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Video your vote on Election Day

If you've been paying even passing attention to the 2008 election, you know that without a doubt this is the most documented election in history. On YouTube, average citizens have posted millions of videos chronicling their experiences and opinions about the 2008 election. Never before has the campaign trail been sliced, diced, clipped, mashed-up, and exposed in so many ways — and never before have voters been the ones in control of the content. The YouTube team is shining a spotlight on election documentation with the <a href="http://www.youtube.com/videoyourvote">Video Your Vote</a> program. In partnership with PBS, we're asking you to submit videos of your voting experiences to the Video Your Vote channel. The idea is simple: we want this to be the most transparent election day in history, so that the world can see — through the eyes of voters — just how the election transpired. This is important because not only will there be more people voting in this election than ever before, but there undoubtedly will be bumps along the way: long lines, broken machines, confusion over the registration process, and even voter intimidation and fraud are all unfortunate election realities. Video can help document where problems occur in a more compelling and concrete way than other media. By documenting your voting experience, you can help make this a more transparent election. On the Video Your Vote channel, PBS's program The News Hour with Jim Lehrer is providing educational information about voting in America, with a particular nod to election reform issues. You can also learn what the laws of your state say (or don't say) about <a href="http://www.citmedialaw.org/legal-guide/documenting-your-vote">bringing a video camera</a> to the polls (in most states, it's okay to document your own experience respectfully). Learn more in this call-out video that correspondent Judy Woodruff made (it's on the YouTube homepage): <object height="344" width="425"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/aiWfpwR-6Lc&hl=en&fs=1"><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/aiWfpwR-6Lc&hl=en&fs=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowfullscreen="true" width="425" height="344"></embed></object> With hundreds of thousands of voters casting their ballots before Election Day, we're already seeing videos coming in. From excitement <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zsMkML9MS3w">from first-time voters</a> to videos of <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rb3V3pPjcbg">long lines</a> at the polling places or <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0Q9NSVUu8nk">touch-screen problems</a> in the field, voters are already documenting their experiences. Join them to video your vote! Posted by Steve Grove, YouTube News & Politics Team

Video your vote on Election Day

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29 Oct 2008

Eight candles for Google Toolbar

Google recently celebrated its <a href="http://www.google.com/tenthbirthday/">10th birthday</a>. As we participated in the festivities, we realized that we are coming upon another birthday: In just a few weeks, our very own Google Toolbar will be turning 8 years old. To celebrate, we wanted to take a few moments to reflect on its evolution over the past few years and how we've tried to make the web a better place for the hundreds of millions of people who use Toolbar. Back in 1999, the Internet was a very different place. At that time, you had to fight annoying pop-up ads that would randomly appear as you navigated from one page to another. You had to fill in endless forms with your personal information in order to create accounts for websites you wanted to use. And when you wanted to find information on your airline's luggage policy, you spent more time finding the right search terms to get you there than actually packing for your trip. The Toolbar team was formed to develop tools to make your web experience better, so we created features like pop-up blocker and AutoFill. We also built a dynamic search box that automatically guesses what you're typing and offers search suggestions in real time (click on the image to see larger). <a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjIrxonnGBUqgN8h3y8QDZEHwY6IC2PEkUUv4m2pkPQhJZAZ6vSeaYSHTkmBrDF0iq3TxcJA4CpDXM0SsD9p6FPZuU7BjegW5tKeHw3W68eUBwj-3sq9tWBN29cfu2KqIRcIuZPx1F5VVHO/s1600-h/Picture+2.png"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5262445083158456098" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjIrxonnGBUqgN8h3y8QDZEHwY6IC2PEkUUv4m2pkPQhJZAZ6vSeaYSHTkmBrDF0iq3TxcJA4CpDXM0SsD9p6FPZuU7BjegW5tKeHw3W68eUBwj-3sq9tWBN29cfu2KqIRcIuZPx1F5VVHO/s400/Picture+2.png" style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 269px;" /></a> Over the years, we've been proud to see several of the features we've pioneered integrated into web browsers as well as other websites. We're encouraged by this progress, but this doesn't mean that our mission is complete. We're still working hard to make the time you spend on the web more enjoyable and productive. On that note, we'd like to announce our latest release of <a href="http://toolbar.google.com/t5?tbbrand=GZEZ&utm_campaign=en&utm_source=en-et-ogb&utm_medium=et">Google Toolbar for Internet Explorer</a>, now launching out of beta and available in 40 languages. Here are just a few things you can do with this latest version: - Add gadgets to your Toolbar to bring content from your favorite websites closer to you - Synchronize your settings online to access your Toolbar from wherever you are - Create multiple profiles in AutoFill to keep your business and personal information separate To learn more about the different features, visit us at <a href="http://www.google.com/support/toolbar/bin/static.py?page=features.html&v=4&src=ofp&hl=en">toolbar.google.com/features</a>. We'd also love to hear your feature ideas and other Toolbar feedback, so send us a <a href="http://www.google.com/support/toolbar/bin/request.py?contact_type=share&&hl=en">quick note</a> with your thoughts. Posted by Albert Bodenhamer and Jenny Zhang, Software Engineers, Google Toolbar

