Time to "Free the Airwaves"

For quite some time we've been <a title="talking about" href="http://googlepublicpolicy.blogspot.com/2008/05/larry-page-talks-about-googles-vision.html" id="r56t">talking about</a> the potential of the unused airwaves <a title="between broadcast TV channels" href="http://googlepublicpolicy.blogspot.com/2007/12/today-tv-static-tomorrow-broadband.html" id="q_tw">between broadcast TV channels</a> ("white spaces") to provide affordable, high-speed wireless Internet connectivity nationwide. For this to happen, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) must allow unlicensed use of this spectrum.<br /><br />If you care about the future of the Internet, now is the time to take action. The FCC has completed its field testing and is expected to make a ruling in the coming months. With this in mind, today we're launching <a title="Free The Airwaves" href="http://www.freetheairwaves.com/" id="pocj">Free The Airwaves</a>, a new effort to bring users together around this important issue.<br /><br />To help you to learn more about the tremendous promise of these airwaves, people from around the country have filmed <a title="video testimonials" href="http://www.youtube.com/user/freetheairwaves" id="ihd4">video testimonials</a>. <a title="Matthew Rantanen" href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=houUIkCmP_Q" id="yls0">Matthew Rantanen</a> of Tribal Digital Village explained how freeing the airwaves would bring new opportunities to the Southern California Native American community, currently underserved by today's broadband providers. <a title="Wally Bowen" href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UfKyvJxk6ts" id="pw5y">Wally Bowen</a> of the Mountain Area Information Network discussed the potential of these airwaves to bring broadband access to rural communities. Many others have also weighed in, and we hope you will too.<br /><br />At its core, Free The Airwaves is a call to action for everyday users. You don't need to be a telecommunications expert to understand that freeing the "white spaces" has the potential to transform wireless Internet as we know it. When you visit the site, you'll be invited to film a video response explaining what increased Internet access could mean for you, to sign a petition to the FCC, to contact your elected officials, to spread the word, and more.<br /><br />When it comes to opening these airwaves, we believe the public interest is clear. But we also want to be transparent about our involvement: Google has a clear business interest in expanding access to the web. There's no doubt that if these airwaves are opened up to unlicensed use, more people will be using the Internet. That's certainly good for Google (not to mention many of our <a title="industry peers" href="http://www.wirelessinnovationalliance.org/index.cfm?objectid=A25E1FC0-F1F6-6035-B3635EA7D5386BE0" id="hgl4">industry peers</a>) but we also think that it's good for consumers.<br /><br />That said, we can't pretend to speak for you. To learn more about what's at stake and to get involved, check out <a title="FreeTheAirwaves.com" href="http://www.freetheairwaves.com/" id="n9k6">FreeTheAirwaves.com</a>. We hope that once you've explored the facts for yourself, you'll want to make your voice heard.<br /><br /><span class="byline-author">Posted by Minnie Ingersoll, Product Manager, Alternative Access Team</span>

Time to "Free the Airwaves"

For quite some time we've been talking about the potential of the unused airwaves between broadcast TV channels ("white spaces&qu...

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Model your campus in Mexico using SketchUp

