Official Google Blog

Your Google homepage, to go

Posted by Abhijit Kalamkar, Software Engineer

Anyone who's ever tried to browse the web on their cell phone knows that it isn't always the best user experience. That's why I'm excited to tell you about Google Mobile Personalized Home. We've designed a way for you to view the things that you really care about, from your Gmail inbox to news headlines, weather, stock quotes, and feeds (Atom or RSS). The interface is optimized for small screens, and we've arranged things so you don't have to click on a bunch of links to locate what you're after -– your personalized content appears on top, right where it should be. Give it a try, and let us know how you like it.

Many Minis

Posted by Rajen Sheth, Product Manager

Today is the one year anniversary of the Google Mini, Google's solution for website and corporate network search, and to celebrate we thought we'd announce a few more of them. The standard Mini lets you search up to 100,000 documents. Now organizations that constantly crank out new content can opt for either of two new Minis: one searches up to 200,000 documents, and another that can manage up to 300,000. All three deliver the same easy setup, intuitive interface and fast, relevant results that the Mini is already bringing to thousands of websites and corporate networks. You're growing, and the Mini is growing with you.

Google Earth in a Mac world (PC too)

Posted by Chikai Ohazama, Google Earth Team

We feel like proud parents around here. Our eldest, Google Earth for the PC, is officially leaving beta status today, and we couldn't be more pleased. For those of you who downloaded early, upgrade to the latest and discover Google Earth all over again.

And we have a brand new member of the family -- Google Earth for Macintosh. We're happy to finally have some good news for the, ahem, vocal Mac enthusiasts we've been hearing from. Let's just say that we have gotten more than a few "requests" for a Mac version of Google Earth. They've gone something like this:

1) "When is it coming out? Your website says that you are working on it."

2) "You know, Mac users are very heavy graphics/mapping/visualization/design/ architecture/education/real estate/geocaching/social-geo-video-networking fans who would certainly use Google Earth a lot."

3) "So when is it coming out?"

We heard you loud and clear. The Mac version runs on OS X 10.4 and up. Happy travels throughout Google Earth, whether you're on a Mac or a PC.

A new year for Google Video

Posted by Sanjay Raman, Google Video Team

Till now, Google Video has been about watching videos and clips online, which is really convenient for videos like this. But wouldn't it be awesome to watch that episode of CSI that you missed when even your trusty DVR failed you? This is one reason we've launched the Google Video store, where you can rent or buy from such well-known media partners as CBS, the NBA, The Charlie Rose Show, and SONY BMG.

We’re not only about mainstream content, though -– we have thousands of titles available (and more coming every day) from every imaginable type of producer, including this 1896 clip of the coronation of Tsar Nicholas II – one of the earliest known moving images. We’re especially pleased to offer such quality indie features as Ben Rekhi’s Waterborne (Drops Entertainment) and Lerone Wilson’s Aardvark’d: 12 Weeks with Geeks (Boondoggle Films).

When we launched our Upload Program earlier this year, people sent in a huge number of free and compelling videos. But since there's a ton of video that can't be offered for free, we built the Google Video store to give content owners the option to charge for downloads if they'd like. This means producers large and small can distribute their great content in an easy, secure way. Some of your favorite prime time and classic TV shows, sports, music videos, and documentaries are at your fingertips. Want to see how Shaq scored 30 points last night? Download and watch it (and every NBA game for the rest of the season) through Google Video.

You can play all the videos you download using the all-new Google Video Player. We're especially pleased about the thumbnail navigation for browsing an entire video so you can play any portion with a single click. And there's another thing: if the content is not copy-protected, you can take your favorite videos with you on your iPod or PSP -- our "to go" option.

Since it's so early in the year, here's a resolution we intend to keep: make sure new features and content continue to roll out, so that you think Google Video is one of the best ways to find video on the web.

These video providers are getting us off to a great start:

• Aquarius Health Care Media: A leading producer and distributor of healthcare-related videos will pilot with Google Video using a variety of titles covering SIDS, diabetes, and blindness, among other health issues.

• Ardustry Home Entertainment: Offers substantial libraries of theatrical motion pictures, television series, documentaries and reality programming, music and sports specials, lifestyle titles, and a wide array of “how-to” products.

• BlueHighways TV: Programming service that explores the people, stories, traditions and cultures of America. Discovering the sights and sounds of communities across the country with an up-close, laid-back programming style, BlueHighways TV presents a collage of remarkable music, folklore and information for audiences interested in all aspects of American life and heritage. Programming includes Reno's Old Time Music Festival, American Journeys, Stan Hitchcock's Heart to Heart, and Gospel Sampler.

