Local—now with a dash of Zagat and a sprinkle of Google+

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Finding the best places to go is an essential part of our lives, as are the people and resources that help us make those decisions. In fact, the opinions of friends, family or other trusted sources are often the first we seek when looking for the perfect restaurant for date night or the cafe that makes the best latte ever.

Today, we’re rolling out Google+ Local, a simple way to discover and share local information featuring Zagat scores and recommendations from people you trust in Google+. Google+ Local helps people like my husband turn a craving—“Wow, I need brunch”—into an afternoon outing: “Perfect, there’s a dim sum place with great reviews just two blocks from here. Let’s go.” It’s integrated into Search, Maps and mobile and available as a new tab in Google+—creating one simple experience across Google.


Local information integrated across Google
From the new “Local” tab on the left-hand side of Google+, you can search for specific places or browse for ones that fit your mood. If you click on a restaurant, or a museum (or whatever), you’ll be taken to a local Google+ page that includes photos, Zagat scores and summaries, reviews from people you know, and other useful information like address and opening hours.

Google+ Local is also integrated across other products you already use every day. If you’re looking for a place on Search or Maps, you get the same great local information there too. You can also take it on the go with Google Maps for mobile on your Android device, and soon on iOS devices.

A search on Google Maps
Google+ Local on an Android phone
Better decisions with Zagat
Since Zagat joined the Google family last fall, our teams have been working together to improve the way you find great local information. Zagat has offered high-quality reviews, based on user-written submissions and surveys, of tens of thousands of places for more than three decades. All of Zagat’s accurate scores and summaries are now highlighted on local Google+ pages.


Each place you see in Google+ Local will now be scored using Zagat’s 30-point scale, which tells you all about the various aspects of a place so you can make the best decisions. For example, a restaurant that has great food but not great decor might be 4 stars, but with Zagat you’d see a 26 in Food and an 8 in Decor, and know that it might not be the best place for date night.

Recommendations and reviews from people you know and trust
Your friends know what you like, and they probably like the same things you do. That’s why the opinions of people in your circles are front and center. If you search for [tacos] on Google+ Local, your results might include a friend’s rave review of the Baja-style taco stand in your neighborhood.  And if you’re searching on Google or Google Maps for a great place to buy a gift for that same friend, your results might include a review from her about a boutique she shops at all the time.

You can also share your opinions and upload photos. These reviews and photos will help your friends when they’re checking out a place, and are also integrated into the aggregate score that other people see. The more you contribute, the more helpful Google+ Local will be for your friends, family and everyone else.


Whether it’s a block you’ve lived on for years or a city you’ve never been to before, we hope Google+ Local helps you discover new gems.

Today is just the first step, and you’ll see more updates in the coming months. If you’re a business owner, you can continue to manage your local listing information via Google Places for Business. Soon we’ll make it even easier for business owners to manage their listings on Google and to take full advantage of the social features provided by local Google+ pages. Get more information on our Google and Your Business Blog.

Posted by Avni Shah, Director of Product Management

(Cross-posted on the Zagat and Lat Long Blogs)

In schools, all you need is web

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While students in the northern hemisphere say goodbye to each other and another school year, we’re in sunny San Diego meeting with thousands of educators and administrators at the International Society for Technology in Education (ISTE) conference. While on break from teaching, these folks are here to teach others how they’re bringing innovation into their classrooms—a lot of which centers around the web.

While the web was developed well before today’s students were born, it’s come a long way even since a year ago. Today you can access the web on any device, use the web offline and take advantage of amazing graphics. For example, you can get a powerful graphing calculator on the web today, for free.

It’s been really amazing to see how the web is impacting schools. We’ve heard great real-world stories about Google Apps for Education, but lately we’re hearing more and more about schools extending the functionality of Google Apps with educational apps available on the Chrome Web Store. There are tens of thousands of apps in the Chrome Web Store, and today we’re adding some new ones: ST Math, VoiceThread and Acheive3000.

To give you an idea of what’s possible on the web: Leyden High School District from Illinois is rolling out Chromebooks to their 3,500 students and are using apps like WeVideo, EasyBib, Vernier Labquest2, SlideRocket, Geogebra and Pearson’s OpenClass as part of their 1-to-1 learning initiative.

Students at East Leyden High School work together on their Chromebooks. Photo credit: East Leyden Art Teacher Anna Reed. 
Chromebooks as a tool for 1-to-1 learning
It’s great to see that many schools are choosing Chromebooks as an effective and affordable 1-to-1 education tool. There are more than 500 districts in the U.S. and Europe actively using Chromebooks, and today we’re pleased to welcome a few more to the community, including Rockingham Country Schools, N.C., Transylvania County Schools, N.C., and Fond du Lac School District, Wis.

Chromebooks are always new—just last month we announced new devices, an updated, app-centric user interface and new pricing for schools. Chromebooks also make it just as easy for administrators to distribute 10, 100 or 1,000 Chromebooks, saving precious summer vacation time previously spent installing software and policies on computers. And great news for schools looking to make hardware purchases: the PARCC and Smarter Balanced Assessment Consortia confirmed Chromebooks meet hardware and operating system requirements for student assessments in the 2014-2015 school year.

Applications for education
Today at ISTE, we are introducing some new features for schools using Chromebooks that make it even easier to find, use, install and manage web apps for your entire school:

• Grade-level application packs are groups of Chrome Web Store apps that integrate tightly with Google’s suite of Apps for Education, divided by grade levels to meet different classroom needs. These packs are installable from the Chromebook management console. Many of them are free and we’ve worked with the app makers to offer discounts for bulk purchases.
• Organization-specific web app collections in the Chrome Web Store give administrators the ability to recommend apps to students, teachers and staff. The collection is visible only to the school, and admins can curate apps from the Chrome Web Store, application packs and web apps purchased elsewhere or private apps developed by the school. (This feature is also available to Chromebooks for Business customers from the control panel.)

We’ve enjoyed being a part of ISTE the past several years, and always look forward to hearing about new ways that students and teachers are using the web to do amazing things. (If you’re at the conference, come see us at booth 2603 and listen to or share a story!)

Posted by Vidya Nagarajan, Product Manager, Chromebooks for Education

Tune in to I/O Live at 9:30 a.m. PDT on June 27

To contact us Click HERE
Google I/O, our annual developer conference, begins in just two days, and this year, we’re bringing you more than 130 technical sessions, 20 code labs and 155 Sandbox partners. If you’re not here in San Francisco, you can still sign up for one of our 350+ I/O Extended events around the world or tune in to I/O Live to watch the live stream from wherever you are. This year’s conference kicks off on June 27 with the first day’s keynote at 9:30 a.m. and the second day’s keynote on June 28 at 10:00 a.m. PDT, so tune in early at developers.google.com/io to avoid missing the action!

Bookmark developers.google.com/io to watch I/O Live from your desktop, or download the Google I/O mobile app to access the live stream from your phone or tablet. For the truly entrepreneurial, check our liveblogging gadget, which lets you add your commentary and the live video feed from the Google I/O keynotes to your blog.