Back in February we told you about the <a href="http://googleblog.blogspot.com/2008/02/show-us-your-supermodeling-talents.html" id="idi5" target="_blank" title="2008 Model Your Campus Competition">2008 Model Your Campus Competition</a>, a call for students to submit 3D models of their college campuses created with <a title="Google SketchUp" href="http://sketchup.google.com/" id="f5g2">Google SketchUp</a>. We got submissions from <a title="campuses around the world" href="http://sketchup.google.com/3dwarehouse/cldetails?mid=4d839abcb1b2547f91378eb3d464fdc3&prevstart=0" id="kd7g">campuses around the world</a>, and Mexico stood out with submissions from 13 different campuses. At that time we also ran a parallel contest with a top Mexican school, ITESM (The Technology Institute of Monterrey), and offered a separate prize for the best models submitted by ITESM students. The students come from all over Mexico, so there is a truly national mix of competitors. In total, ITESM participants designed 111 buildings, representing 22 ITESM campuses. All of the submissions will live in a collection within the <a href="http://sketchup.google.com/3dwarehouse/" id="idi50" target="_blank" title="Google Earth 3D Warehouse">Google 3D Warehouse</a>, an online storage space for all your 3D needs. From <a href="http://sketchup.google.com/3dwarehouse/details?mid=27acee2cac8d349b3e75bfeaa546bf7&prevstart=0" id="idi51" target="_blank" title="intergalactic space vehicles">intergalactic space vehicles</a> to <a href="http://sketchup.google.com/3dwarehouse/details?mid=cbff5288694312815fec020e89d9675a&prevstart=0" id="idi52" target="_blank" title="cucumbers">cucumbers</a>, the 3D Warehouse is flush with downloadable models made by the SketchUp community.<br /><br />Last week we announced the <a title="winners of the contest" href="http://sketchup.google.com/3dwarehouse/cldetails?mid=99bdee791f6945c37f001c565189ab71&prevstart=0" id="bz0d">winners of the contest</a>: David Gómez-Urquiza Madero y Ricardo Pfeiffer Hurtado, both students of <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mechatronics" id="idi59" target="_blank" title="Mechatronics">Mechatronics</a> at ITESM's Santa Fe Campus. Since a digital Earth needs some digital buildings, we're thrilled that ITESM students have submitted their designs to create a more livable Google Earth-the winning models will be included in the 3D Buildings Layers of Google Earth. The school leadership plan on encouraging students to construct detailed 3D models of all 33 ITESM campuses, and the contest will return for another run next year. Here's to the winners!<br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiv44aHTy15wLYZlrwFY7ogWKPO_BlZZS-l6lO9zD377N1vxA0h6Lu9CxkqxgFA5q7REa5ByNDdF33pAnNAGeVvmaihzRMYUSV16YRcGKyG0vWEyiDckvVECPShy5V938Q4VXpxY98-MIZY/s1600-h/Picture+1.png"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5234082629686345074" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiv44aHTy15wLYZlrwFY7ogWKPO_BlZZS-l6lO9zD377N1vxA0h6Lu9CxkqxgFA5q7REa5ByNDdF33pAnNAGeVvmaihzRMYUSV16YRcGKyG0vWEyiDckvVECPShy5V938Q4VXpxY98-MIZY/s400/Picture+1.png" style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" /></a><span style="font-style: italic;">one of the models<br /><br /></span><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgt9pvx-o1Kd06HY6vLmnBoKDILt5uCPFLQ_xxBJEzuXyu7osRHPI2LI2rbAkLW05Tbb_h8Ub7mRnDCcdfE8cc8038CVl-Lw115eHh7wdHa-XCu2cE1kfLsdGtBW1bXRnQDEMUOWA-6bZiG/s1600-h/IMG_4947.JPG"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5234083292486921938" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgt9pvx-o1Kd06HY6vLmnBoKDILt5uCPFLQ_xxBJEzuXyu7osRHPI2LI2rbAkLW05Tbb_h8Ub7mRnDCcdfE8cc8038CVl-Lw115eHh7wdHa-XCu2cE1kfLsdGtBW1bXRnQDEMUOWA-6bZiG/s400/IMG_4947.JPG" style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" /></a><span style="font-style: italic;">the winning team</span><br /><span style="font-style: italic;"><br /></span></div><span class="byline-author">Posted by Ana Paula Blanco, Head of Mexico Communications and Public Affairs </span>

Model your campus in Mexico using SketchUp

Back in February we told you about the 2008 Model Your Campus Competition , a call for students to submit 3D models of their college campuse...

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Where is Georgia on Google Maps?

