Google is following in the high-tech footsteps of many Silicon Valley companies before it by dreaming big and building or leasing large new offices to accommodate a swelling employee roster.

The search giant announced on Wednesday plans to build a 1 million-square-foot campus at the NASA Ames Research Center, not far from its Mountain View, Calif., headquarters, which is dubbed the "Googleplex."

Of course, some Silicon Valley companies are easily identified by their buildings. Oracle's shimmering green towers, for example, are a landmark for drivers on the Valley's Highway 101. And Sun Microsystems turned a historic mental-health facility just a 20-minute drive south from Oracle into a major office park.

But numerous others with grandiose plans overspent in the valley's boom years, only to be humbled when the tech bubble burst. That includes Silicon Graphics, whose former offices Google is now subleasing.

Full article: C|net
 

Google Earth rockets into space…

Google has announced plans to work with NASA on a number of research and development activities around supercomputing and nanotechnology.

The two organisations have signed a memorandum of understanding that outlines plans for cooperation in various areas, including supercomputing and "bio-info-nano convergence" - the combination of biological, information and nanotechnology research to make new materials. Google also plans to build an office, which will be "up to one million square feet" in size, in the NASA Research Park at Moffett Field.

Google and NASA have provided a few details of what the collaboration could result in. "Imagine having a wide selection of images from the Apollo space mission at your fingertips whenever you want it. That's just one small example of how this collaboration could help broaden technology's role in making the world a better place," said Google's chief executive and silicon.com Agenda Setter, Eric Schmidt.

Full article: silicon.com
 

Happy Birthday Google!!! 

In the latest round of the search-index size contest, Google unveiled an updated index it said is more than three times larger than that of any of its search engine competitors.

"We're celebrating our seventh birthday...We had a pretty strong year," Google Chief Executive Eric Schmidt said in a phone interview with CNET News.com, as he listed the launch of new products including Google Talk, Google Earth, Google Video and Google Desktop Search. "And we've sort of been struggling here with respect to the index. It has always been much larger than the others."

"We're announcing tonight that in terms of unduplicated pages our index is now three times larger than any other search engine," he said, without saying how many pages are in the index.

Google will stop providing on its search page a quantity of pages indexed, which previously was listed as 8 billion, "because people don't necessarily agree on how to count it," Schmidt said.

In addition, the company will encourage users to test out the search engines using a specialized query to see which provides the most results, he said.

"We want end users to derive the number to their satisfaction. They will discover that ours is larger," he said.

Full article: ZDNet News
 

Crossing the chasm between consumer and enterprise search

Google has launched the Google Enterprise Professional programme in an effort to persuade more businesses to use the search company's services.

The new programme allows service providers and software developers to be trained in Google's professional products, including the Google Search Appliance and Google Desktop Search for Enterprises.

The company has several such products, but provides only basic support and does not offer customisation services.

Membership of the programme allows enterprises to use the Google technology search data from sources that are not currently accessible.

Among the current partners are providers offering integration with data in SAP enterprise applications, or databases hosted on mainframe systems.

"The goal is to create an ecosystem of technology and service providers which bring added value to our business customers," Google product manager Matt Glotzbach told vnunet.com.

Full article: vnunet.com
 

Google Toolbar
is a popular browser add-on that makes it possible to quickly perform Google Web searches, prevent annoying pop-up ads from appearing, and fill in Web forms with one simple click.

• SpellCheck
Check your spelling whenever you type in web forms

• WordTranslator
Translate English words into other languages

• AutoLink (US only)
Turn street addresses into links to online maps

• AutoFill
Automatically fill out forms for faster online shopping

System requirements:
• Windows XP/2000 SP3+, Mac OS X 10.2+, or Red Hat Linux 8.0+
• Firefox 1.0+

Download: Google Toolbar for Firefox 1.0.20050923


Also available:
• Other Firefox extensions
from Google
• Googlebar
, an open-source toolbar written by Google fans 

Google Web Accelerator is an application that uses the power of Google's global computer network to make web pages load faster. Google Web Accelerator is easy to use; all you have to do is download and install it, and from then on many web pages will automatically load faster than before.

Google Web Accelerator uses various strategies to make your web pages load faster, including:
- Sending your page requests through Google machines dedicated to handling Google Web Accelerator traffic.
- Storing copies of frequently looked at pages to make them quickly accessible.
- Downloading only the updates if a web page has changed slightly since you last viewed it.
- Prefetching certain pages onto your computer in advance.
- Managing your Internet connection to reduce delays.
- Compressing data before sending it to your computer.