More than 40 sessions on Android, Chrome, Google+ and your favorite APIs will be streamed live, and all remaining session videos will be recorded and available shortly after the conference on Google Developers Live and the conference website. Between sessions, we’ll bring you behind-the-scenes footage featuring interviews with Googlers and attendees, tours of the Sandbox and more. The stream will also continue through our After Hours party (June 27 starting at 7:00 p.m. PDT), where we've teamed up with top entertainers, inventors, artists, educators and visionaries from all over the world for an amazing evening.

Posted by Mike Winton, Director of Developer Relations

NORAD is ready to track Santa's flight

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From NORAD's website:

PETERSON AIR FORCE BASE, Colo. -- The North American Aerospace Defense Command is getting ready to track Santa’s yuletide journey! The NORAD Tracks Santa website, www.noradsanta.org, went live today featuring a Countdown Calendar, a Kid’s Countdown Village complete with holiday games and activities that change daily, and video messages from students and troops from around the world. With the addition of Brazilian Portuguese, the website is now available in eight languages: English, French, Spanish, German, Italian, Japanese, Brazilian Portuguese, and Chinese.

Starting at midnight MST on Dec. 24, website visitors can watch Santa as he makes all the preparations for his flight. Then, at 4 a.m. MST (6 a.m. EST), trackers worldwide can talk to a live phone operator to inquire about Santa’s whereabouts by dialing the toll-free number 1-877-Hi-NORAD (1-877-446-6723) or by sending an email to noradtrackssanta@gmail.com. NORAD’s “Santa Cams” will also stream videos as Santa makes his way over various locations worldwide.

NORAD Tracks Santa has truly become a global experience, delighting generations of families everywhere. It is due, in large part, to the efforts and services of numerous contributors. New to this year’s program are Acuity Scheduling, Big Fish Worldwide, Carousel Industries, the Colorado Springs Chamber of Commerce Military Affairs Council, General Electric, the National Tree Lighting Ceremony, RadiantBlue Technologies Inc., thunderbaby studios, the U.S. Coast Guard Band, the U.S. Merchant Marine Academy Band, Visionbox, and the West Point Band. Returning collaborators include the Air Force Academy Band, Analytical Graphics Inc., Air Canada, Avaya, Booz Allen Hamilton, Colorado Springs School District 11, the Defense Video & Imagery Distribution System, the Federal Aviation Administration, First Choice Awards & Gifts, Globelink Foreign Language Center, Google, the Marine Toys for Tots Foundation, Meshbox, the Naden Band of the Maritime Forces Pacific, Naturally Santa’s Inc., the Newseum, OnStar, PCI Broadband, the Space Foundation, tw telecom, Verizon and UGroup Media.

It all started in 1955 when a local media ad directed kids to call Santa direct – only the number was misprinted. Instead of reaching Santa, the phone rang through to the Crew Commander on duty at the Continental Air Defense Command Operations Center. Thus began the tradition which NORAD has carried on since it was created in 1958.

“NORAD stands the watch protecting the skies of North America 365 days a year, but on Christmas Eve the children of the world look to NORAD, and our trusted partners, to make sure that Santa is able to complete his mission safely,” said General Charles H. Jacoby, Jr., NORAD Commander.

“This mission is a duty to the children of the world and a privilege we've enjoyed for 56 consecutive years, but the effort could not be carried out without the superb assistance of numerous government and non-government contributors. It is the generosity of these contributors, the hard work of the more than 1,200 volunteers who man the NORAD Tracks Santa Operation Center, and vigilance of the Canadian and U.S. forces who work at NORAD that guarantees the program's success each and every year."

BTW: This is based on Google Earth. If you press the plus sign, you can zoom in close enough to see buildings and such, and maybe catch Santa actually going down a chimney

What a Florida Wanna-be Cop Says about the State Department's Bureau of Diplomatic Security

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After the holocaust of WWII, a number of significant studies were performed to try to understand how civilized people in Germany and occupied France and Poland could descend, almost overnight, into a state where they could kill their own neighbors.These studies unanimously found that, when the threat of negative consequences (punishment) is removed, ordinary people are capable of extraordinarily cruel and evil acts.

The murder of Trayvon Martin by a wanna-be cop is an excellent example of this idea. Empowered by the knowledge that a newly-passed (2011) Florida law would allow him to use "deadly force" if he or she "reasonably believe[d] that such force is necessary to prevent imminent death or great bodily harm to himself or herself or another or to prevent the imminent commission of a forcible felony;" and inspired by his own vision of himself as a "protector" of his community, he felt safe in hunting down and killing an innocent boy who he considered merely to be "suspicious."

The 2011 law eliminated two things. It eliminated the burden of proof that would have required Mr. Martin's murderer to actually show that he was under attack, and it eliminated the burden of proof that a citizen acting to protect himself or others would have to meet to show that he was acting to prevent the commission of a felony. The only proof required was "reasonable belief," something that cannot be disproved, and is, by definition, hidden within the mind of the believer.

In doing so, it removed the barrier of punishment, so the wanna-be cop could act as he pleased.

That would not be the case had the wanna-be cop been a real cop. Florida's "stand your ground" law aside, other state and federal laws apply to actual law enforcement agents actually performing law enforcement functions. Not only is "use of force" regulated by both laws and agency-specific regulations, but also other acts - including the mere question of whether to even confront a citizen who, apparently, has done nothing more than walk faster when being followed. Real Law Enforcement Officers acting in an official capacity, have to meet real burdens of proof, including a substantial evidence standard for reasonable cause.

Had the wanna-be cop been a real cop accused of killing a minor - accused of walking fast and wearing a "hoodie," armed only with a packet of candy - he would have been immediately relieved of duties (at least temporarily) and all aspects of the matter investigated in a transparent manner. Regardless of the outcome, there would have been consequences. Consequences that have yet to be applied to Trayvon Martin's murderer.

The State Department's Bureau of Diplomatic Security (DS) performs many functions, only some of which involve law enforcement. Its agents are Federal Special Agents trained in law enforcement. When they actually perform law enforcement functions, they generally perform them well. They have an impressive record of arrests of overseas fugitives, and a reasonable record of success developing cases for prosecution. When DS performs a real law-enforcement function it has to meet the same burdens of proof that other law enforcement agents must meet, and conform to the same investigative standards. In law enforcement matters DS overwhelmingly tends to comply with those laws and standards.

DS, however, has other functions, including the performance of administrative investigations and security clearance adjudications. These, by and large, tend to be much less properly performed - involving frequent violations of law and regulation. These include improper searches and seizures, entry into premises under false pretexts, interviews conducted without appropriate warnings, and routine falsification of information in Reports of Investigation. In security clearance cases, this routine DS malfeasance is aggravated by routine failure to apply the most basic rules of adjudication, including regular failure to perform "whole-person reviews."

