Real-world testing

<span class="byline-author">Posted by Marcus Bulach, Software Engineer</span><br /><br />User feedback is always an important part of our product development process, and for our latest version of Google Maps for mobile, we decided to put ourselves in the driver's seat. Hailing from London, I recently hopped across the pond with my fellow software engineer Jonathan Dixon to help test out the new features on the Windows Mobile<span style="font-size:78%;">^TM</span> edition of Google Maps for mobile while visiting the Mountain View campus. I focused on staying on the right side of the road while Jonathan, oblivious to the sights around him, focused on trying out the satellite imagery on his mobile phone.<br /><br />Like other versions of Google Maps for mobile, with this Windows Mobile version you can find businesses and see real-time traffic updates, along with unique features like contacts integration, GPS support, draggable maps, and tap and hold menus. The business search function proved particularly useful to find<span style="font-family:monospace;"> </span><a href="http://tinyurl.com/ywolp9">delicious Italian food in Half Moon Bay</a><span style="font-family:Verdana;"> </span>to sate our jet-lagged stomachs. You can download the application <a href="http://www.google.com/gmm/winm">here</a> and ActiveSync, or visit <a href="http://www.google.com/gmm">google.com/gmm</a> for more information.<br /><br />And remember -- you can see traffic delays, but don't cause them. Please don't use Google Maps while driving. Instead, give your passengers something fun to do.

Real-world testing

Posted by Marcus Bulach, Software Engineer User feedback is always an important part of our product development process, and for our latest ...

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Google Mini turns 2

<span class="byline-author">Posted by Ryan Pollock, Product Marketing Manager</span><br /><br /><a href="http://www.google.com/enterprise/mini/">Our blue box</a> is now two years old! To commemorate the Google Mini's second birthday, the enterprise team has developed an upgrade with greater security features and the ability to search across various business applications, all from the same search box. We've also made the Mini a better fit for public sites by integrating <a href="http://www.google.com/analytics/">Google Analytics</a> and adding the ability to generate <a href="https://www.google.com/webmasters/tools/siteoverview">Google Sitemaps</a>. There's more about how the Mini is growing up on the <a href="http://googleenterprise.blogspot.com/2007/01/little-blue-box-big-business-tech-for.html">Google Enterprise blog</a>.

Google Mini turns 2

Posted by Ryan Pollock, Product Marketing Manager Our blue box is now two years old! To commemorate the Google Mini's second birthday, ...

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Our Seattle-Beijing collaboration

<span class="byline-author">Posted by Feng Hu, Software Engineer</span><br /><br />The one and only Dr. Kai-Fu Lee visited our Seattle office last week to speak with some 150 Googlers and guests about everything from future plans between our Beijing and Seattle offices to the way the Internet is used in China. Watch the video [warning: 53 mins]--and consider joining our <a href="http://www.google.com/jobs/seattlechina">pan-Pacific collaboration</a>.<br /><br /><embed style="width: 400px; height: 326px;" id="VideoPlayback" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" src="http://video.google.com/googleplayer.swf?docId=1230747464670307641&hl=en" flashvars=""> </embed><br /><br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Update:</span> The video of the talk is now also available on <a href="http://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=An+Inside+Look+at+Google+China+&search=Search">YouTube</a> [due to it's length the video is in six parts].

Our Seattle-Beijing collaboration

Posted by Feng Hu, Software Engineer The one and only Dr. Kai-Fu Lee visited our Seattle office last week to speak with some 150 Googlers an...

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Find and compare local businesses