• CareTALK: A multimedia brand dedicated to consumer-directed health care offering programming and tools to help modern family caregivers; initially offering 10-20 hours of health and caregiving-related content (10-20 minutes in length).

• CBS: Includes prime time hits such as CSI, NCIS, Survivor: Guatemala, and The Amazing Race (available spring ’06), as well as classics like I Love Lucy, Twilight Zone, Brady Bunch, Have Gun Will Travel, MacGyver, Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, Star Trek: Voyager, and My Three Sons (coming soon).

• The Charlie Rose Show: Includes interviews with Henry Kissinger, Oliver Stone, Quentin Tarantino, Martha Stewart, Martin Scorsese, Harrison Ford, Dan Rather, Charles M. Schulz, Steve Jobs, Jay Leno, Tom Brokaw, and others.

• Cine Excel: Independent producer will trial on Google Video with 3 DVD movie titles: Bikini Hotel (1997), Tao of Karate (short-film, 1998) and Karate Wars (1998).

• Classic Media: Classic Media owns and manages some of the world's most recognizable family properties across all media including feature film, television, home video and consumer products. The company's extensive library features a diverse collection of popular animated and live-action characters. For lentaries are at your fingertips. Want to see how Shaq scored 30 points last night? Download and watch it (and every NBA game for the rest of the season) through Google Video.

You can play all the videos you download using the all-new Google Video Player. We're especially pleased about the thumbnail navigation for browsing an entire video so you can play any portion with a single click. And there's another thing: if the content is not copy-protected, you can take your favorite videos with you on your iPod or PSP -- our "to go" option.

Since it's so early in the year, here's a resolution we intend to keep: make sure new features and content continue to roll out, so that you think Google Video is one of the best ways to find video on the web.

These video providers are getting us off to a great start:

• Aquarius Health Care Media: A leading producer and distributor of healthcare-related videos will pilot with Google Video using a variety of titles covering SIDS, diabetes, and blindness, among other health issues.

• Ardustry Home Entertainment: Offers substantial libraries of theatrical motion pictures, television series, documentaries and reality programming, music and sports specials, lifestyle titles, and a wide array of “how-to” products.

• BlueHighways TV: Programming service that explores the people, stories, traditions and cultures of America. Discovering the sights and sounds of communities across the country with an up-close, laid-back programming style, BlueHighways TV presents a collage of remarkable music, folklore and information for audiences interested in all aspects of American life and heritage. Programming includes Reno's Old Time Music Festival, American Journeys, Stan Hitchcock's Heart to Heart, and Gospel Sampler.

• CareTALK: A multimedia brand dedicated to consumer-directed health care offering programming and tools to help modern family caregivers; initially offering 10-20 hours of health and caregiving-related content (10-20 minutes in length).

• CBS: Includes prime time hits such as CSI, NCIS, Survivor: Guatemala, and The Amazing Race (available spring ’06), as well as classics like I Love Lucy, Twilight Zone, Brady Bunch, Have Gun Will Travel, MacGyver, Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, Star Trek: Voyager, and My Three Sons (coming soon).

• The Charlie Rose Show: Includes interviews with Henry Kissinger, Oliver Stone, Quentin Tarantino, Martha Stewart, Martin Scorsese, Harrison Ford, Dan Rather, Charles M. Schulz, Steve Jobs, Jay Leno, Tom Brokaw, and others.

• Cine Excel: Independent producer will trial on Google Video with 3 DVD movie titles: Bikini Hotel (1997), Tao of Karate (short-film, 1998) and Karate Wars (1998).

• Classic Media: Classic Media owns and manages some of the world's most recognizable family properties across all media including feature film, television, home video and consumer products. The company's extensive library features a diverse collection of popular animated and live-action characters. For launch we will have Rocky & Bullwinkle, Casper, Wendy, Richie Rich, Herman & Katnip, Baby Huey, Little Audrey, Mighty Hercules, Little Lulu, and Felix the Cat.

• CLEARVUE & SVE: A leading provider of educational K-12 educational video content. They sell DVDs and run a subscription media-on-demand website with video, audio, and images. CLEARVUE & SVE primarily serves large clients such as schools, school districts or entire states. Leveraging Google Video, they have embarked on a new and bold strategy to target individual customers directly. Among the hundreds of videos you will find on Google, topics vary from classic children's literature to detailed explanations about the workings of the human body.

