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Your easiest holiday task

Posted by Costin Manolache, Software Engineer We <a href="http://googleblog.blogspot.com/2006/08/get-your-people-talking.html">launched</a> <a href="http://google.com/a">Google Apps for Your Domain</a> at the end of August, and since then we've been getting great feedback from people all over. Organizations from Thailand, Argentina, and even our neighbors in Palo Alto have set up private-label Gmail, Google Talk, Google Calendar, and spiffy customizable start pages for their custom domains. We think it's especially cool that thousands of students are able to connect better with their classmates -- and their schools' IT directors no longer need to wring their hands over spam and clogged inboxes. "Hey, wait, Costin," you say. "That's great for them, but our organization doesn't have a custom domain." Well, I'm excited to let you know that we've made signing up for Google Apps for Your Domain much easier for those of you that don't yet have your own domain. We've partnered with <a href="http://www.godaddy.com/gdshop/default.asp">GoDaddy.com</a> and <a href="http://www.enom.com/">eNom</a>, two leading domain registration services, to offer domains for $10 per year. And I like the fact that we're including private registration to protect your personal information. Now you've got one-stop shopping for all the services currently on the Google Apps for Your Domain platform -- just find a domain, buy it, and get started. We'll do all the behind-the-scenes configuration work for you. For now this is available for .com, .net,.org, .biz, and .info domains, but we're working on bringing it elsewhere soon. We're also constantly working to introduce more cool new features to this service, so be sure to check back for updates.

Your easiest holiday task

Posted by Costin Manolache, Software Engineer We launched Google Apps for Your Domain at the end of August, and since then we've been ...

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Holiday goodies from Picasa Web Albums

Posted by Adrian Graham, Product Manager, Picasa What’s a holiday without the memorable (and embarrassing) photos? The holidays are almost here, which (at least if you’re in my family) means babies chewing on presents, the dog dressed in a ridiculous reindeer costume, and someone (cough, Uncle Charlie) passed out after too much eggnog. Although I think about this now and wince in advance, I know that I’m going to want to capture these moments and more importantly, share them with the rest of my family and friends. That’s why I’m excited about the new features we’ve added to Picasa Web Albums, just in time for the holidays. Print ordering is my favorite—it’s something you have told us you've wanted since we first launched. Now, when you or anyone else views photos in <a href="http://picasaweb.google.com">Picasa Web Albums</a>, there’s an option to order prints directly from the site. We currently offer prints and products from Shutterfly and PhotoWorks, but we’ll be adding more soon. Other new features include video upload for easy sharing (it’s just like with photos—select them in Picasa and click the “Web Album” button) and searching tools. Now you can search over your own captions, album titles, and album descriptions, and you can even search for photos in your friends’ public albums. Digging up that picture of me trying to figure out which end of the holiday turkey is "up" should be easier than ever. So <a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/tester/SampleAlbum/photo#5008248582488977682">check out these new features</a> before all the festivities start. And however you celebrate the holidays this year, I hope you’ll take lots of pictures.

Holiday goodies from Picasa Web Albums

Posted by Adrian Graham, Product Manager, Picasa What’s a holiday without the memorable (and embarrassing) photos? The holidays are almost h...

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Now you can search for U.S. patents

Posted by Doug Banks, Software Engineer We've all heard about the Wright brothers, Thomas Edison, and Alexander Graham Bell -- famous inventors whose creative minds changed the course of history. But there are many more like them, and millions of inventions that have been patented in the U.S. alone -- from useful everyday items such as <a href="http://www.google.com/patents?vid=USPATRE19128&id=ZBMoAAAAEBAJ&printsec=abstract&zoom=4#PPP1,M1">adhesive tape</a> and <a href="http://www.google.com/patents?vid=USPAT2196066&id=EvtGAAAAEBAJ&pg=PP1">contact lenses</a> to, er, things useful in specific situations, like this <a href="http://www.google.com/patents?vid=USPAT4833729&id=KBE3AAAAEBAJ&pg=RA1-PA4-IA1">shark protector suit</a> or this <a href="http://www.google.com/patents?vid=USPAT4076251&id=N-c5AAAAEBAJ&printsec=abstract&zoom=4#PPA2,M1">amusement device incorporating simulated cheese and mice</a>. Today, we're excited to be releasing the beta version of <a href="http://www.google.com/patents">Google Patent Search</a>, which makes it easy to search the full text of the U.S. patent corpus and find patents that interest you. Start your exploration at www.google.com/patents or visit the <a href="http://www.google.com/advanced_patent_search">Advanced Patent Search page</a> to search by criteria, including patent number, inventor, and filing date. You can view images of original patents online. Google Patent Search uses much of the same technology that powers <a href="http://books.google.com">Google Book Search</a>, so you can <a href="http://googleblog.blogspot.com/2006/11/new-way-to-browse-books.html">scroll through pages and zoom in</a> on text and illustrations just like you can with books. It's a natural extension of our mission to make this public domain government information more easily accessible using Google’s search technology. We’re pleased to have started with over 7 million patents granted by the <a href="http://www.uspto.gov/">United States Patent and Trademark Office</a> (USPTO) and look forward to expanding our coverage over time. Update: Removed mention of saving and printing as we're still working on that.