<span style="font-style: italic;">Cross-posted from the </span><a style="font-style: italic;" href="http://google-latlong.blogspot.com/2008/08/where-is-georgia-on-google-maps.html">Google LatLong Blog</a><span style="font-style: italic;">. </span><br /><br />The recent conflict in <a href="http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&hl=en&geocode=&q=georgia+europe&sll=37.0625,-95.677068&sspn=38.826758,88.681641&ie=UTF8&ll=42.05745,44.143066&spn=4.559278,11.085205&t=h&z=7" title="http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&hl=en&geocode=&q=georgia+europe&sll=37.0625,-95.677068&sspn=38.826758,88.681641&ie=UTF8&ll=42.05745,44.143066&spn=4.559278,11.085205&t=h&z=7" target="_blank">Georgia</a> has raised some questions about how Google Maps has handled mapping in that part of the world. The most obvious question is, why doesn't Google Maps show any cities or roads for Georgia, <span style="text-decoration: underline;"></span>or its neighbors <a href="http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&hl=en&geocode=&q=Armenia+europe&sll=39.283294,45.714111&sspn=18.984605,44.34082&ie=UTF8&z=7" title="http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&hl=en&geocode=&q=Armenia+europe&sll=39.283294,45.714111&sspn=18.984605,44.34082&ie=UTF8&z=7" target="_blank">Armenia</a> and <a href="http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&hl=en&geocode=&q=Azerbaijan+europe&sll=40.069099,45.038189&sspn=4.699074,11.085205&ie=UTF8&ll=40.145289,47.581787&spn=4.693858,11.085205&z=7" title="http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&hl=en&geocode=&q=Azerbaijan+europe&sll=40.069099,45.038189&sspn=4.699074,11.085205&ie=UTF8&ll=40.145289,47.581787&spn=4.693858,11.085205&z=7" target="_blank">Azerbaijan</a>? The answer is we never launched coverage in those countries because we simply weren't satisfied with the map data we had available. We're constantly searching for the best map data we can find, and sometimes will delay launching coverage in a country if we think we can get more comprehensive data. Some of our customers have asked if we removed map data from any of these countries in response to the recent hostilities in that region and I can assure you that is not the case. Data for these countries were never on Google Maps in the first place.<br /><br />But this has generated a lot of feedback that we are listening to and learning from. We're hearing from our users that they would rather see even very basic coverage of a country than see nothing at all. That certainly makes sense, and so we have started preparing data for the handful of countries that are still blank on Google Maps. Georgia, Armenia, Azerbaijan, as well as other significant regions of the world will benefit from this effort.<br /><br />In the meantime, much of this data, including cities in Georgia and other surrounding countries, can be found in <a href="http://earth.google.com/" title="http://earth.google.com/" target="_blank">Google Earth</a>.<br /><br /><span class="byline-author">Posted by Dave Barth, Product Manager</span>

Where is Georgia on Google Maps?

Cross-posted from the Google LatLong Blog . The recent conflict in Georgia has raised some questions about how Google Maps has handled mapp...

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Keeping tabs on spam and viruses

The <a href="http://www.google.com/a/help/intl/en/security/index.html" target="_blank">Google Apps Security & Compliance</a> team, which provides email and web security for more than 40,000 companies, regularly tracks trends in spam, viruses, and other threats, and we almost always find something interesting. Check out some of our latest findings -- including details on some specific attacks that you should keep an eye out for -- on the <a href="http://googleenterprise.blogspot.com/2008/08/security-spotlight-july-virus-attacks.html">Enterprise blog</a>.<br /><br />And if you're interested in learning more about what you can do to keep your business safe from web and email threats, be sure to tune into our <a href="http://w.on24.com/r.htm?e=116483&s=1&k=E679E434ECD09EFE9AB299E6B4E16A3B&partnerref=blog_main" target="_blank">webinar</a> on Friday, August 15, at 10:00 am PT.<br /><br /><span class="byline-author">Posted by Amanda Kleha, Google Apps Security & Compliance team</span>

Keeping tabs on spam and viruses

The Google Apps Security & Compliance team, which provides email and web security for more than 40,000 companies, regularly tracks tren...

