Developed for the conceptual stages of design, Google SketchUp
is powerful yet easy-to-learn 3D software. We think of it as the pencil of digital design. This award-winning software combines a simple, yet robust tool-set that streamlines and simplifies 3D design inside your computer. SketchUp is being used by anyone with the desire to...Dream, Design and Communicate in 3D

With just a few simple tools, you can create 3D models of houses, sheds, decks, home additions, woodworking projects - even space ships.

Google SketchUp is free for personal use. No registration is required.

Download: Google SketchUp 5.0.245
Windows, Macintosh: Coming Soon
 

Google Earth Hacks offers lots of great information for you, as well as a growing collection of downloads to use with your copy of Google Earth.

Visit: Google Earth Hacks
 

 

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 Mac 3.1.0617.0 Beta
 

SysSense
is your personal desktop Google AdSense monitor. It keeps your current Google AdSense information in the Windows system tray. You can monitor an unlimited number of Google AdSense accounts. A sound and/or system tray icon balloon can be configured to alert you when your statistics have changed.

Main Features:

• View your current Google AdSense statistics at anytime by holding your mouse over the SysSense system tray icon. These statistics are sometimes even more up-to-date than what is showing up on the Google AdSense website.
• Receive a system tray icon balloon alert when any of the following is updated: page impressions, clicks, clickthrough rate, CPM, earnings.
• Monitor an unlimited number of Google AdSense accounts.
• Easily log into your Google AdSense account from the SysSense system tray icon menu. There is no need to log into the Google AdSense webpage -- Just a few clicks of the SysSense system tray icon menu and you're there.

Requirements: Windows 2000+, Google AdSense account

Download: SysSense 1.2.21
 

Google Toolbar
is a popular browser add-on for Internet Explorer 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.

The toolbar's 'browse by name' feature also makes it possible to type searches directly into the browser address bar.

• 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

Now you can make your Toolbar as unique as you are. You can add buttons and bookmarks; get instant search suggestions; share web pages with friends; and enjoy the Toolbar's pop-up blocker, web form filler, and spellchecker.

System requirements: Windows XP/2000 & IE 6.0
(IE7 support coming soon)

Download: Google Toolbar 4.0.629.4924 Beta
 

Related links and additional information aim to improve online search

Google is testing an enhanced search feature that presents users with additional result information.

Screenshots of the service appeared on the web earlier this week showing search results with an expansion button that presents longer excerpts from linked sites as well as links to related content and a 'search this site' option.

"We are currently testing new ways to refine searches such as the ones you see in these screen shots. There's no set schedule when we'll roll out these sorts of new ideas (if ever), but these tests help us improve the overall search experience," a Google spokesperson told vnunet.com.

Full article: vnunet.com
 

Joan Miró (1893 - 1983). Spanish painter.

Demonstrating its commitment to enterprise-level business, Google announced Google OneBox for Enterprise, which it says represents a significant upgrade to its Google Search Appliance, launched last May.

Its determination in this arena is bearing fruit: Google said it has more than 3,000 active enterprise customers, and that revenues at its Google Enterprise division doubled from 2004 to 2005.

The company also announced partnerships with more than 60 business Software vendors, reflecting a growing belief among other players in this space that Google is here to stay.

The partnership agreements allow Google to return more complete results for searches that scour a customer's network ecosystem.

Google also launched a portal for developers, called Google Enterprise Developer Community, to help business application developers better integrate their products with OneBox.

Dave Girouard, vice president and general manager for Google Enterprise, told internetnews.com that OneBox solves a critical business problem, which is that employees can have trouble locating information because it may be buried in one or several repositories. Those can range from email to customer relationship management or other application databases in corporate intranets or portals--or even a user's own desktop.

Girouard said OneBox is "an opportunity to really bring all sorts of information to users in a unified fashion."

Full article: internetnews.com
 

Google and Sony Pictures Entertainment have partnered to promote "The Da Vinci Code" and Google Homepage through a time-sensitive interactive contest.

Beginning Monday at 1pm EDT, Google will release one Da Vinci Code style puzzle or riddle each day through May 11th and the last puzzle for finalists on May 19, the worldwide release date of the film.

While other Internet giants, such as America Online, have typically used synergies with parent companies or other partners to create media promotions of this nature, this marks a significant move for Google.

According to Google spokeswoman Eileen Rodriguez, this is the first time Google has ever done a cross-promotional venture tied to the film industry.

