Hey—we've moved. Visit
The Keyword
for all the latest news and stories from Google
Official Blog
Insights from Googlers into our products, technology, and the Google culture
Hotpot is going Places
April 8, 2011
(Cross-posted from the
Google Places Blog
)
Last November,
we introduced Hotpot
, our recommendation engine to help people discover great new places when they search on Google. It’s simple: Rate and review the places you know, add friends whose opinions you trust and we serve you up personalized recommendations based on those tastes.
Since then, we’ve released an
iPhone
and
Android
app, integrated Hotpot recommendations into
Google.com
and
Google Maps
, expanded to more than
47 languages
and enabled people to
share their ratings and reviews
to Twitter. While busy iterating on the product side, we’ve also launched
marketing and community campaigns
in five cities in the U.S.: Portland, Ore.; Austin, Texas; Las Vegas, Nev.; Madison, Wis.; and Charlotte, N.C.
It’s been incredibly exciting to watch Hotpot grow—the community has quickly expanded to millions of users who are rating more than one million times per month and enjoying a truly personalized view of the world. Based on this success, we’ve decided to graduate Hotpot to be a permanent part of our core local product offering,
Google Places
. Rolling Hotpot into Google Places helps simplify the connection between the places that are rated and reviewed and the more than 50 million places that already have an online presence through Google Places—places that millions of people search for and find every day on Google.
Many of you first asked us at Hotpot’s launch: Why the name?
Hotpot
, the dish, describes a shared eating experience. To us, the name embodied the communal experience of sharing your ratings and reviews with friends, and getting recommendations in return.
Though the name Hotpot may be going away, you can expect even more “Hotpotness” in Google Places. We have big plans to continue adding more features to Google Places that make it even easier to rate, discover and share the places you love whenever you’re using Google. So stay tuned to the new
Google Places Blog
for product updates, tips, tricks and news from our city campaigns.
Posted by Lior Ron, Google Hotpot (Places!) Product Manager
ITA Software acquisition cleared for takeoff
April 8, 2011
How cool would it be if you could type "flights to somewhere sunny for under $500 in May" into Google and get not just a set of links but also flight times, fares and a link to sites where you can actually buy tickets quickly and easily? Well that's exactly why we announced our intention to
buy ITA Software
, a Cambridge, Mass.-based company that specializes in organizing airline data last July—and we're excited that the U.S. Department of Justice today
approved
our acquisition.
It’s important to us that ITA continue with business as usual, providing great service to its business partners. We indicated
last July
that we would honor ITA’s existing contracts. Today we’ve formally committed to let ITA’s customers extend their contracts into 2016. We've also agreed to let both current and new customers license ITA’s QPX software on “fair, reasonable and non-discriminatory terms” into 2016—along with
related commitments
aimed at making ITA’s technology available to other travel sites.
We’re moving to close this acquisition as soon as possible, and then we’ll start the important work of bringing our teams and products together. We’re confident that by combining ITA’s expertise with Google’s technology we’ll be able to develop exciting new flight search tools for all our users. Up, up and away!
Update
April 12, 2011:
Our acquisition of ITA has now closed.
Posted by Jeff Huber, Senior Vice President, Commerce and Local
If the green jacket fits...
April 7, 2011
For golf enthusiasts like me, a trip to Augusta, Ga. in early April is as close as one can get to golf nirvana. The excitement begins the moment you drive down [
magnolia lane
] and approach the [
augusta national
] Clubhouse. In fact, there’s probably no golf event that captures the world’s attention quite like The Masters does every spring.
The Masters
is unique among golf tournaments since it’s held in the same location each year, and after 75 years the rituals and legends have taken on a life of their own. The competitors teed off today in the opening round, so we thought it would be a good time to take a look at what people have searched for on Google about the tournament, the players and the traditions.
