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Google Web Toolkit: Towards a better web

Posted by Bruce Johnson and Dan Peterson, Google Web Toolkit team We're very pleased to tell you that the <a href="http://code.google.com/webtoolkit/">Google Web Toolkit</a> (GWT) is no longer in beta as of <a href="http://googlewebtoolkit.blogspot.com/2007/08/gwt-14-release-and-out-of-beta.html">today's release of GWT 1.4.</a> For Java developers who have used GWT to create high-end web applications over the last year, this may not seem all that surprising. But if you haven't yet heard the story behind GWT, this seems like the perfect time... If you've been in the technology industry for a while, you probably remember when enterprises and software vendors had to think pretty hard about whether to develop locally-installed desktop applications or web-based browser applications. These days, whether you're building <a href="http://code.google.com/gme/">mashups</a>, <a href="http://code.google.com/apis/gadgets/">gadgets</a>, or full-blown applications, it's a no-brainer: the browser is the delivery platform of choice. However, users expect more from the up-and-coming generation of web applications than the simple click-and-wait of yesterweb. And if you're a web developer, you know that this requires <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ajax_%28programming%29">AJAX</a>, the cluster of technologies including JavaScript and dynamic HTML that can make browsers do backflips. But the stark reality of AJAX applications is that, although they can deliver sexy features and great usability, they are unusually hard to engineer. Browser quirks and the anything-goes nature of JavaScript will inevitably frustrate even the most dedicated developers and add risk to your schedule with every line of code written. If you do eventually manage to construct a complex AJAX application that works, you're likely to find that maintaining it over time can be a major challenge. And all that doesn't even scratch the surface of testing, optimizing, securing and internationalizing your application. (If you are currently working on an ambitious AJAX project and haven't yet come to this conclusion, please re-read this post in six months when you're further along!) We've learned a lot from our experiences building web applications, and we're happy to share the tools we've created. Google Web Toolkit is an open source project that helps Java developers harness the richness of AJAX in a cross-platform, web-friendly environment. The magic trick is that GWT cross-compiles Java source code into standalone JavaScript that you can include in any web page. Instead of spending time becoming JavaScript gurus and fighting browser quirks, developers using GWT spend time productively coding and debugging in the robust Java programming language, using their existing Java tools and expertise. Naturally, GWT is also a great way to easily take advantage of the latest-and-greatest Google APIs and browser enhancements, such as <a href="http://code.google.com/apis/gears/">Google Gears</a>. In addition to making debugging far easier, GWT's unique compilation-based approach to AJAX has the nice property that it rewards developers for good software engineering practices. Java source code that is clear and organized can be easily optimized by the GWT compiler, which is a nice antidote to the frequent hack-and-slash approach that's all too common in JavaScript development. As your application grows, the GWT compiler begins to pay off in even bigger ways. Unused code is automatically removed so that scripts are smaller and pages load faster. Complex code can be automatically coalesced and simplified. Most importantly, because the Java language is statically typed, many common errors can be caught during development rather than production. You can observe the high-performance results yourself in GWT's <a href="http://gwt.google.com/samples/Mail/Mail.html">sample Mail application</a>. Technical details aside, GWT makes it easy to develop fast, friendly web apps that users love — which is, after all, the point. <a href="http://code.google.com/webtoolkit/download.html">Download GWT 1.4</a>.

Google Web Toolkit: Towards a better web

Posted by Bruce Johnson and Dan Peterson, Google Web Toolkit team We're very pleased to tell you that the Google Web Toolkit (GWT) is n...

