Google Pack cures the PC blues

<span class="byline-author">Posted by Jesse Savage, Product Manager</span><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiW186SWBNZdUNYlg06PX7ZuoKR5r051rz_zFpsVFWzjhfegXabSSz35AByHkL2JpM19D4xTe9ybp4EiFKDjJUwkja6h7C5qDTwPpTOjur10PdOHa-s29G1_zGX7UoS8iZwCEh38ZJ7D1I/s1600-h/pack_illustration_final.png"><img alt="Google Pack comic" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5046396738172899714" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiW186SWBNZdUNYlg06PX7ZuoKR5r051rz_zFpsVFWzjhfegXabSSz35AByHkL2JpM19D4xTe9ybp4EiFKDjJUwkja6h7C5qDTwPpTOjur10PdOHa-s29G1_zGX7UoS8iZwCEh38ZJ7D1I/s400/pack_illustration_final.png" style="cursor: pointer;" /></a><br /><br />Google Pack makes it easy to setup and protect your PC, and now we've added two new applications to make your PC even safer: Symantec's Norton Security Scan, which detects and removes viruses, and PC Tools' Spyware Doctor Starter Edition, a top-rated anti-spyware utility. Both are free and include automatic protection updates with no paid subscription required.<br /><br />We've also substantially updated our screensaver. Now you can turn your computer into a digital picture frame that displays pictures from photo feeds—continuously updated streams of photos from the web. Many of your favorite photo-sharing sites support them already, so it's easy to keep in touch with your friends and family this way.<br /><br />We think you'll enjoy the improvements, so call in the Google haz-mat crew to spiff up your PC. <a href="http://pack.google.com/?utm_source=en-et-gblog_security&amp;amp;utm_medium=et&utm_campaign=en">Get the Google Pack for your PC today</a>.

Google Pack cures the PC blues

Posted by Jesse Savage, Product Manager Google Pack makes it easy to setup and protect your PC, and now we've added two new applicatio...

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Walking, Talking, Searching, Finding.

<span class="byline-author">Posted by Yael Shacham, Product Manager, Mobile Team</span><br /><br />For the last few weeks, some of our users have been test-driving our new mobile search and providing us with feedback so we can make it better. Now, we've actually been using your feedback to improve our mobile search since 2001. But the steps we've taken recently have everyone here pretty excited, as they increase the power of our search technology, helping you get the answers you need with minimal effort and distraction.<br /><br />Starting today, we're making our new mobile search openly available, so <a href="http://www.google.com/m?uipref=3">everyone can take it for a spin</a>. The next time you visit Google.com on your phone, you'll see a link that will take you to a mobile search experience that's more tailored to your needs and enables you to:<br /><ul><li><span style="font-weight: bold;">Get the information you care about, right from your homepage.</span> Because it can be difficult to manage small screens and small keypads, and because mobile search is often more about seeking specific information than browsing for extended periods, we've made it possible to add the information you're interested in directly to the mobile homepage. Ranging from movie listings to stock-market updates to website feeds or news snippets, these gadgets can be added with a simple click. You can then reorder, replace, or modify your gadgets however you like.</li></ul><ul><li><span style="font-weight: bold;">Get the answer you want with an absolute minimum of clicks.</span> No one likes having to click on link after link to get the information they need. With our new mobile search UI, you'll never be more than a click or two away from the answer that you're after. One of the ways we've made this possible is to remember your recent search locations to serve relevant local results in subsequent searches—no need to retype the location every time; just select your location from the dropdown menu. Once you've entered a location, try searching for [movies] to see top movies playing in your area. Clicking on one of those movies directs you straight to the movie showtimes; one more click and you can even purchase tickets.</li></ul><ul><li><span style="font-weight: bold;">Get to the results that best fit what you're looking for.</span> We realize that when you're on the go, you usually just want an answer to your query, rather than everything and the kitchen sink. So we're continually refining our algorithm-based search to intelligently produce the results you want. You won't need to sift through both mobile and regular web results, or specify your search type—local, image, web, etc.—as our new search experience will offer you results based on the nature of the query itself. So if you search for [bbc] on your device, you'll get a link to the mobile-friendly BBC website. Search for [us post office], and you'll get listings for the branches that are closest to your set location, and so on. No extra stuff that gets between you and the information you need.</li></ul>So break out your phones, head to Google.com, and give our new mobile search experience a whirl. And, of course, don't forget to <a href="http://www.google.com/support/mobile/bin/request.py">tell us what you think</a>.

Walking, Talking, Searching, Finding.

Posted by Yael Shacham, Product Manager, Mobile Team For the last few weeks, some of our users have been test-driving our new mobile search ...