Eight candles for Google Toolbar

Google recently celebrated its 10th birthday. As we participated in the festivities, we realized that we are coming upon another birthday: In just a few weeks, our very own Google Toolbar will be turn…

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29 Oct 2008

New steps to protect free expression and privacy around the world

In a world where governments all too often censor what their citizens can see and do on the Internet, Google has from the start promoted global free expression and taken the lead in being transparent with our users. We've pressed governments around the world to stop limiting free speech and made it possible for dissidents, bloggers and others to have their voices heard. As part of those ongoing efforts to promote free expression and protect our users' privacy, today we're announcing Google's participation as a founding company member of a new program called the <a href="http://www.globalnetworkinitiative.org/">Global Network Initiative</a>. This initiative is the result of two years of discussions with other leading technology companies, human rights organizations, socially responsible investors and academic institutions. Thanks to hard work and cooperation from all parties, the Initiative sets the kinds of standards and practices that all companies and groups should use when governments threaten internationally recognized rights to free expression and privacy. The Global Network Initiative also offers an important commitment from all parties to take action together to promote free expression and protect privacy in the use of all information and communication technologies. We know that common action by these diverse groups is more likely to bring about change in government policies than the efforts of any one company or group acting alone. Companies that join the Initiative commit to putting into effect procedures that will protect their users by:<div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px;"> </div><div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px;"><ul style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px;"><li style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px;">Evaluating against international standards government requests to censor content or access user information</li><li style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px;">Providing greater transparency</li><li style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px;">Assessing human rights risks when entering new markets or introducing new products</li><li style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px;">Instituting employee training and oversight programs</li></ul> These are things that Google does now, but joining the Initiative will help us refine our methods and maintain our leadership position. Down the road companies will be assessed on how they're doing in implementing the principles and the Initiative will report those results. This Initiative is by no means a silver bullet or the last word, but it does represent a concrete step toward promoting freedom of expression and protecting users' privacy in the 60th anniversary year of the <a href="http://www.ohchr.org/EN/UDHR/Pages/60UDHR.aspx">Universal Declaration of Human Rights</a>. Now we're actively recruiting more companies and groups to join the Initiative and advance these critical human rights around the world. Posted by Andrew McLaughlin, Director of Public Policy and Government Affairs</div>

New steps to protect free expression and privacy around the world

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28 Oct 2008

Take a Vote Hour

In less than two weeks, every vote will count as Americans decide who will become the next U.S. president. During the last national election in 2004, 20 percent of registered voters who didn't make it to the polls said that they were "too busy" or had conflicting work schedules (<a href="http://www.census.gov/population/www/socdemo/voting.html">2004 U.S. Census</a>). The <a href="http://www.votehour.org/">Vote Hour</a> is an independent, bipartisan effort among CEOs across America to publicly announce their support for employees to step away from their desks and take an hour to cast a ballot. Just a few of those leaders appear in the video below, encouraging their employees to take a Vote Hour on November 4th. <object height="344" width="425"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/dI0ml90rIlM&hl=en&fs=1"><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/dI0ml90rIlM&hl=en&fs=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowfullscreen="true" height="344" width="425"></embed></object> We hope more business leaders across the country will <a href="https://services.google.com/inquiry/votehour_add/">join the movement</a>, add their names and their encouragement to the effort. Employees can send <a href="https://services.google.com/inquiry/votehour_suggest/">emails</a> to their bosses to encourage them to participate as well. So spread the word to your friends, families and colleagues to take a Vote Hour. And most importantly, don't forget to vote yourself. It's the most important job you have on Election Day. Posted by Andy Berndt, Managing Director, Google Creative Lab, and Katie Jacobs Stanton, Elections Team

