In the material world

<span class="byline-author">Posted by Andy Ku, International Product Marketing Manager</span><br /><br />Next time you’re at the airport, scan the waiting area and see what people are doing. You’ll be shocked by the number who are doing absolutely nothing -- other than staring glassy-eyed at other people who are doing absolutely nothing. Naturally, these people had rushed in a mad frenzy an hour prior in order to get to the airport on time, only to sit and stare.<br /><br />This observation is what spawned <a href="http://www.google.co.uk/googlespace/">Google Space</a>. We thought it would be useful to set up an area to give travellers unfettered Internet access so they might make use of that otherwise wasted time. Plus Googlers would get to talk to Google users, and hear what they like and don’t like about our products. Kind of like <a href="http://labs.google.com/">Google Labs</a>, but with face to face feedback. Google Labs goes material.<br /><br />We've been testing this concept for nearly a month at <a href="http://www.heathrowairport.com/">Heathrow Airport</a> in London.<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://googleblog.blogspot.com/uploaded_images/Google_Space-705825.JPG"><img alt="" border="0" src="http://googleblog.blogspot.com/uploaded_images/Google_Space-796993.JPG" style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer;" /></a>The response has thus far been enlightening and unexpected. Enlightening in that we’ve been learning tons about how to make our products more useful. Unexpected in the ways that people are using Google. One sales guy, David MacDonald, emailed this to the entire UK office:<br /><br /><blockquote>“Yesterday whilst on the Google Space stand at Heathrow T1 I was approached by somebody who asked me if I worked for Google, as soon as I confirmed he smiled. He went on to explain that he had been in Pakistan as part of an International Disaster Response Team to help in the aftermath of the recent earthquake. They had been desperate to use what resources / maps they could find and that Google had been invaluable in helping. It turned out they had used Google Earth to trace the geography of the landscape, locate villages and roads.<br /><br />He was so happy to see me and to show his appreciation, I really felt humbled and proud.”</blockquote>This may be the best part of doing experimental projects. You think you’re onto a good idea, but then something unexpected like this makes it even better.<br /><br />If people find Google Space useful, we might do this in other areas, or perhaps in other airports. Who knows? <a href="http://www.google.co.uk/googlespace/">Let us know</a> where you waste time – and you might see us there.

In the material world

Posted by Andy Ku, International Product Marketing Manager Next time you’re at the airport, scan the waiting area and see what people are do...

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Searching for music

<span class="byline-author">Posted by David Alpert, Search Quality Product Manager</span><br /><br />It may come as no surprise, but I like to search for things on Google. Yep, when I'm looking for something, I always try it on Google first. And sometimes, that thing I'm looking for is music. Many of our users feel the same way, and we get a lot of search traffic on music terms like popular artists and albums.<br /><br />A few of us decided to try to make the information you get for these searches even better, so we created a music search feature. Now you can search for a popular artist name, like <a href="http://www.google.com/search?q=the+beatles">the Beatles</a> or the <a href="http://www.google.com/search?q=pixies">Pixies</a>, and often Google will show some information about that artist, like cover art, reviews, and links to stores where you can download the track or buy a CD via a link at the top of your web search results page.<br /><br />We do this sort of thing a lot -- adding a bit of special information to results for important searches. For example, we have <a href="http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&lr=&q=king+kong++movie&btnG=Search">movie showtimes</a> and <a href="http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&lr=&q=goog&btnG=Search">stock quotes</a>. The more information we can make easily accessible with a simple search, the better.<br /><br />Right now the music search feature mostly works for artists popular in the U.S. and a more limited number of artists from other countries, but we plan to expand it to classical music, worldwide artists, and lesser-known performers. Our list of music stores will also grow over time. If you’re a music store (selling downloads, music by subscription, or physical CDs) and would like to be listed, <a href="http://www.google.com/support/bin/request.py">please get in touch</a>.<br /><br />You might be thinking,"why can't I just type in an album name or a song name and get the same music search results?” There are many album names and songs which are also plain English words. Sometimes users are looking for music information related to those words, and sometimes they aren’t. As we get better at knowing when our users want music information, we hope to expand this feature to include more queries. So keep searching, and we hope you'll be pleasantly surprised with the results. We always welcome <a href="http://www.google.com/support/bin/request.py">your feedback</a>.

Searching for music

Posted by David Alpert, Search Quality Product Manager It may come as no surprise, but I like to search for things on Google. Yep, when I...

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New Firefox extensions

<span class="byline-author">Posted by Glen Murphy, Software Engineer, Firefox Team</span><br /><br />It wasn't that long ago that I was eating Vegemite on toast back in my homeland of Australia, idly wondering what my future employer Google might have in store for me. Now, five weeks after arriving in the country and being exposed to the Firefox codebase for the first time, and thanks to the array of geniuses sitting around me, it gives me great pleasure to announce the launch of my first project, <a href="http://www.google.com/tools/firefox/webcomments/">Blogger Web Comments</a> to Google Labs.<br /><br />Originally conceived by my friend and mentor, <a href="http://youngpup.net/">Aaron Boodman</a>, this Firefox extension shows you what bloggers around the world are saying about the websites you are viewing. If that doesn't satisfy, you can easily start or join one of these conversations using your <a href="http://www.blogger.com">Blogger </a>blog. We've had plenty of fun reading what people have had to say about our own sites and the sites we visit every day, but best of all is when we discover new groups of people interested in the same niche sites we have been visiting for years.<br /><br />Today we're also introducing a test release of <a href="http://www.google.com/tools/firefox/safebrowsing/">Google Safe Browsing for Firefox</a>, which should help protect you from phishing sites.<br /><br />Check them both out on <a href="http://labs.google.com/">Google Labs</a>.