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First year of Google WiFi

By Minnie Ingersoll, Chris Sacca & Larry Alder, Alternative Access Team Our Mountain View WiFi network just celebrated its <a href="http://googleblog.blogspot.com/2006/08/free-citywide-wifi-in-mountain-view.html" id="g7.:" title="first anniversary">first anniversary</a>, and we thought you'd appreciate a few data points. The network's 400+ mesh routers <a href="http://wifi.google.com/city/mv/apmap.html">cover about 12 square miles</a> and 25,000 homes to serve approximately 15,000 unique users each <strike>week</strike> month. Since the beginning of 2007, traffic has grown almost 10 percent each month, and the network now handles over 300 gigabytes of data each day, sent to over 100 distinct types of WiFi devices. Virtually the entire city has been taking advantage of the network, with 95 percent of the mesh routers being used on any given day. Around the globe and across the U. S., many people are still not able to access the online services that are increasingly helpful, if not essential, tools for our daily lives. This is why we're committed to promoting alternative platforms for people to access the web, no matter where you are, what you're doing or what device you're using. For those who have been following <a href="https://home.feather.net/sanfrancisco" id="c03t">the effort</a> to create a free wireless network in San Francisco, we continue to hope that EarthLink and The City will find a way to enable all San Franciscans to enjoy the free WiFi network they deserve. On a broader scale, we hope that the success of the Mountain View model will encourage others to think creatively about how to address access issues in many other communities. Update: Corrected usage from "week" to "month."

First year of Google WiFi

By Minnie Ingersoll, Chris Sacca & Larry Alder, Alternative Access Team Our Mountain View WiFi network just celebrated its first anniver...

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The view from the Sky

Posted by <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sally_Ride">Sally Ride</a>, Ph.D., former astronaut It's true: astronauts have a great view! When I was <a href="http://starchild.gsfc.nasa.gov/docs/StarChild/whos_who_level2/ride.html">orbiting Earth in the space shuttle</a>, I had the unbelievable experience of being able to float over to a window and look back down at our planet, then off into space at the stars. Absolutely spectacular! These days my feet are closer to the ground, and my mission doesn't involve circling the Earth. I run a science education company, <a href="http://www.sallyridescience.com/">Sally Ride Science</a>, that creates entertaining science materials for elementary and middle school students and classrooms, so I'm always looking for cool tools that can engage kids and help them learn more about our world. <a href="http://earth.google.com/sky">Sky in Google Earth </a>is great, and we plan on using it in some of our programs. (Read more on the <a href="http://google-latlong.blogspot.com/2007/08/sky-final-frontier.html">Google Lat Long blog</a>.) As you can probably tell from the video I did on Sky with a Google engineer, I always loved astronomy. I even put together (OK, with the help of some folks at Sally Ride Science and Google) a special KML showcase of some of my favorite extra-solar places -- nebulae where stars are born, remnants of exploding stars, and even a bunch of stars that have ... planets orbiting around them! (No, scientists haven't found any like Earth yet.) If you know any kids or teachers who like astronomy, send them to Sky (the <a href="http://earth.google.com/sky/skyedu">resource page</a> is a good start) -- and tell them to check out the Sally Ride Science KML feature.

The view from the Sky

Posted by Sally Ride , Ph.D., former astronaut It's true: astronauts have a great view! When I was orbiting Earth in the space shuttle ,...

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An update on Google Video feedback

Posted by Bindu Reddy, Google Video Product Manager When your friends and well-intentioned acquaintances tell you that you've made a mistake, it's good to listen. So we'd like to say thank you to everyone who wrote to let us know that we had made a mistake in the case of Google Video's Download to Own/Rent Refund Policy vs. Common Sense. To recap: we decided to end the Google Video download to own/rent (DTO/DTR) program, and are now refocusing our Google Video engineering efforts. The week before last, we wrote to Google Video DTO/DTR program customers to let them know that videos they'd already bought would no longer be playable. We planned to give these users a full refund or more. And because we weren't sure if we had all the correct addresses, latest credit card information, and other billing challenges, we thought offering the refund in the form of Google Checkout credits would entail fewer steps and offer a better user experience. We should have anticipated that some users would see a Checkout credit as nothing more than an extra step of a different (and annoyingly self-serving) kind. Our bad. Here's how we're hoping to fix things: <ul><li>We're giving a full refund -- as a credit card refund -- to everyone who ever bought a video. We'll need you to make sure we have your most recent credit card information, but once we know where to send the money, you'll get it.</li></ul><ul><li>You can still keep the Google Checkout credit that you've received already. Think of it as an additional 'we're sorry we goofed' credit. </li></ul><ul><li>We're going to continue to support playing your videos for another six months. We won't be offering the ability to buy additional videos, but what you've already downloaded will remain playable on your computer. </li></ul> We take pride in moving quickly, and we think this philosophy helps to create lots of new and innovative products. But it also leads to errors that -- upon reflection and your feedback -- we need to rectify. This was one of them. We make mistakes; we do our best not to repeat them -- and we really do try to fix the ones we make. That said, the very least that our users should expect from us is that our mistakes be new and innovative, too. ;) We appreciate your responses, and hope our actions convey just how seriously we take everyone's feedback.