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Translations on your iPhone

Have you ever been traveling and suddenly realized that you didn't know how to ask the taxi driver to take you to your hotel? It's happened to us too, so the mobile team has put together an iPhone interface for <a title="Google Translate" href="http://translate.google.com/" id="o5s_">Google Translate</a>, our machine translation project. <a href="http://googlemobile.blogspot.com/2008/08/google-translate-now-for-iphone.html">Read more about it</a> on the Google Mobile blog.<br /><br /><span class="byline-author">Posted by Allen Hutchison and David Singleton, Software Engineers</span>

Translations on your iPhone

Have you ever been traveling and suddenly realized that you didn't know how to ask the taxi driver to take you to your hotel? It's h...

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Reinventing the wheel

About a month ago, we found out that our team, along with all of Offline Ads, would be moving from our comfortable 4th floor cubicles in New York City all the way up to the comparatively uninhabited 6th floor. It was definitely a change of pace from the Manhattan-esque bustle of our old space to a quieter, more Brooklyn-esque feel. So the question arose: what happens when you drop an entire floor's worth of Googlers into a new office? The answer: a cubicle decorating contest to end all cubicle decorating contests.<br /><br />It wasn't initially clear what sort of decoration would be fitting for our team (Print Ads Engineering). While the rest of the floor had been caught up in the decorating fervor, it seemed our team was completely lacking enthusiasm. We watched morosely as everyone else paraded their grass hula skirts and mariachi music in our faces. But what could we do? We were more into building things, designing robust programs, and, well, being engineers. We couldn't see how anything in the way of decorating would represent the personality of our team, short of building a giant LED display flashing, "Print Ads Eng."<br /><br />So we set out on the task to figure out what we could feasibly build. We do happen to have have a large supply of Legos here at Google NY, so that came to mind first. But alas, co-founder <a title="Larry Page" href="http://www.google.com/corporate/execs.html#larry" id="mqex">Larry Page</a> was already legendary for building a working printer out of Legos. We definitely couldn't top that. An erector set, perhaps? Too much hardware. Finally we settled on <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/K%27NEX">K'Nex</a>. So we went online and found the biggest K'Nex set we could: a 6' tall Ferris Wheel of Doom.<br /><br />With the contest deadline looming, we purchased the set and started building. Little did we know what we were getting ourselves into. We got to the table with over 8500 parts, roughly 40 lbs. of plastic, and only 4 of us. Perhaps we had bitten off a little more than we could chew.<br /><br />We resolved to have it done by the following Monday, but the fact is we were all busy with actual work. So we came in on the weekend and dragged along a few "contractors" (read: personal friends) whose manual labor was rewarded in snacks. Still, even with all of the extra help, it was a daunting task. The instruction book wasn't always the most helpful, with only pictures of what we had to build and how many. (The box wasn't kidding when it said, "for ages 16 and up.")<br /><br />The first few pages had pictures with only "x2" or "x3" next to them, but things started getting intense as we got towards the end, seeing "x48," "x96," and even, "x192." Since we are engineers, and aim to maximize efficiency, we formed assembly lines to expedite the repetitive tasks. It was quite a sight. (We also discovered the detriments of assembly lines and repetitive motion injuries, but that's anot<a href="javascript:void(0)" tabindex="11" onclick="return false;"><span></span></a>her story altogether.)<br /><br />By Monday, it was done. Well, all except for one thing: no Google logo. So we built one. We may have had to stray a little from the specifications to fit it in, but all in a good day's work for a few engineers. Upon completion, we put it on display for everyone to see. (In fact, sitting atop two tables, roughly 5 feet above ground, it's pretty hard to miss.) We certainly won't have to worry about anyone questioning our team's enthusiasm anytime soon.<br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFL3VsCh-i6KFMSYb1n6FjE0cp7zluIP0amUf9aYoz-7QY1zlRUXzEl5Ax-WWvSP3GqXjYeQwx_V88C9zmOY5fYpQcSbt6_69lzrcOjUzkcOUlz5H6-qD8dljMHtHSNMrHbLlSflfgvizp/s1600-h/ferriswheel_NYC.gif"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5231904102987432194" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFL3VsCh-i6KFMSYb1n6FjE0cp7zluIP0amUf9aYoz-7QY1zlRUXzEl5Ax-WWvSP3GqXjYeQwx_V88C9zmOY5fYpQcSbt6_69lzrcOjUzkcOUlz5H6-qD8dljMHtHSNMrHbLlSflfgvizp/s320/ferriswheel_NYC.gif" style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" /></a> <span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="font-style: italic;">L to R: Ben, Hunter, Tristan, Autumn. </span></span><br /></div><br /><span class="byline-author">Posted by Tristan Naumann, Ben Cole, Autumn Petros-Good, & Hunter Freyer, Print Ads Interns</span>