• Echelon Home Entertainment 2: Focuses on independently produced films made by filmmakers from around the world which offer a unique perspective to the traditional genres: drama, action, thriller, comedy, family, animation, classic, B&W, foreign.

• Egami Media: A subsidiary of Image Entertainment and a leading independent licensee, producer and distributor of home entertainment programming with over 3,000 titles released in North America. Highlighted content in Google Video includes live concert programs include Kiss: Rock the Nation: Live!, Chick Corea: Rendezvous in New York, Roy Orbison: Black & White Night, and dozens more. Other titles include IMAX programs from MacGillivray Freeman, stand-up comedy and independent, foreign and silent film classics.

• Fashion TV: The only 24 hours a day, 7 days a week fashion, beauty and style TV station worldwide provides glamorous entertainment with emphasis on the latest trends. Google Video content includes fashion show clips and behind the scenes footage from many fashion shows.

• Getty Images' Archive Films Collection: A diverse collection of short clips that capture personalities, moments and eras throughout history -- selected from vintage newsreels and educational film, as well as contemporary news and events from around the world.

• GreenCine.com: Feature length independent films, documentaries and classic titles, including works by legendary Polish director Andrzej Wajda (Zemsta) and award-winning actor-director Caveh Zahedi (In the Bathtub of the World).

• HDNet: Co-founded by Mark Cuban, HDNet has agreed to make select original programming from its library available for the launch of Google's first commercial video offering. The programs to be made available come from HDNet's ever growing library of original content including the HDNet World Report, a groundbreaking series featuring news in HD from around the globe; True Music, a popular weekly music series highlighting up-and-coming bands; Higher Definition, a celebrity interview series hosted by Robert Wilonsky; Young, Beautiful and Trying to Make it in Hollywood, following actresses through the hectic process of getting hired in Hollywood; and Deadline, delivering current events and news from around the world from an irreverent point of view.

• here!: Gay and lesbian U.S. television network featuring original movies and series and film library (independent and foreign films, documentaries and shorts).

• Hollywood Licensing's HilariousDownloads.com: Hollywood Licensing is the entertainment licensing agency which represents the best and most extensive library of hilarious videos in the world. Tapping into a library boasting tens of thousands of clips, they have custom produced 20 packages of funny themes a celebrity interview series hosted by Robert Wilonsky; Young, Beautiful and Trying to Make it in Hollywood, following actresses through the hectic process of getting hired in Hollywood; and Deadline, delivering current events and news from around the world from an irreverent point of view.

• here!: Gay and lesbian U.S. television network featuring original movies and series and film library (independent and foreign films, documentaries and shorts).

• Hollywood Licensing's HilariousDownloads.com: Hollywood Licensing is the entertainment licensing agency which represents the best and most extensive library of hilarious videos in the world. Tapping into a library boasting tens of thousands of clips, they have custom produced 20 packages of funny themes for Google Video. For example, if you think that your recent home improvements was nothing but a miserable experience, wait until you see a bucket of wet plaster land on a man's face, a house collapsing or a door falling of its hinges for no particular reason.

• ITN: One of the world's leading news producers, providing news programming for the main commercial broadcasters in the U.K. and its combined news broadcasts reach over two-thirds of the U.K. population. The company has a strong reputation for the creative and innovative use of modern technology, winning the Royal Television Society's 2004 Innovation Award.

• iWatchNow.com: Titles include Night of the Living Dead (George Romero), The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, Witch, and the Wardrobe (original animated film BBC from1979), The Man Who Knew Too Much (Hitchcock), the hard-to-find Comedy's Dirtiest Dozen (with Chris Rock and Tim Allen), and The Little Shop of Horrors (1960).

• Kantola Productions: Captures unique speaking events given by well-known experts at Stanford University. Topics focus on innovative and practical business advice, such as How Leaders Boost Productivity by John H. (Jack) Zenger and Mastery of Speaking as a Leader by Terry Pearce.

• LIME: “Healthy Living with a Twist” offers entertaining and revealing programming focused on a greener, healthier, more balanced lifestyle. Programming features inspiration from leading experts, authors, and pop culture icons and covers topics including the environment and sustainability, personal growth, alternative health, healthy foods, and business ethics.

• MediaZone.com: Programming covers sporting events, TV episodes, movies, how-to programs. Content includes The Rugby Channel presents ‘The Best Tries of 2004’ and The All Blacks of New Zealand Vs. Springboks of South Africa.