The film adaptation of "The Da Vinci Code," based on Dan Brown's best-selling historical-mystery novel, could give Google access to an entirely new base of users.

Participants must enter the contest through the Da Vinci Code Quest on Google Web site, and they must have a Google Gmail account and Google Homepage.

Full article: C|net News.com
 

New service live at http://www.google.com/calendar

Search giant Google today introduced a free, web-based calendar service, which allows users to schedule events and share them with others.

Google Calendar, available at www.google.com/calendar allows users to drag and drop events from one calendar to another. The tool is sculpted in Javascript and XML but also uses Google’s natural language processing technology to simplify event entering.

Users can type in events such as “pub 7pm tonight”, and the calendar will automatically schedule the event, allowing you to make it private or available for viewing by friends or even the whole web.

Read more: vnunet.com
 

A recently published patent provides further evidence that Google is developing a voice-activated search engine.

Patent No. 7027987, of which Google is the assignee, concerns "a voice interface for search engines. Through the use of a language model, phonetic dictionary and acoustic models, a server generates an n-best hypothesis list or word graph."

Though the patent was published Tuesday, the application was originally filed in February 2001, indicating that Google has had the project in the works for some time.

A demo of something called Google Voice Search has been up on Google Labs, Google's pre-beta-test site, for well over a year.

Craig Silverstein, the director of technology at Google, said in a 2004 interview, that the company envisioned a voice interface to aid in everything from driving directions to finding groceries in a supermarket.

But on Wednesday, a Google spokesman cautioned against reading too much into the publication of the patent.

"We file patent applications on a variety of ideas that our employees may come up with," Barry Schnitt said. "Some of those ideas later mature into real products or services, some don't. Prospective product announcements should not be inferred from our patent applications."

Google Voice Search, still up on Google Labs, lets people call into Google by phone.



Full article: CNET News.com
 

The search giant is inviting children to create a homepage doodle that illustrates what it means to live in the UK

Google has launched a competition which invites schoolchildren to create an image which represents what it's like to live in the United Kingdom for display on the company's famously sparse UK homepage.

The Doodle 4 Google — My Britain competition, launched on Tuesday, follows on from a similar project last year when the search giant invited London children to design an image for the UK homepage. The London competition was won by Lisa Wainaina, aged 11, with an entry called 'Day of the Child'.

The competition will be judged by Dennis Hwang, creator of the popular Google doodles. Hwang specialises in altering the Google image to coincide with special occasions such as Christmas, St. Patrick's Day and dates of historical significance.

Read more: ZDNet UK
 

Search giant buys technology written by 26 year-old student

Google has snapped up the rights to Orion, a mathematical formula that could change the way internet searches are carried out.

The search company beat off strong competition from Microsoft and Yahoo, both of which were interested in acquiring the technology.

The formula works by finding content related to a key word and then showing the results, including topics that are relevant to the search.

It also displays a selection of the files it finds, so that users can see whether the result is what they are looking for before visiting a page.

Read more: vnunet.com
 

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

• Pictures and themes: See pictures in your Friends list and chat sessions.

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 1.0.0.92 Beta
| Google Talk for BlackBerry devices
(most commonly accessed via your BlackBerry) 

The price of a free citywide wireless network planned for San Francisco may be increased advertising for users.

A patent application filed recently by Google details a method of pushing highly targeted advertising to users of wireless hotspots, and sharing the ad revenue with the wireless service provider.

On Wednesday a San Francisco city commission approved a bid by Google and Internet service provider EarthLink to provide free wireless access throughout the city. The Department of Telecommunications and Information Services will now begin contract negotiations with EarthLink and Google.

What makes the Google patent potentially attractive to service providers is the search giant's ability to serve up personalized ads. According to the patent, the advertising a wireless user would see is based on the "geographical location of the WAP, an operation of an entity providing the WAP, selected by the entity providing the WAP, and a profile of the WAP."

In other words, such a system would allow, for example, a bookstore in New York city to push ads for newly published novels that appeal to their local customers, or perhaps even ads that suit the shoppers buying habits as gleaned from his or her customer loyalty card profile.

Providers of wireless hotspots could also sell advertising for stores in a specific vicinity, allowing retailers who run businesses not conducive to wireless use to market themelves.

Full article: internetnews.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.

