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20 percent time spent coding in the clouds
March 24, 2011
This is the latest post in our
series
profiling entrepreneurial Googlers working on products across the company and around the world—even 35,000 feet above the ground. Read how one engineering director tried Google App Engine for the first time to build an Android app—now used by nearly half a million people—during a 12-hour plane ride to Japan. -Ed.
A 12-hour plane flight may seem daunting to some, but I look at it as uninterrupted time to do what I love—code new products. My bi-monthly trips from London to Tokyo and California are how I spend my
20 percent time
—what I consider my “license to innovate.” It was on a flight to Tokyo that I first built what became
Chrome to Phone
, an Android app and Chrome extension that allows you to instantly send content—like a webpage, map or YouTube video—from your Chrome browser to your Android device.
As an engineering director, I spend the bulk of my time managing software engineers and various projects. As a result, there’s not a lot of time to just sit at my desk and code, and it’s possible for my technical skills to become rusty. So on one of my frequent cross-continent trips, I decided to take the opportunity—and time—to brush up on my engineering skills by exploring device-to-device interaction, an area that has a lot of potential in our increasingly connected world. I’d never written a Chrome extension or used
App Engine
, a platform that allows developers to build web applications on the same scalable systems that power Google’s own applications and services. But rather than sleeping or reading a book, I spent my flight figuring it out. And somewhere over Belgium on my way to Japan, I had a working prototype of Chrome to Phone.
A few days later, on my trip back to London, I emailed my prototype to Andy Rubin and Linus Upson, who lead the Android and Chrome engineering teams. Before my plane even landed, they’d both given the product their blessing. With a little help from a developer in Mountain View and a user interface designer back in London, we tidied things up and ultimately launched the
open source code for Chrome to Phone
at Google I/O just two months later.
As an engineering director, I don’t always have the time to get deeply involved in every aspect of a product launch. Chrome to Phone gave me a unique opportunity to be actively involved at the grassroots of product development at Google—from concept to launch—working directly with the legal, internationalization and consumer operations teams. With few restrictions on how I spent my time, I was able to build a prototype and launch it quickly, adding more features based on user feedback. Today, more than 475,000 people use the extension, and that number is still growing.
When you’re leaving your house to go out, you take your phone, keys and wallet. I don’t think it will be long before you just take your phone—it will contain everything that you need—and that’s our motivation to explore device-to-device interaction. In order to get there, we have engineers here in the U.K. and around the world examining the mobile space, both in their full-time roles and as 20 percent projects. There isn’t only one solution, so by encouraging engineers to work on new projects, we hope that ideas will come from all over the world—whether from a Google office or even 35,000 feet above one.
Posted by Dave Burke, Engineering Director, Android
Watch Lady Gaga’s exclusive Q&A with Google
March 23, 2011
(Cross-posted from the
YouTube Blog
)
Google went totally Gaga yesterday, when the indomitable
artist otherwise known as Stefani Germanotta
clicked onto the Mountain View, Calif. campus in her impossibly tall black boots.
The diminutive superstar wowed a capacity crowd in a venue that was (literally) packed to the rafters with adoring Googlers. In a wide-ranging interview that saw Gaga taking questions from fans via Twitter and Moderator, the musician spoke about everything from bullying to
Rebecca Black
, the creative process and her upcoming album. She took questions from the audience—hugging several Googlers in the process—and even became a judge when a gaggle of Gaga-alikes flooded the stage.
True to form, the singer was by turns funny, thoughtful and inspiring. But don’t take our word for it—you can watch the entire Q&A now on YouTube.
Posted by Sarah Bardeen, Music Community Manager, YouTube
2011 European Scholarship for Students with Disabilities: results announced
March 22, 2011
(Cross-posted from the
Google Students Blog
)
We're pleased to announce the winners of the second annual
European Scholarship for Students with Disabilities
. This scholarship gives recognition to outstanding scientific contributions from students with disabilities who are pursuing university degrees in the field of computer science at a university in the European Union, Switzerland or Israel. It aims to help break barriers that keep students with disabilities from entering computing and encourages them to excel in their studies and become active role models and leaders in creating technology.
