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Finding fresh results

Posted by Peeyush Ranjan, Engineering Manager and Hong Zhang, Software Engineer We work hard to keep our search results as fresh as possible so that they reflect the most up to date content on the web. However, given the immense medium the Internet is, it's hard to find all those pages that have just come into existence and make them available when people come looking for the latest information on new topics, whether it's a highly anticipated cell phone launch, news about a popular celebrity or the latest political maneuvers. What makes providing the latest information harder is the small amount of time we have between the page creation and when we'd like to serve those results to you. Despite these challenges, one thing should not be hard: finding the freshest results on the page. To make it easier for you to spot the newer pages among the search results, we are now going to tell you how long ago we've seen a page containing what we think you're looking for. For example, if on August 6th you were searching on Google.com for latest financial information following the Friday financial sector action, here's how that result would have looked in the past: <a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhAlQEd4xA8EcbQli9-SiCYG3cExJLz8Gs9zRZ_cUuLFkPz5iLHWvrCfSJjukUg6beT4N23KyLuR500Z1IaYDRJRVCPPuH-yRC1ZGrFGBAYEve30BXzK3mrRFERXvSgD66LVgr7hY1hTi2l/s1600-h/Fresh+result-old.jpg"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5095987548777549410" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhAlQEd4xA8EcbQli9-SiCYG3cExJLz8Gs9zRZ_cUuLFkPz5iLHWvrCfSJjukUg6beT4N23KyLuR500Z1IaYDRJRVCPPuH-yRC1ZGrFGBAYEve30BXzK3mrRFERXvSgD66LVgr7hY1hTi2l/s320/Fresh+result-old.jpg" style="cursor: pointer;" /></a> From this you could only see that we crawled this page at a day level granularity. But now when you do this search you will also be able to tell how long ago we noticed this page, so you can quickly pinpoint which of these is results is likely to contain more recent information. Here's the same example showing the annotation that tells you there's something new in the results we've seen recently. <a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiuTwOwq2FdZPV-swYdew9E-Wa8rVt0K3PkJ9vG9PY6Itci3A1GRtklv6g0CXL1XNFj2easwZ1PGp0WXieQlm138u48Pn5uE6VMk9lIpWB_YF6kOgb1xhS8S0-DLf-ybkgdrsT0uV-6oj6u/s1600-h/fresh+result-new.jpg"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5095988197317611138" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiuTwOwq2FdZPV-swYdew9E-Wa8rVt0K3PkJ9vG9PY6Itci3A1GRtklv6g0CXL1XNFj2easwZ1PGp0WXieQlm138u48Pn5uE6VMk9lIpWB_YF6kOgb1xhS8S0-DLf-ybkgdrsT0uV-6oj6u/s320/fresh+result-new.jpg" style="cursor: pointer;" /></a> So if you're looking for the most recent content on the web, this change should make it easier to find. And if you're a webmaster looking to tell us about all the new content on your site we haven't looked at yet, check out our support for <a href="http://googlewebmastercentral.blogspot.com/2006/11/joint-support-for-sitemap-protocol.html">sitemaps</a>.

Finding fresh results

Posted by Peeyush Ranjan, Engineering Manager and Hong Zhang, Software Engineer We work hard to keep our search results as fresh as possible...

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Is black the new green?

Posted by Bill Weihl, Green Energy Czar Reducing climate change by saving energy is an important effort we should all join, and that's why we're very glad to see the innovative thinking going into a variety of solutions. One idea, suggested by the site called "Blackle" (which is not related to Google, by the way, though the site does use our <a href="http://www.google.com/coop/cse/">custom search engine</a>), is to reduce energy used by monitors by providing search with a black background. We applaud the spirit of the idea, but our own analysis as well as that of <a href="http://blogs.wsj.com/numbersguy/does-a-darkened-google-really-save-electricity-104/">others</a> shows that making the Google homepage black will not reduce energy consumption. To the contrary, on flat-panel monitors (already estimated to be 75% of the market), displaying black may actually increase energy usage. <a href="http://techlogg.com/content/view/360/31/">Detailed results</a> from a new study confirm this. As computers become a bigger part of more people's lives, they will consume an increasing amount of energy, which is why we've invested so much in <a title="making our data centers efficient" href="http://googleblog.blogspot.com/2006/09/towards-more-efficient-computing.html">making our data centers efficient</a> and we've <a title="joined with others" href="http://googleblog.blogspot.com/2007/06/climate-savers-computing-initiative.html">joined with others</a> to launch Climate Savers Computing, which has a goal of reducing total power consumption by more than 50% for all computers by 2010. There are some things you can do now to reduce the energy used by your computer, such as: <ul><li>turn on the power management features. Virtually all computers today have the ability to switch into low-power modes automatically when they're idle; very few computers have this capability enabled! <a href="http://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/using/setup/learnmore/russel_02march25.mspx">Here's how </a>to do it on computers running Windows XP.</li></ul><ul><li>turn off your monitor and computer when you're not using them</li></ul><ul><li>turn down the brightness on your monitor</li></ul><ul><li>make sure your next computer meets the efficiency standards of <a title="Climate Savers Computing" href="http://www.climatesaverscomputing.org/">Climate Savers Computing (</a>an efficient computer uses up to 50% less energy than a conventional one)</li></ul><ul><li>to find the most efficient PCs available today, look for the words "EnergyStar 4.0 compliant."</li></ul>