System Requirements
Operating System: Win XP or Win 2000 SP3+
Browser: IE 5.5+ or Firefox 1.0+
Availability: For users in North America and Europe (during beta testing phase)

Download: Google Web Accelerator 0.1.60.78 Beta
 

Google's one-of-a-kind computer network gives it a chance to surpass Microsoft to become the most dominant company in tech, according to the author of a recently published book on the search giant.

Google already has plenty of influence. It handles nearly half of the world's Web searches. It's hiring some of the biggest names in the industry, from the controversial Kai-Fu Lee of Microsoft to the legendary Vint Cerf, an early Internet pioneer. And it has become such the topic du jour in Silicon Valley that its search for a new corporate chef warrants significant local news coverage.

But what's next? Author Stephen Arnold has closely analyzed Google patents, engineering documents and technology and has concluded that Google has a grand ambition--to push the information age off the desktop and onto the Internet. Google, he argues, is aiming to be the network computer platform for delivering so-called "virtual" applications, or software that allows a user to perform a task on any device with an Internet connection.

"Google is this era's transformational computing platform and could be about to unseat Microsoft from its throne," Arnold writes in a summary of his book, "The Google Legacy: How Google's Internet Search is Transforming Application Software," published this month.

For all of its wild success, about 99 percent of Google's revenue still comes from advertising, mostly from Internet keyword searches. Certainly, it has built on the core business, adding everything from the Gmail free Web-based e-mail service to Google Earth, a satellite mapping service. And it has plenty of cash to spend on new technology--nearly $7 billion in cash, $4 billion alone from a secondary stock offering on Sept.

Full article: News.com
 

Picasa
is software that helps you instantly find, edit and share all the pictures on your PC. Every time you open Picasa, it automatically locates all your pictures (even ones you forgot you had) and sorts them into visual albums organized by date with folder names you know. You can drag and drop to arrange your albums and make labels to create new groups. Picasa makes sure your pictures are always organized.

Picasa also makes advanced editing simple by putting one-click fixes and powerful effects at your fingertips. And Picasa makes it a snap to share your pictures you can email, print at home, make gift CDs, instantly share via Hello, and even put pictures on your own blog.


Download: Picasa 2.1.0 Build 27.54
 

Search giant's web pages let slip a few company secrets

Google is preparing to launch its own Wi-Fi service, according to certain pages on the company's website.

The pages mention a previously unknown product called Google Secure Access which can be downloaded as a beta. The software allows automatic encryption of Wi-Fi signals using a VPN run by Google.

"One of our engineers recognised that secure Wi-Fi was virtually non-existent at most locations," states the Google Wi-Fi FAQ.

Read more: vnunet.com
 

The idea is simple. It’s a globe that sits inside your PC. You point and zoom to anyplace on the planet that you want to explore. Satellite images and local facts zoom into view. Tap into Google search to show local points of interest and facts. Zoom to a specific address to check out an apartment or hotel. View driving directions and even fly along your route. We invite you to try it now.

Google Earth
is free for personal use. No registration is required. You may (optionally) choose to upgrade to Google Earth Plus.

Features:

• Free for personal use.
• Sophisticated streaming technology delivers the data to you as you need it.
• Imagery and 3D data depict the entire earth - Terabytes of aerial and satellite imagery depict cities around the world in high-resolution detail.
• Local search lets you search for restaurants, hotels, and even driving directions. Results show in your 3D earth view. Easy to layer multiple searches, save results to folders, and share with others.
• Layers show parks, schools, hospitals, airports, shopping, and more.
• KML – data exchange format let your share useful annotations and view. thousands of data points created by Google Earth users.

Use it for:

-Planning a trip
-Getting driving directions
-Finding a house or apartment
-Finding a local business
-Exploring the world

Download: Google Earth 3.0.0616 Public Beta 6
 

They say talk is cheap. Google thinks it should be free. Google Talk enables you to call or send instant messages to your friends for free–anytime, anywhere in the world. Google Talk offers you:

• Choice: Get in touch how and when you want to–over email, IM or a call

• Quality: Talk through your computer but hear your friends as if they were in the same room

• Convenience: Your Gmail contacts are pre-loaded into Google Talk so inviting or talking to your friends is just a click away

Requires Windows XP/2000, minimum 56k (broadband recommended)
Mac and Linux users can connect to Google Talk using other IM clients


Google Talk is in beta and requires a Gmail username and password.

Download: Google Talk 1.0.0.70 Beta
 

Google has launched a blog search feature, as it seeks to go head-to-head with archrival Yahoo in the booming blog market.

Google's tool is designed to find listings beyond those published through its own Blogger service by searching blogs that publish feeds via RSS or Atom. The feeds are checked frequently for new content, Google said on its Web site.

An upcoming feature will allow bloggers who publish site feeds to request inclusion in Google's search index.

The tool is designed to find blogs posted in multiple languages, including Brazilian Portuguese, Chinese, French, German, Italian, Japanese, Korean and Spanish, among others.

