TechnoServe in Tanzania

<span class="byline-author">Posted by Alex Mkindi, Tanzania Deputy Country Director, TechnoServe</span><br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic;"><a href="http://www.google.org/">Google.org</a> supports efforts to promote economic development in developing countries. From time to time we invite guest bloggers from grantee organizations to tell us about their work.</span><br /><br />Today in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, TechnoServe and Google.org launched a national business plan competition called "<a href="http://www.believe-begin-become.com/Tanzania/index.asp">Believe, Begin, Become</a>". The program is designed to help Tanzanian entrepreneurs develop skills, obtain seed or expansion capital and establish the networks that help transform their business ideas into successful enterprises that create jobs and other income sources that transform the lives of all Tanzanians.<br /><br />We know, from our experience in Latin America and other African countries, what this kind of program can provide to entrepreneurs, who gain not only immediate benefits but a crucial business network that carries on long after the competition ends.<br /><br />Our Organizing Committee colleague <a href="http://www.believe-begin-become.com/Tanzania/2_committee.asp">David Bulengo</a> puts it this way: “The network of professionals and business leaders involved with Believe Begin Become will allow a new generation of young entrepreneurs the chance to learn from their experience and to create wonderful business opportunities.”<br /><br />If you would like to get involved, please <a href="mailto:tzbpc@tnstanzania.org">get in touch</a>.

TechnoServe in Tanzania

Posted by Alex Mkindi, Tanzania Deputy Country Director, TechnoServe Google.org supports efforts to promote economic development in develop...

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Spice up your schedule with the Google Calendar gallery

<span class="byline-author">Posted by Peter Colijn, Software Engineer</span><br /><br />Don't you think that calendars should be more than lists of appointments and meetings? Well, we think an online calendar should be filled with what interests you most, which is why we just unveiled the Google Calendar gallery. Those of you with Google accounts and your friends (who might not have one) can create, share and save your favorite upcoming events directly in Google Calendar. Now you can find all sorts of interesting schedules to add to yours, like these:<br /><blockquote><a href="http://www.google.com/calendar/embed?src=f58eimqodbpvj2j6rbedabvdefnv8hdj%40import.calendar.google.com" title="Atlantic Records">Atlantic Records</a> - See your favorite musical artist's concert schedules.<br /><a href="http://www.google.com/calendar/embed?src=info%40cordless.com" title="Cordless Records">Cordless Records</a> - Find out where the latest independent artists are playing.<br /><a href="http://www.google.com/calendar/embed?src=5lbtacr56qiru2fbc9spblujop8lkgn1%40import.calendar.google.com" title="TLC">TLC</a> - Keep up to date on new shows on the TLC Channel.<br /><a href="http://www.google.com/calendar/embed?src=otpu0ncpmdp3vafd967si6vtes%40group.calendar.google.com" title="Disney">Disney</a> - Plan your family vacation around special events at Disneyland.<br /><a href="http://www.google.com/calendar/embed?src=ge8fu4qg5tndo3j7btidtkqeac%40group.calendar.google.com" title="Eventful">Eventful</a> - Track fun events in your local area.<br /><a href="http://www.google.com/calendar/embed?src=6q67qpo026mf83v85l6mih1ld51iqr6r%40import.calendar.google.com" title="Jambase">Jambase</a> - Know which live music acts are coming to your area.<br /><a href="http://www.google.com/calendar/embed?src=NBAcalendar%40gmail.com" title="NBA">NBA</a> - Follow your favorite basketball team, and never miss a game.<br /><a href="http://www.google.com/calendar/embed?src=up9ba31v77o3bvjfoh1soeqapk%40group.calendar.google.com" title="Netflix">Netflix</a> - Find out when your favorite new movies are available on DVD.<br /><a href="http://www.google.com/calendar/embed?src=fija7g6us5f0120jublp5jd79o%40group.calendar.google.com" title="Orbitz Deals">Orbitz Deals</a> - See special travel deals next to your personal calendar.<br /><a href="http://www.google.com/calendar/embed?src=bf6s0b91gmdl4hr1dvl7fai8l8%40group.calendar.google.com" title="Zvents">Zvents</a> - Gather ideas for things to do this weekend.<br /><br /><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_Ap14FtNN91w/RmdXGaOTHGI/AAAAAAAAAIU/1dEMKaEM5DQ/s1600-h/public+calendar.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5073119272886279266" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_Ap14FtNN91w/RmdXGaOTHGI/AAAAAAAAAIU/1dEMKaEM5DQ/s320/public+calendar.jpg" style="cursor: pointer;" /></a><br /></blockquote><br />The new Google Calendar gallery makes it easy to fill your days with events that you care about and don't want to forget. So <a href="http://www.google.com/calendar/gallery">take a look around</a> and see if there's something that interests you. Maybe you can even find a <a href="http://www.google.com/calendar/event?eid=czB0bWxlZXM3Z2QzbTA5NGIxYmIwZGc0NjggdGIwbTg5ZGc3dmsxb2l0b3M1ODkyZm9wa2tAZw&ctz=America/New_York">perfect excuse to duck out of the office</a> a bit early on Friday. We won't tell!