An update on Google Video feedback

Posted by Bindu Reddy, Google Video Product Manager When your friends and well-intentioned acquaintances tell you that you've made a mis...

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Google Labs India

Posted by M T Raghunath and Gokul Nath Babu Manoharan, Software Engineers Keeping up with the spirit and celebrations of India's 60th year of Independence, we present to you a new platform that showcases our favourite ideas for Indian users: <a href="http://labs.google.co.in/" target="_blank" title="http://labs.google.co.in/">Google India Labs</a>. Enthusiastic bloggers noted our initial announcement on 15th August; now here's the full story. Though 60 years young, India has a history dating back to the dawn of civilization. The incredible diversity of this great nation is the kind of challenge Google loves. And in line with our mission of making information universally accessible, we're now offering an easier way to search in 14 Indian and South Asian languages. You don't need a special keyboard or software; all you need is a web browser, a mouse, and a Unicode font for your language. So whether you speak অসমীয়া (<a href="http://www.google.com/ig/adde?moduleurl=http%3A//www.google.com/ig/modules/assamese_keyboard.xml" title="http://www.google.com/ig/adde?moduleurl=http://www.google.com/ig/modules/assamese_keyboard.xml">Assamese</a>), বাংলা (<a href="http://www.google.com/ig/adde?moduleurl=http%3A//www.google.com/ig/modules/bengali_keyboard.xml" title="http://www.google.com/ig/adde?moduleurl=http://www.google.com/ig/modules/bengali_keyboard.xml">Bengali</a>), ગુજરાતી (<a href="http://www.google.com/ig/adde?moduleurl=http%3A//www.google.com/ig/modules/gujarati_keyboard.xml" title="http://www.google.com/ig/adde?moduleurl=http://www.google.com/ig/modules/gujarati_keyboard.xml">Gujarati</a>), हिंदी (<a href="http://www.google.com/ig/adde?moduleurl=http%3A//www.google.com/ig/modules/hindi_keyboard.xml" title="http://www.google.com/ig/adde?moduleurl=http://www.google.com/ig/modules/hindi_keyboard.xml">Hindi</a>), ಕನ್ನಡ (<a href="http://www.google.com/ig/adde?moduleurl=http%3A//www.google.com/ig/modules/kannada_keyboard.xml" title="http://www.google.com/ig/adde?moduleurl=http://www.google.com/ig/modules/kannada_keyboard.xml">Kannada</a>), മലയാളം (<a href="http://www.google.com/ig/adde?moduleurl=http%3A//www.google.com/ig/modules/malayalam_keyboard.xml" title="http://www.google.com/ig/adde?moduleurl=http://www.google.com/ig/modules/malayalam_keyboard.xml">Malayalam</a>), मराठी (<a href="http://www.google.com/ig/adde?moduleurl=http%3A//www.google.com/ig/modules/marathi_keyboard.xml" title="http://www.google.com/ig/adde?moduleurl=http://www.google.com/ig/modules/marathi_keyboard.xml">Marathi</a>), नेपाली (<a href="http://www.google.com/ig/adde?moduleurl=http%3A//www.google.com/ig/modules/nepali_keyboard.xml" title="http://www.google.com/ig/adde?moduleurl=http://www.google.com/ig/modules/nepali_keyboard.xml">Nepali</a>), ଓଡ଼ିଆ (<a href="http://www.google.com/ig/adde?moduleurl=http%3A//www.google.com/ig/modules/oriya_keyboard.xml" title="http://www.google.com/ig/adde?moduleurl=http://www.google.com/ig/modules/oriya_keyboard.xml">Oriya</a>), ਪੰਜਾਬੀ (<a href="http://www.google.com/ig/adde?moduleurl=http%3A//www.google.com/ig/modules/punjabi_keyboard.xml" title="http://www.google.com/ig/adde?moduleurl=http://www.google.com/ig/modules/punjabi_keyboard.xml">Punjabi</a>), संस्कृतम् (<a href="http://www.google.com/ig/adde?moduleurl=http%3A//www.google.com/ig/modules/sanskrit_keyboard.xml" title="http://www.google.com/ig/adde?moduleurl=http://www.google.com/ig/modules/sanskrit_keyboard.xml">Sanskrit</a>), සිංහල (<a href="http://www.google.com/ig/adde?moduleurl=http%3A//www.google.com/ig/modules/sinhala_keyboard.xml" title="http://www.google.com/ig/adde?moduleurl=http://www.google.com/ig/modules/sinhala_keyboard.xml">Sinhala</a>), தமிழ் (<a