Take a Vote Hour

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28 Oct 2008

New chapter for Google Book Search

Google was built on the principle of making the world's information more accessible and useful. Before the company was even founded, Larry and Sergey imagined a way to make it easier for anyone, anywhere, to access the information held within the world's books. Search simply isn't complete without that content, and providing more access to more books is a vision Google has never lost sight of. Four years ago, <a href="http://googleblog.blogspot.com/2004/12/all-booked-up.html" id="p9gw" title="almost to the date">almost to the date</a>, we first announced <a href="http://books.google.com/">Google Book Search</a>. Since we launched the service, we've heard countless <a href="http://books.google.com/googlebooks/userstories.html" id="hc_j" title="stories">stories</a> about Book Search helping readers all over the world find books in over 100 languages on topics as diverse as <a href="http://books.google.com/books?id=NEhSpZFWiBMC&printsec=frontcover&dq=subject:%22+Science+/+Physics+%22&as_brr=3&rview=1&sig=ACfU3U0ybLdN72IM7rtutfJEOcrJQAjDKg" id="wl:e" title="The Physics of Start Trek">The Physics of Star Trek</a> and the history of <a href="http://books.google.com/books?id=3ChMAAAAMAAJ&printsec=frontcover&dq=subject:%22+Wood-carving+%22&as_brr=3&rview=1#PPR5,M1" id="u_pk" title="Wood Carvings in English Churches">Wood Carvings in English Churches</a>. We've seen millions of people click to buy books or find them in a library, and more than 20,000 publishers have joined our Partner Program to allow readers to preview the books they find before buying them. While we've made tremendous progress with Book Search, today <a href="http://www.google.com/intl/en/press/pressrel/20081027_booksearchagreement.html">we've announced an agreement</a> with a broad class of authors and publishers and with our library partners that advances Larry's and Sergey's original dream in ways Google never could have done alone. This agreement is truly groundbreaking in three ways. First, it will give readers digital access to millions of in-copyright books; second, it will create a new market for authors and publishers to sell their works; and third, it will further the efforts of our library partners to preserve and maintain their collections while making books more accessible to students, readers and academic researchers. The agreement also resolves lawsuits that were brought against Google in 2005 by a group of authors and publishers, along with the Authors Guild and Association of American Publishers (AAP). While Google, the Authors Guild and the AAP have <a href="http://books.google.com/googlebooks/issue.html" id="pfg7" title="disagreed">disagreed</a> on copyright law, we have always agreed about the importance of creating new ways for users to find books and for authors and publishers to get paid for their works. To date, Google has worked with libraries all over the world to make more than 7 million books searchable through Google Book Search, and we're just getting started. We believe that ultimately we'll provide access to many times that number, and if approved, this agreement will unlock access to millions of these texts and make the Google search experience even more comprehensive. With this agreement, in-copyright, out-of-print books will now be available for readers in the U.S. to search, preview and buy online -- something that was simply unavailable to date. Most of these books are difficult, if not impossible, to find. They are not sold through bookstores or held on most library shelves, yet they make up the vast majority of books in existence. Today, Google only shows snippets of text from the books where we don't have copyright holder permission. This agreement enables people to preview up to 20% of the book. What makes this settlement so powerful is that in addition to being able to find and preview books more easily, users will also be able to read them. And when people read them, authors and publishers of in-copyright works will be compensated. If a reader in the U.S. finds an in-copyright book through Google Book Search, he or she will be able to pay to see the entire book online. Also, academic, library, corporate and government organizations will be able to purchase institutional subscriptions to make these books available to their members. For out-of-print