New Firefox extensions

Posted by Glen Murphy, Software Engineer, Firefox Team It wasn't that long ago that I was eating Vegemite on toast back in my homeland o...

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Google Holiday Helper

<span class="byline-author">Posted by Hunter Walk, Google Product Manager</span><br /><br />First add 1/2 cup water and <a href="http://www.bettycrocker.com/products/prod_hamburgerhelper.asp">seasoning packet</a> to 1 lb. ground beef... uh, wait -- this is the HOLIDAY Helper. Ooops. Okay, let's start over.<br /><br />Holiday season can be a trying time -- shopping stress, end of year deadlines and <a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0085334/">A Christmas Story</a> broadcast a thousand times on TV. We've got some quick tips to help you make sense of the madness.<br /><br />1) Organize Your Wish List<br />Making a list and checking it twice is so much easier with <a href="http://froogle.google.com/shoppinglist">Froogle's Shopping List</a>, which lets you search for the items you want to buy, and then with just a click, save them for later. You can keep your list private or share it with friends who might just take the hint and buy you something you want this year instead of the <a href="http://www.forcounsel.com/productDetails_c.asp?productid=1549">"World's Ugliest Tie"</a>.<br /><br />2) Track Packages<br />Will your package arrive in time? Entering a UPS, USPS or Federal Express <a href="http://www.google.com/intl/en/help/features.html#number">tracking number</a> into a Google search box will give you an update on your shipment before you can say "overnight shipping."<br /><br />3) Find Toll-Free Numbers<br />OK, here's a secret "the man" doesn't want you to know. Some companies have a toll-free number that's buried deep on their website -- but it would take like a thousand clicks to find it, and these days, who has the time? One way to get to it more quickly is to search Google for the company name and the phrase "customer support." Like this: <a href="http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&lr=&rls=GGGL%2CGGGL%3A2005-09%2CGGGL%3Aen&q=tivo+customer+support&btnG=Search ">TiVo Customer Support</a>.<br /><br />An even trickier way to get at hard-to-reach customer support phone numbers is to search for the company name and the standard toll-free prefixes. That'll dig up some real gems. For example, "[company name] 800 OR 877 OR 888 OR 866". Give it a whirl -- and here's to less holiday stress.

Google Holiday Helper

Posted by Hunter Walk, Google Product Manager First add 1/2 cup water and seasoning packet to 1 lb. ground beef... uh, wait -- this is the ...

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Build your own Google homepage

<span class="byline-author">Posted by Adam Sah, Software Engineer</span><br /><br />The <a href="http://www.google.com/ig">personalized homepage</a> was created to bring together the stuff that interests you from across the web. From an engineering perspective, this became an opportunity to create a framework for all types of content and information. Supporting RSS and Atom feeds was one step in that direction, and today we're excited to start supporting richer web apps as well. With the <a href="http://www.google.com/apis/homepage">Google Homepage API</a>, developers can now create modules for the personalized homepage. It's designed to be flexible and easy to use, and you don't need to download anything to create a module. To get the ball rolling, the team's created a few modules to add to <a href="http://www.google.com/ig/directory">the directory</a>. So check these out and get started <a href="http://www.google.com/apis/homepage">creating your own</a>.

Build your own Google homepage

Posted by Adam Sah, Software Engineer The personalized homepage was created to bring together the stuff that interests you from across the ...