When performing law enforcement functions, DS Special agents perform them legally, because they face the same threats of punishment that other LEAa do should they fail to comply with the law. However, despite dozens of documented examples of fraud, false statements, and investigative improprieties in administrative investigations, DS has never disciplined a single agent who conducted such acts in an administrative or security-clearance-related matter. When DS performs functions that Law Enforcement Agencies typically do not perform (functions normally performed by trained Human Resources personnel)DS employees do not face any barriers to improper behavior, and are allowed by DS to act as they please.

Florida's "stand your ground law" created a legal loophole which could be abused by any Floridian to murder anyone they pleased, as long as a reasonable pretense could be created that the individual felt threatened.

In administrative matters, the State Department's Bureau of Diplomatic Security exploits similar loopholes to destroy the lives and careers of Foreign Service Officers, without any of the protections DS would apply to drug dealers, pedophiles or spies.

Ultimately, the blame lies at higher levels in State - which continue to allow DS both to perform functions it should not be performing and to perform those functions illegally. Step one would be to remove the authority for those decisions from the wanna-be cop who controls them now, and to enforce regulations holding DS to the same standards in administrative matters as are applied to its real law enforcement functions.

Explore historic sites with the World Wonders Project

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I’ve always been fascinated by famous historic and cultural sites from around the world. When I was a child, flipping through encyclopedias while researching for school projects, the thought of exploring these sites was a distant dream. With the new Google World Wonders Project, that dream is now a little closer for students and others around the globe.

The World Wonders Project enables you to discover 132 historic sites from 18 countries, including Stonehenge, the archaeological areas of Pompeii and the ancient Kyoto temples. In addition to man-made sites, you can explore natural places: wander the sandy dunes of Australia’s Shark Bay or gaze up at the rock domes of Yosemite National Park in California.



World Wonders uses Street View technology to take you on a virtual trip to each iconic site. Most could not be filmed by car, so we used camera-carrying trikes to pedal our way close enough. The site also includes 3D models and YouTube videos of the historical places, so you can dig in and get more information and a broader view of each site. We also partnered with several prestigious organizations, including UNESCO, the World Monuments Fund, Getty Images and Ourplace, who provided official information and photographs for many of the sites.


We hope World Wonders will prove to be a valuable educational resource for students and scholars. A selection of educational packages are available to download for classroom use; you can also share the site content with friends.

World Wonders is part of our commitment to preserving culture online and making it accessible to everyone. Under the auspices of the Google Cultural Institute, we’re publishing high resolution images of the Dead Sea Scrolls, digitizing the archives of famous figures such as Nelson Mandela and presenting thousands of artworks through the Art Project.

Find out more about the project on the World Wonders YouTube channel, and start exploring at www.google.com/worldwonders.

Posted by Melanie Blaschke, Product Marketing Manager, World Wonders Project

Expanding the Internet domain space

To contact us Click HERE
In 2016, it’s estimated that almost half of the world’s population will be online, yet nearly 50 percent of the websites we visit are found in the .com top-level domain (TLD), which was among the first TLDs created in 1984. Despite the great opportunities the web has enabled for people around the world, there is still a lingering question about the diversity of the domain space (given that the number of generic TLDs has only increased by 14 in the last 28 years).

In 2008, ICANN announced a program to expand the number of generic TLDs (think .com, .org, .edu), developed through its bottom-up, multi-stakeholder process, in which we participate. Given this expansion process, we decided to submit applications for new TLDs, which generally fall into four categories:

• Our trademarks, like .google
• Domains related to our core business, like .docs
• Domains that will improve user experience, such as .youtube, which can increase the ease with which YouTube channels and genres can be identified
• Domains we think have interesting and creative potential, such as .lol

We want to make the introduction of new generic TLDs a good experience for web users and site owners. So we will:

• Make security and abuse prevention a high priority
• Work with all ICANN-accredited registrars
• Work with brand owners to develop sensible rights protection mechanisms that build upon ICANN’s requirements

We’re just beginning to explore this potential source of innovation on the web, and we are curious to see how these proposed new TLDs will fare in the existing TLD environment. By opening up more choices for Internet domain names, we hope people will find options for more diverse—and perhaps shorter—signposts in cyberspace.

Update Jun 13: You can view the list of gTLDs we applied for below:

Posted by Vint Cerf, Chief Internet Evangelist

Fueling great nonprofits with technology

To contact us Click HERE
Technology can make collaboration easier, cut costs and help operations run more efficiently. Unfortunately, the organizations trying to solve some of the world’s most difficult problems—nonprofits—often lack resources to fully take advantage of technology to further their causes.

That’s why we worked with the HandsOn Network, a Points of Light Enterprise, to create HandsOn Tech, an initiative that pairs U.S. nonprofits with individuals who are passionate about technology and looking to make a difference. Last year, we funded 24 full-time AmeriCorps VISTA positions. These VISTA members provided technology training to more than 1,300 small, poverty-focused nonprofits nationwide. Further, these VISTA participants engaged skilled volunteers, including lots of Googlers, to assist nearly 200 nonprofits in creating individualized, comprehensive tech plans that will help them to work more efficiently.

Each HandsOn Tech VISTA project varies based on different nonprofit needs. In the past year, projects have included:

• Migrating Dreams for Kids, a Chicago nonprofit empowering at-risk and disabled youth, to Google Apps—enabling them to more efficiently and effectively collaborate without the restriction of limited office space.
• Building a dynamic website and social media strategy for Doing Art Together, a NYC-based nonprofit providing hands-on programming and GED prep for under-resourced youth.
• Using Google Maps and Fusion Tables to help Atlanta’s The Drake House create a map that helps staff better visualize the local homeless population in order to more effectively distribute their services.

HandsOn Tech Pittsburgh hosted a panel on social media tools, including Google+, Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn, with local nonprofits at the Google Pittsburgh office
The program has been so successful that we’re expanding—it will now include one additional city and 28 new VISTA positions, with the goal of reaching even more nonprofits. The new HandsOnTech VISTAs will start in August with a one week training at our campus in Mountain View, Calif., where they’ll learn about cloud-based tools from a variety of technology companies including the Google For Nonprofits suite that allows many nonprofits to use free online advertising, Google Apps and YouTube channels. Once they are armed with tech know-how they’ll spend the rest of the year in two and three-person teams serving nonprofits in the Bay Area, Atlanta, Boston, Chicago, Detroit, New York City, Pittsburgh and Seattle.

HandsOn Tech is accepting applications for VISTA members now through June 27. If you’re passionate about technology and helping nonprofits on the front line of fighting poverty, then we hope you’ll apply!

Posted by Matt Dunne, Head of Community Affairs

NORAD is ready to track Santa's flight

To contact us Click HERE
From NORAD's website:

PETERSON AIR FORCE BASE, Colo. -- The North American Aerospace Defense Command is getting ready to track Santa’s yuletide journey! The NORAD Tracks Santa website, www.noradsanta.org, went live today featuring a Countdown Calendar, a Kid’s Countdown Village complete with holiday games and activities that change daily, and video messages from students and troops from around the world. With the addition of Brazilian Portuguese, the website is now available in eight languages: English, French, Spanish, German, Italian, Japanese, Brazilian Portuguese, and Chinese.