Scholarships will be granted for the 2011-2012 academic year, and recipients will be invited to attend an all-expenses-paid retreat at Google’s Engineering Center in Zurich in June 2011. The retreat includes workshops with a series of speakers, panels, breakout sessions and social activities.
This year we received almost double the amount of applications compared to 2010 and have increased the number of scholars from seven to 10.
Congratulations to our scholars!
Aurora Constantin
, The University Of Edinburgh, United Kingdom
Celine Moret
, University Of Geneva, Switzerland
Lewis McLean
, Heriot-Watt University, United Kingdom
Max Hinne
, Radboud University Nijmegen, Netherlands
Nicolas Bellm
, Heidelberg University, Germany
Peter Gatens
, University Of Liverpool, United Kingdom
Peter Weller
, Aberystwyth University, United Kingdom
Polina Proutskova Goldsmiths
, University of London, United Kingdom
Sophie Kershaw
, University of Oxford, United Kingdom
Thomas Hennigan
, University Of Southampton, United Kingdom
For complete details, see
www.google.com/studentswithdisabilities-europe
. To learn more about scholarships, grants and other opportunities for students in Europe, the Middle East and Africa, visit
www.google.com/university/emea
.
Posted by Jenny McColl, Univeristy Programs Specialist, EMEA
1000 @Google Talks videos now on YouTube
March 21, 2011
Last week, the @Google Talks team uploaded its 1000th video to YouTube. If you’re not familiar with this series, we host talks by authors and commentators at Google, and post videos of their readings and talks on a
dedicated YouTube channel
.
Authors@Google began in the fall of 2005 when we noticed that some amazing people were passing through the Google hallways. A few scrappy Googlers galvanized to create a more consistent pipeline of requests and a formalized program that kicked off with Malcolm Gladwell and James Surowiecki. As Google and our technology grew, so did the program. “Authors@Google” has blossomed into @Google Talks, a full-fledged speaker series, expanded across distributed offices and found a home on
YouTube
, so that we can share these conversations outside of the Googleplex.
The @Google Talks series aims to capture the popular and intellectual zeitgeist, as well as ideas that deserve a deeper focus an expert can provide in more than a five-minute soundbite. From the
2008 U.S. presidential candidates
to
Alice Walker
to
Michael Pollan
to
Raphael Saadiq
, the program has grown to encompass not just authors, but musicians, innovators, notable women, chefs and more. The team that hosts these events is made up of dedicated and passionate volunteers from all across the company.
Our most viral video was of
Conan O'Brien
, who stopped by during his "Legally Prohibited from Being Funny on Television" tour for a hilarious hour involving bagpipes, Andy Richter and one lucky Googler who got to touch his hair. We've featured master and apprentice—from
Thomas Keller
of The French Laundry to Keller protege
Corey Lee
on the process of opening his new restaurant Benu—and varying viewpoints, exemplified by
Christopher Hitchens
on "God Is Not Great" and
Tim Keller
on "The Reason for God." And that’s just the beginning. Other popular visitors include Congressman
Ron Paul
, President
Barack Obama
, linguist and philosopher
Noam Chomsky
, presentation designer
Garr Reynolds
, author
Elizabeth Gilbert
,
Randall Munroe
of XKCD and U.S. Secretary of State
Hillary Clinton
.
We’re excited for what lies ahead, and we hope you'll tune in and join us.
Posted by Erika Choung, @Google Talks Volunteer
Sprint integrates Google Voice
March 21, 2011
(Cross-posted from the
Google Voice Blog
)
Over time, we've worked to bring an integrated Google Voice experience to your mobile device by building
mobile apps
, introducing
Google Voice Lite
, and most recently
Number Porting
. But we felt that ultimately, the most simple solution would be to partner with carriers to seamlessly integrate Google Voice with your mobile phone.