books that in most cases do not have a commercial market, this opens a new revenue opportunity that didn't exist before. It's important to note this agreement doesn't change our Partner Program, which currently includes more than 20,000 publishers around the world, but it does add a new way for those publishers to sell access to their works. For in-print books not in our Partner Program, we'll continue to scan these books through our Library Project and make them full-text searchable, but we won't show any portion of the book. As for books in the public domain, this agreement doesn't change how we display them: We'll make out-of-copyright works freely available on Google Book Search for people to read and download. As part of the agreement, Google is also funding the establishment of a Book Rights Registry, managed by authors and publishers, that will work to locate and represent copyright holders. We think the Registry will help address <a href="http://www.copyright.gov/orphan/comments/OW0681-Google.pdf" id="vz_0" title="help address the "orphan" works problems">the "orphan" works problem</a> for books in the U.S., making it easier for people who want to use older books. Since the Book Rights Registry will also be responsible for distributing the money Google collects to authors and publishers, there will be a strong incentive for rightsholders to come forward and claim their works. In addition to expanding the commercial market for these books, Google, the authors and the publishers have worked hard with our library partners at Stanford, the University of Michigan, the University of California and the University of Wisconsin-Madison to ensure this agreement advances libraries' efforts to preserve, maintain and provide access to books for students, researchers and readers. The agreement gives public and university libraries across the U.S. free, full-text viewing of books at a designated computer in each of their facilities. That means local libraries across the U.S. will be able to offer their patrons access to the incredible collections of our library partners -- a huge benefit to the public. The agreement also authorizes Google and the libraries to create new services that will help people with disabilities such as visual impairment better experience these books. We are grateful to our library partners for investing so much painstaking effort over so many years to maintain their book collections, and we are excited at the prospect of their participation in this landmark project. Because the agreement is the result of a U.S. lawsuit, all of these services will be available to readers who access Google Book Search in the United States. Outside the U.S., the user experience with Google Book Search will be the same as it is today. In other words, people will be able to search the full text of books and may see snippets of in-copyright works, but they will not be able to preview or purchase access to books online, unless these services are authorized by the rightsholder of a book. It is important to note that the agreement does not affect users outside the U.S., but it will affect copyright holders worldwide because they can register their works and receive compensation for them. While this agreement only concerns books scanned in the U.S., Google is committed to working with rightsholders, governments, and relevant institutions to bring the same opportunities to users, authors, and publishers in other countries. As you can imagine, we're all ready to get moving, but this project will take some time. First and foremost, the settlement administrator will be reaching out to educate authors and publishers worldwide about the agreement and their rights under it. The agreement also must be approved by the court. Once it's approved, we'll be ready to begin delivering these services. In the meantime, if you own or think you may own a U.S. copyright interest, there is more information about the agreement at <a href="http://books.google.com/booksrightsholders/">this </a><a href="http://books.google.com/booksrightsholders/" id="baj2" title="website">website</a>. And Google Book Search users can <a href="http://books.google.com/agreement" id="c73j" title="find more information here">find more information here</a>. Update @ 7:55 AM: Updated the press release link in the 3rd paragraph. Posted by David Drummond, Senior Vice President, Corporate Development, and Chief Legal Officer