Starting at midnight MST on Dec. 24, website visitors can watch Santa as he makes all the preparations for his flight. Then, at 4 a.m. MST (6 a.m. EST), trackers worldwide can talk to a live phone operator to inquire about Santa’s whereabouts by dialing the toll-free number 1-877-Hi-NORAD (1-877-446-6723) or by sending an email to noradtrackssanta@gmail.com. NORAD’s “Santa Cams” will also stream videos as Santa makes his way over various locations worldwide.

NORAD Tracks Santa has truly become a global experience, delighting generations of families everywhere. It is due, in large part, to the efforts and services of numerous contributors. New to this year’s program are Acuity Scheduling, Big Fish Worldwide, Carousel Industries, the Colorado Springs Chamber of Commerce Military Affairs Council, General Electric, the National Tree Lighting Ceremony, RadiantBlue Technologies Inc., thunderbaby studios, the U.S. Coast Guard Band, the U.S. Merchant Marine Academy Band, Visionbox, and the West Point Band. Returning collaborators include the Air Force Academy Band, Analytical Graphics Inc., Air Canada, Avaya, Booz Allen Hamilton, Colorado Springs School District 11, the Defense Video & Imagery Distribution System, the Federal Aviation Administration, First Choice Awards & Gifts, Globelink Foreign Language Center, Google, the Marine Toys for Tots Foundation, Meshbox, the Naden Band of the Maritime Forces Pacific, Naturally Santa’s Inc., the Newseum, OnStar, PCI Broadband, the Space Foundation, tw telecom, Verizon and UGroup Media.

It all started in 1955 when a local media ad directed kids to call Santa direct – only the number was misprinted. Instead of reaching Santa, the phone rang through to the Crew Commander on duty at the Continental Air Defense Command Operations Center. Thus began the tradition which NORAD has carried on since it was created in 1958.

“NORAD stands the watch protecting the skies of North America 365 days a year, but on Christmas Eve the children of the world look to NORAD, and our trusted partners, to make sure that Santa is able to complete his mission safely,” said General Charles H. Jacoby, Jr., NORAD Commander.

“This mission is a duty to the children of the world and a privilege we've enjoyed for 56 consecutive years, but the effort could not be carried out without the superb assistance of numerous government and non-government contributors. It is the generosity of these contributors, the hard work of the more than 1,200 volunteers who man the NORAD Tracks Santa Operation Center, and vigilance of the Canadian and U.S. forces who work at NORAD that guarantees the program's success each and every year."

BTW: This is based on Google Earth. If you press the plus sign, you can zoom in close enough to see buildings and such, and maybe catch Santa actually going down a chimney

What a Florida Wanna-be Cop Says about the State Department's Bureau of Diplomatic Security

To contact us Click HERE
After the holocaust of WWII, a number of significant studies were performed to try to understand how civilized people in Germany and occupied France and Poland could descend, almost overnight, into a state where they could kill their own neighbors.These studies unanimously found that, when the threat of negative consequences (punishment) is removed, ordinary people are capable of extraordinarily cruel and evil acts.

The murder of Trayvon Martin by a wanna-be cop is an excellent example of this idea. Empowered by the knowledge that a newly-passed (2011) Florida law would allow him to use "deadly force" if he or she "reasonably believe[d] that such force is necessary to prevent imminent death or great bodily harm to himself or herself or another or to prevent the imminent commission of a forcible felony;" and inspired by his own vision of himself as a "protector" of his community, he felt safe in hunting down and killing an innocent boy who he considered merely to be "suspicious."

The 2011 law eliminated two things. It eliminated the burden of proof that would have required Mr. Martin's murderer to actually show that he was under attack, and it eliminated the burden of proof that a citizen acting to protect himself or others would have to meet to show that he was acting to prevent the commission of a felony. The only proof required was "reasonable belief," something that cannot be disproved, and is, by definition, hidden within the mind of the believer.

In doing so, it removed the barrier of punishment, so the wanna-be cop could act as he pleased.

That would not be the case had the wanna-be cop been a real cop. Florida's "stand your ground" law aside, other state and federal laws apply to actual law enforcement agents actually performing law enforcement functions. Not only is "use of force" regulated by both laws and agency-specific regulations, but also other acts - including the mere question of whether to even confront a citizen who, apparently, has done nothing more than walk faster when being followed. Real Law Enforcement Officers acting in an official capacity, have to meet real burdens of proof, including a substantial evidence standard for reasonable cause.

Had the wanna-be cop been a real cop accused of killing a minor - accused of walking fast and wearing a "hoodie," armed only with a packet of candy - he would have been immediately relieved of duties (at least temporarily) and all aspects of the matter investigated in a transparent manner. Regardless of the outcome, there would have been consequences. Consequences that have yet to be applied to Trayvon Martin's murderer.

The State Department's Bureau of Diplomatic Security (DS) performs many functions, only some of which involve law enforcement. Its agents are Federal Special Agents trained in law enforcement. When they actually perform law enforcement functions, they generally perform them well. They have an impressive record of arrests of overseas fugitives, and a reasonable record of success developing cases for prosecution. When DS performs a real law-enforcement function it has to meet the same burdens of proof that other law enforcement agents must meet, and conform to the same investigative standards. In law enforcement matters DS overwhelmingly tends to comply with those laws and standards.

DS, however, has other functions, including the performance of administrative investigations and security clearance adjudications. These, by and large, tend to be much less properly performed - involving frequent violations of law and regulation. These include improper searches and seizures, entry into premises under false pretexts, interviews conducted without appropriate warnings, and routine falsification of information in Reports of Investigation. In security clearance cases, this routine DS malfeasance is aggravated by routine failure to apply the most basic rules of adjudication, including regular failure to perform "whole-person reviews."

When performing law enforcement functions, DS Special agents perform them legally, because they face the same threats of punishment that other LEAa do should they fail to comply with the law. However, despite dozens of documented examples of fraud, false statements, and investigative improprieties in administrative investigations, DS has never disciplined a single agent who conducted such acts in an administrative or security-clearance-related matter. When DS performs functions that Law Enforcement Agencies typically do not perform (functions normally performed by trained Human Resources personnel)DS employees do not face any barriers to improper behavior, and are allowed by DS to act as they please.

Florida's "stand your ground law" created a legal loophole which could be abused by any Floridian to murder anyone they pleased, as long as a reasonable pretense could be created that the individual felt threatened.

In administrative matters, the State Department's Bureau of Diplomatic Security exploits similar loopholes to destroy the lives and careers of Foreign Service Officers, without any of the protections DS would apply to drug dealers, pedophiles or spies.

Ultimately, the blame lies at higher levels in State - which continue to allow DS both to perform functions it should not be performing and to perform those functions illegally. Step one would be to remove the authority for those decisions from the wanna-be cop who controls them now, and to enforce regulations holding DS to the same standards in administrative matters as are applied to its real law enforcement functions.

