Gmail hearts you

<span class="byline-author">Posted by Braden Kowitz, User Interface Designer</span><br /><br />When I started at Google a few months ago, I moved to California and was really excited to explore the area. But at the same time, my girlfriend moved 1,000 miles away -- to Aspen, Colorado. (I'm sure she's a professional snow-bunny by now.) We both use <a href="http://mail.google.com">Gmail</a> all the time and are total chat junkies. So when I got the chance to work on <a href="https://mail.google.com/support/bin/answer.py?answer=34056">emoticons</a> for Gmail Chat, I knew just what to do: <3 Hearts! <br /><br />So this Valentine's day, be sure to send your loved ones some low-fi <3 hearts. Of course they're free, and if you're using Gmail Chat, they're even pink.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://googleblog.blogspot.com/uploaded_images/Gmail_heart_new-759681.gif"><img alt="" border="0" src="http://googleblog.blogspot.com/uploaded_images/Gmail_heart_new-755806.gif" style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" /></a>

Gmail hearts you

Posted by Braden Kowitz, User Interface Designer When I started at Google a few months ago, I moved to California and was really excited to ...

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Best practices

<span class="byline-author">Posted by Dave Girouard, General Manager, Enterprise</span><br /><br />We all get better with practice. And while our <a href="http://www.google.com/enterprise/">enterprise search business</a> more than doubled last year, we're always looking for ways to improve. So we're happy to <a href="http://googleenterprise.blogspot.com/2006/02/practice-makes-perfect.html">welcome BearingPoint</a>, one of the largest IT and management consulting firms on the planet, as a partner. They're putting Google search into practice -- a new <a href="http://www.bearingpoint.com/googlesearch">Search Solutions Practice</a> group, that is. With more than 100 people already trained on Google technology, we're confident BearingPoint will demonstrate that practice makes perfect sense for business.

Best practices

Posted by Dave Girouard, General Manager, Enterprise We all get better with practice. And while our enterprise search business more than do...

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Big mail on campus

<span class="byline-author">Posted by Stephanie Hannon, Gmail Product Manager</span><br /><br /><a href="http://www.sjcc.edu/">San José City College</a> (SJCC) has embarked on a technology improvement program, and for the first time will be offering student email accounts. That's where we come in. We're testing a new service with the school by hosting <a href="http://mail.google.com">Gmail</a> accounts with SJCC domain addresses (like student@jaguars.sjcc.edu), plus admin tools for efficient account management. Massive storage and features that tame the most unruly inboxes, like powerful mail search, conversation view for messages, and a fast interface, make Gmail very handy for students. Together, we're pleased to provide this channel for better communications and a stronger community for all 10,000 SJCC students.<br /><br />If your school, business or organization is interested in following SJCC's lead, <a href="http://www.google.com/hosted/Home">let us know</a>.

Big mail on campus

Posted by Stephanie Hannon, Gmail Product Manager San José City College (SJCC) has embarked on a technology improvement program, and for th...

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Virtually Torino

<span class="byline-author">Posted by Bill Kilday, Google Earth team</span><br /><br />Since most of us will be watching the upcoming Winter Games on TV, we thought we'd give you a taste of what it would feel like to be in Torino, Italy, so we've updated <a href="http://earth.google.com/">Google Earth</a><google earth=""> and <a href="http://local.google.com/local?q=torino&t=k">Google Local</a> <google local="">with high resolution imagery of the surrounding area. Once you have Google Earth installed, you can click on the following <kmz file=""><a href="http://services.google.com/earth/kmz/OlympicVenues.kmz">KMZ file</a>, which will load placemarks for all the major venues in the Torino area.<br /><br />To really appreciate the scenery, make sure you enable the Terrain layer and take advantage of the tilt view control in Google Earth:<br /><br /></kmz></google></google><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://googleblog.blogspot.com/uploaded_images/terrain-735342.png"><img alt="" border="0" src="http://googleblog.blogspot.com/uploaded_images/terrain-732999.png" style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer;" /></a><br /><google earth=""><google local=""><kmz file=""><br /><br /><br /></kmz></google></google><br /><google earth=""><google local=""><kmz file=""><br /><br /><br />For example, here's the mountain behind Sestriere where some of the alpine skiing events will occur:<br /><br /></kmz></google></google><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://googleblog.blogspot.com/uploaded_images/alpine-787988.jpg"><img alt="" border="0" src="http://googleblog.blogspot.com/uploaded_images/alpine-786459.jpg" style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer;" /></a><br /><google earth=""><google local=""><kmz file=""><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br />We've also generated street maps for Torino, which are available in the <a href="http://www.google.com/apis/maps/">Google Maps API</a><google maps="" api=""> for those of you interested in creating <a href="http://googlemapsmania.blogspot.com/2006/02/winter-olympics-google-maps-mashups.html">mashups</a><mashups> for the Winter Games.<br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">Update</span>: Reposted with correct date/time.<br /></mashups></google></kmz></google></google>

Virtually Torino

Posted by Bill Kilday, Google Earth team Since most of us will be watching the upcoming Winter Games on TV, we thought we'd give you a t...