New chapter for Google Book Search

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28 Oct 2008

Traveling by zip-line

It's no secret that we have fun finding innovative solutions to big problems. Recently, some fellow software engineers and I applied this to a couple of extracurricular activities. In mid-August, Google moved into a new building in Mountain View, just west of our main campus in Mountain View, CA. Unfortunately, dinner was only available on main campus, just beyond Permanente Creek. Here's a <a href="http://maps.google.com/maps/ms?ie=UTF8&hl=en&msa=0&ll=37.422147,-122.085888&spn=0.002697,0.005686&t=h&z=18&msid=110254853085157575971.000459e752bca23ff0965">map</a> to help you visualize. A few people joked about building a zip-line as a shortcut to cross the creek. One Friday afternoon our friend Doug said, "Hey, I just bought a cable to make a zip-line. Want to help?" By Saturday, we had one up and running. <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhsl9mqruEWrO59Ye-qc_aYIOfdPYOsvuiY5SIYyC887xcmmUjYc4F5cpSiltjrdmcqhh5QnbGt8hRmdUkvf9qhbi3F8ZN4X-0IQFyvfUzHW9je7bDi01weHGHIc43fLjSIIoEBHNlNaW9i/s1600-h/5.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5261919027342221090" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhsl9mqruEWrO59Ye-qc_aYIOfdPYOsvuiY5SIYyC887xcmmUjYc4F5cpSiltjrdmcqhh5QnbGt8hRmdUkvf9qhbi3F8ZN4X-0IQFyvfUzHW9je7bDi01weHGHIc43fLjSIIoEBHNlNaW9i/s400/5.jpg" style="cursor: pointer; display: block; height: 266px; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; width: 400px;" /></a> In true Google fashion, we followed the "launch early and iterate" philosophy. The zip-line started with a single pulley traveling across the cable. We knew two pulleys would be faster, so Seth built a custom bracket to hold them together. Eventually, we upgraded to a professional trolley with harder wheels and ball bearings. After someone fell off the zip-line into the rather foul creek (don't worry, he's fine), we added grippy tape to the handlebar. As we got better at running the zip-line, it became the normal way to cross the creek. Some of our friends still hadn't worked up the nerve to try it, though, and they insisted upon walking along Charleston Road instead. So Doug and I decided to build a bridge so that everyone could stay together. Here's the blueprint we came up with (alligator and piranhas not to scale): <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj8-kFlCUzZNeWNU3BzX7XtLNfT6rvUref6T7-7SuHOM24TnKs7yQacNW-L5q9LoXuRFca0ihunnSebXNtUKCseTNXFUfHFv4NKSTtDsqGhfJm_fI6tSCZOChgLurRq8r0xIW6anB-A5l5-/s1600-h/17.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5261919271260623506" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj8-kFlCUzZNeWNU3BzX7XtLNfT6rvUref6T7-7SuHOM24TnKs7yQacNW-L5q9LoXuRFca0ihunnSebXNtUKCseTNXFUfHFv4NKSTtDsqGhfJm_fI6tSCZOChgLurRq8r0xIW6anB-A5l5-/s400/17.jpg" style="cursor: pointer; display: block; height: 300px; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; width: 400px;" /></a> The goal was to give people an easier way to cross — but not be so easy that they would stop using the zip-line altogether. Sure enough, those who worked up the nerve to try the bridge were met with a narrow, wobbly bucking beast. Like the zip-line, we improved the bridge incrementally. A week later, it had been tamed, and we were excited to show everyone. But when we got in on Monday, we found that the bridge and zip-line were both gone: the city of Mountain View asked that it be taken down. Well, it was fun while it lasted, and for a few weeks Googlers had a faster and more exciting way to cross Permanente Creek. More importantly, it's great to know that we work at a company that lets us live out our rascally dreams. Here are more pictures featuring the work of the entire G-Zip team (Seth LaForge, James Lyons, Vincent Mo, Doug Ricket, Michael Schultz): <embed flashvars="host=picasaweb.google.com&RGB=0x000000&feed=http%3A%2F%2Fpicasaweb.google.com%2Fdata%2Ffeed%2Fapi%2Fuser%2F116887554964117158278%2Falbumid%2F5261916036908256561%3Fkind%3Dphoto%26alt%3Drss" height="267" pluginspage="http://www.macromedia.com/go/getflashplayer" src="http://picasaweb.google.com/s/c/bin/slideshow.swf" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" width="400"></embed> Posted by Vincent Mo, Software Engineer, Google Maps

Traveling by zip-line

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27 Oct 2008

Introducing Google Earth for iPhone

Even before we introduced Google Earth back in <a href="http://googleblog.blogspot.com/2005/06/cover-earth.html">2005</a>, the team had long dreamed of being able to carry the Earth around in your pocket. Well, today that dream becomes a reality as we introduce Google Earth for iPhone and iPod touch. With just a swipe of your finger you can fly from Peoria to Paris to Papua New Guinea, or anywhere in between. It may be small, but it brings all the power of Google Earth to the palm of your hand, including all of the same global imagery and 3D terrain. You can even browse any of our 8 million Panoramio photos or read Wikipedia articles. With Google Earth for iPhone, you can: • Tilt your iPhone to adjust your view to see mountainous terrain • View the Panoramio layer and browse the millions of geo-located photos from around the world • View geo-located Wikipedia articles • Use the 'Location' feature to fly to your current location • Search for cities, places and business around the globe with Google Local Search It's available today in 18 languages and 22 countries in the <a href="http://phobos.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/viewSoftware?id=293622097&mt=8">iTunes App Store</a>. To learn more, check out this video tour and read the <a href="http://google-latlong.blogspot.com/2008/10/google-earth-now-available-for-iphone.html">blog post</a> on the Lat Long Blog. <object height="344" width="425"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/v6BPuKaLel4&hl=en&fs=1"><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/v6BPuKaLel4&hl=en&fs=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowfullscreen="true" height="344" width="425"></embed></object> Posted by Peter Birch, Product Manager

Introducing Google Earth for iPhone

Even before we introduced Google Earth back in 2005, the team had long dreamed of being able to carry the Earth around in your pocket. Well, today that dream becomes a reality as we introduce Google …

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27 Oct 2008

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