Spice up your schedule with the Google Calendar gallery

Posted by Peter Colijn, Software Engineer Don't you think that calendars should be more than lists of appointments and meetings? Well, w...

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Feeds on a plane!

<span class="byline-author">Posted by Chris Wetherell, Software Engineer</span><br /><br />With last week's launch of <a href="http://gears.google.com/">Google Gears</a>, we're happy to let you know that <a href="http://reader.google.com/">Google Reader</a> is the first Google web application made for online and offline viewing. If you're not familiar with Google Reader, it's a feed reader for getting updates from your favorite blogs and news sites.<br /><br />Now, you can read these updates whether you're on or offline. It's easy to read today's financial news from the <i>New York Times</i> on the train, or catch up on your favorite blog while on a plane 35,000 ft. above the Atlantic.<br /><br />Once you've installed Google Gears, you can download your latest 2,000 items so they're available even when you don't have an Internet connection. <br /><br /><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_Ap14FtNN91w/Rmc12qOTHFI/AAAAAAAAAIM/-gzSt6vZMh8/s1600-h/Reader_feeds.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5073082718419622994" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_Ap14FtNN91w/Rmc12qOTHFI/AAAAAAAAAIM/-gzSt6vZMh8/s320/Reader_feeds.jpg" style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" /></a><br /><br />To get started, simply click the "Offline" link in the top right of Google Reader.<br /><br />Please note, though, that the current version of Google Gears is a developer release, which means you may notice a few kinks here and there. We'll be working hard to iron those out over the coming months, and as always, we welcome your <a href="http://groups.google.com/group/Google-Labs-Reader">feedback and suggestions</a> as we look to make Google Reader better every day.

Feeds on a plane!

Posted by Chris Wetherell, Software Engineer With last week's launch of Google Gears , we're happy to let you know that Google Reade...

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What U.S. immigration policies mean to Google