• Enhanced Search Box
As you type a search query into the new Toolbar's search box, you'll see a list of useful suggestions based on popular Google searches, spelling corrections and your own Toolbar search history and bookmarks. You can also click the 'G' icon in the search box to search different Google sites, the current site, or sites for which you’ve installed custom search buttons.

• Google Safe Browsing
Previously its own extension, we’ve integrated Google Safe Browsing into Google Toolbar – after all, who wouldn't want it? Google Safe Browsing alerts you if a web page that you visit appears to be asking for your personal or financial information under false pretences. This type of attack, known as phishing or spoofing, is becoming more sophisticated, widespread and dangerous. By combining advanced algorithms with reports about misleading pages from a number of sources, Safe Browsing is often able to automatically warn you when you encounter a page that's trying to trick you into disclosing personal information.

• Subscribe to Feed
You can now subscribe to your favorite web pages with just one click. Many different websites publish feeds with the latest updates to their sites so that, instead of visiting a website over and over for the latest news, you can use a feed reader to keep track of updates for you. The Toolbar will automatically detect if content of the page you are browsing is available for subscription and enable the “Subscribe” button to notify you. When enabled, simply click "Subscribe" and you'll be taken to your chosen feed reader to confirm the subscription.

• Send with Gmail
Have you been frustrated because you can’t set Gmail as your default mail client? We’ve solved that problem by adding a feature into Toolbar that automatically opens whenever you click on an email link.

• Custom Layouts
The Firefox version of Toolbar has always made it easy to put your favorite Toolbar features right where you want them – we’ve taken it one step further and provided three pre-set layouts so that you can arrange the buttons, search boxes, and other browser controls for you to make the best use of space in Firefox.

• SpellCheck
Check your spelling whenever you type in web forms

• 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+, 1.5

Download: Google Toolbar for Firefox 2.0 Beta
 

After a six-week review of proposals, the five-member TechConnect Committee planning the future of city-wide wireless for the city of San Francisco last night picked the partnership of Earthlink and Google as their top choice of system integrator to install and manage the network.

While they are the top pick, this is not yet a signed deal. There's a possibility of issues yet to be hammered out though Bill Tolpegin, vice president of development and planning in Earthlink's municipal networks unit says the proposal they gave was "pretty comprehensive solution... but now we can answer exact questions" from the committee and city council.

In a statement issued last night, Earthlink's president of the municipal networks unit, Donald Berryman, said, "We look forward to taking the next step to negotiate a contract to build a municipal wireless broadband network...[and] to getting started in building a solution that will bring the incredible possibilities to reality."

If the city can't come to terms with Earthlink, the city Department of Telecommunications and Information Services (DTIS) can terminate the negotiations and move on to the next highest ranked proposer. That would be MetroFi next, followed by the SF Metro Connect consortium in third place.

The network proposed by Earthlink will be built in partnership with Google, using equipment from Motorola for backhaul and Tropos Networks for mesh/client connections. Motorola also provides the personnel to install all the hardware. Cost of deployment is expected to reach between $8 and $10 million. Tax payers would contribute nothing —it's all out of Google/Earthlink's pocket.

Full article: internetnews.com
 

Pin All Your Romantic Hopes on Google


When you think about it, love is just another search problem. And we’ve thought about it. A lot. Google Romance™ is our solution.

Google Romance is a place where you can post all types of romantic information and, using our Soulmate Search™, get back search results that could, in theory, include the love of your life. Then we'll send you both on a Contextual DateTM, which we'll pay for while delivering to you relevant ads that we and our advertising partners think will help produce the dating results you're looking for.

With Google Romance, you can:

Upload your profile – tell the world who you are, or, more to the point, who you’d like to think you are, or, even more to the point, who you want others to think you are.

Search for love in all (or at least a statistically significant majority of) the right places with Soulmate Search, our eerily effective psychographic matchmaking software.

Endure, via our Contextual Dating option, thematically appropriate multimedia advertising throughout the entirety of your free date.



Learn more: Take the Tour
 

Search giant pays $1bn for lunar rights

In the most wide-scale advertising attempt ever known, Google plans to brand its logo into the surface of the moon so that it is visible from Earth.

The search giant will pay the US government an estimated $1bn for the rights to the lunar land.

"You've heard of Google Mars and Google Earth, where we show you maps of those planets? Well this is Google Moon, where we become the world's biggest brand," said an unnamed source at the company.

Read more: vnunet.com