href="http://www.google.com/ig/adde?moduleurl=http%3A//www.google.com/ig/modules/tamil_keyboard.xml" title="http://www.google.com/ig/adde?moduleurl=http://www.google.com/ig/modules/tamil_keyboard.xml">Tamil</a>), or తెలుగు (<a href="http://www.google.com/ig/adde?moduleurl=http%3A//www.google.com/ig/modules/telugu_keyboard.xml" title="http://www.google.com/ig/adde?moduleurl=http://www.google.com/ig/modules/telugu_keyboard.xml">Telugu</a>), we can help you find content on the web in your language. To get started, add one or more of these <a href="http://labs.google.co.in/indic.html" target="_blank" title="http://labs.google.co.in/indic.html">iGoogle gadgets</a> to your personalized iGoogle home page. You can use these gadgets to compose queries, and ask Google to search the vast Internet in your very own language. <div style="text-align: left;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg33FcrggjfN2H7z9-B1R51HbWe3h_nPCSiUIAcbhJx-A1antUAqIqMXHCd2u34OfI9pXgSpvmySLAbPpb4Tql5rni5XWHfpNWXXnZUrKa1ZhDANQ617EBfLUoUjMNK-JVBZ1b8JP0aWydZ/s1600-h/INDIA_languages.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5099693467938359378" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg33FcrggjfN2H7z9-B1R51HbWe3h_nPCSiUIAcbhJx-A1antUAqIqMXHCd2u34OfI9pXgSpvmySLAbPpb4Tql5rni5XWHfpNWXXnZUrKa1ZhDANQ617EBfLUoUjMNK-JVBZ1b8JP0aWydZ/s320/INDIA_languages.jpg" style="cursor: pointer;" /></a> </div> <div style="text-align: justify;">If you're interested in writing in Hindi, we have brought out the transliteration feature from <a href="http://www.blogger.com/hindi" target="_blank" title="http://www.blogger.com/hindi">Blogger </a>into an independent product of its own: <a href="http://www.google.com/transliterate/indic/" target="_blank" title="http://www.google.com/transliterate/indic/">Google Indic Transliteration</a>. This tool will let you type in Hindi, using an English keyboard. Type out words phonetically, and let Google convert them into the correct Hindi word. For example, type "Bharat" to see "भारत". You'll soon discover that our sophisticated transliteration technology makes it<a href="http://big.corp.google.com/%7Eanupama/wahwah/transliteration-729266.bmp" title="http://big.corp.google.com/~anupama/wahwah/transliteration-729266.bmp"> </a>really easy to compose in Hindi. Our algorithm might get the occasional word wrong, but it is always willing to learn. You can teach it by clicking on the wrong word and correcting it. This is also available as an <a href="http://www.google.com/ig/directory?hl=en&url=indic_transliteration.xml" id="ki:6" title="http://www.google.com/ig/directory?hl=en&url=indic_transliteration.xml iGoogle Gadget">iGoogle Gadget</a>. <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjiYygRGmyP6OJbUNZTtXhdpPU-TSHJhmOj9nuId1pZI4IhTdb8K870Q6vzOKF14WhWHrZ1kiajcjycuReWTFNxiWVdQ_jSSH-ZdQZ4KnAsQslfDPVbkkE0SfiYIMFVn4km7UBaAVRwAPbB/s1600-h/INDIA-snippet.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5099694674824169570" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjiYygRGmyP6OJbUNZTtXhdpPU-TSHJhmOj9nuId1pZI4IhTdb8K870Q6vzOKF14WhWHrZ1kiajcjycuReWTFNxiWVdQ_jSSH-ZdQZ4KnAsQslfDPVbkkE0SfiYIMFVn4km7UBaAVRwAPbB/s320/INDIA-snippet.jpg" style="cursor: pointer;" /></a> </div> We've really enjoyed bringing these products to you, and we're <a href="mailto:indialabs@google.com" target="_blank" title="mailto:indialabs@google.com">eager to hear from you</a>. There is a new <a href="http://groups.google.com/group/google-india-labs/" target="_blank" title="http://groups.google.com/group/google-india-labs/">user community</a> for discussion around our new technologies, and we'll keep adding new things to our Labs page, so please visit us often.