With a relatively small field of 93 professionals and six amateurs hailing from 22 countries, The Masters is a global event that draws interest from all over the world. We can see that each year, worldwide searches for [
masters golf
] peak the weekend of the tournament. The chart below shows how the trend is set to take off again this year and will likely hit its peak over the weekend.
The winner of The Masters gets to walk away with a unique prize: the prestigious green jacket—given to the lowest score in the tournament—and the game’s defining garment. Every April, The Masters [
green jacket
] becomes one of the most sought-after article of clothing on the web as searchers turn to Google to discover the history of the jacket, seek out past winners and learn the protocols for receiving and wearing the special sport coat. Searches for [
green jacket masters
] have grown every year since 2004, with the highest mark occurring last year. Indeed, for a brief time in April every year, we all seem to embrace our inner couch-potato, searching for the [green jacket] more than we do for [exercise shorts]!
With some of the greatest players in the game competing, The Masters is always a thrill to watch for real golf fanatics and weekend golfers alike. The tournament is also home to some of the most memorable upset stories in sports, with lesser-known, but very skilled golfers coming out of nowhere to post the lowest score and win the tournament. Interest in these underdog stories is reflected in search query patterns across the globe. Searches for past unexpected winners like American [zach johnson] (‘07), South African [trevor immelman] (‘08) and Argentine [angel cabrera] (‘09) all
peaked globally the week
of their Masters win.
So whether you’re a golf fanatic, a sucker for an underdog story or—like some of my colleagues across Google—you just find the television broadcast and the golf analysts’ voices the perfect background noise for an afternoon nap, there’s something in the tournament for you. I’ll likely be tuned into The Masters
via my GoogleTV
and will watch along with the rest of the world to see which golfer comes out of Sunday’s trip through [
amen corner
] to capture the famous green jacket.
Posted by Ryan Hall, Director of Business Development, JAPAC, member of the University of Virgina Men’s Golf Team (‘98) and former Zimbabwean National Team golfer
1 billion computing core-hours for researchers to tackle huge scientific challenges
April 7, 2011
Computing is an invaluable resource for advancement of scientific breakthroughs. Today we’re announcing an academic research grant program called
Google Exacycle for Visiting Faculty
, which provides 1 billion hours of
computational core
capacity to researchers. That’s orders of magnitude larger than the computational resources most scientists normally have access to.
This program is focused on large-scale, batch computations in research areas such as biomedicine, energy, weather and climate, earth sciences and astronomy. For example, scientists could use massive amounts of computation to simulate how pharmaceuticals interact with proteins in the human body to develop new medicines. Other uses could include simulations to predict weather patterns and analysis of telescope images to understand how the universe changes over time.
Exacycle for Visiting Faculty is part of our
University Relations
team’s larger efforts to stimulate advances in science and engineering research. If you're a full-time faculty member, we encourage you to
apply
by May 31, 2011.
In the future, we think this service could also be useful for businesses in various industries, like biotech, financial services, manufacturing and energy. If your business can benefit from hundreds of millions of core-hours to solve complex technical challenges and you want to discuss potential applications, please
contact us
.
Posted by Alfred Spector, VP of Research and Special Initiatives
Bringing Google I/O direct to you with I/O Live
April 7, 2011
(Cross-posted from the
Google Code Blog
)
After Google I/O sold out in
59 minutes
, we gave ourselves a challenge: bring I/O 2011 to as many developers as we could, even those that didn't have tickets to Moscone Center. So for those of you not joining us in San Francisco or at one of our
I/O Extended
viewing parties, visit
www.google.com/io
on May 10-11 from the comforts of your own home, office or anywhere you have a reliable Internet connection for
I/O Live
.
I/O Live will bring all of the excitement at Moscone Center to our online website, where the keynotes, sessions and Developer Sandbox will come to life for audiences all over the world. Starting on May 10, the Google I/O homepage will become the I/O Live dashboard, where you can:
Watch livestream video feeds from our two largest session rooms from 9:00 a.m PST to 6:00 p.m. PST during both days of the conference.