Project Re: Brief, the documentary

To contact us Click HERE
A few months ago, we introduced Project Re: Brief, our experiment to reimagine online advertising. We took some of the most loved ad campaigns from the ‘60s and ‘70s and and brought them back to life for the digital age with the help of the advertising legends that made them in the first place. Together, we created a series of ads designed to start conversations and fire up imaginations about what technology can make possible, such as ads that enable two strangers on opposite sides of the world to connect over a can of soda, or that translate a customer service experience into an instant, shareable, personalized animated video.

But Re: Brief is not just about the ads themselves. It’s also about the creative process behind them: bringing “old school” advertising legends and technologists into the same room to create digital ads that consumers love as much as they loved the iconic campaigns of yesterday. To share this experience, today we premiered the documentary film Project Re: Brief, directed by Emmy winner Doug Pray, at the Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity—also available on YouTube.

This hour-long documentary follows the story of the five art directors and copywriters who made the original ads as they come out of retirement to “Re: Brief” their classic campaigns: Harvey Gabor (Coca-Cola’s “Hilltop); Amil Gargano (Volvo’s “Drive it like you hate it”); Paula Green (Avis’ “We try harder”); and Howie Cohen and Bob Pasqualina (Alka-Seltzer’s “I can’t believe I ate the whole thing”). While major shifts in technology have reshaped the advertising business, as we learned from our heroes of the past, the basic tenets of storytelling haven’t changed. We found these icons’ ideas, wisdom and passion for great advertising inspiring and hope you do as well.



For more details on the film and the Cannes Lions festival, visit our Agency Blog.

Posted by Aman Govil, Project Re: Brief Lead

A tribute to Turing, the father of modern computing

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“The past is a foreign country—they do things differently there.” It’s a saying that rings especially true in the world of technology. But while innovating requires us to focus on the future, there are times when it’s important to look back. Today—the 100th anniversary of Alan Turing’s birth—is one such moment.

Statue of Alan Turing at Bletchley Park
Turing’s life was one of astounding highs and devastating lows. While his wartime codebreaking saved thousands of lives, his own life was destroyed when he was convicted for homosexuality. But the tragedy of his story should not overshadow his legacy. Turing’s insight laid the foundations of the computer age. It’s no exaggeration to say he’s a founding father of every computer and Internet company today.

Turing’s breakthrough came in 1936 with the publication of his seminal paper “On Computable Numbers” (PDF).  This introduced two key concepts, “algorithms” and “computing machines”—commonplace terms today, but truly revolutionary in the 1930’s:

• Algorithms are, in simplest terms, step-by-step instructions for carrying out a mathematical calculation. This is where it all started for programming since, at its core, all software is a collection of algorithms.
• A computing machine—today better known as a Turing machine—was the hypothetical device that Turing dreamed up to run his algorithms. In the 1930’s, a “computer” was what you called a person who did calculations—it was a profession, not an object. Turing’s paper provided the blueprint for building a machine that could do any computation that a person could, marking the first step towards the modern notion of a computer.

Considering the role computers now play in everyday life, it’s clear Turing’s inventions rank among the most important intellectual breakthroughs of the 20th century. In the evolution of computing, all paths trace back to Turing. That’s why Turing is a hero to so many Google engineers, and why we’re so proud to help commemorate and preserve his legacy.

In 2010, Google helped Bletchley Park raise funds to purchase Turing’s papers so they could be preserved for public display in their museum. More recently, we’ve been working closely with curators at London’s Science Museum to help put on a stunning new exhibition “Codebreaker - Alan Turing’s Life and Legacy.” This tells the story of Turing’s vast achievements in a profoundly moving and personal way, through an amazing collection of artifacts—including items loaned by GCHQ, the U.K. government intelligence agency, never before on public display. Topics addressed include Turing’s early years, his code-breaking at Bletchley Park, his designs for the Pilot Ace computer, his later morphogenesis work, as well as his sexuality and death. The exhibition opened on June 21 and is well worth a visit if you’re passing through London in the next year.


And finally, we couldn’t let such a momentous occasion pass without a doodle. We thought the most fitting way of paying tribute to Turing’s incredible life and work would be to simulate the theoretical “Turing machine” he proposed in a mathematical paper. Visit the homepage today— we invite you to try your hand at programming it. If you get it the first time, try again... it gets harder!

Turing was born into a world that was very different, culturally and technologically, from ours—but his contribution has never been more significant. I hope you’ll join me today in paying tribute to Alan Turing, the forefather of modern computing.

Posted by Andrew Eland, Engineering Director, Google U.K.

NORAD is ready to track Santa's flight

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From NORAD's website:

PETERSON AIR FORCE BASE, Colo. -- The North American Aerospace Defense Command is getting ready to track Santa’s yuletide journey! The NORAD Tracks Santa website, www.noradsanta.org, went live today featuring a Countdown Calendar, a Kid’s Countdown Village complete with holiday games and activities that change daily, and video messages from students and troops from around the world. With the addition of Brazilian Portuguese, the website is now available in eight languages: English, French, Spanish, German, Italian, Japanese, Brazilian Portuguese, and Chinese.

Starting at midnight MST on Dec. 24, website visitors can watch Santa as he makes all the preparations for his flight. Then, at 4 a.m. MST (6 a.m. EST), trackers worldwide can talk to a live phone operator to inquire about Santa’s whereabouts by dialing the toll-free number 1-877-Hi-NORAD (1-877-446-6723) or by sending an email to noradtrackssanta@gmail.com. NORAD’s “Santa Cams” will also stream videos as Santa makes his way over various locations worldwide.

NORAD Tracks Santa has truly become a global experience, delighting generations of families everywhere. It is due, in large part, to the efforts and services of numerous contributors. New to this year’s program are Acuity Scheduling, Big Fish Worldwide, Carousel Industries, the Colorado Springs Chamber of Commerce Military Affairs Council, General Electric, the National Tree Lighting Ceremony, RadiantBlue Technologies Inc., thunderbaby studios, the U.S. Coast Guard Band, the U.S. Merchant Marine Academy Band, Visionbox, and the West Point Band. Returning collaborators include the Air Force Academy Band, Analytical Graphics Inc., Air Canada, Avaya, Booz Allen Hamilton, Colorado Springs School District 11, the Defense Video & Imagery Distribution System, the Federal Aviation Administration, First Choice Awards & Gifts, Globelink Foreign Language Center, Google, the Marine Toys for Tots Foundation, Meshbox, the Naden Band of the Maritime Forces Pacific, Naturally Santa’s Inc., the Newseum, OnStar, PCI Broadband, the Space Foundation, tw telecom, Verizon and UGroup Media.

It all started in 1955 when a local media ad directed kids to call Santa direct – only the number was misprinted. Instead of reaching Santa, the phone rang through to the Crew Commander on duty at the Continental Air Defense Command Operations Center. Thus began the tradition which NORAD has carried on since it was created in 1958.