Google Labs India

Posted by M T Raghunath and Gokul Nath Babu Manoharan, Software Engineers Keeping up with the spirit and celebrations of India's 60th ye...

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Namaste India!

Namaste India!

Posted by M T Raghunath and Gokul Nath Babu Manoharan, Software Engineers Happy 60th birthday, India! We can't wait to celebrate, but we...

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Online ad-serving tests

Posted by Alex Kinnier, Group Product Manager We're always experimenting and testing ways to deliver relevant and new kinds of ads, and as part of that, we recently started running a test of an ad serving technology that will help us understand online ad serving better, and allow us to experiment with some new approaches to privacy for third-party ad servers. The privacy features we'll test in these experiments follow some recently-announced policies, such as a <a href="http://googleblog.blogspot.com/2007/07/cookies-expiring-sooner-to-improve.html" id="h-8r">shorter expiration date for the cookie</a> set on your computer and <a href="http://googleblog.blogspot.com/2007/06/how-long-should-google-remember.html">anonymization of the logs data after 18 months</a>. In our ad-serving tests, we're introducing an <a href="http://www.google.com/ads/gcc_privacy.html">opt-out mechanism</a> so people can opt out of the test ad-serving cookie if they wish. In addition, we’re going to experiment with ways the industry could provide improved transparency for consumers and providing users with additional controls over the data gathered by ad servers. Some of the ideas we're exploring include: <ul><li>using "crumbled" cookies, so that the data typically associated with one unique identifying number or "cookie ID" will be broken up among multiple different cookies and diffuse the ad history of individual users; </li></ul><ul><li>providing better forms of notice within ads, to help users understand who is serving the ads they see, and what data is being collected; and</li></ul><ul><li>giving users the ability to provide feedback to us about the ads they like and don't like. </li></ul>Like all experiments, these ideas may or may not work out. And they won't be effective unless the industry adopts them -- we are not likely to implement these ideas alone. But we are excited to start innovating in this area for our advertising customers and for our users. We welcome your <a href="mailto:testadserving@google.com">feedback.</a>

Online ad-serving tests

Posted by Alex Kinnier, Group Product Manager We're always experimenting and testing ways to deliver relevant and new kinds of ads, and ...

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