Full article: C|net


View: Blog Search
 

As tech firms try to help people find their missing loved ones...

Google has created search tools designed to locate information and people, following the devastation of Hurricane Katrina.

Keywords typed in Katrina Search will return results only from hurricane-related web pages, while Katrina People Search can help find information about persons affected by the disaster, the company said. Katrina People Search indexes information collated from several public databases, including the Red Cross.

Read more: silicon.com


View: Google's Hurricane Katrina Resources
 

Google announced on Thursday that it hired Internet pioneer Vint Cerf, as the search giant seeks to build a network foundation for its future Internet applications.

Cerf, who co-designed TCP/IP (Transmission Control Protocol/Internet Protocol), will help Google develop architectures, systems and standards for next-generation applications, the company said.

"Vint Cerf is clearly one of the great technology leaders of our time," Eric Schmidt, Google's chief executive, said in a statement. "His vision for technology helped create entire industries that have transformed many parts of our lives."

Read more: CNET News.com
 

Local business search for Chinese people

Google has launched a beta version of a service that allows Chinese web surfers to search for businesses in their local area, according to reports.

The service, called Google Bendi, offers similar features to Google Local, which was launched in the US last year. The Chinese service provides information about businesses in more than 170 Chinese cities, according to MacWorld on Monday.

China is a massive market but firms such as Google have a battle on their hands if they want to dominate it.

Read more: silicon.com
 

Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer vowed to "kill" Google in an expletive-laced, chair-throwing tirade when a senior engineer told him he was leaving the company to go work for Google, the engineer claimed in court documents made public on Friday.

The allegation, filed in Washington state court, is the latest salvo in an increasingly nasty court fight triggered when Microsoft executive Kai-Fu Lee jumped to Google in July in what Microsoft claims is a violation of a one-year, non-compete agreement.

In a sworn statement made public on Friday, Mark Lucovsky, another Microsoft senior engineer who left for Google in November 2004, recounted Ballmer's angry reaction when Lucovsky told Ballmer he was going to work for the search engine company.

"At some point in the conversation, Mr. Ballmer said: 'Just tell me it's not Google,'" Lucovsky said in his statement. Lucovsky replied that he was joining Google.

"At that point, Mr. Ballmer picked up a chair and threw it across the room hitting a table in his office," Lucovsky recounted, adding that Ballmer then launched into a tirade about Google CEO Eric Schmidt. "I'm going to f***ing bury that guy, I have done it before, and I will do it again. I'm going to f***ing kill Google." Schmidt previously worked for Sun Microsystems and was the CEO of Novell.

Full story: ZDNet Australia
 

The idea is simple. It’s a globe that sits inside your PC. You point and zoom to anyplace on the planet that you want to explore. Satellite images and local facts zoom into view. Tap into Google search to show local points of interest and facts. Zoom to a specific address to check out an apartment or hotel. View driving directions and even fly along your route. We invite you to try it now.

Google Earth
is free for personal use. No registration is required. You may (optionally) choose to upgrade to Google Earth Plus.

Features:

• Free for personal use.
• Sophisticated streaming technology delivers the data to you as you need it.
• Imagery and 3D data depict the entire earth - Terabytes of aerial and satellite imagery depict cities around the world in high-resolution detail.
• Local search lets you search for restaurants, hotels, and even driving directions. Results show in your 3D earth view. Easy to layer multiple searches, save results to folders, and share with others.
• Layers show parks, schools, hospitals, airports, shopping, and more.
• KML – data exchange format let your share useful annotations and view. thousands of data points created by Google Earth users.

Use it for:

-Planning a trip
-Getting driving directions
-Finding a house or apartment
-Finding a local business
-Exploring the world

Download: Google Earth 3.0.0548 Public Beta 5
 

Tomodachi
is a program that shows graphically the the way that you, your friends and other people in Orkut's
network are connected. To be able to use it, you must necessarily be an Orkut member.

Don't you know what is Orkut? Orkut is a social network website. This means that an Orkut member can search, among all Orkut members, for her friends (or relatives or classmates or acquaintances or whatever) and add them to her list of friends. If someone is not in the Orkut network, an Orkut member (and only an Orkut member) can send her an invitation to join it. Someone can after navigate through these friends lists and know who are the friends of her friends or the friends of the friends of the friends of her friends and so on. Besides that, there are also communities that are a kind of Internet forums created by Orkut members.

But in all this "friend of your friends" thing, we missed a way to visualize through graphs things like "did our friends knew each other?" or "has someone recently joined Orkut and all my friends have added her to their friends list except me?". We expect that Tomodachi will help filling this gap.

Download: Tomodachi 0.4 Alpha1