<span class="byline-author">Posted by Ronojoy Chakrabarti, Product Manager</span><br /><br />Many people come to Google.com to navigate the web, but are you aware that you can use it to navigate the real world as well? Over the past few months, we've been hard at work making it easier to find and compare local businesses and services right from the standard web results page. Here's what we've come up with:<br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4U7SLJXfO3O-sirDONS2EyD6dczJBxe21dlH-dULMiElcNGAxOoi98VAqPCqTwgLDL078JXgqC0VT4aRtBDofTWz6uQqLa0fPTkUcYBygbEaI59RLLCoU22g2bGQHd-Y-jEEdkX0GRf6a/s1600-h/LOCALONEBOX_new.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5025595742053174722" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4U7SLJXfO3O-sirDONS2EyD6dczJBxe21dlH-dULMiElcNGAxOoi98VAqPCqTwgLDL078JXgqC0VT4aRtBDofTWz6uQqLa0fPTkUcYBygbEaI59RLLCoU22g2bGQHd-Y-jEEdkX0GRf6a/s320/LOCALONEBOX_new.jpg" style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" /></a> From now on, you'll see this every time you search for a place, business, or other local information. In addition to providing the basic contact information and map locations for several choices at the top of the page, we also show ratings and provide one-click access to reviews on the search results page so that you can make more informed decisions about where you want to go.<br /><br />Here are a few specific examples of how you can use Google to search and compare local businesses and services.<p></p> <ul type="disc"><li class="MsoNormal" style="">Find the location of and driving directions to the <a href="http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&rlz=1B2GGGL_enUS176&q=1600+Amphitheatre+Parkway+Mountain+View+CA&btnG=Search" target="_blank">Googleplex</a> (or any specific address).</li><li class="MsoNormal" style="">Find and compare <a href="http://www.google.com/search?sourceid=navclient-ff&ie=UTF-8&rlz=1B2GGGL_enUS176&q=Mexican+restaurants+in+Pasadena%2C+CA">Mexican restaurants</a> in <st1:place st="on"><st1:city st="on">Pasadena</st1:city>, <st1:state st="on">CA</st1:state></st1:place> </li><li class="MsoNormal" style="">Get directions to and read reviews about a <a href="http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&rlz=1B2GGGL_enUS176&q=Fat+heads+Pittsburgh%2C+PA&btnG=Search" target="_blank">local eatery</a> in <st1:place st="on"><st1:city st="on">Pittsburgh</st1:city></st1:place>.</li><li class="MsoNormal" style="">Find <a href="http://www.google.com/search?sourceid=navclient-ff&ie=UTF-8&rlz=1B2GGGL_enUS176&q=movies+Toronto" target="_blank">movie showtimes </a>for films that are playing in your neighborhood.</li></ul> We're really excited to offer this easier access to qualitative information about local spots. We find the reviews and ratings generated by others in the know to be quite useful when we want to head to a restaurant, catch a movie, or stay at a hotel -- and we hope you will too.

Find and compare local businesses

Posted by Ronojoy Chakrabarti, Product Manager Many people come to Google.com to navigate the web, but are you aware that you can use it to ...

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SMS on orkut

<span class="byline-author">Posted by Pedram Keyani, Software Engineer</span><br /><br />While <a href="http://www.orkut.com/About.aspx">orkut</a> users love having an online social network, we understand that a good deal of your social life happens offline. We wanted orkut to enrich the offline social life of its members, so we thought we could either give you computers with really long cords or we could bring orkut to the device you carry around in your pocket: the mobile phone. Thus the idea for an orkut SMS service was born.<br /><br />With orkut's new SMS feature, you can <a href="http://help.orkut.com/support/bin/topic.py?topic=10322">scrap</a> your friends, look up their contact information and receive scrap notifications. Now you can send scraps from the bus, bar or bathroom, and your friends can get notified of those scraps when on bicycle, beach or bed. Along with the standard orkut features, we've included a few hidden goodies for the adventurous to find.<br /><br />This week, orkut SMS will become available to orkut members in Brazil who use Claro as their mobile service provider. When the feature becomes available to you, a message will be displayed when you sign in to your account. We hope to expand soon to other mobile service providers in Brazil and around the globe.<br /><br />So next time you want to scrap your friend Sergio about a party, just text message orkut with "scrap Sergio it's party time man!"

SMS on orkut

Posted by Pedram Keyani, Software Engineer While orkut users love having an online social network, we understand that a good deal of your s...

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New sunrise layer on Google Earth

<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjF8c2jb_vvKcxVBQVrrOPPd9jYeBnmzB4vCZJwdUPuvobNZOIVqENaVkck3BRsKcJx5AzEP_EOLcZHjsPm-89qmvzv9JdqFbir6Me2-q6FBSJlw8zzz_02FDQaeQDY8-x5BRgUPe5jCIQ/s1600-h/SUNRISEEARTH017+high-res.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5025535545812280322" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjF8c2jb_vvKcxVBQVrrOPPd9jYeBnmzB4vCZJwdUPuvobNZOIVqENaVkck3BRsKcJx5AzEP_EOLcZHjsPm-89qmvzv9JdqFbir6Me2-q6FBSJlw8zzz_02FDQaeQDY8-x5BRgUPe5jCIQ/s200/SUNRISEEARTH017+high-res.jpg" style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer;" /></a><br /><span class="byline-author">Posted by Clint Stinchcomb, EVP & GM, HDTV & New Media, Discovery Networks U.S.</span><br /><br />Many of us aren't lucky enough to experience one of nature's most glorious sights—the beauty of the sunrise—every day, let alone on demand. That is, until today. Now there's a <a href="http://earth.google.com/">Google Earth</a> layer that brings the sun's ascent right to your computer screen, and Google Earth aficionados can also see video vignettes drawn from Discovery HD Theater's "<a href="http://dhd.discovery.com/convergence/sunriseearth/sunriseearth.html">Sunrise Earth</a>" program.<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiU5Gfd0JQo_hGB39kOuNJtzBWtkyXIGclJwqNM2tEMhuUfiBRW2E0wwV7ggWD_uoPW_N5Zlxn76Oim6HpXia_a5rCdlkS_xbTWnvz8ThXX4wX0_srgD-DJFZrvaqkUBoFRlhF1hQxEanc/s1600-h/Sunrise+Earth+-+Google+Earth.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5025534918747055090" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiU5Gfd0JQo_hGB39kOuNJtzBWtkyXIGclJwqNM2tEMhuUfiBRW2E0wwV7ggWD_uoPW_N5Zlxn76Oim6HpXia_a5rCdlkS_xbTWnvz8ThXX4wX0_srgD-DJFZrvaqkUBoFRlhF1hQxEanc/s320/Sunrise+Earth+-+Google+Earth.jpg" style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 220px; height: 237px;" /></a><br /><br />To view the videos, open Google Earth and select the Sunrise Earth layer under Discovery Networks. Follow the links in the pop-up window to experience the sights and sounds of one of nature's most beautiful phenomena. Watch dawn rise over Stonehenge, Mayan pyramids, and Buddhist temples as it has for thousands of years. See the Katmai Bears emerge from their seven-month slumber to greet a new day. Witness the sun's light bringing life to natural habitats around the world, from the forests of Costa Rica and the coast of New England, to the foothills of Turkey and the glaciers of Alaska.<br /><br />Whether you catch Sunrise Earth on Discovery HD Theater or via Google Earth, you'll see the world in a whole new light.