<span class="byline-author">Posted by Pablo Chavez, Policy Counsel</span><br /><br />Our experience with American immigration policy dates back to one of our founders: when he was six, Sergey Brin's parents fled the Soviet Union in 1979 and settled in the United States. Today, there are literally hundreds of examples of immigrants and non-immigrant foreign workers playing a vital role in our company.<br /><br />In particular, employees who are holders of H-1B visas -- which allow foreign-born workers with specialized skills to work in the U.S. on a temporary basis -- have helped lead the development of Google News and orkut. Immigrants from countries like Canada, Iran, and Switzerland now lead our business operations, global marketing, global business development, and data infrastructure operations. Without these talented employees and many others, Google would not be where it is today.<br /><br />As Congress grapples with various immigration reform proposals, Laszlo Bock, our Vice President of People Operations, testified today before the House Judiciary Subcommittee on Immigration about the practical impact that the U.S. immigration system has on Google. (Laszlo's mother Susan, who fled Communist Romania when Laszlo was a child, was there too. She was welcomed by Rep. Zoe Lofgren, the chair of the committee, and she received an ovation from everyone present at the hearing.)<br /><br />In his testimony, Laszlo said that, due to limits on the number of H-1B visas, Google is regularly unable to pursue highly qualified candidates. This year, an estimated 133,000 visa applications were filed by H-1B candidates in the first two days of the filing period for only 65,000 available spots. Over the last year alone, the artificially low cap on H-1B visas has prevented more than 70 Google candidates from receiving H-1B visas. Therefore, Laszlo said, "We would encourage Congress to significantly increase the annual cap of 65,000 H-1B visas, to a figure more reflective of the growth rate of our technology-driven economy." He also urged Congress to address the backlog of employment-based green cards for highly skilled workers.<br /><br />Check out the <a href="http://services.google.com/blog_resources/Laszlo_Bock_immigration_testimony.pdf">full text</a> of Laszlo's testimony or watch the video of his opening remarks to the committee below.<br /><br /><object height="350" width="425"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/-rAFmSYY6uE"></param><param name="wmode" value="transparent"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/-rAFmSYY6uE" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" wmode="transparent" width="425" height="350"></embed></object>

What U.S. immigration policies mean to Google

Posted by Pablo Chavez, Policy Counsel Our experience with American immigration policy dates back to one of our founders: when he was six, S...

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Adding more flare

<span class="byline-author">Posted by Susan Wojcicki, VP, Product Management</span><br /><br />As you know, we're constantly looking for ways to identify and offer new tools for content creators and website publishers. Likewise, we constantly aim to give AdWords advertisers broader distribution to an even wider audience of users. For these reasons, we're very pleased to tell you that we've just acquired <a href="http://blogs.feedburner.com/feedburner/archives/2007/06/its_truegle.php">FeedBurner</a>.<br /><br />For those of you who aren't bloggers, podcasters, or feed creators, Chicago-based FeedBurner is a leading provider of feed distribution and management tools. A <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Web_feed">web feed</a> is a way for online publishers to syndicate their content and deliver it straight to readers. Each day, FeedBurner delivers feeds to millions of users around the world and offers unique and useful tools for publishers to analyze, optimize, and monetize their content. Further, FeedBurner offers a feed advertising platform for advertisers to reach engaged feed readers through targeted in-feed ads and innovative techniques like <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/RSS">RSS</a> feed-driven ads.<br /><br />We're excited to continue offering the exceptional tools of FeedBurner to content creators throughout the world, and our teams will work together to improve the experiences of feed users, advertisers, and publishers. You can sign up for FeedBurner's services and take advantage of their feed tools and features immediately.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;">Update:</span> If you're interested, listen to the 45-minute <a href="http://services.google.com/blog_resources/2007_06_11_GoogleFeedburner.mp3">audio file</a> of our press call today with FeedBurner CEO Dick Costolo. (It takes a minute to load.)

Adding more flare

Posted by Susan Wojcicki, VP, Product Management As you know, we're constantly looking for ways to identify and offer new tools for cont...