Now you can search for U.S. patents

Posted by Doug Banks, Software Engineer We've all heard about the Wright brothers, Thomas Edison, and Alexander Graham Bell -- famous in...

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Tis (almost) the season

Posted by Melissa Crounse, Chief Elf This year, good old St. Nick has learned a new trick: he has dispatched a few of his most experienced elves to squirrel away some toys in the farthest corners of Google Earth. Every day from now until Christmas Eve, a clue will appear outside Santa's workshop leading to another toy -- and every day, the location of the previous day's toy will be revealed. Ready to scour the earth and find your first toy? Once you've got the newest version of <a href="http://earth.google.com">Google Earth</a> installed, <a href="http://earth.google.com/santa/">let's get started.</a> <div style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://photos1.blogger.com/x/blogger/7609/900/1600/459932/Earth_SantaTracker_06.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/x/blogger/7609/900/320/379044/Earth_SantaTracker_06.jpg" style="cursor: pointer;" /></a> </div>

Tis (almost) the season

Posted by Melissa Crounse, Chief Elf This year, good old St. Nick has learned a new trick: he has dispatched a few of his most experienced e...

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Nifty Toolbar upgrades for Firefox

Posted by Annie Sullivan, Software Engineer Ever since the latest version of the Google Toolbar for IE came out, Firefox users have been asking when they'll see the same new features in their favorite browser. Well, we've been hard at work on a new version of the Toolbar for Firefox -- <a href="http://tools.google.com/firefox/toolbar/FT3/intl/en/" title="Google Toolbar 3 Beta">Google Toolbar 3 Beta</a> -- that lets you access your bookmarks from any computer, add custom buttons to your Toolbar, and share web pages via Blogger, Gmail, and SMS. In addition to adding all the features from the Google Toolbar for IE, there's another one just for Firefox users. When I surf the web, I want to be able to look at all the files I come across right in my browser. But a lot of times, I have to download files and view them with a separate application instead. Since <a href="http://docs.google.com/">Google Docs & Spreadsheets</a> launched, I've been able to look at those files right in my browser. Except the process is kind of clunky right now: I have to right-click on a link, download the file to my machine, and then upload it to Google Docs & Spreadsheets. I want to be able to just click on a link to a document or spreadsheet and have it show up in my browser. So I added a feature to the Google Toolbar for Firefox to do that. Now you can surf the web a little bit faster. I hope you enjoy this feature as much as I do!

Nifty Toolbar upgrades for Firefox

Posted by Annie Sullivan, Software Engineer Ever since the latest version of the Google Toolbar for IE came out, Firefox users have been ask...

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About Transferable Stock Options