This will include streaming of the keynotes, as in years past, as well as—new for 2011—the addition of sessions from Android and Chrome. We’ll also aim to post HD video recordings from sessions that are not livestreamed within 24 hours.
Read captions from the livestreamed sessions in real-time.
Plus, to make sure all our content is accessible, all remaining videos will also be captioned. For international developers, captions will be machine translated to all languages that are supported by
Google Translate
.
Be one of the first to know by getting your news direct from the source.
The latest announcements and news will be added to our I/O Live dashboard in real-time.
Submit your questions to our Sandbox developers.
We'll post answers for the questions with the most votes.
In the coming weeks, we’ll update our
Sessions
and Sandbox pages with all the relevant information you’ll need to participate in I/O Live. In the meantime, visit our temporary
I/O Live
page, where you can get our new HTML5 badge to display on your website and let us know that you’ll be watching on May 10 and 11.
This year is slated to be our largest Google I/O event to date. So whether you’re joining us in San Francisco, from an
I/O Extended
event, or even the comforts of your own Shangri-la, we’re looking forward to seeing you at 9 a.m. PDT on May 10 as we count down to 00:00:00:00 and I/O Live.
Posted by Monica Tran, Google I/O Team
Ladies and gentlemen, start your editors! Registration now open for Google Code Jam 2011
April 6, 2011
Imagine you’re a ninja, trying to master your deadly grappling hook. Or perhaps you’re a chess grand master, outsmarting your opponent’s every move. Or even a Taoist philosopher, explaining the deep truths of the world to your followers.
It’s situations like these that you’ll face in Google Code Jam, our annual coding contest in which some of the best coders from around the world write programs to solve tough algorithmic problems. We believe that one of the best ways to sharpen your coding skills and stretch them creatively is through healthy competition. The intense experience of confronting a problem, conveying your solution to your computer and seeing the results emerge is a thrill unlike any other.
Today we’re opening registration for
Google Code Jam 2011
. Coding will begin on May 6 with our qualification round, where competitors will have as much as a day to plan their approach to our first few problems. From there, the contest heats up quickly: the remaining contestants will engage in several two-and-a-half hour rounds, wrangling each time with three to four algorithmic problems that range in difficulty from simple to fiendish. For each problem, you’ll wield the programming language of your choice, crafting the perfect algorithm to pit against the gauntlet of our test data. Construct your code flawlessly and you’ll be on to the next problem; solve enough problems, and you’ll make your way to the next round. If you continue to succeed, you might find yourself sitting on a flight to the finals.
The challenge begins in
just over a month
. If you’re a killer coder and you’re ready to compete, sign up on
our website
; while you’re there, make sure to check out the
puzzles
of the past few years to get a sense of what’s to come, and to hone your skills. If you’re one of the top 25 competitors, we’ll bring you to our Tokyo office to spar against your fellow coders. In the end, only one person will bring home the $10,000 top prize—and the title of Code Jam Champion.
Posted by Bartholomew Furrow, Software Engineer, Google Code Jam
Supporting our beloved science museums
April 6, 2011
I touched the moon.
President Kennedy, NASA, and a
museum
put the rock that inspired my boyhood imagination into my hands and made me a “museumophile.” Since then, I’ve savored
Wenninger
’s polyhedra and the evolution of the
astrolabe
in London, analyzed
Konrad Zuse
’s pioneering computers in Munich, seen the original Earth globe in Vienna, toured a coal mine in Chicago, learned the secret of Samurai swords and measured a 50-foot tapeworm in Tokyo, learned the origins of oceanography in Monte-Carlo, studied
Tycho Brahe
’s astronomical apparatus in Beijing, loved a Foucault pendulum and
Ames window
in San Diego, viewed a remote-control fly in Langley, winced at the
Siamese twins’ conjoined liver
in Philadelphia and admired Cleopatra’s eyeliner bottle in San Jose. What an amazing journey through human creativity—all thanks to museums!
