The rebirth of cool

<span class="byline-author">Posted by Silas Reyes, Webmaster, Mobile team</span><br /><br />Have you ever been involved in a project that you've seen evolve from an idea to a work in progress to a full-fledged product? I just had that experience with <a href="http://www.google.com/mobile/">mobile.google.com</a>. If you visited that URL yesterday, you would have seen some pretty basic information presented in a fairly simple format. Today you'll find a streamlined layout and some new ways to learn about Google's mobile offerings. Want to take a live test run of the traffic feature on <a href="http://www.google.com/mobile/gmm/index.html">Google Maps for mobile</a>? Or maybe figure out how to stay on top of your <a href="http://www.google.com/mobile/gmail/index.html">Gmail using your phone</a>? We've included video tutorials or emulators for every service or application, and we've designed the pages in such a way as to make it easy to learn more about the mobile offerings you're interested in. You can even have Google send a link to your mobile device via a text message that will help you start using Google mobile services with just a few clicks. You just enter your mobile number on the desktop version of <span style="font-weight: bold;">mobile.google.com</span> and we'll text you the link.<br /><br />My favorite part of the site is probably the <a href="http://www.google.com/mobile/sms/index.html">Google SMS demo</a>. I think this SMS search is one of the coolest out there, and I'm always urging my friends and family to give it a try. The demo shows you firsthand just how useful and easy to use SMS is, with more than a dozen sample queries to try out and a search box for typing in your own. In fact I'm playing around with it now -- did you know that you can use Google SMS to get the address of an Ethiopian restaurant in Chicago, the exchange rate for dollars to baht, a weather forecast for Wamego, Kansas, or the score of the latest MLB playoff game?<br /><br />Anyway, if you haven't already, head over to this new improved site and give it a whirl. And as always, don't be shy about <a href="http://www.google.com/support/mobile/bin/request.py">sending us feedback</a> -- we're always looking for ways we can make it even better.

The rebirth of cool

Posted by Silas Reyes, Webmaster, Mobile team Have you ever been involved in a project that you've seen evolve from an idea to a work in...

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Heading to the X Prize Cup

<span class="byline-author">Posted by Brian McClendon, Engineering Director, Google Earth</span><br /><br />Heading to the desert to watch rockets launch and jets fly is fun all by itself. Doing it as part of an outdoor space exposition, with multimillion dollar prizes to help accelerate space development, is even better!<br /><br />I'll be going to the <a href="http://www.xprizecup.com/">Wirefly X PRIZE Cup</a> in Las Cruces, New Mexico this weekend and it promises to be a blast! It turns out the XPRIZE Cup organizers are using Google Earth to share all kinds of information about space. Models of spacecraft and space stations, locations of launch sites, space centers all over the world, and even the <a href="http://bbs.keyhole.com/ubb/showthreaded.php/Cat/0/Number/236293/an/page/page/0/vc/1">locations of the moon trees</a> (from seeds taken to the moon during Apollo).<br /><br />Not only that, but we have helped create a <a href="http://www.xprizecup.com/xpcin3d.php">3-D model</a> of the X PRIZE Cup event in Google Earth, or you can watch <a href="http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-3601259033251221893">this video</a>.<br /><br />If you're coming to Las Cruces, come to the Google booth, where we will demonstrate the Google Earth content in person. Or see it now at this <a href="http://earth.google.com/xprizecup2006/">special Google page</a> dedicated to what's happening at the Wirefly X PRIZE Cup.<br /><br />Space <span style="font-style: italic;">is</span> the final frontier, and many of us here at Google would like to join the adventure. Besides, if these X PRIZE events are successful, we may finally be able to go to space ourselves and take some of our own satellite photos for Google Earth!

Heading to the X Prize Cup

Posted by Brian McClendon, Engineering Director, Google Earth Heading to the desert to watch rockets launch and jets fly is fun all by itsel...

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Eric and the NAE

<span class="byline-author">Posted by Vint Cerf, VP and Chief Internet Evangelist</span><br /><br />Eric Schmidt was formally inducted as a member of the <a href="http://www.nae.edu/nae/naehome.nsf/weblinks/CGOZ-6SPQWF?OpenDocument">National Academy of Engineering</a> this past Sunday at the National Academies building in Washington, D.C. Upon receipt of this well-deserved honor, Eric was warmly greeted and high-fived. Congratulations, Eric -- your Googlers are proud of you!

Eric and the NAE

Posted by Vint Cerf, VP and Chief Internet Evangelist Eric Schmidt was formally inducted as a member of the National Academy of Engineering ...