Is black the new green?

Posted by Bill Weihl, Green Energy Czar Reducing climate change by saving energy is an important effort we should all join, and that's w...

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Google Checkout back-to-school offers

Google Checkout back-to-school offers

Posted by Susan Taing, Associate Product Marketing Manager Checkout stores are offering up to $20 in savings for the back-to-school season....

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Google search privacy: Plain and simple

Posted by Peter Fleischer, Global Privacy Counsel Cookies, IP addresses, logs -- all of these are important things to understand in the context of online privacy. We try to explain them in clear and simple language in our <a title="privacy policy" href="http://www.google.com/privacy.html">privacy policy</a> and <a title="FAQ" href="http://www.google.com/privacy_faq.html">FAQ</a>. But they're not always easy for non-techies to understand. Google is committed to being transparent about our privacy practices. We've been thinking about different ways to help people understand the technical aspects of online privacy, to improve transparency, and to empower you to make informed decisions about how you want to use our services. Today, we're launching our first experiment to <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kLgJYBRzUXY">explain basic privacy concepts via video</a> on YouTube. Here it is: <object height="350" width="425"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/kLgJYBRzUXY"><param name="wmode" value="transparent"><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/kLgJYBRzUXY" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" wmode="transparent" height="350" width="425"></embed></object> This video runs about 5 minutes, so we couldn’t cover everything. Over time, we hope to create additional videos where we talk about other privacy issues: what data do we collect when you register for a Google Account? or - when you search on Google while you’re logged in? or - why does Google keep server logs? But before we head down the road of sequels, we’d like to get your feedback on whether you find this video format helpful. So please watch it and <a href="http://www.google.com/support/bin/request.py?form_type=user&stage=fm&user_type=user&contact_type=privacy&hl=en">tell us what you think</a>. We look forward to hearing from you.

Google search privacy: Plain and simple

Posted by Peter Fleischer, Global Privacy Counsel Cookies, IP addresses, logs -- all of these are important things to understand in the cont...

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Joining OIN

Posted by Chris DiBona, Open Source Programs Manager You'll often hear members of our open source team say, “Every time you use Google, you’re using Linux.” It’s absolutely true. Check a Google engineer’s workstation, and you’ll probably find it's running Linux. Do a search on Google.com, and a Linux server will return your results. Ever since Google got its start, Linux has given us the power and flexibility we need to serve millions of users around the world. In turn, we feel a strong responsibility to the Linux community, and we’re always looking for creative ways to put our resources in the hands of Linux developers. That’s why today we became a licensee of the <a title="Open Invention Network" href="http://www.openinventionnetwork.com/">Open Invention Network</a> (OIN), an innovative patent-sharing organization founded to create a legally protected environment for anyone who works with Linux. The concept behind OIN is simple. All OIN licensees, including participants such as IBM, Oracle, NEC and Sony, agree to cross-license their Linux-related patents to the others free of charge. Patent issues therefore become a much smaller concern inside the community, and OIN members can focus their energy on writing and releasing software rather than vetting their code for intellectual property issues. It's the legal equivalent of taking a long, deep breath. For us, today’s announcement marks the latest development in a long, fruitful relationship with the open source community. The Google <a title="Summer of Code" href="http://code.google.com/soc/2007/">Summer of Code</a> program has trained over 2,000 students as open source developers, many on Linux-related projects. We continue to fund external projects and host events like the <a title="Ubuntu Developer Summit" href="https://wiki.ubuntu.com/UbuntuDeveloperSummitMountainView">Ubuntu Developer Summit</a> and the <a title="Linux Foundation Innovation Summit" href="http://www.linux-foundation.org/en/Linux_Foundation_Collaboration_Summit">Linux Foundation Innovation Summit</a>. Hundreds of Googlers are submitting patches to Linux, and we’ve open-sourced over a million lines of code. We believe Linux innovation moves fastest when developers can share their knowledge with full peace of mind. We’re proud to participate in an organization that’s making that possible, and we look forward to seeing OIN grow and thrive.