“NORAD stands the watch protecting the skies of North America 365 days a year, but on Christmas Eve the children of the world look to NORAD, and our trusted partners, to make sure that Santa is able to complete his mission safely,” said General Charles H. Jacoby, Jr., NORAD Commander.

“This mission is a duty to the children of the world and a privilege we've enjoyed for 56 consecutive years, but the effort could not be carried out without the superb assistance of numerous government and non-government contributors. It is the generosity of these contributors, the hard work of the more than 1,200 volunteers who man the NORAD Tracks Santa Operation Center, and vigilance of the Canadian and U.S. forces who work at NORAD that guarantees the program's success each and every year."

BTW: This is based on Google Earth. If you press the plus sign, you can zoom in close enough to see buildings and such, and maybe catch Santa actually going down a chimney

What a Florida Wanna-be Cop Says about the State Department's Bureau of Diplomatic Security

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After the holocaust of WWII, a number of significant studies were performed to try to understand how civilized people in Germany and occupied France and Poland could descend, almost overnight, into a state where they could kill their own neighbors.These studies unanimously found that, when the threat of negative consequences (punishment) is removed, ordinary people are capable of extraordinarily cruel and evil acts.

The murder of Trayvon Martin by a wanna-be cop is an excellent example of this idea. Empowered by the knowledge that a newly-passed (2011) Florida law would allow him to use "deadly force" if he or she "reasonably believe[d] that such force is necessary to prevent imminent death or great bodily harm to himself or herself or another or to prevent the imminent commission of a forcible felony;" and inspired by his own vision of himself as a "protector" of his community, he felt safe in hunting down and killing an innocent boy who he considered merely to be "suspicious."

The 2011 law eliminated two things. It eliminated the burden of proof that would have required Mr. Martin's murderer to actually show that he was under attack, and it eliminated the burden of proof that a citizen acting to protect himself or others would have to meet to show that he was acting to prevent the commission of a felony. The only proof required was "reasonable belief," something that cannot be disproved, and is, by definition, hidden within the mind of the believer.

In doing so, it removed the barrier of punishment, so the wanna-be cop could act as he pleased.

That would not be the case had the wanna-be cop been a real cop. Florida's "stand your ground" law aside, other state and federal laws apply to actual law enforcement agents actually performing law enforcement functions. Not only is "use of force" regulated by both laws and agency-specific regulations, but also other acts - including the mere question of whether to even confront a citizen who, apparently, has done nothing more than walk faster when being followed. Real Law Enforcement Officers acting in an official capacity, have to meet real burdens of proof, including a substantial evidence standard for reasonable cause.

Had the wanna-be cop been a real cop accused of killing a minor - accused of walking fast and wearing a "hoodie," armed only with a packet of candy - he would have been immediately relieved of duties (at least temporarily) and all aspects of the matter investigated in a transparent manner. Regardless of the outcome, there would have been consequences. Consequences that have yet to be applied to Trayvon Martin's murderer.

The State Department's Bureau of Diplomatic Security (DS) performs many functions, only some of which involve law enforcement. Its agents are Federal Special Agents trained in law enforcement. When they actually perform law enforcement functions, they generally perform them well. They have an impressive record of arrests of overseas fugitives, and a reasonable record of success developing cases for prosecution. When DS performs a real law-enforcement function it has to meet the same burdens of proof that other law enforcement agents must meet, and conform to the same investigative standards. In law enforcement matters DS overwhelmingly tends to comply with those laws and standards.

DS, however, has other functions, including the performance of administrative investigations and security clearance adjudications. These, by and large, tend to be much less properly performed - involving frequent violations of law and regulation. These include improper searches and seizures, entry into premises under false pretexts, interviews conducted without appropriate warnings, and routine falsification of information in Reports of Investigation. In security clearance cases, this routine DS malfeasance is aggravated by routine failure to apply the most basic rules of adjudication, including regular failure to perform "whole-person reviews."

When performing law enforcement functions, DS Special agents perform them legally, because they face the same threats of punishment that other LEAa do should they fail to comply with the law. However, despite dozens of documented examples of fraud, false statements, and investigative improprieties in administrative investigations, DS has never disciplined a single agent who conducted such acts in an administrative or security-clearance-related matter. When DS performs functions that Law Enforcement Agencies typically do not perform (functions normally performed by trained Human Resources personnel)DS employees do not face any barriers to improper behavior, and are allowed by DS to act as they please.

Florida's "stand your ground law" created a legal loophole which could be abused by any Floridian to murder anyone they pleased, as long as a reasonable pretense could be created that the individual felt threatened.

In administrative matters, the State Department's Bureau of Diplomatic Security exploits similar loopholes to destroy the lives and careers of Foreign Service Officers, without any of the protections DS would apply to drug dealers, pedophiles or spies.

Ultimately, the blame lies at higher levels in State - which continue to allow DS both to perform functions it should not be performing and to perform those functions illegally. Step one would be to remove the authority for those decisions from the wanna-be cop who controls them now, and to enforce regulations holding DS to the same standards in administrative matters as are applied to its real law enforcement functions.

Pinteresting videos are coming your way from YouTube

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We love sharing videos on Google+, Facebook and Twitter as much as you do, so today we’re kicking off our next sharing adventure—YouTube’s on Pinterest.

Since Pinterest introduced video pins, we’ve been ever so eager to join the party. We’ve brought together a Pinterest dream team at YouTube to share videos we hope you’ll find particularly useful, informative and inspiring—with a goal that every video we share will “wow” you.

Here are a few Pinterest boards from us:

• Pinspiration - Inspiring and motivating videos to make your world a little more awesome
• Make It Yourself - To help you get crafty
• Life 101 - Cut corners in your hectic schedule with quick lifehacking tips & tricks
• The Beauty Corner - Find advice for novice to pro style & beauty gurus
• NomNomNom - Discover 15-minute meals to gourmets eats and baking tutorials
• Work It Out - Your personal fitness video center

We’ve got LOTS more, too—so you can also just follow all of our Pinterest boards to get all our goodies.


Danielle Paquette, social media manager, recently pinned “Where the Hell is Matt? 2012”

Reimagining the future of buying and selling ads online

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We’re in the midst of an online advertising revolution that makes the consumer the center of all we do—with creative tools to make ads that don’t just inform but inspire and dazzle, and measurement frameworks that go beyond clicks to drive real emotional engagement. The next step is to look beyond the ads themselves and reimagine the entire system of buying and selling ads online in a way that puts users first. Today, at our DoubleClick Insights conference, we’re gathering with our closest customers to discuss how we can partner to accomplish this and to unveil some tools for advertisers and publishers that we think will help us all reach this goal.