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Looking for Google Talk stories

<span class="byline-author">Posted by Lewis Lin, Product Marketing Manager</span><br /><br />Wanted: Stories about how you use Google Talk. <a href="http://googletalk.blogspot.com/2006/10/tell-us-how-you-talk.html">Details here</a>.

Looking for Google Talk stories

Posted by Lewis Lin, Product Marketing Manager Wanted: Stories about how you use Google Talk. Details here .

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Corporate solar is coming

<span class="byline-author">Posted by Robyn Beavers, Corporate Environmental Programs Manager</span><br /><br />Epic games of beach volleyball, urban indoor workspaces infused with natural light, enthusiasm for the outdoors – at Google, we've always taken advantage of the sun. And now we're ready to use the sun yet another way: to create clean electricity.<br /><br />Soon we plan to begin installation of 1.6 megawatts of solar photovoltaic panels at our Mountain View campus. This project will be the largest solar installation on any corporate campus in the U.S., and we think it's one of the largest on any corporate site in the world. The panels will cover the roofs of the four main buildings of the Googleplex, and also those of two additional buildings across the street.<font> There will also be a portion of this installation on new solar panel support structures in a few parking lots. The amount of electricity that will be generated is equivalent to powering about 1,000 average California homes. We’ll use that electricity to power several of our Mountain View office facilities, offsetting approximately 30% of our peak electricity consumption at those buildings.<br /><br />To tackle this ambitious project, we're partnering with <a href="http://www.eispv.com/">EI Solutions</a>. The installation of clean and renewable power represents a first step in reducing our environmental impact as a company. We believe that improving our environmental practices is not only our responsibility as a corporate citizen, but good business planning -- a <a href="ftp://www.nerc.com/pub/sys/all_updl/docs/pressrel/LTRARelease-10-2006.pdf">new report</a> from the North American Electric Reliability Council suggests that demand continues to outstrip power supply by a considerable margin. And of course by saving electricity (not to mention producing clean renewable energy), we also <a href="http://yosemite.epa.gov/oar/globalwarming.nsf/UniqueKeyLookup/SHSU5BNMF3/$File/businesscansave.pdf"> save money</a>. In fact, we believe this project demonstrates that a large investment in renewable energy can be profitable. <br /><br />If the business community continues to increase investments and focus on energy efficient and renewable power generation technologies, we have a good feeling that our future will be bright. If you're interested, visit the <a href="http://www.solarelectricpower.org/">Solar Electric Power Association</a>.

Corporate solar is coming

Posted by Robyn Beavers, Corporate Environmental Programs Manager Epic games of beach volleyball, urban indoor workspaces infused with natur...

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Maps in the Palm in your hand

<span class="byline-author">Posted by Jerry Morrison, Tech Lead</span><br /><br />Since we first launched <a href="http://www.google.com/gmm">Google Maps for mobile devices</a>, we've adapted it to more phones and languages and added features like traffic info. And as of today, the new Palm Treo version answers our top request from users. It's been months in the making, but I think you'll find it worth the wait. We think this is the fastest, slickest version yet, with draggable maps and translucent pop-up balloons that don't hide the map.<br /><br />If you don't read English, you'll have to wait some more.<br /><br />There are two ways for Treo users to download Google Maps: visit <span style="font-weight:bold;">google.com/gmm</span> on your Treo's web browser, or you if you prefer, download and HotSync® <a href="http://www.google.com/gmm/treo">here</a>.<br /><br />And by the way, the "Do not operate while driving" caution is deadly serious. Please be mindful of pedestrians, bikes, cars, and trees -- not messages and keyboards.

Maps in the Palm in your hand

Posted by Jerry Morrison, Tech Lead Since we first launched Google Maps for mobile devices , we've adapted it to more phones and languag...

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Music for your eyes

<span class="byline-author">Posted by Jason Liebman, Google Video team</span> <br /><br />As you might guess, we think free is always better, so we've just announced major partnerships with two of the world's largest music companies -- Sony BMG and Warner Music Group -- to bring thousands of music videos to <a href="http://video.google.com">Google Video</a> via free, ad-supported on-demand streams. And as per our recent announcement with MTV, in the coming months our AdSense partners can put all these great videos on their sites as well. <br /><br />So now if you're at work, get charged up for that important meeting with a <a href="http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=8416816164418008035&q=owner%3Awarner_music">Red Hot Chili Peppers</a> video. Or if you're at home getting ready for a night on the town, you can bring sexy back with <a href="http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=4983064168771953999">Justin Timberlake</a> –- or pretty much anyone else who floats your music-video boat.

Music for your eyes

Posted by Jason Liebman, Google Video team As you might guess, we think free is always better, so we've just announced major partnershi...

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