Coffee Talk in the Teachers' Lounge

<span class="byline-author">Cristin Frodella, Manager, Google K-12 Programs</span><br /><br />Since we launched our <a href="http://www.google.com/educators" target="blank_" title="Google for Educators">resource for educators</a> in October, many of you have been in touch with us. "Hey, Google," you've said, "Thanks for the site. Now how 'bout letting us talk to you--and more importantly, to each other?"<br /><br />You wanted a place where you could send feedback, lesson ideas, and classroom activities, or just meet some of your fellow teachers. Ok, ok! We're good students. We know how to learn from the experts. Thanks to your input, we've created the <a href="http://groups.google.com/group/google-for-educators?" title="talk to teachers!">Google for Educators discussion group</a>. We invite you to visit the group today, to let us know your thoughts and to reach out to other folks in the world of classrooms and libraries. Help us understand how to make Google for Educators a more valuable tool for you—and share the kind of information that can help give students the best education possible.<br /><br />Oh, and, while you're at it, why not give our <a href="http://www.google.com/educators" title="site">site</a> another visit? We've added <a href="http://www.google.com/educators/tools.html" title="products for your classroom">tools</a>, <a href="http://www.google.com/educators/activities.html" title="classroom activities">activities</a>, <a href="http://www.google.com/educators/posters.html" title="google tip posters">classroom posters</a>, and a new <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/itm">RSS feed</a> to the <a href="http://www.infinitethinking.org/" title="Infinite Thinking Machine">Infinite Thinking Machine</a>, a Google-sponsored blog written for teachers by teachers. We look forward to seeing you there.

Coffee Talk in the Teachers' Lounge

Cristin Frodella, Manager, Google K-12 Programs Since we launched our resource for educators in October, many of you have been in touch wit...

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Photos on Google Maps

<span class="byline-author">Posted by Jess Lee, Product Manager, Google Maps</span><br /><br />They say a picture is worth a thousand words, which is why we've added photos to Google Maps local search. Now you can compare the sea views and room interiors for <a href="http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&hl=en&q=hotels+honolulu&layer=&amp;ie=UTF8&z=13&ll=21.306967,-157.858257&spn=0.120745,0.181274&amp;t=h&om=1&iwloc=B">beachfront hotels in Honolulu</a> or drool over the dishes served at <a href="http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&hl=en&q=steakhouses+boston&layer=&amp;ie=UTF8&z=12&ll=42.376554,-71.058197&spn=0.11058,0.2314&amp;t=h&om=1&iwloc=B">steakhouses in Boston</a>. Google Maps also includes pictures of buildings, storefronts, signs, and logos—especially helpful if you're going somewhere for the first time. For a tourist trying to find the Sony Building in Tokyo, a <a href="http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&hl=en&q=sony+building+tokyo+japan&layer=&amp;ie=UTF8&z=19&ll=35.672029,139.763635&spn=0.001645,0.002832&amp;t=h&om=1&iwloc=A">photo of the building exterior</a> is probably worth a *million* words.<br /><br />If you're a business owner, you can now upload photos of your business to Google Maps using the free <a href="http://google.com/local/add/" target="_blank" onclick="return top.js.OpenExtLink(window,event,this)">Local Business Center</a>.

Photos on Google Maps

Posted by Jess Lee, Product Manager, Google Maps They say a picture is worth a thousand words, which is why we've added photos to Google...

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Music, Movies, Mayhem, and the Metro

