Tour de France goes 3D with Google Earth

<span class="byline-author">Posted by Peter Birch, Product Manager</span><br /><br />I don't know about you, but with the action and excitement heating up in the Tour de France, it's hard to keep track of exactly where everybody is riding. When you're trying to understand the Herculean effort that these cyclists go through in stages like L'Alpe d'Huez, or which streets in Paris the final stage will pass through, 2D maps just aren't as compelling.<br /><br />But now you can make sense of it all by flying around the route yourself. A new KML file available on the <a href="http://www.letour.fr">official Tour de France website</a> lets you see the entire course overlaid on satellite imagery for Google Earth. <br /><br />This special Google Earth tour is available in French, German, and Spanish as well as English. Pick your language on the Le Tour site, and once you've done that, look for the "Tour on Google Earth" link in the lefthand navigation under Route. Then you can see the starts, the finishes, even information on each of the cities along the way. Just move the KML file into your "My Places" folder on Google Earth, and follow along day by day. (Did you know that Huy has the unique privilege of hosting stages for the Tour de France, the Giro and the Tour of Belgium this year? We didn't either.) <br /><br />Be sure to try out the tilt feature to see the truly daunting magnitude of all of those climbs where riders are battling it out in this year's wide-open race. "Beyond Category" climbs? No thanks -- we'll stick to the flats and leave those verticals to the pros!

Tour de France goes 3D with Google Earth

Posted by Peter Birch, Product Manager I don't know about you, but with the action and excitement heating up in the Tour de France, it...

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Armchair travel with Google Pack

<span class="byline-author">Posted by Hannah Tang, Software Engineer</span><br /><br />Even though I've lived in one city my entire life, I've always loved to travel and experience all the languages and cultures around the world. So it's been exciting to be a member of the team responsible for making <a href="http://pack.google.com/?utm_source=en-et-gblog&utm_medium=et&utm_campaign=en" title="Google Pack">Google Pack</a> available internationally.<br /><br />I'm happy to tell you that starting today Google Pack is available in <a href="http://pack.google.com.au/?utm_source=en-et-gblog&utm_medium=et&utm_campaign=en">Australia</a>, <br /><a href="http://pack.google.at/?utm_source=en-et-gblog&utm_medium=et&utm_campaign=en">Austria</a>, <a href="http://pack.google.com.br/?utm_source=en-et-gblog&utm_medium=et&utm_campaign=en">Brazil</a>, <a href="http://pack.google.ca/?utm_source=en-et-gblog&utm_medium=et&utm_campaign=en">Canada</a>, <a href="http://pack.google.fr/?utm_source=en-et-gblog&utm_medium=et&utm_campaign=en">France</a>, <a href="http://pack.google.de/?utm_source=en-et-gblog&utm_medium=et&utm_campaign=en">Germany</a>, <a href="http://pack.google.com.hk/?utm_source=en-et-gblog&utm_medium=et&utm_campaign=en">Hong Kong</a>, <a href="http://pack.google.co.in/?utm_source=en-et-gblog&utm_medium=et&utm_campaign=en">India</a>, <a href="http://pack.google.it/?utm_source=en-et-gblog&utm_medium=et&utm_campaign=en">Italy</a>, <a href="http://pack.google.co.jp/?utm_source=en-et-gblog&utm_medium=et&utm_campaign=en">Japan</a>, <a href="http://pack.google.co.kr/?utm_source=en-et-gblog&utm_medium=et&utm_campaign=en">Korea</a>, <a href="http://pack.google.com.mx/?utm_source=en-et-gblog&utm_medium=et&utm_campaign=en">Mexico</a>, <a href="http://pack.google.nl/?utm_source=en-et-gblog&utm_medium=et&utm_campaign=en">Netherlands</a>, <a href="http://pack.google.es/?utm_source=en-et-gblog&utm_medium=et&utm_campaign=en">Spain</a>, <a href="http://pack.google.ch/?utm_source=en-et-gblog&utm_medium=et&utm_campaign=en">Switzerland</a>, <a href="http://pack.google.com.tw/?utm_source=en-et-gblog&utm_medium=et&utm_campaign=en">Taiwan</a>, and the <a href="http://pack.google.co.uk/?utm_source=en-et-gblog&utm_medium=et&utm_campaign=en">U.K.</a> It includes a batch of useful software like Picasa (for organizing your vacation photos), and Firefox (for safer web browsing). And it comes with Google Updater, which keeps all the Pack programs current so you don't have to. Maybe with all the time you save, you can do some travelling of your own.

Armchair travel with Google Pack

Posted by Hannah Tang, Software Engineer Even though I've lived in one city my entire life, I've always loved to travel and experien...