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Same-Language Subtitling

<span style="font-style: italic;">The <a href="http://www.google.org/">Google Foundation</a> supports selected organizations whose work addresses the challenge of global poverty in ways that are effective, sustainable, and scalable. From time to time we will invite guest bloggers from grantee organizations to tell their story.<br /><br />Recently, the Google Foundation awarded PlanetRead a grant to increase the number of SLS programs available, and Google is also supporting PlanetRead with free advertising through the <a href="http://www.google.com/grants/">Google Grants</a> program and content hosting on Google Video.<br /><br />When a billion people are illiterate (two-thirds of them women), and nearly half of the world lives on less than $2 a day, we believe it is important to examine the link between literacy and poverty. We are excited by the prospect of helping not hundreds, but millions, of people gain access to regular reading practice and improve literacy where it is needed most by supporting organizations like PlanetRead. - Google.org team</span><br /><br /><span class="byline-author">Posted by Dr. Brij Kothari, President, PlanetRead</span><br /><br />My organization, <a href="http://www.planetread.org/">PlanetRead</a>, works in Mumbai and Pondicherry, India. We have developed a “Same-Language Subtitling” (SLS) methodology, which provides automatic reading practice to individuals who are excluded from the traditional educational system, or whose literacy needs are otherwise not being met. This is an educational program rooted in mass media that demonstrates how a specific literacy intervention can yield outstanding, measurable results, while complementing other formal and non-formal learning initiatives of the government, private sector, and civil society. We are fortunate to have just been selected as a Google Foundation grantee.<br /><br />More than 500 million people in India have access to TV and 40 percent of these viewers have low literacy skills and are poor. Through PlanetRead’s approach, over 200 million early-literates in India are getting weekly reading practice from Same Language Subtitling (SLS) using TV. The cost of SLS? Every U.S. dollar covers regular reading for 10,000 people – for a year.<br /><br />I hit upon this idea in 1996 through a most ordinary personal experience. While taking a break from dissertation writing at Cornell University, I was watching a Spanish film with friends to improve my Spanish. The Spanish movie had English subtitles, and I remember commenting that I wished it came with Spanish subtitles, if only to help us grasp the Spanish dialogue better. I then thought, ‘And if they just put Hindi subtitles on Bollywood songs in Hindi, India would become literate.’ That idea became an obsession. It was so simple, intuitively obvious, and scalable in its potential to help hundreds of millions of people read -- not just in India, but globally. So you can see how it works, we’ve uploaded some <a href="http://video.google.com/videosearch?q=telugu+folk+song">folk songs using SLS </a>into Google Video. And we've uploaded <a href="http://video.google.com/videosearch?q=PlanetRead">other examples</a> there as well. <br /><br />The Indian Institute of Management in Ahmedabad and its Center for Educational Innovation helped me pursue research on SLS. In the beginning we showed Bollywood songs with and without SLS to people in villages, slums and railway stations and video-recorded their reactions. We then piloted SLS in schools and on TV in Gujarat state while measuring reading improvement. This early work convinced us that we not only had an idea that would provide automatic reading practice, it was hugely popular (later, the ratings demonstrated this). After five challenging years of developing and strengthening the program, SLS went on national TV throughout India. On the <a href="http://www.planetread.org/">PlanetRead website</a>, there are some video clips of SLS featured in a Bollywood film. Click on the “Video” link on the upper right to see the reaction of Indian villagers to the SLS experience.<br /><br />There’s more on the effectiveness of this approach in <a href="http://mitpress.mit.edu/journals/pdf/ITID-2-1_23_0.pdf">an article</a> in the MIT journal <span style="font-style: italic;">Information Technologies and International Development</span> (it's a PDF file).<br /><br />The idea of SLS tends to divide people into two camps – those who think it’s too simple to achieve anything, and those who understand that its simplicity and ability to integrate into popular culture can fundamentally alter the approach to the massive problem of low literacy. Now, a decade later, it is clear that the challenge of implementing SLS is changing minds used to resource-hungry approaches to literacy.<br /><br />Fortunately, in India, several senior policy-makers in broadcasting and education are championing SLS. We feel it could be a breakthrough in how we approach literacy: SLS is inclusive, accessible, and builds upon popular songs and Bollywood films to create an enjoyable and effective learning experience. With support from Google, we have the opportunity to reshape the literacy landscape in India, home to a third of the world’s non-literates and early-literates. If this experiment succeeds in India, SLS could even go global!

Same-Language Subtitling

The Google Foundation supports selected organizations whose work addresses the challenge of global poverty in ways that are effective, sust...

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A cure for the common inbox

<span class="byline-author">Posted by Jared Jacobs, Gmail Engineer</span><br /><br />Ever get the feeling that your email experience is a little too predictable? I certainly have. Over the past few months, I've been working on Gmail Clips, a new feature that can help mix things up a bit. Starting this week, you can see headlines from your favorite blogs and news sites right above your Inbox. Gmail tips and relevant text ads appear from time to time as well.<br /><br />I had a lot of fun working on this feature, and biased as I may be, I have to say I really love Clips. No new mail? Great, then I have time to read <a href="http://ask.yahoo.com/20051007.html">why pasta is made in different shapes</a>. And even if I do have mail I should be getting to, maybe I'm in the mood to digress for a moment and investigate <a href="http://www.roadcycling.com/news/article1094.shtml">The Divine Secrets of the Cycle Commuter</a>.<br /><br />Clips are full of headlines like these. They can come from any website that publishes an RSS or Atom feed. We've included some popular feeds for you to choose from, but it's easy to tailor Clips to your interests (for example, I get <a href="http://www.coolrunning.com/cgi-bin/moxiebin/bm_affiliate.cgi?s=1" target="_blank">running tips</a>). You can browse popular feeds, search for feeds using keywords, or add a specific feed—like, say, your friend's blog, or maybe the Google Blog — by pasting its URL in your Clips settings.<br /><br />Now if you're one of those task-oriented types with no time for diversions, you can always turn Clips off. But then you'd miss <a href="http://www.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,2-1858246,00.html">cow-tipping exposed as a near-impossibility.</a>

A cure for the common inbox

Posted by Jared Jacobs, Gmail Engineer Ever get the feeling that your email experience is a little too predictable? I certainly have. Over t...

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