Posted by Allan Brown, Director, Recognition & HR Systems We work hard to attract and retain the world's best talent in a number of ways, and a part of that is offering competitive compensation packages. We offer standard things such as competitive salary, cash incentives, restricted stock units and stock options. But we also aim to be innovative. So today we're announcing a new compensation program called Transferable Stock Options (TSOs). As with most employee stock option programs, Google's program to date has allowed employees to do two things with their options. Upon vesting they can (1) hold them or (2) exercise them and then hold or sell the stock. With the new TSO program, employees will have an additional alternative: they can transfer (sell) their options to a financial institution through a competitive bidding process. The ability to sell options is not a novel concept -- today people can buy and sell options to purchase GOOG stock and the stock of many other companies on the public markets. What is novel is that we are extending this ability to trade options to employee stock options. Typically, employees get value from stock options by exercising them after vesting, and then selling the stock they get from the exercise at a higher price, provided the company's stock price has appreciated since the time of grant. With the TSO program, employees will also be able to sell vested options to the highest-bidding financial institution, which may be willing to pay a premium above the difference between the exercise price and the market price for Google stock (even when the exercise price is higher than the market price). The premium paid is for the time value of the options. More on that and how institutions would do this, and why, is <a href="http://services.google.com/blog_resources/TSO_Mkt_Mech_doc.pdf">here</a>. Employees will still have the choice of simply exercising and then holding or selling the stock too. But if they choose to sell the options, they can use a simple online tool that will show them the best price a participating financial institution is willing to pay for their vested options in real time. With that tool, they'll be able to sell their vested options to the highest bidder. In addition to increasing the value of every option employees receive, the TSO program makes the value of their options much more tangible. In the past, employees typically valued Google stock options based simply on the difference between their option exercise price and the current market stock price (called the intrinsic value). Since Google grants options with exercise prices that are at, or above, the market price of Google stock, many employees do not value options on the day they are granted. By showing employees what financial institutions are willing to pay for their options, it is made clear that the value of their options is greater than just the intrinsic value. We aren't offering this program for everyone or for all stock options. <a href="http://www.google.com/corporate/execs.html">Google Executive Management Group</a> (EMG) may not participate, and only employee stock options granted after our IPO are eligible. We should also note that we've discussed this program with the SEC and we'll ensure it complies with applicable securities laws. We've chosen Morgan Stanley to manage the auction of these TSOs between our employees and the multiple bidders, and we are working with multiple financial institutions to participate as bidders in the auction. We expect to have this program up and running in the second quarter of 2007. If you're wondering how this would work for employees, here is <a href="http://services.google.com/blog_resources/TSO_Scenario.pdf">an example scenario</a>. There's more about the <a href="http://services.google.com/blog_resources/TSO_Accounting.pdf">related accounting here</a>. And for answers to other questions, we've put together <a href="http://services.google.com/blog_resources/TSO_FAQ.pdf">an extensive Q and A</a>. (You'll notice some legal language below, and at the bottom of all the related information we link to. We're including that because we will file a registration statement with the SEC as a requirement of offering this program, and we want to help you find all of the information related to this registration statement.) Google may file a registration statement (including a prospectus) with the SEC for the offering to which this communication relates. Before you invest, you should read the prospectus in that registration statement and other documents Google has filed with the SEC for more complete information about Google and this offering. You may get these documents for free by visiting EDGAR on the SEC Web site at www.sec.gov. Alternatively, Google will arrange to send you the prospectus after filing if you request it by calling toll-free 1-866-468-4664 or sending an e-mail to <a href="mailto://investors@google.com/">investors@google.com</a>.

About Transferable Stock Options

Posted by Allan Brown, Director, Recognition & HR Systems We work hard to attract and retain the world's best talent in a number of ...

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Opening up the Google Web Toolkit

Posted by Dan Peterson, Product Manager <a href="http://code.google.com/webtoolkit/"> Google Web Toolkit</a> (GWT) is all about making the web a better place by making it easier to create web apps like Gmail or Google Maps. So today, we're excited to <a href="http://googlewebtoolkit.blogspot.com/2006/12/gwt-13-release-candidate-is-100-open_12.html">tell you</a> that we're releasing all the <a href="http://code.google.com/p/google-web-toolkit">source code for GWT</a> under an <a href="http://code.google.com/webtoolkit/terms.html">open source license</a>. We've been working hard to build great tools for AJAX development, and now we're happy to begin working with the open source community towards the same goal. The folks who are passionate about AJAX can contribute to the project and make this toolkit even better. If you're curious about how to add some AJAX goodness to your site, see if the <a href="http://code.google.com/webtoolkit/">Google Web Toolkit</a> is right for you.

Opening up the Google Web Toolkit

Posted by Dan Peterson, Product Manager Google Web Toolkit (GWT) is all about making the web a better place by making it easier to create w...

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