New sunrise layer on Google Earth

Posted by Clint Stinchcomb, EVP & GM, HDTV & New Media, Discovery Networks U.S. Many of us aren't lucky enough to experience one...

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Fun with robotics

<span class="byline-author">Posted by Glenn Trewitt and Albert Bodenhamer, Software Engineers</span><br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgojE2WSXr1r5w3z1-YpEza4A_CfvZSDayGlhwGR1qyNbo6KtP6lplfR9_KhG95b2yV8CSAN-NPZciO92uwjSbSILVcr3fZd3ArsbFXg7BWI9NLl2pulM644e2sRdmqHtoAmfbGfsHM3C9K/s1600-h/Lego+trophy.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5024386253492817314" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgojE2WSXr1r5w3z1-YpEza4A_CfvZSDayGlhwGR1qyNbo6KtP6lplfR9_KhG95b2yV8CSAN-NPZciO92uwjSbSILVcr3fZd3ArsbFXg7BWI9NLl2pulM644e2sRdmqHtoAmfbGfsHM3C9K/s320/Lego+trophy.jpg" style="cursor: pointer;" /></a><br /><br />We believe that getting kids interested in science, computers, and technology early on is very important, so we were honored last weekend to receive the "FIRST LEGO<span style="font-size:85%;">^®</span> League Outreach" award at the Northern California FLL championship tournament. <a href="http://www.usfirst.org/what/fll/">FLL</a> is a program encouraging fourth- to eighth-grade kids to study science and technology. Each fall, student teams (who compete at the local, national and international level) build autonomous LEGO<span style="font-size:85%;">^®</span> robots to tackle a set of challenge missions -- and finish as many as they can in 2-½ minutes! This year's challenge: called<span style="text-decoration: underline;"> </span><a href="http://www.firstlegoleague.org/default.aspx?pid=21380">Nano Quest</a>.<br /><br />We hosted a couple of FLL meetings and put on our own Google Qualifying Tournament (beta) in December. We loved hosting these events -- they are a great way to reach out to the community, and putting on the tournament was <span style="font-style: italic; text-decoration: underline;">fun</span>! We had a couple of dozen Google volunteers, several FLL volunteers, and 16 student teams -- about 150 people in all. (The winning team from our Northern California region will go on to the <a href="http://www.firstlegoleague.org/default.aspx?pid=13390">World FLL Festival</a> -- 104 teams from 38 countries -- to be held in April in Atlanta.)<br /><br />So we thought that was that, until next season. Neither we or our partners at <a href="http://www.playingatlearning.org/">Playing@Learning</a> (who coordinate regional FLL events in Northern California, along with the <a href="http://www.norcalvex.org/">FIRST Vex Challenge</a>, a more ambitious program for high school students) expected what happened next: other Silicon Valley companies took notice, and are now planning to get involved. That's a great kind of viral marketing -- the more outreach, the better.<br /><br />FLL teams form between May and September, with qualifying tournaments in late November or early December. So if you're between 9 and 14, and robotics and a LEGO<span style="font-size:85%;">^®</span>challenge sound like a lot of fun -- there's bound to be <a href="http://www.firstlegoleague.org/default.aspx?pid=40">a competition for you. </a>

Fun with robotics

Posted by Glenn Trewitt and Albert Bodenhamer, Software Engineers We believe that getting kids interested in science, computers, and technol...

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