Reinventing the wheel

About a month ago, we found out that our team, along with all of Offline Ads, would be moving from our comfortable 4th floor cubicles in New...

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Keeping up with the Summer Games

As we mark the opening ceremonies of the 2008 Summer Games, I can’t help but remember eight years ago, <a title="when I competed" href="http://www.dylancasey.com/biography.cfm" id="fi-h">when I competed</a> on the U.S. cycling team. Even though I didn’t walk away with any medals then, training and competing involved a herculean effort - but that pales in comparison to what we’re unveiling today.<br /><br />I’m happy to present the <a id="b-bq18" title="2008 Summer Games on Google" href="http://www.google.com/landing/summergames2008/index.html#source=sgob">2008 Summer Games on Google</a>, a site that features a number of our products to help you stay updated on Summer Games happenings. And it's available in 66 countries and 31 languages, from Australia to Uruguay, and from Arabic to Vietnamese.<br /><br />We collaborated with a data provider to make it easy for you to keep current on event schedules and get updates on results, as well as track medal counts with an iGoogle gadget. You can also get schedules and results on Google search results. (Check out the results for <a id="nk9w" title="water polo results" href="http://www.google.com/search?source=ig&hl=en&rlz=1G1GGLQ_ENUS241&=&q=olympic+water+polo&btnG=Google+Search">water polo</a>.) We're also including the newest Summer Games highlights through Google News. The <a id="ixe9" title="Summer Games Google Maps" href="http://maps.google.com/help/maps/2008summergames/">Summer Games Google Maps</a> lets you view medal and event information based on your favorite regions and sports, and there's a 3D video of the various Games venues you can tour:<br /><br /><object height="350" width="425"> <param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/0p2cEQCsBuY"> <embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/0p2cEQCsBuY" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" height="350" width="425"></embed> </object><br /><br />Also, be sure to check out this cool collection of <a id="eegu9" href="http://sketchup.google.com/3dwarehouse/cldetails?mid=efe83785f1aaaae0ae682533f3f1d4dd&ct=hpr2" target="_blank">3D stadiums and venues in Beijing</a> created with Google SketchUp. <a href="http://google-latlong.blogspot.com/2008/08/off-to-games.html">Read more</a> about these efforts on the Lat Long Blog. Since we know many of you are on the go this summer, all this information is <a href="http://googlemobile.blogspot.com/2008/08/on-your-mark-get-set-go-follow-summer.html">available for mobile devices</a>, where Google Mobile is available.<br /><br />We hope these tools make it easy and enjoyable for you to follow all the action at the Summer Games.<br /><br /><span class="byline-author">Posted by Dylan Casey, Product Manager</span>

Keeping up with the Summer Games

As we mark the opening ceremonies of the 2008 Summer Games, I can’t help but remember eight years ago, when I competed on the U.S. cycling ...

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