Joining OIN

Posted by Chris DiBona, Open Source Programs Manager You'll often hear members of our open source team say, “Every time you use Google, ...

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Kirkland does the Ragnar Relay

Posted by Katya Rogers, Software Engineer Go back in time with me to last Friday morning. It's 4:30 a.m. I am standing in a parking lot, watching 11 Googlers and friends adding finish decorating the mini-vans and loading coolers filled with Gatorade and snacks. We're planning to drive to <a href="http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&hl=en&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;geocode=&q=Blaine,+WA&ie=UTF8&z=12&om=1" target="_blank">Blaine</a> (Washington) and then run 187 miles over two days, relay-style, along the coast, finishing on the south end of Whidbey island. In other words, this is the <a href="http://www.ragnarrelay.com/index.php">Ragnar Relay</a>, an event that started in Utah 4 years ago, now in its first year in Washington State. Sounds crazy, huh? Fortunately, I'm working with people who consider no idea too outrageous -- not even the notion that running a multi-day relay would be "fun"! For the next 30+ hours we're <a href="http://www.ragnarrelay.com/northwestpassage/coursemaps/index.php">on the road</a>, catching naps in mini-vans and exchange points, overcoming challenges of running through summer Washington heat (who knew?) and total darkness (aided by headlamps), enjoying the roads that take us through the farmland (hello, llamas and blueberries!) and near the coast (over Deception Pass just before sunrise). We're ignoring blisters, scrapes, sore knees and ankles to get over the next hill, and another one after, and another one -- where our van is waiting, full of good cheer and ice-cold water. Then we push even harder to get to the exchange point. We get into <a href="http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&hl=en&amp;amp;q=Langley,+WA&ie=UTF8&om=1&ll=48.040447,-122.406921&spn=0.567442,0.850067&z=10&iwloc=addr" target="_blank">Langley</a>, our last town on the route, Saturday afternoon. We wait for the last runner at the finishing line, and cross it together -- tired, sore, and, astonishingly, ready to do it again next year. And that, dear readers, is the story of how some of us spent last weekend. <a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhqtwMxwodIMxRaLWVgOxEV-GYiKt0Ls9edsP0mGBT3S_UmopMy_o1bAFlkyP1HGkx3q5gZrqUZ2uMhWaoD5lMGOTchvWk0lNv4LLG4K4GiCjw85ArKnyEhuyEftWsHXaloJmu0-n1N-Bpn/s1600-h/Ragnar.jpg"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5093956531757715026" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhqtwMxwodIMxRaLWVgOxEV-GYiKt0Ls9edsP0mGBT3S_UmopMy_o1bAFlkyP1HGkx3q5gZrqUZ2uMhWaoD5lMGOTchvWk0lNv4LLG4K4GiCjw85ArKnyEhuyEftWsHXaloJmu0-n1N-Bpn/s320/Ragnar.jpg" style="cursor: pointer;" /></a>

Kirkland does the Ragnar Relay

Posted by Katya Rogers, Software Engineer Go back in time with me to last Friday morning. It's 4:30 a.m. I am standing in a parking lot,...