<span class="byline-author">Posted by Tom Sly, New Business Development</span><br /><br />I’m thrilled to report that, as of today, the <a href="http://www.capmetro.org/">Capital Metro Transportation Authority</a> of Austin, Texas is the 10^th agency to become part of <a href="http://www.google.com/transit">Google Transit Trip Planner</a>.<br /><br />Some of you may notice that we're announcing this new partnership just in time for the <a href="http://www.sxsw.com/">South by Southwest (SXSW) Conference and Festival</a>, which is taking place in Austin from March 9 to 18. And there is a reason for that...<br /><br />This year, SXSW has gone <a href="http://2007.sxsw.com/about/carbon_neutral/">carbon neutral</a>. And thanks to the efforts of the Capital Metro team, the thousands of visitors that come to Austin for the 10-day music, film, and interactive festival can do their part to reduce carbon emissions by planning their SXSW experience <a href="http://www.google.com/transit?ie=UTF8&ll=30.264998,-97.728882&spn=0.269544,0.653687" title="using public transportation">using public transportation</a>. As an added incentive for SXSW attendees, $1 day passes are available for purchase on board Capital Metro buses and provide unlimited use of Capital Metro services for an entire day.<br /><br />Using Google Transit, I now know that when I arrive in Austin, I’ll be taking Capital Metro <a href="http://www.google.com/transit?q=aus+to+4th+%26+neches+austin" title="from the Airport to the Convention Center">from the Airport to the Convention Center</a>, and, from there, I’ll do my best to take in <a href="http://2007.sxsw.com/about/">as much of the action as possible</a>. So, if you're part of an agency that offers regular bus, light-rail, train, or ferry service, come find me amidst the movies, music, and interactive panels at SXSW, or <a href="mailto://labs-transit_content@google.com/">drop the Google Transit team a line</a>.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Update: </span>You should also check out this awesome <a href="http://www.google.com/calendar/embed?src=sxswi07%40gmail.com" target="_blank" onclick="return top.js.OpenExtLink(window,event,this)"> Google Calendar</a> that a couple of our User Experience Designers whipped up to help themselves and other attendees visualize the <span id="st" name="st" class="st">SXSWi</span> schedule.

Music, Movies, Mayhem, and the Metro

Posted by Tom Sly, New Business Development I’m thrilled to report that, as of today, the Capital Metro Transportation Authority of Austin,...

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What happens on Wall Street...

<span class="byline-author">Posted by Rahul S. Kulkarni, Product Manager</span><br /><br />... doesn't stay on Wall Street. It gets broadcast on <a title="Google Finance" href="http://finance.google.com/" target="blank_">Google Finance</a> in the form of quotes, news, blogs, discussions, financials, and much more. Today we're releasing three enhancements to Google Finance to help you stay in touch with Wall Street: the addition of videos, plotting of extended hours data on charts, and an easier way to sort portfolios.<br /><ul><li>Each day you'll find a great assortment of finance-related videos from leading sources such as <a title="CBS" href="http://www.cbs.com/" target="blank_">CBS</a>, <a title="Forbes" href="http://www.forbes.com/" target="blank_">Forbes</a>, <a title="Reuters" href="http://www.reuters.com/">Reuters</a>, and even fun ones from <a title="WallStrip" href="http://www.wallstrip.com/">WallStrip</a> on the Google Finance homepage. Enjoy these videos and stay up-to-date on the latest financial market activities. </li><br /><li>Can’t wait to see how your stock performs when the company announces earnings in extended hours trading? Company charts now include prices from the extended hour markets, so you can view stock performance at any time.</li><br /><li>Since you might not like having your own portfolio stocks ordered alphabetically, there's now a way to choose the order with a very easy-to-use drag and drop interface.</li></ul>

What happens on Wall Street...

Posted by Rahul S. Kulkarni, Product Manager ... doesn't stay on Wall Street. It gets broadcast on Google Finance in the form of quotes...

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Store and find even more photos on Picasa Web Albums

<span class="byline-author">Posted by Mike Horowitz, Product Manager, Picasa</span><br /><br /><div> We have a few long-awaited improvements at <a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/"><span style="text-decoration: underline;">Picasa Web Albums</span></a> today. <span>A new Community Photos search feature helps you discover and explore the public web albums of others on the site. Free storage is now 1GB (and counting)—that's room to post and share around 4,000 standard resolution photos. And we've made albums and photos easier to link to from any email, IM or website—simply copy and paste the code we show you.</span></div>

Store and find even more photos on Picasa Web Albums

Posted by Mike Horowitz, Product Manager, Picasa We have a few long-awaited improvements at Picasa Web Albums today. A new Community Photo...