In particular, we’re introducing DoubleClick Digital Marketing: the first modern ad platform built for the modern digital world. You can read the details on the DoubleClick Advertiser blog, or watch live. This represents the biggest overhaul ever of our DoubleClick ad platform, used by agencies and large advertisers around the globe for digital media buying. One of the central challenges we’re looking to solve with this effort is that digital marketing is still incredibly complex—with marketers juggling multiple systems to manage their different digital efforts across banner ads, paid search campaigns, mobile ads, online video and measurement using systems that don’t talk to one another. We think of this a bit like an old school ‘90’s stereo system, with separate CD, cassette and radio players and a mess of wires in the back. What we want to provide to our partners should be more like the intuitive, powerful smartphones we carry in our pockets today—which not only play all our favorite music, but take pictures, keep our schedules and more.

Towards this end, DoubleClick Digital Marketing will weave together the technologies that buyers currently use to plan, manage, schedule, deliver and measure their online buys in a way we think will not only help them work smarter and faster, but ultimately be more responsive to their customers and deliver better ads.

For our publisher partners, our focus continues to be on bringing together the best of our products, and those of Admeld, the publisher technology company we acquired last year. So we're announcing some new tools to give publishers greater transparency into their businesses and better ways to work with their partners, for example a new Market View on the DoubleClick Ad Exchange that gives them the big picture of what’s happening across the exchange, rather than just their own performance. We think that ultimately, by empowering publishers’ growth and success and enabling them to continue funding great online content, everyone wins.

For more details on our announcements today, be sure to check out our DoubleClick Advertiser and DoubleClick Publisher blogs throughout the week, or tune in to the live stream of DoubleClick Insights, from 9am-1pm PT today, June 5.

Posted by Neal Mohan, Vice President, Display Advertising

Google + Quickoffice = get more done anytime, anywhere

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We're happy to announce that we have acquired Quickoffice, a leader in office productivity solutions.

Today, consumers, businesses and schools use Google Apps to get stuff done from anywhere, with anyone and on any device. Quickoffice has an established track record of enabling seamless interoperability with popular file formats, and we'll be working on bringing their powerful technology to our Apps product suite.

Quickoffice has a strong base of users, and we look forward to supporting them while we work on an even more seamless, intuitive and integrated experience.

We're excited to welcome the Quickoffice team and their users to Google.

Posted by Alan Warren, Engineering Director, Google

World IPv6 Launch: Keeping the Internet growing

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When the Internet launched operationally in 1983, its creators never dreamed that there might be billions of devices and users trying to get online. Yet now, almost three decades later, that same Internet serves nearly 2.5 billion people and 11 billion devices across the globe. And we're running out of space.

In order to connect to the Internet, each device has to have an IP address—a numerical label which identifies every computer, phone, tablet, ebook reader, etc. IP addresses allow machines to find and communicate with each other online–without them you couldn't check your email, visit websites or watch videos. But like a telephone network that is running out of phone numbers, the current Internet is running out of IP addresses.

The Internet we've relied on so far has space for 2^32 addresses—about 4.3 billion. The new, larger IPv6 expands the limit to 2^128 addresses—more than 340 trillion, trillion, trillion! Enough for essentially unlimited growth for the foreseeable future. Without the rollout of Internet Protocol v6 (IPv6), which formally begins today for participating websites and other organizations on the web, we won’t have the room we need to grow.

In February 2011, the Internet Assigned Numbers Authority (IANA) ran out of addresses to allocate to the Regional Internet Registries. While some of your devices may already share a single address (your home router acts like a switchboard for your home's devices), if IPv6 isn't implemented you'd soon have to share a single address with multiple people or even a whole neighborhood. This tangled, constrained Internet would be unsafe and unsustainable.

Today's World IPv6 Launch, coordinated by the Internet Society, marks the day that participating websites, Internet Service Providers (ISP), and network hardware manufacturers switch on IPv6 permanently in parallel with IPv4. We’re proud to be one of the founding participants; virtually all Google’s services have been available over IPv6 for a while, but IPv6 access was only available to networks participating in the “Google over IPv6” program. From now on, they will be made available to any IPv6 network on the Internet (well, almost any).

Complete transition will take time. Some users may need to upgrade their home routers or possibly download updated operating system software to enable IPv6 in parallel with IPv4. If you're interested in when you'll get IPv6 connectivity (if you don’t have it already), we encourage you to reach out to your ISP and ask.

Today we launch the 21st century Internet: you ain’t seen nothin’ yet.

Posted by Vint Cerf, Chief Internet Evangelist

15 Google Science Fair Finalists and the Science in Action winners are off to Mountain View

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It’s been a fascinating two weeks for our Google Science Fair judges. They’ve been reviewing projects which try to solve myriad problems—from helping people with hearing loss enjoy music to saving water with vacuflush toilets—and they’ve been blown away by the inventiveness of the world’s young scientists. Today, they’ve selected 15 finalists from our top 90 regional finalists. All of these students asked interesting questions; many focused on real-world problems and some produced groundbreaking science that challenged current conventions.

In July, these finalists will be coming to Google headquarters in Mountain View, Calif., to present their projects to our international panel of finalist judges and compete for prizes that include $100,000 in scholarship funds, a trip to the Galapagos Islands and more. The winners will be announced at our celebration gala beginning at 7:00 p.m. PDT July 23 and the event will be streamed live on our YouTube channel, so make sure to tune in.

In addition, this year one of our partners, Scientific American, is awarding a special Science in Action prize to a project that addresses a social, environmental, ethical, health or welfare issue to make a practical difference to the lives of a group or community. After careful deliberation by Scientific American’s independent judging panel, we are thrilled to announce that Sakhiwe Shongwe and Bonkhe Mahlalela from Swaziland are the winners of this award for their project, which explores an affordable way to provide hydroponics to poor subsistence farmers. In addition to the $50,000 in prize funds, Shongwe and Bonkhe will have access to a year’s mentorship to explore how their project can help the lives of subsistence farmers in Swaziland and around the world. They are also still in the running for their age category prize and the grand prize.

Congratulations to all the finalists and the Scientific American Science in Action winners. We look forward to meeting you all at Google in July.

Posted by Sam Peter, Google Science Fair Team

The Endangered Languages Project: Supporting language preservation through technology and collaboration

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The Miami-Illinois language was considered by some to be extinct. Once spoken by Native American communities throughout what’s now the American Midwest, its last fluent speakers died in the 1960s. Decades later, Daryl Baldwin, a citizen of the Miami Tribe of Oklahoma, began teaching himself the language from historical manuscripts and now works with the Miami University in Ohio to continue the work of revitalizing the language, publishing stories, audio files and other educational materials. Miami children are once again learning the language and—even more inspiring—teaching it to each other.

Daryl’s work is just one example of the efforts being made to preserve and strengthen languages that are on the brink of disappearing. Today we’re introducing something we hope will help: the Endangered Languages Project, a website for people to find and share the most up-to-date and comprehensive information about endangered languages. Documenting the 3,000+ languages that are on the verge of extinction (about half of all languages in the world) is an important step in preserving cultural diversity, honoring the knowledge of our elders and empowering our youth. Technology can strengthen these efforts by helping people create high-quality recordings of their elders (often the last speakers of a language), connecting diaspora communities through social media and facilitating language learning.