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Flying high with Google SMS

<span class="byline-author">Posted by Deepak Sethi, Software Engineer, Mobile Team</span><br /><br />Ever spent 15 minutes on the phone shouting answers at the automated airline attendant while rushing to the airport? How cool would it be to get real-time flight info just by sending a quick text message? Well, now you can, using <a href="http://www.google.com/sms/">Google SMS</a>.<br /><br />Simply text your flight number to 466453 (‘GOOGLE’ on most mobile devices), and the status information will be sent back to you. Or text a specific airline name, and Google will send back the main phone number to call.<br /><br />Google SMS is available for flights departing or arriving in the U.S., and all of the information is provided by flightstats.com. And as always, it’s free. Give it a try, and <a href="http://www.google.com/support/mobile/bin/request.py">let us know what you think</a>.

Flying high with Google SMS

Posted by Deepak Sethi, Software Engineer, Mobile Team Ever spent 15 minutes on the phone shouting answers at the automated airline attendan...

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The wisdom of orkut

<span class="byline-author">Posted by Natalie Schwartz, orkut product team</span><br /><br />Wish you could use the wisdom of crowds to help make decisions and get all your<br />questions answered? Well, starting today you can post polls and discover the<br />wisdom of <a href="http://www.orkut.com/" title="orkut">orkut</a>!<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJQGiG0Ga4yMHwKafJQmMhVRrOgItuB0ZHgFhMPqN1CKqEeAOsB7jxXmzAs-_Gs8i0yRIcWgMYEjmBseAkG5u69yaag1_Zta0Sak56CpPfV2f16mhfgV6SW_Qd_kiKxUYcvA5iPT5yYEI/s1600-h/Picture+1.png"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5046387070201516402" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJQGiG0Ga4yMHwKafJQmMhVRrOgItuB0ZHgFhMPqN1CKqEeAOsB7jxXmzAs-_Gs8i0yRIcWgMYEjmBseAkG5u69yaag1_Zta0Sak56CpPfV2f16mhfgV6SW_Qd_kiKxUYcvA5iPT5yYEI/s320/Picture+1.png" style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer;" /></a><br /><br />Now all you orkut users can create and post polls in any community that you are a member of. Just click a button in your favorite community, type in your question, and add pictures (if you like), and voila!—community members can<br />vote and leave comments on your question of choice.<br /><br />Having trouble deciding where to go to spend your holiday weekend, who to vote for in the next election, or how to solve a tough brain teaser? Login to orkut and see what your orkut friends think! You might not see this right away in your favorite communities, but the feature will be rolling out to everyone soon.

The wisdom of orkut

Posted by Natalie Schwartz, orkut product team Wish you could use the wisdom of crowds to help make decisions and get all your questions ans...

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Dog Day at Kirkland

<span class="byline-author">Posted by Tiffany Timmons-Regan, Facilities Service Manager</span><br /><br />A <a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgHflwgnF38CMGRz-BluvluOb9ruUBV4U5zXkiQWcmTAMwAli_tIDQUqJWvrw5Uk7gizGjwbX54ZWA0dioBwuBNEpQDBsz4PuT-4JDa4PiJ_7nf0BCeqdbwRS8Y9_ghEwIVUMEeuII2bwc/s1600-h/Dog+Day+012.jpg"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5045211069501165858" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgHflwgnF38CMGRz-BluvluOb9ruUBV4U5zXkiQWcmTAMwAli_tIDQUqJWvrw5Uk7gizGjwbX54ZWA0dioBwuBNEpQDBsz4PuT-4JDa4PiJ_7nf0BCeqdbwRS8Y9_ghEwIVUMEeuII2bwc/s320/Dog+Day+012.jpg" style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer; width: 258px; height: 165px;" /></a>big round of paws to our Kirkland, Washington, office for hosting the First Annual Dog Day today. The local landlord does not allow dogs in the co-tenant building, so we planned a special day and received approval for the first ever dog party in Kirkland. Eighteen Dooglers—ranging from the smallest a Shih Tzu named Cino and a Lhasa Apso named Pooh, to the largest, Ronin, a Rhodesian Ridgeback, and Squirt, a Bernese Mountain Dog—showed up to enjoy a day of activities and meeting other canine pals.<br /><br />They celebrated the day with doggie massage and acupressure (woof, woof), were pampered by a mobile grooming team, experienced a dog whisperer, and survived a dog training lesson. Of course, we held a "Best in Show" contest to recognize the smallest dog, largest dog, and best trick. No AKC (American Kennel Club) rules here, just some minor Google-imposed rules.<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgvuHNA-x6Doy5YJOEpqBSaEbPdmS1LjfhGt3Bvyj6DcEOEkUo7eb7rD3hK_XFmj0FBZZifg_fpVj-tUphRNhnurxCI_xNqNcS_LfxWPduiYiWUDHXU97ezbVzzrjJOEb0nxM1YfipiUow/s1600-h/Dog+Day+005.jpg"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5045211348674040114" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgvuHNA-x6Doy5YJOEpqBSaEbPdmS1LjfhGt3Bvyj6DcEOEkUo7eb7rD3hK_XFmj0FBZZifg_fpVj-tUphRNhnurxCI_xNqNcS_LfxWPduiYiWUDHXU97ezbVzzrjJOEb0nxM1YfipiUow/s320/Dog+Day+005.jpg" style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 169px; height: 126px;" /></a><br />Each Doogler received a welcome bag filled with their very own Google security badge, fresh organic treats, Bully Sticks, tennis ball, travel poop bag kit, emergency pet evacuation sign (for home), and flyers for area service providers (grooming, day camps, natural foods, etc). It was a great day for Kirkland Dooglers, and we look forward to another day for the dogs.