Museums do more than entertain and teach. I’ve spoken with many Googlers who cite their own experiences in science museums as a positive influence on their decision to become engineers. By transforming the curious learners of today into the innovators of tomorrow, museums perpetuate both creativity and accomplishment. That’s why I’m thrilled that Google is supporting science museums with a total of $12 million in grants to the
Museum of Mathematics
in New York, the
New York Hall of Science
, the
Science Museum London
(via the
Friends of Science Museums
), the
Exploratorium
and the
California Academy of Sciences
in San Francisco, the
Museum of Science & Industry
in Chicago and the
Museum of Science
in Boston.
When looking to support these beloved institutions, we naturally gravitated towards museums in communities where Googlers volunteer and have ties. Our funds are going to meet diverse needs of the museums, from the construction of new facilities to the development of new exhibitions to new curricula that will extend their work outside of the museum walls.
Many of these museums have operated in our communities for quite some time, but another wave of science museums was built mid-century during the space race when the
National Science Foundation
realized the importance of getting the general public excited about scientific pursuits. The need for science and math museums is no less important today, as the
U.S. has made research and development
in biomedical research, information technology and clean energy technology a national priority. As leading destinations for school field trips, museums are touchpoints where students come into contact with science and math.
Our collaboration with the museums won’t end by signing a check. With so many Googlers already working with these museums, we’re excited to find additional ways Google can help these museums educate adults and spark a love of science in children.
Besides, how else can we all touch the moon?
Posted by Michael T. Jones, Chief Technology Advocate
Labels
accessibility
41
acquisition
26
ads
131
Africa
19
Android
59
apps
419
April 1
4
Asia
39
books + book search
48
commerce
12
computing history
7
crisis response
33
culture
12
developers
120
diversity
35
doodles
68
education and research
144
entrepreneurs at Google
14
Europe
46
faster web
16
free expression
61
google.org
73
googleplus
50
googlers and culture
203
green
102
Latin America
18
maps and earth
194
mobile
125
online safety
19
open source
19
photos
39
policy and issues
139
politics
71
privacy
66
recruiting and hiring
32
scholarships
31
search
505
search quality
24
search trends
118
security
36
small business
31
user experience and usability
41
youtube and video
140
Archive
2016
Nov
Oct
Sep
Aug
Jul
Jun
May
Apr
Mar
Feb
Jan
2015
Dec
Nov
Oct
Sep
Aug
Jul
Jun
May
Apr
Mar
Feb
Jan
2014
Dec
Nov
Oct
Sep
Aug
Jul
Jun
May
Apr
Mar
Feb
Jan
2013
Dec
Nov
Oct
Sep
Aug
Jul
Jun
May
Apr
Mar
Feb
Jan
2012
Dec
Nov
Oct
Sep
Aug
Jul
Jun
May
Apr
Mar
Feb
Jan
2011
Dec
Nov
Oct
Sep
Aug
Jul
Jun
May
Apr
Mar
Feb
Jan
2010
Dec
Nov
Oct
Sep
Aug
Jul
Jun
May
Apr
Mar
Feb
Jan
2009
Dec
Nov
Oct
Sep
Aug
Jul
Jun
May
Apr
Mar
Feb
Jan
2008
Dec
Nov
Oct
Sep
Aug
Jul
Jun
May
Apr
Mar
Feb
Jan
2007
Dec
Nov
Oct
Sep
Aug
Jul
Jun
May
Apr
Mar
Feb
Jan
2006
Dec
Nov
Oct
Sep
Aug
Jul
Jun
May
Apr
Mar
Feb
Jan
2005
Dec
Nov
Oct
Sep
Aug
Jul
Jun
May
Apr
Mar
Feb
Jan
2004
Dec
Nov
Oct
Sep
Aug
Jul
Jun
May
Apr
Feed
Google
on
Follow @google
Follow
Give us feedback in our
Product Forums
.
Follow