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29 hours of code

<span class="byline-author">Posted by Andrew Bowers, Developer Programs</span><br /><br /><a href="http://code.google.com/">Google Code</a>, that is. <a href="http://code.google.com/events/developerday">Google Developer Day</a> has officially kicked off in Sydney, Australia, beginning our 29-hour marathon of developer activities around the world. Approximately 5,000 developers will join us today in ten countries to talk about Google's developer products, ask questions, and share their thoughts with Google engineers. For those who can't make it, we're webcasting the <a href="http://code.google.com/events/developerday/webcast-schedule.html">sessions from London and California</a> live, and posting recorded sessions from all locations on the website.<br /><br />A deep dive into technical sessions, free food, swag -- what more could a developer ask for? Well, a few new products would be a good start, and that's what we're providing.<br /><br />First up is <a href="http://code.google.com/apis/gears">Google Gears</a>, an open source browser extension for enabling offline web applications. Now developers will be able to create web applications that don't need a constant Internet connection to work. Users, meanwhile, can interact with Gears-enabled websites anywhere, whether they're on the couch or on an airplane. With this early release, we hope the community will provide feedback and move towards an industry standard for offline web applications. Read more on the new <a href="http://gearsblog.blogspot.com/">Gears blog</a>.<br /><br />An experimental product debuting today is the <a href="http://editor.googlemashups.com/" title="Google Mashup Editor">Google Mashup Editor</a>, an online editor that enables developers to create, test, and deploy mashups and simple web applications from within a browser. Now developers can turn out those weekend projects more quickly. We've also launched a new <a href="http://googlemashupeditor.blogspot.com/" title="Google Mashup Editor blog">blog</a> where you can learn more about the Google Mashup Editor and get the latest news.<br /><br />Finally, we released <a href="http://www.google.com/apis/maps/documentation/mapplets/index.html" title="Google Mapplets">Google Mapplets</a> yesterday at the <a href="http://conferences.oreillynet.com/where2007/" title="Where 2.0 conference">Where 2.0 conference</a>. Mapplets are mini-applications that any developer can build on top of Google Maps so that users can easily discover the creative genius and usefulness of the mashup development community. You'll find more about Mapplets <a href="http://google-latlong.blogspot.com/2007/05/mashup-of-mashups.html" title="here">here</a>. And we're also quite excited about the interest that has been shown in Google Web Toolkit (GWT). Since its launch last May, there have been over 1 million downloads. You can read more <a href="http://googlewebtoolkit.blogspot.com/2007/05/gwt-reaches-1-million-downloads.html">on the GWT blog</a>.<br /><br />Between Developer Day, the product launches, and GWT's activity, we hope to keep developers around the world busy for a while. But if you run out of things to build, you can always find more ideas on <a href="http://code.google.com/">Google Code</a>.

29 hours of code

Posted by Andrew Bowers, Developer Programs Google Code , that is. Google Developer Day has officially kicked off in Sydney, Australia, beg...

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A picture's worth a thousand clicks

<font class="byline-author">Posted by John Hanke, Director for Maps, Earth and Local</font><br /><br />I am pleased to tell you that we've agreed to purchase <a href="http://www.panoramio.com/">Panoramio</a>, a website based in Spain that links millions of photos with the exact geographical location where they were taken. (<a href="http://www.google.com/intl/en/press/annc/annc_panoramio.html">Our FAQ</a> has all the details.)<br /><br />Panoramio is a community photos website that enables digital photographers to geo-locate, store and organize their photographs -- and to view those photographs in Google Earth. Other users can search and browse Panoramio photos and suggest edits to the metadata associated with the photos. Panoramio also offers an API that enables web developers to embed Panoramio functionality into their websites.<br /><br />Those of you already using Google Earth have no doubt noticed Panoramio's striking images documenting settings from all over the world, like <a href="http://www.panoramio.com/photo/901470">moonscapes in Croatia</a>, <a href="http://www.panoramio.com/photo/1578881" title="http://www.panoramio.com/photo/1578881">dramatic sunsets in Australia</a>, and innovative <a href="http://www.panoramio.com/photo/91375">architecture in the United Arab Emirates</a>.<br /><br />We've been working with Panoramio for some time -- its photos have been a default layer in Google Earth since the beginning of the year. This layer will remain in place as our teams work together toward further integrating this amazing content, generated by many, into our mapping technologies.

A picture's worth a thousand clicks

Posted by John Hanke, Director for Maps, Earth and Local I am pleased to tell you that we've agreed to purchase Panoramio , a website ba...

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