Google Earth is plenty of fun, but when you actually land somewhere on the planet and can explore it, that takes fun to another level. By partnering with several content providers, we're offering new Google Earth layers that showcase pictures, audio, video, and stories such as video tours from Discovery Channel highlighting landmarks, cities, national parks, and scenic wonders. The featured content is accessible from the "Featured Content" folder in the Google Earth Layers sidebar. http://earth.google.com/showcase

======= NEW & UPDATED PRODUCTS
News Archive Search
Google News helps you get a grip on current headlines. But what about last week, last year -- last century? You'd need an archive to search the past and perhaps better understand the present. The new Google News archive search can help to pinpoint events, people and ideas -- explore history -- through archives of news and other information sources. Find contemporary information on, say, the 1969 moon landing, plus all the commentary on it in years since. The archive results include freely available articles from sources such as TIME.com and The Guardian, plus snippets of articles available for a fee or via subscription from news outlets like The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, Washingtonpost.Newsweek Interactive, and also from news aggregators like AccessMyLibrary.com, ThomsonGale, Factiva, LexisNexis and more. You can even get a sense of history by browsing an automatically created timeline. Articles related to a single story or theme within a given time period are grouped together to enable you to see a broad perspective on the events. http://news.google.com/archivesearch

Google Reader
Given the online "river of information" that flows our way each day, there must be a better way to navigate it. With the new improved Google Reader you can easily keep track of the websites that interest you. Use Google Reader to read news, subscribe to blogs, and more. Instead of having to go to each website to see what's changed, here are all the updates in one convenient place. Think of it as your inbox for the web. http://reader.google.com

Google Spreadsheets
The word "spreadsheet" may not conjure up fun, but there are new elements in Google Spreadsheets - a web-based way to organize and track bits of information - that make your task more fun (and easier too). For starters, you can share a spreadsheet with anyone who receives the URL you're sending them. You now have easy access to all your Gmail contacts. Create a PDF file that prints nicely, or fit more text into a single cell (very handy for street addresses and much else). http://www.google.com/googlespreadsheets/whatsnew.html

Google Notebook improvements
When you're researching online -- whether to plan an exotic vacation or find the right lasagna recipe -- it's never a problem finding websites, images, and other interesting bits of information. The problem is gathering it in a way that helps you find the answer you're looking for. We introduced Google Notebook in May so you can browse, clip, and organize information from across the web in a single online location that's accessible from any computer, without ever leaving your browser window. And now you can collaborate on a notebook with fellow notebookers (or share your published version with everyone out there). The new version of Google Notebook has a better interface for organizing, a trash bin for deleted items, and an "undo" action. You can also view your Notebooks on your personalized homepage on Google. http://www.google.com/googlenotebook/newfeatures.html

Google Calendar web content events
If you haven't tried Google Calendar yet, you should know it's more than just a personal organizer - it can keep you current about other kinds of time-related information, like the upcoming weather forecast. A new feature, web content events, makes it easier to distinguish between what you've scheduled for yourself and other things going on around you. These web content events are icons at the top of the current day in your Google Calendar. Just mouse over that to get a quick summary, or click it to bring up a web page with more information. You can also add web content events including holidays, weather, phases of the moon, and Google doodles. http://www.google.com/intl/en/googlecalendar/new.html

======= MISCELLANY
+ An education via video +
The proliferation of online video brings the web to life in a compelling way for millions of people used to moving images. Like you, we enjoy the clever "viral" videos that circulate endlessly, but perhaps one of the most interesting uses of online video is for education. Lots of "distance learning," as it used to be called, has featured video modules, to be sure. And it's never been easier for anyone to shoot video and upload it. We think we're just at the beginning of how video might reach people. Today we offer two series (among many) that we want to mention: first, a series of University of California-Berkeley courses that have been videotaped and uploaded to Google Video. The content topics range from physics to poetry. They're as in-depth and informative as you might hope. And a second series that continues to grow is called TED Talks. These are presentations given at an exclusive annual conference (Technology, Entertainment, Design) to an audience of 1000 people. The talks are short - 20 minutes or less - and feature well-known, or sometimes should-be-better-known, scientists, thinkers, and artists. The first batch include a talk by the architect of the new Seattle Public Library, Joshua Prince-Ramus, and another by Saturday Night Live alum Julia Sweeney. Since we can't be in all places at once - let alone get in to all the stimulating presentations in classes and conferences - online video can enrich us. http://video.google.com/ucberkeley.html http://video.google.com/ted.html