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We get letters (4)

<span class="byline-author">Posted by Karen Wickre, Google Blog team</span><br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">Our inbox is filled with stories from people who tell us how they use Google, and occasionally we feature these stories here. If you have a noteworthy tale, <a href="http://www.google.com/intl/en/contact/success.html">write to us</a>. </span><br /><br />In the world of marketing, there's always keen interest in knowing what the "target customer" does with the company's products. What are these people really like? How do they use our products?<br /><br />Well, now we know about one in detail. Meet Alex, age 12. She just completed 6th grade in the Seattle area. And she wrote <a href="http://chiles1993.googlepages.com/googlepaper">this essay</a> for her class. If we made Alex up, you wouldn't believe us, so take a moment to read her report yourself.<br /><br />Her dad Bill wrote to say that Alex "just totally loves doing research on the web and playing with making web sites. She did a cyber camp a couple of years ago, but most of what she knows comes from her mom" (who at the time led development of an online commerce business).<br /><br />What's more, Bill goes on to say, Alex "has just discovered geocaching" and he adds "I started teaching her python as a first programming language this winter, but she got bored until I could figure out how to do some visual stuff that was more engaging than console read/writes :-)." He also notes that she "just discovered usability studies, and has been seen "flipping through one of her mom's several books on web design, engaging the reader, and ecommerce. Her dream job when she grows up is to be a technical program manager or web designer."<br /><br />To us, the ideal Google user sounds a bit like Alex - resourceful, keen to try new things, and clearly, someone who appreciates ease of use. So we're really pleased that a number of our services meet her needs.<br /><br />By the way - she got 106/100 for her essay (extra points for writing technique). Nice work, Alex! And a happy holiday weekend to our American readers. We'll see you next week.

We get letters (4)

Posted by Karen Wickre, Google Blog team Our inbox is filled with stories from people who tell us how they use Google, and occasionally we f...

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What have we done for you lately?

<span class="byline-author">Posted by Jon Steinback, Product Marketing Manager</span><br /><br />As you might imagine, we on the Google Video team use it for pretty much <a href="http://googleblog.blogspot.com/2006/03/robots-and-writers-and-googlers-oh-my.html">everything</a>. It shouldn't be such a surprise, then, to know that the feature requests we get internally mirror those that you send to us. Namely, just like you, Googlers want to pay less and interact more. So this past week, we've been very busy rolling out changes to make this a reality.<br /><br />First, more things are now free. We're doing a <a href="http://video.google.com/freetoday.html">sponsored video test</a> so you can watch premium videos without paying. (Perhaps we were inspired by the conversation Bill and Melinda Gates and Warren Buffett had about philanthropy with <a href="http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=515260011274566220">Charlie Rose</a>). <br /><br />Next, have you been itching to tell us (and the rest of the world) what you think of our videos? Now you can rate, label, and comment on them. We know you're dying to say something about this David Hasselhoff <a href="http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-3382491587979249836">clip</a> or the <a href="http://video.google.com/videosearch?q=coke+mentos">latest one</a> about Diet Coke + Mentos.<br /><br />Last, we made it easier for you to blog some of these entertaining pieces under the new "Share this video" link on the playback page. A few clicks and your current favorite is directly embedded into the most popular blogging platforms like Blogger, TypePad, MySpace and LiveJournal. <br /><br />Stay tuned for another batch of features - and meanwhile, enjoy these.

What have we done for you lately?

Posted by Jon Steinback, Product Marketing Manager As you might imagine, we on the Google Video team use it for pretty much everything . It ...

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Find it with Google. Buy it with Google Checkout.