• Nobel Video Library: A library focused on the achievements of individual Nobel Laureate. The series was developed to introduce students to the work of the laureates as well as to support classroom discussion regarding important issues addressed by Nobel Prize winners in recent decades.

• Open Championship: Official programs from the classic golf tournament, the British Open, such as Reflections: Past Open Champions.

• Plum TV: Provides highly localized programming to the nation’s most influential consumers, and strives to be an incubator of groundbreaking new television programming. Each Plum TV station shares branding which links each station as a network, but still provides original programming customized to reflect each community. Plum TV’s programming includes regionally-focused feature pieces, tourist information (weather, traffic reports, restaurant reviews, retail and lodging information), a real estate show, local news and specially targeted entertainment for each community’s interests.

• PorchLight Entertainment: Porchlight produces family-oriented motion pictures and TV specials. Google Video will offer 36 titles including Enough Already and Role of a Lifetime.

• SOFA Entertainment: Represents pop culture at its best. Featuring several titles from the classic The Ed Sullivan Show along with documentaries, feature films and music programming. SOFA Entertainment truly offers something for everyone. Some highlights include The Very Best of The Ed Sullivan Show - Vol. 1 & Vol. 2.

• SONY BMG MUSIC ENTERTAINMENT: The lineup of launch videos includes offerings from some of SONY BMG's largest global superstar artists, including Christina Aguilera, Beyonce, Kenny Chesney, Destiny's Child, Kelly Clarkson, Alicia Keys, Lil' Flip, Jessica Simpson, Shakira, System of a Down, Switchfoot, Usher, and many more.

• Tai Seng Entertainment: The definitive Asian cinema powerhouse. Known as the best source for Hong Kong films, Tai Seng also releases cinematic masterpieces from all over the Asia region in a variety of languages. Tai Seng brings to your home the best in class from high-octane action to bone-crushing martial arts, from chilling horror to lush swordplay epics. We are proud to showcase with Google some of Asia's biggest hits like Johnnie To's Running On Karma, Korea's sensuously emotional drama Addicted, martial arts Master Yuen Wo Ping's highly acclaimed Tai Chi Master, and Michelle Yeoh's violently elegant Butterfly Sword.

• Teen Kids News: A dynamic television news program for teens and pre-teens, by teens. The half-hour weekly program provides 10 eyewitness news segments to students in a way that's educational as well as entertaining. Thirty shows with kids reporting on camera are available on Google Video.

• Trinity Broadcasting Network: The world's largest religious network and America's most watched faith channel, TBN offers 24 hours of commercial-free inspirational programming that appeal to people in a wide variety of Protestant, Catholic and Messianic Jewish denominations. The Praise the Lord Program is the only live two-hour Christian program in the world. The program brings the highest caliber of guests from well-known celebrities to laypersons for interview, as well as, singers, musicians, evangelists and the coverage of revivals and crusades from around the world. This award-winning program has been on each week night for over 30 years.

• Union: Offers the best of breed from the world of action sports, including snow, skate, bmx, moto, and surfing. Union is owned by Quiksilver Entertainment, Inc. and Global Media Ventures, LLC.

• WFIL: Wilderness Films India Ltd. is a leading producer and library of stock footage captured in India and across Asia. WFIL will offer 100 hours of high quality video, both free and for sale, on Google Video. Topics vary from helicopter skiing in the Himalaya, broadcast coverage of an Everest climb, and rare wildlife such as the takin and the clouded leopard to imagery spanning India's art, culture, technology, peoples, cities, and rural areas.

• WGBH: WGBH Boston is America's preeminent public broadcasting producer, the source of fully one-third of PBS's prime-time lineup, along with some of public television's best-known lifestyle shows and children's programs and many public radio favorites. Programming available includes Nova, La Plaza (the longest running Latino program in the country), Thinking Big, and Basic Black. WGBH is the number one producer of Web sites on pbs.org, one of the most trafficked dot-org Web sites in the world. WGBH is a pioneer in educational multimedia and in technologies and services that make media accessible to the 36 million Americans who rely on captioning or video descriptions. WGBH has been recognized with hundreds of honors: Emmys, Peabodys, duPont-Columbia Awards.even two Oscars. In 2002, WGBH was honored with a special institutional Peabody Award for 50 years of excellence.