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Google Apps goes global

Posted by Sanjay Raman, Google Apps Product Manager Our mission is to "organize the world's information and make it universally accessible and useful." Note that twice in this eleven-word mission statement, we mention that this is a global effort, not just a problem we're solving only for English-speaking users in the U.S. That global focus is critical, because fully 65% of Internet users around the world speak a language other than English. In fact, the Internet's top 10 languages still only account for around 85% of users -- and the remaining 15% represents almost 200 million people. As part of our broader effort to make Google accessible to more people in their native languages, we're announcing a number of updates for <a href="http://www.google.com/a" title="Google Apps">Google Apps</a>, our customizable package of hosted communication and collaboration <a href="http://www.google.com/a/help/intl/en/users/user_features.html" title="applications">applications</a> for businesses, schools, and other organizations. Several features and components previously available only to English users and administrators of Google Apps are now available in other languages, too. Here's a quick rundown of what's new for non-English speakers: <ul><li> Google Apps <a href="http://www.google.com/a/help/intl/en/admins/editions_spe.html" title="Premier Edition">Premier Edition</a> for companies and organizations needing an uptime guarantee for email service, 10 gigabytes of email storage per user, <a href="http://code.google.com/apis/apps/" title="integration APIs">integration APIs</a> and multi-lingual telephone support for critical issues (support experts are available in English, French, Italian, German, Spanish and Dutch). Also, for a limited time, you can try Premier Edition for free for 30 days. </li><li> Google Apps <a href="http://www.google.com/a/partners/" title="Partner Edition">Partner Edition</a> for ISPs and portals that want to offer Gmail and other applications to their subscribers. </li><li> Google <a href="http://www.google.com/a/help/intl/en/users/dands.html" title="Docs & Spreadsheets">Docs & Spreadsheets</a>, which lets Google Apps users create and collaborate in real time, right from their browsers. </li><li> The <a href="http://www.google.com/a/help/intl/en/users/start_page.html" title="Start Page">Start Page</a>, a central place for Google Apps users to preview their inboxes, calendars and documents, access their organizations' essential content, and search the web. </li><li> A more user-friendly <a href="http://www.google.com/a/help/intl/en/admins/control_panel.html" title="control panel">control panel</a> interface for Google Apps administrators. </li><li> <a href="http://www.google.com/support/a/bin/answer.py?answer=61369" title="Mail migration tools">Mail migration tools</a> for administrators who want to switch from a different email system (available with Premier and Education Editions only). </li></ul>Not only are we adding these features to the languages Google Apps already supports; we're also rolling Google Apps out in six more languages. Here's the full list: <a href="http://www.google.com/a/?hl=fr" title="French">French</a>, <a href="http://www.google.com/a/?hl=it" title="Italian">Italian</a>, <a href="http://www.google.com/a/?hl=de" title="German">German</a>, <a href="http://www.google.com/a/?hl=es" title="Spanish">Spanish</a>, <a href="http://www.google.com/a/?hl=nl" title="Dutch">Dutch</a>, <a href="http://www.google.com/a/?hl=sv" title="Swedish">Swedish</a>, <a href="http://www.google.com/a/?hl=no" title="Norwegian">Norwegian</a>, <a href="http://www.google.com/a/?hl=da" title="Danish">Danish</a>, <a href="http://www.google.com/a/?hl=fi" title="Finnish">Finnish</a>, <a href="http://www.google.com/a/?hl=tr" title="Turkish">Turkish</a>, <a href="http://www.google.com/a/?hl=pl" title="Polish">Polish</a>, <a href="http://www.google.com/a/?hl=uk" title="Ukrainian">Ukrainian</a>, <a href="http://www.google.com/a/?hl=cs" title="Czech">Czech</a>, <a href="http://www.google.com/a/?hl=ru" title="Russian">Russian</a>, <a href="http://www.google.com/a/?hl=zh_CN" title="Chinese (Simplified)">Chinese (Simplified)</a>, <a href="http://www.google.com/a/?hl=zh_TW" title="Chinese (Traditional)">Chinese (Traditional)</a>, <a href="http://www.google.com/a/?hl=ja" title="Japanese">Japanese</a>, <a href="http://www.google.com/a/?hl=ko" title="Korean">Korean</a>, <a href="http://www.google.com/a/?hl=pt_BR" title="Brazilian Portuguese">Brazilian Portuguese</a>, <a href="http://www.google.com/a/?hl=th" title="Thai">Thai</a>, <a href="http://www.google.com/a/?hl=vi" title="Vietnamese">Vietnamese</a>, <a href="http://www.google.com/a/?hl=ar" title="Arabic">Arabic</a>, <a href="http://www.google.com/a/?hl=iw" title="Hebrew">Hebrew</a>, <a href="http://www.google.com/a/?hl=id" title="Indonesian">Indonesian</a>, <a href="http://www.google.com/a/?hl=hu" title="Hungarian">Hungarian</a>, <a href="http://www.google.com/a/?hl=en_GB" title="UK English">UK English</a> and <a href="http://www.google.com/a/?hl=en" title="US English">US English</a>.

Google Apps goes global

Posted by Sanjay Raman, Google Apps Product Manager Our mission is to "organize the world's information and make it universally ac...

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