Today, we’d like to share that we’ve teamed up with Sprint to do just that.
First, Sprint customers will be able to use their existing Sprint mobile number as their Google Voice number and have it ring multiple other phones simultaneously. So now, calls to your Sprint mobile number can easily be answered from your office or your home phone, or even your computer
through Gmail
. Calls from Gmail and text messages sent from
google.com/voice
will also display your Sprint number. This basically gives Sprint customers all the benefits of Google Voice without the need to change or port their number.
Alternatively, Google Voice users can choose to replace their Sprint number with their Google Voice number when placing calls or sending text messages from their Sprint handset. This feature works on all Sprint phones and gives Sprint users all the benefits of Google Voice without the need for an app.
In both cases, Google Voice replaces Sprint voicemail, giving Sprint customers transcribed voicemail messages available online and sent via email and/or text message. International calls made from Google Voice users’ Sprint phones will be connected by Google Voice at our
very low rates
, and Sprint customers will also have access to the rest of
Google Voice’s features
, like creating
personalized voicemail greetings
based on who’s calling,
call recording
,
blocking unwanted callers
and more.
To learn more, watch the video below and visit
google.com/voice/sprint
.
This feature will be available soon to Sprint customers in the United States. Once it is launched, it will be rolled out gradually to all Google Voice users, and can be enabled through the
Google Voice website
. If you don’t see it right away, don’t worry—you can leave your email address at
google.com/voice/sprint
and we’ll notify you as soon as this becomes available.
In addition, today we’re introducing the Nexus S 4G for Sprint—which takes advantage of Sprint’s high-speed 4G data network and lets you enable Google Voice directly from the mobile app. Learn more on the
Google Mobile Blog
.
Posted by Jacob Hesch, Software Engineer
National Engineers Week 2011: Classroom visits inspire students to pursue CS
March 18, 2011
We love using our computer science (CS) and engineering skills to solve some of world’s most interesting and important problems. We also know that not enough students are pursuing careers in CS and that the U.S. currently has a
3-to-1 gap for computer and mathematical sciences jobs
(that’s three job openings for every job seeker). So this year, for
National Engineers Week
, Google engineers across the country visited local middle schools and high schools to talk to more than 5,000 students about their own careers in computer science.
Instead of hosting students at Google for National Engineers Week as we’ve done in the past, this year we traveled to local communities to talk to the students on their own turf. Engineers Week fell during spring break in many areas, so we spread our school visits throughout the month of March.
As part of this event, I visited Odle Middle School in Bellevue, Washington with four other engineers from our Kirkland office. We split up into 16 different classrooms during the day, and talked about the importance of basic programming skills for all the sciences (it’s not just for CS majors!) before moving on to activities related to programming and algorithmic thinking (searching and sorting). It was a lot of fun to interact with the students—and we all left with a greater appreciation for the work that the teachers perform every day.
One of the engineers in our group is Japanese (his friends and family are fortunately all safe) and he gave a particularly resonant example of how CS can have a big impact. After the recent earthquake, geologists used computer models to predict where and when tsunamis were likely to hit coastal regions. This information was used to send warnings and direct resources where they were needed most. The speed and accuracy of these warnings is a credit to the scientists who combined their knowledge of geology with their programming expertise to produce these life-saving programs.
We really care about encouraging students to pursue careers in all the sciences (including computer science). By introducing students to interesting people who work in computer science, we hope we can inspire them to develop their own skills in this area.
Posted by Gary Kacmarcik, Software Engineer
YouTube Highlights 3/17/2011
March 17, 2011
This is the latest in our series of YouTube highlights. Every couple of weeks, we bring you regular updates on new product features, interesting programs to watch and tips you can use to grow your audience on YouTube. Just look for the label “
YouTube Highlights
” and subscribe to the series. – Ed.