• WheelsTV: Serves both the general audience and the enthusiast with a wide spectrum of vehicle-based entertainment, news and information. WheelsTV Network, WheelsTV On Demand and WheelsTV.net have been developed by the producers of multi-awarding winning automotive programming for Discovery, PBS, Speedvision, Fox and Outdoor Life Networks including Wild About Wheels, Wheels, and Motor Trend Television. WheelsTV Network’s valuable consumer programs include Top 200™ New Vehicle Test Drives. With Top 200 on Google, consumers will be able to download virtual test drives of the best selling and most exciting cars on the road today, saving time and money.

• Wimbledon: Official programs from the Wimbledon Tennis Championships such as Legends of Wimbledon: Bjorn Borg.

The 2006 Anita Borg Scholarships

Posted by April Yu, University Programs Team, and Emily Nishi, Diversity Program Manager

The wonderfully-named Dr. Anita Borg (1949 - 2003) was a rebel with a cause: ensuring that technology itself has positive outcomes, and dismantling barriers that keep women and minorities from entering computing and technology fields. Today the Anita Borg Institute for Women and Technology carries on her vision. And because Google shares that passion, we are pleased to sponsor the 2006 Anita Borg Scholarship program. We are inspired by the past scholarship recipients -- and in hopes of finding more, the program is expanded this year to accept applications from students entering their senior year of undergraduate study as well as those enrolled in a graduate program. Last year we awarded 23 scholarships; this year we'd like to do more.

Tell your friends, or apply yourself - the deadline is January 20.

Make your computer just work

Posted by Jesse Savage, Google Pack team

So you bought a new PC for yourself or a relative during the holidays. There was the initial excitement about its speed and the nice screen – and then it came time to actually get it running. Which meant embarking on some real work -– downloading a browser, a couple of multimedia players, a PDF reader, a toolbar, and maybe something for voice and instant messaging. Don’t forget the anti-spyware and anti-virus apps – you’ve got to have those. Hours, maybe even days, go by. How many wizards have you clicked through, not to mention license agreements and preference pickers? And then you have to ask: did I get everything? And how am I going to keep all of this up to date?

This was the experience both Sergey and Larry had a year ago. And they’re computer guys, after all. Which led them to ask more of us to make it easier for everyone. So we created the Google Pack -- a one-stop software package that helps you discover, install, and maintain a wide range of essential PC programs. It’s yours today – and it’s something we hope you find to be painless, easy, and even fun (if computer setup can ever be called that). And it’s free.

We worked with a number of technology companies to identify products that are the best of their type to create this suite. (We didn’t pay them, and they aren’t paying us.) For PC users running Windows XP, it downloads in minutes and installs in just a few clicks. There’s only one license agreement – and no wizards. And there’s a new tool called the Google Updater that keeps all the software in the Google Pack current. Even if you already have some of the software in the Pack, you can use the Google Updater to update and manage it.

There’s one more thing in the Pack that we think you’ll like. The Pack team asked people what kind of screensavers they like best. They kept saying, “I want my own photos as a screensaver, why can’t I do that?” Good question -- lots of people have trouble with this. So we made the Google Pack Screensaver, which is the easiest possible way to make your photos into an animated photo collage. And now the question for you is: what will you do with all that time you've saved?

A year of Google blogging

Posted by Karen Wickre, Google Blog team

This is the 201st post to be published on the Google Blog in 2005. In closing out the first full year of our company-wide effort to share news and views, we thought you might be interested in a few factoids. Since we've had Google Analytics running on this blog since June, some of these numbers reflect only half a year. In that time, 4.3 million unique visitors have generated 8.7 million pageviews. Readers have come from all over the world, not just English-speaking countries: 53,001 visitors from Turkey have stopped by, for example; so have 155,691 from France, 29,614 from Thailand and 8,233 from Peru.

The most popular posts? Here are a few that have yielded scores of backlinks:

- Our explanation of "Googlebombing"
- A celebration of email and Gmail
- Google Earth's partnership with National Geographic about Africa

Several on Google Book Search (formerly known as Google Print), including:
- Preserving public domain books
- Our statement on the Authors' Guild suit
- and Eric Schmidt's op-ed about Book Search.

During the year, we've published 38 how-to tips, announced 77 new products and services, and addressed policy questions and legal matters 17 times. We've featured 11 guest bloggers. Forty posts have illuminated something about day to day life at Google; 19 have offered some international perspective.

In 2006, we'll keep up the Google Blog with more posts, more bloggers, and even more topics. Meanwhile, we really appreciate your interest and feedback, now visible through "Links to this post." We know some of you would like to offer comments directly, and we would like that too, when we can add resources to the blog crew. Meanwhile, our best to you and yours for the New Year.