<span class="byline-author">Posted by Benjamin Ling, Product Lead, and Louis Perrochon, Engineering Director</span><br /><br />We've heard time and again from users: "I find great stores through Google search, but every time I try to buy from an online store, I have to re-enter the same billing, shipping, and credit card information. There are too many steps. Why can't it be as fast as a Google search?" This motivated us to improve the online purchase process, and so today we're announcing <a href="http://checkout.google.com">Google Checkout</a>, a checkout option that makes buying across the web fast and easy.<br /><br />One cool feature of Google Checkout is that you can buy from stores with a single Google login – no more entering the same info each time you buy, and no more having to remember different usernames and passwords for each store. To help you find places to shop, you'll see a little icon on the Google.com ads of stores offering Google Checkout. <img alt="" border="0" src="http://googleblog.blogspot.com/uploaded_images/checkout_cart_fast-727959.gif" /> It's an easy way to identify fast, secure places to shop when you search. And after you've placed your order, Google Checkout provides a purchase history where you can track your orders and shipping information in one place.<br /><br />Because we see big benefits for shoppers as the service grows, our immediate priority is to help more online stores join Jockey, Starbucks Store, Levi's, Dockers, Buy.com, Timberland, Zales, and others to offer Checkout on their sites. To keep website integration simple, we've built a range of integration alternatives such as cut and paste buy buttons, pre-integrated ecommerce partner offerings, and an API that supports more advanced integration.<br /><br />Beyond flexible integration options, Google Checkout also works with Google's search advertising program, <a href="http://www.google.com/adwords">AdWords</a>, so online stores can more easily attract new customers, increase sales and process them for free. We're especially excited about combining Google Checkout with AdWords because it gives our advertisers a more complete solution for attracting customers through Google and processing the sales that result. Just so you know, you don't have to be an AdWords advertiser to use Checkout on your website, so don't let that hold you back.<br /><br />We hope this new service makes online shopping sprees faster, easier and much more fun. For our advertisers and online store partners, we hope this service also helps you serve your customers and grow your business. Learn more by watching these videos for <a href="http://checkout.google.com/buyer/tour.html#video">shoppers</a> (which you can also watch below) and <a href="http://checkout.google.com/seller/demo.html">merchants</a> - and remember to visit <span style="FONT-WEIGHT: bold">http://checkout.google.com</span>.<br /><br /><embed id="VideoPlayback" style="WIDTH: 400px; HEIGHT: 326px" align="middle" src="http://video.google.com/googleplayer.swf?docId=" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" flashvars="playerMode=embedded" salign="TL" scale="noScale" bgcolor="#ffffff" quality="best" allowscriptaccess="sameDomain"></embed>

Find it with Google. Buy it with Google Checkout.

Posted by Benjamin Ling, Product Lead, and Louis Perrochon, Engineering Director We've heard time and again from users: "I find gre...

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Update on wi-fi in San Francisco

<span class="byline-author">Posted by Minnie Ingersoll, Product Manager</span><br /><br />In April the City and County of San Francisco <a href="http://www.sfgov.org/site/tech_connect_page.asp?id=38562">chose the bid from EarthLink and Google</a> to offer citywide Wi-Fi access, and we're thrilled about that. A key part of this project has been keeping citizens apprised of our progress and answering questions along the way. Towards this end, we recently sent a <a href="http://www.sfgov.org/site/uploadedfiles/dtis/tech_connect/SFGooglePrivacyResponseJune06.pdf">letter</a> to the City of San Francisco that addresses our commitment to user privacy. We look forward to continuing our work with <a href="http://www.earthlink.net/about/muni/">EarthLink</a> and the City to build a citywide wireless network.

Update on wi-fi in San Francisco

Posted by Minnie Ingersoll, Product Manager In April the City and County of San Francisco chose the bid from EarthLink and Google to offer ...

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Germany and the Google Books Library Project

<span class="byline-author">Posted by David Drummond, SVP and General Counsel</span><br /><br />We're delighted that WBG, a German publisher, today decided to drop its petition for a preliminary injunction against the Google Books Library Project. WBG (whose legal action was supported by the German Publishers Association as an industry model) made the decision after being told by the Copyright Chamber of the Regional Court of Hamburg that its petition was unlikely to succeed.<br /><br />It's our belief that the display of <a href="http://books.google.com/books?id=QROootewSr0C&vid=OCLC%3A01406798&q=story&pgis=1">short snippets</a> from in-copyright books does not infringe German copyright law. Today the Court indicated that it agreed, drawing a comparison with the snippets used in Google web search. And the Court also rejected the WBG's argument that the scanning of its books in the U.S. infringed German copyright law.<br /><br />We've always recognized the importance of copyright, because we believe that authors and publishers deserve to be rewarded for their creative endeavors. And we specifically designed <a href="http://books.google.com">Google Book Search</a> to respect copyright law - never showing more than two or three snippets around a search term without the publisher's prior permission, which they can give through our <a href="http://books.google.com/intl/en/googlebooks/publisher.html">Partner Program</a>. This is separate from the <a href="http://books.google.com/googlebooks/library.html">Library Project</a>, the subject of this petition. By helping people to find and buy books, Book Search enables publishers to reach a much larger, and more global, audience.<br /><br />Google is passionate about the digitization of books, which we believe benefits everyone by making the world's knowledge more accessible. And we're also passionate about being responsible partners who can work closely with our thousands of partners around the world – publishers, authors and libraries – to help make this dream a reality.<br /><br /><span style="FONT-WEIGHT: bold"><span style="FONT-STYLE: italic">Update:</span><span style="FONT-STYLE: italic"></span></span> changed title.

Germany and the Google Books Library Project

Posted by David Drummond, SVP and General Counsel We're delighted that WBG, a German publisher, today decided to drop its petition for a...

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