Dog Day at Kirkland

Posted by Tiffany Timmons-Regan, Facilities Service Manager A big round of paws to our Kirkland, Washington, office for hosting the First An...

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Searching for HR innovation and community

<span class="byline-author">Posted by Judy Gilbert, Director, People Programs and Systems</span><br /><br />You might say that innovation is in Google's DNA, and we on the People Operations team strive to keep up with the high standards set by our technical colleagues -- we're always looking for new ideas. So last week, we rounded up<span> some of the most creative and successful people in human resources (HR) for an evening of brainstorming.<br /><br />Our panelists were leaders from Adobe, Cisco, Genentech, Intuit, Network Appliance, and Yahoo! -- the Bay Area companies featured in Fortune Magazine's <a href="http://money.cnn.com/magazines/fortune/bestcompanies/2007/full_list/">list of the 100 Best Companies To Work For</a>. In the audience were <span>hundreds of HR professionals representing more than 100 companies. The group touched on everything from performance management to diversity to corporate culture.<br /><br />Before the last appetizer was consumed, people were asking, "When can we all get together again?" We're starting to plan the next event, but to expand the conversation, we've started a Google Group for HR professionals for those who want to seek kindred spirits to explore new topics. If you're interested, you can sign up for the <a href="http://groups.google.com/group/hr-networkBayArea">SF Bay Area group</a> or the <a href="http://groups.google.com/group/hr-networkUS">US group</a>.</span></span>

Searching for HR innovation and community

Posted by Judy Gilbert, Director, People Programs and Systems You might say that innovation is in Google's DNA, and we on the People Ope...

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To watch a guide-dog fly

<span class="byline-author">Posted by T.V. Raman, Research Scientist</span><br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">From time to time, our own <a href="http://emacspeak.sourceforge.net/raman/">T.V. Raman</a> shares his tips on how to use Google from his perspective as a technologist who cannot see—tips that sighted people, among others, may also find useful. - Ed.</span><br /><br />You might well wonder what interest I might have in image search given that I cannot see. You might be even more surprised to learn that I own a digital camera. :-) I acquired one a few years ago because the cost of taking photos with a digital camera is zero. It only took a couple of weeks before I could take relatively good pictures of my <a href="http://emacspeak.sourceforge.net/raman/hubbell-labrador/Hubble-shaking-hands-with-Raman.jpg">handsome guide dog</a>. I post many of these pictures to my website -- obviously not for viewing by me, but all my friends.<br /><br />But how do you easily tell friends how to find that special picture? Here Google Image search comes to the rescue. Whenever I'm surrounded by Hubbell's fan club, I want to tell people how they can view specific pictures of her on the web. Universal Resource Locators (URLs) -- those long address strings that make the web work -- are nice, but they have one major disadvantage: they're unspeakable! Thanks to search, I've not had to speak a URL in a long, long time. Instead I usually tell friends to search for [Hubbell Labrador flying] to locate pictures of <a href="http://images.google.com/images?hl=en&ie=UTF-8&q=hubbell+labrador+flying">her sitting on the pilot seat of an aircraft</a> that I posted many years ago to the web.<br /><br />One can think of such focused search queries as "conversational bookmarks" -- the spoken equivalent of bookmarks one saves within a traditional web browser. Notice that such conversational bookmarks are not specific to image search. I often tell people that they can find me on the web by searching Google for [raman labrador] and clicking the <a href="http://www.google.com/search?q=raman+labrador&num=25&btnI=I%27m+Feeling+Lucky">I'm Feeling Lucky</a> button.

To watch a guide-dog fly

Posted by T.V. Raman, Research Scientist From time to time, our own T.V. Raman shares his tips on how to use Google from his perspective as...

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