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New on your Desktop

<span class="byline-author">Posted by Posted by Kan Liu, Product Manager, Google Desktop</span><br /><br />In v.1 of <a href="http://desktop.google.com">Google Desktop</a>, we focused on helping you quickly find existing information on your own computer. In v. 2, it became easier to organize and find new personalized information from all over the web via the Sidebar. Now there's v.3, in which you can also search across multiple computers to find your information. You don't have to worry about where it lives; it's available anywhere you are. If you've ever created a document but forgot whether it's on your laptop or desktop, then you can appreciate why we built this feature.<br /><br />And if you find something interesting in the Sidebar (an interesting newsbit, weekend weather, a hot stock), now you can right-click on the item and send it directly to your friend's Sidebar. Or hey, just play <a href="http://desktop.google.com/plugins/i/tictactoe.html">Tic-Tac-Toe</a> with your pal (another Sidebar newbie). And speaking of pals, we're keen to see what other collaborative panels the developers among us can come up with (I'd love to see a chess game!). Anyone who can write a web page can write a panel, so head to the <a href="http://desktop.google.com/developer.html">developer site</a> to try your hand.<br /><br />The only catch with having desktop tools is that they take up valuable screen real estate. Now you can undock Sidebar panels and keep them floating wherever. Bring panels forward by hitting "Shift" twice, clicking the "Panels" button, or keep them always visible by selecting "Stay on top."<br /><br />We hope you enjoy all the new features and find them truly useful. Please contribute your ideas via the <a href="http://groups.google.com/group/Google-Desktop">Google Group for Desktop</a>.

New on your Desktop

Posted by Posted by Kan Liu, Product Manager, Google Desktop In v.1 of Google Desktop , we focused on helping you quickly find existing info...

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Defending the future of books

<span class="byline-author">Posted by Laura DeBonis, Library Partnerships Director, Google Book Search team</span><br /><br />On Monday, University of Michigan President Mary Sue Coleman gave a <a href="http://www.umich.edu/pres/speeches/060206google.html">moving speech</a> to the AAP (American Association of Publishers) about the reasons why the university is participating in the <a href="http://books.google.com/">Google Book Search</a> <a href="http://books.google.com/googlebooks/library.html">Library Project</a>. She explained how copyright law supports fair use, and eloquently observed that the loss of books, whether due to natural disasters or inevitable physical decay, is a significant cultural loss. <br /><br />"Nature, politics and war have always been the mortal enemies of written works," she said. "Most recently, Hurricane Katrina dealt a blow to the libraries of the Gulf Coast. At Tulane University, the main library sat in nine feet of water -- water that soaked the valuable Government Documents collection: more than 750,000 items -- one of the largest collections of government materials in Louisiana -- 90 percent of it now lost."<br /><br />President Coleman went on to note that together with Google "the University of Michigan is involved in one of the most extensive preservation projects in world history. ... By digitizing today's books, through our own efforts and in partnership with others, we are protecting the written word for all time."<br /><br />In the recent debate over making books discoverable online, the value of preserving our culture, knowledge and history has often been ignored. We're honored to partner with institutions like the University of Michigan that staunchly defend this shared heritage. <br /><br />You can watch <a href="http://video.google.com/videosearch?q=Google+book+search+university+michigan&so=0">her speech on Google Video</a>. <br /><br /><span style="font-style:italic;">Update:</span> Reposted with working links and Google Video link.

Defending the future of books

Posted by Laura DeBonis, Library Partnerships Director, Google Book Search team On Monday, University of Michigan President Mary Sue Coleman...

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Chat + Email = Crazy Delicious

<span class="byline-author">Posted by Jon Perlow, Software Engineer, Gmail and Google Talk</span><br /><br />When we launched <a href="http://www.google.com/talk">Google Talk</a>, some people told us what a great idea it'd be to add chat to <a href="http://mail.google.com">Gmail</a>. True that. So a couple of us Google Talk engineers approached the Gmail team. They were excited about the idea, and we got to work immediately -- spending a lot of not-so-lazy Sundays huddled in a conference room.<br /><br />At the start, I thought a lot about all the things that bother me about chats. My own chats contained a lot of important information that was always getting lost. I found myself cutting, pasting and emailing important chats to myself so I could find them later. Another thing that bothered me is that whenever I wanted to get in touch with someone, I had to pick a specific application. For email, I'd have to sign into Gmail. For IM, I had to choose between the two or three programs I used regularly.<br /><br />It seems these things didn't bother only me, but a lot of other people too. Which is why, within a few weeks, when you log into Gmail you'll find a list of your most important contacts on the left-hand side of the window, and you can <a href="http://mail.google.com/mail/help/chat.html">chat right away</a> with those who are online. You can also save, search for, and view your chat histories just like your Gmail messages.<br /><br />In line with our belief that communication networks should be open, my fellow geeks will be happy to know that Gmail is now just another XMPP client that connects to the <a href="http://www.google.com/talk/developer.html#service">Google Talk network</a>. So Gmail users will be able to chat with any of the millions of users on the Google Talk and Jabber networks.<br /><br />Now that it's launching, we're going to quit working Sundays. Maybe even throw back a few Mr. Pibbs and celebrate with Red Vines.

Chat + Email = Crazy Delicious

Posted by Jon Perlow, Software Engineer, Gmail and Google Talk When we launched Google Talk , some people told us what a great idea it'd...

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