The Endangered Languages Project, backed by a new coalition, the Alliance for Linguistic Diversity, gives those interested in preserving languages a place to store and access research, share advice and build collaborations. People can share their knowledge and research directly through the site and help keep the content up-to-date. A diverse group of collaborators have already begun to contribute content ranging from 18th-century manuscripts to modern teaching tools like video and audio language samples and knowledge-sharing articles. Members of the Advisory Committee have also provided guidance, helping shape the site and ensure that it addresses the interests and needs of language communities.

Google has played a role in the development and launch of this project, but the long-term goal is for true experts in the field of language preservation to take the lead. As such, in a few months we’ll officially be handing over the reins to the First Peoples' Cultural Council (FPCC) and The Institute for Language Information and Technology (The LINGUIST List) at Eastern Michigan University. FPCC will take on the role of Advisory Committee Chair, leading outreach and strategy for the project. The LINGUIST List will become the Technical Lead. Both organizations will work in coordination with the Advisory Committee.

As part of this project, research about the world’s most threatened languages is being shared by the Catalogue of Endangered Languages (ELCat), led by teams at the University of Hawai’i at Manoa and Eastern Michigan University, with funding provided by the National Science Foundation. Work on ELCat has only just begun, and we’re sharing it through our site so that feedback from language communities and scholars can be incorporated to update our knowledge about the world’s most at-risk languages.

Building upon other efforts to preserve and promote culture online, Google.org has seeded this project’s development. We invite interested organizations to join the effort. By bridging independent efforts from around the world we hope to make an important advancement in confronting language endangerment. This project’s future will be decided by those inspired to join this collaborative effort for language preservation. We hope you’ll join us.

Posted by Clara Rivera Rodriguez and Jason Rissman, Project Managers, The Endangered Languages Project

The never-ending quest for the perfect map

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Cross-posted on the Google Lat Long Blog

For the last decade we’ve obsessed over building great maps for our users—maps that are totally comprehensive (we’re shooting for literally the whole world), ever more accurate and incredibly easy to navigate.

Comprehensiveness
It’s a pretty limited search engine that only draws from a subset of sources. In the same way, it’s not much of a map that leaves you stranded the moment you step off the highway or visit a new country. Over the last few years we’ve been building a comprehensive base map of the entire globe—based on public and commercial data, imagery from every level (satellite, aerial and street level) and the collective knowledge of our millions of users.

Today, we’re taking another step forward with our Street View Trekker. You’ve seen our cars, trikes, snowmobiles and trolleys—but wheels only get you so far. There’s a whole wilderness out there that is only accessible by foot. Trekker solves that problem by enabling us to photograph beautiful places such as the Grand Canyon so anyone can explore them. All the equipment fits in this one backpack, and we’ve already taken it out on the slopes.

Luc Vincent, engineering director, taking the
Street View Trekker for a trial run in Tahoe Accuracy
The next attribute map makers obsess over is accuracy. We still have a way to go because the world is constantly changing—with new houses, cities and parks appearing all the time—it’s a never ending job. But by cross-checking the data we have, we can significantly improve the accuracy of our maps. Turns out our users are as passionate about the quality of Google Maps as we are, and they give us great feedback on where we can do better. We make thousands of edits a day based on user feedback through our Report a Problem tool and via Map Maker, which we launched in 2008. Today we’re announcing the expansion of Map Maker to South Africa and Egypt, and to 10 more countries in the next few weeks: Australia, Austria, Belgium, Denmark, Finland, Liechtenstein, Luxembourg, New Zealand, Norway and Switzerland.

Usability
The final element of the perfect map is usability. It’s hard to remember what digital maps were like before Google Maps went live in 2005, and the huge technological breakthroughs that transformed clicking on arrows and waiting, to simply dragging a map with a mouse and watching it render smoothly and quickly. Plus, we added one single search box. Today we have thousands of data sources that feed into our maps making them a rich and interactive experience on any device—from driving directions to transit and indoor maps to restaurant reviews.

People have been asking for the ability to use our maps offline on their mobile phones. So today we’re announcing that offline Google Maps for Android are coming in the next few weeks. Users will be able to take maps offline from more than 100 countries. This means that the next time you are on the subway, or don’t have a data connection, you can still use our maps.

The next dimension
An important next step in improving all of these areas—comprehensiveness, accuracy and usability of our maps—is the ability to model the world in 3D. Since 2006, we’ve had textured 3D buildings in Google Earth, and today we are excited to announce that we will begin adding 3D models to entire metropolitan areas to Google Earth on mobile devices. This is possible thanks to a combination of our new imagery rendering techniques and computer vision that let us automatically create 3D cityscapes, complete with buildings, terrain and even landscaping, from 45-degree aerial imagery. By the end of the year we aim to have 3D coverage for metropolitan areas with a combined population of 300 million people.


I have been working on mapping technology most of my life. We’ve made more progress, more quickly as an industry than I ever imagined possible. And we expect innovation to speed up even more over the next few years. While we may never create the perfect map… we’re going to get much, much closer than we are today.

Posted by Brian McClendon, VP of Engineering, Google Maps

Watch Kenny Chesney live today on YouTube

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He may give you the impression he’s a beach bum with “No Shirt, No Shoes, No Problem” on constant repeat in his truck, but country music star Kenny Chesney is actually one of the hardest-working men in show business. With 15 albums under his belt and a swath of awards so wide they’d span the Mississippi, this Tennessee boy has become one of country music’s most recognizable stars.

Today at 5:30pm PT you’ll get a chance to see just how hard working Chesney is when he electrifies New Jersey’s Wildwood Beach with a live American Express UNSTAGED performance, directed by Jonathan Demme and presented in partnership with YouTube and VEVO. Tune into youtube.com/KennyChesneyVEVO to watch; the show will last for 75 minutes, followed by an immediate rebroadcast.



Kenny Chesney is a true self-made talent in an era when many stars are often heavily coached and crafted. He started playing music in college, and though he graduated with a degree in advertising, he immediately moved to Nashville to start plying his trade. He landed a weekly gig there, honing his skills in the small bar scene, and over time he began to attract label attention. Studio execs were impressed with a singer-songwriter who’d developed his considerable skills outside the Music City circuit, and within a few years Chesney was commanding the charts with songs like “She’s Got It All” and “You Had Me From Hello.”



If director Jonathan Demme seems an unlikely choice to direct a Kenny Chesney concert, he is -- and he’s not. The director best known for his Academy Award-winning work on Silence of the Lambs hasn’t just dabbled in music: he directed The Talking Heads’ seminal 1984 concert film Stop Making Sense, as well as the 2006 Neil Young concert film Heart of Gold. He’s even directed music videos for New Order and Bruce Springsteen, among others.



If you miss today's live show, don't worry: the show will be rebroadcast on Chesney’s channel immediately following the webcast.

Sarah Bardeen, music community manager, recently watched “Kenny Chesney - She Thinks My Tractor’s Sexy.”