Like many people, we've been struck by the devastation in Japan since last week. So in addition to our regular round-up, we've included some information to help you stay informed about events on the ground in Japan.
Footage from Japan on CitizenTube
In the aftermath of the 8.9 magnitude earthquake and ensuing tsunami that hit Japan, we worked with
Storyful
to make eyewitness footage accessible on
CitizenTube
, YouTube’s News and Politics channel. We also featured some of the most moving videos, like this footage from
inside a grocery store
during the quake, in a spotlight on the YouTube homepage. You can find more videos on
youtube.jp
and the
livestream of the Tokyo Broadcasting System’s news coverage
.
Hollywood comes to YouTube with
Girl Walks Into A Bar
We’ve premiered Hollywood's first
feature-length film
created specifically for the Internet. Presented by Lexus and now playing in the
YouTube Screening Room
,
Girl Walks Into A Bar
is a comedy directed by
Sebastian Gutiérrez
. The film stars (among others)
Carla Gugino
,
Zachary Quinto
,
Danny DeVito
,
Rosario Dawson
,
Josh Hartnett
and
Emmanuelle Chriqui
. Watch it in its
entirety
or in installments via this
playlist
.
Brave bloggers and more—reporting from Afghanistan
Steve Grove of YouTube News and Politics was recently part of a Google/YouTube delegation that went to Afghanistan. There, they interviewed people who have lost their jobs due to blogging and discovered a country that is hungry for information. Ninety percent of people listen to the radio every day, and even though only 30% of Afghans have electricity, 60% say they watch television daily (using generators or community viewing locations). Learn more about their trip and the state of media in Afghanistan in this
blog post
.
Full version of Kevin Bacon film on YouTube
Ivan Cobenk
—the self-proclaimed No. 1
Kevin Bacon
fan in the world—has posted the
full version
of his latest movie on YouTube. You might be familiar with "Ivan" from advertisements for the Logitech Revue with Google TV—turns out, they were only using clips of a
documentary
about Ivan, which you can now watch in full on YouTube.
YouTube @ SXSW 2011
A vast array of musicians and filmmakers are in Austin this week for the
SXSW Music, Film and Interactive Festival
, and so is YouTube. We showcased several YouTube artists—including
Beardyman
,
Playing for Change
,
Oh Land
and
Das Racist
—at a party Tuesday night, and other events include artists like
The Antlers
,
The Joy Formidable
,
Wild Flag
,
Khaira Arby
,
The Sway Machinery
,
tUnE-yArDs
,
!!!
,
Ted Leo
,
Edwyn Collins
,
James Blake
and
Colin Stetson
. You can find videos of many of these folks on YouTube, and look out for video from some of the events next week.
Apply to the YouTube Creator Institutes's inaugural class
We know there are people out there who have always wanted to express themselves through video, but may be limited by funding, video-making skills or insufficient tools. That’s why YouTube is
establishing
the
YouTube Creator Institute
—the first initiative from
YouTube Next
—to help nurture content creators, existing YouTube partners and the next generation of stellar YouTube talent. For details, visit
www.youtube.com/creatorinstitute
.
This week's trends: Dr. Seuss, politics and more
Here are a few of the
YouTube Trends
that have gotten the
community talking
in the past couple of weeks:
On the author's birthday, we studied
YouTube Dr. Seuss readings
We saw how
satellite images
can help add perspective on dramatic footage from Libya
And we looked into just
what in the world
that "Apaci Dansi" video is actually all about
World View interview with John Boehner now online
If you missed the
YouTube interview
with Speaker of the House John Boehner as part of the
YouTube World View
program, you can now
watch it in full
. Stay tuned for upcoming interviews.
We’ll update you again in a few weeks. In the meantime, head over to the
YouTube Blog
.
Posted by Serena Satyasai, Marketing Manager, The YouTube Team
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