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Google Maps Send to Car

<span class="byline-author">Posted by Thai Tran, Product Manager</span><br /><br />On the Google Maps team, our goal is not only to help you find local businesses, but also to enable you to quickly connect with those businesses, wherever you are. To that end, we recently introduced the ability to <a title="http://googleblog.blogspot.com/2006/11/click-to-call-in-google-maps.html call businesses" href="http://googleblog.blogspot.com/2006/11/click-to-call-in-google-maps.html">call businesses</a> in the U.S. directly from Google Maps, and, as of today, users in Germany can send a business listing found on <a title="http://maps.google.de/maps?q=hotel&near=muenchen Google Maps Deutschland" href="http://maps.google.de/maps?q=hotel&near=muenchen">Google Maps Deutschland</a> directly to cars enabled with the BMW Assist service. Drivers can then set it as the destination for the in-car navigation system, or they can call the business from within the car. No more having to write down the address and re-enter it in the car -- now you can just click and drive! <a title="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MgTx9nUJfOc Here's a video that illustrates how this feature works" href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MgTx9nUJfOc">Here's a video showing how this feature works</a> (<a title="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=st-UpWZ5Mhg German version" href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=st-UpWZ5Mhg">German version</a>). We've partnered with BMW because they're a leading innovator in the automotive space, and they share our vision for a network-connected world.<br /><br />As additional devices come online, we're excited to see what is possible, and we'll continue working to make the information that you need available to you when and where you need it.

Google Maps Send to Car

Posted by Thai Tran, Product Manager On the Google Maps team, our goal is not only to help you find local businesses, but also to enable you...

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New and improved Desktop

<span class="byline-author">Posted by Mendel Chuang, Product Marketing Manager</span><br /><br />For the past several months, we've been working on ways to let you better get information on your desktop through gadgets and sidebar. We've also thought about improving how you search your computer. Today, we are happy to be releasing the <a href="http://desktop.google.com/" title="Google Desktop 5 beta">Google Desktop 5 beta</a> application.<br /><br />The most prominent changes you'll notice are to our gadgets and sidebar. Some of the gadgets have been redesigned to provide you with the same useful information but in a more easy to read and visually appealing format. The sidebar has also been changed to blend in even more with your desktop.<br /><table><tr align=center><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjVlhOWhx8s7R8gN_27jcZApiVoHeqLuJb1GtFXhFQnazKxTDTgLAifIl5eis2xysCwuNdVK8Be_Qoicd7Miyo80AisuGeE2snsSb6EVUtELHA3t8xfW6d1P0y-3uDioANWaPicju95HJI/s1600-h/worlddaylightclock.gif"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5038956220729168546" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjVlhOWhx8s7R8gN_27jcZApiVoHeqLuJb1GtFXhFQnazKxTDTgLAifIl5eis2xysCwuNdVK8Be_Qoicd7Miyo80AisuGeE2snsSb6EVUtELHA3t8xfW6d1P0y-3uDioANWaPicju95HJI/s320/worlddaylightclock.gif" style="cursor: pointer;" /></a><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8lST2ipWiWAtAvGJSk-Bc-5nPj7t-wG-glowOdwsC2BvqwIa3gmKoYjD5PKh2bbTj205Ig8oVmLrer5Gek6hDUqv4uRAp1IB8syNp7Jv5iTwS_-Nklx0_3NixRjrmeJSlMerlWE3Zw4M/s1600-h/weather.jpg"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5039301634884014770" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8lST2ipWiWAtAvGJSk-Bc-5nPj7t-wG-glowOdwsC2BvqwIa3gmKoYjD5PKh2bbTj205Ig8oVmLrer5Gek6hDUqv4uRAp1IB8syNp7Jv5iTwS_-Nklx0_3NixRjrmeJSlMerlWE3Zw4M/s320/weather.jpg" style="cursor: pointer;" /></a></tr></table><br /><br />In addition, we've also improved:<ul> <li> Desktop Search - Now when you do searches, Google Desktop enables you to preview your search results right inside the browser, so you don't need to wait for an entire application to open just to make sure you’ve found the file you were looking for.<br /><p></p> </li> <li> Security - We take your security very seriously, and have added some new features to help make your search experience safer. Whether you’re clicking on links from documents, IMs and email or browsing the web, if we have information that the site you're visiting might be trying to steal your personal information or install malicious software on your computer, we'll give you a warning first so you can decide if you want to use the site.<br /></li> </ul> Improving the way you get information on your desktop is important to us; we hope that these changes help you do that. To find out more about what's new with Desktop 5, read this post on the <a href="http://googledesktop.blogspot.com/2007/03/new-sidebar-and-gadgets.html">Google Desktop Blog</a>.

New and improved Desktop

Posted by Mendel Chuang, Product Marketing Manager For the past several months, we've been working on ways to let you better get informa...

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