The newest version of Google Earth has a flight simulator! Watch this video to learn how you can get started!

I personally believe, that U.S. Americans... ops, sorry, I can take off this words from my mind.... I mean, can you imagine the consequences of this for Microsoft?

With about a hundred million stars and two hundred million galaxies, Sky in Google Earth lets you explore the heavens like never before.

New Contest from Google:

http://mail.google.com/mvideo


They want you help to imagine on how an email message travels around the world. Take a look at the collaborative video they started, and then film what happens next. Post your clip as a response to this one. They'll edit a selection of submissions together to make a final video, which will be featured on the Gmail homepage and seen by users worldwide.

Respond to this video with your own clip by August 13, 2007 to be considered to the final collaborative video. Learn more about the project at http://mail.google.com/mvideo

When you think Microsoft had lost the battle and Google is the winner, they came with something amazingly surprising.

I just can't believe this is from Microsoft.

Microsoft Surface, Microsoft's Newest Transformative Technology

For more information on Microsoft Surface, visit www.surface.com.

Street View is a new feature of Google Maps that allows you to quickly and easily view and navigate high-resolution, 360 degree street level images of various cities in the US

See at http://maps.google.com

Signalling using land marks is an ancient form of communication. Compare this to e-mail, hardly available for half a century and already collapsing by spam.

And this a great and original way to say I love you this Valentine's Day...

We visited the website and left a message for you! Check it here.

sponsored

Do you know Orkut?

No, not that social network, but its creator: Orkut Buyukkokten, 32 years old.

He created the most popular social network in Brazil, and during his visit to the South American country, Orkut realized he is a celebrity there. People recognized him at streets.

But, the fact is that Orkut brings more problems than solutions to Google. The social network, not its creator.

“Social Networks are a reflection of the society” says Orkut. “And you can find good and bad people in society”.

Google had some problems in the past with Brazilians authorities for the successively refusing to hand over user information associated with Orkut. The social network, not its creator.

Orkut has 49,2 million users, 27,5 million in Brazil. And also several problems: Between January and April 2006, SaferNet Brasil (non-governmental organization) received 9.982 denunciations of child pornography in the Internet, 9.100 against Orkut.

But now, Google are developing tools to increase users privacy and improve its communication with Brazilian authorities about crime cases.

Now, Orkut's next step is find a way to monetize his creation and improve its mechanisms, after all, if social networks are a reflection of the society, it need clear rules like all democratic societies.

Picture: Orkut Buyukkokten visiting Google Brasil via IDG Now! Brasil.

I suppose that work at Google is really fun. They are always making jokes.


In April 1st 2000, they launched the Google Mentalplex Search:

"Users no longer need to think in Boolean query terms or use quotes, linear thinking or logic. With MentalPlex, you just project a mental picture of what you want to find."

In April 1st 2002, they presented the technology behind Google's great results, the PigeonRank:

"PigeonRank's success relies primarily on the superior trainability of the domestic pigeon (Columba livia) and its unique capacity to recognize objects regardless of spatial orientation. The common gray pigeon can easily distinguish among items displaying only the minutest differences, an ability that enables it to select relevant web sites from among thousands of similar pages. By collecting flocks of pigeons in dense clusters, Google is able to process search queries at speeds superior to traditional search engines, which typically rely on birds of prey, brooding hens or slow-moving waterfowl to do their relevance rankings."

April 1st, 2004, they announced they were hiring for GCheese (Google Copernicus Hosting Environment and Experiment in Search Engineering), also known as Lunar Hosting and Research Center.

"By locating a research and technology center on the Moon, Google engineers will be able to experiment with an entirely different set of parameters. For example, imagine tapping unlimited solar energy to drive megawatt data centers and power innumerable arrays of massively parallel lava lamps, with ample no-cost cooling available to regulate the temperature of server farms sprawling over acres of land unblighted by sentient lifeforms or restrictive zoning ordinances. Moreover, Google's Copernicus Center will provide a clear ear on the chatter of the universe, the vast web of electromagnetic pulses that may contain signals from intelligent life forms in other galaxies, as well as a complete record of every radio or television signal broadcast from our own planet. Google's goal is to extract information from that cacophonous web and make it available to anyone with a mouse and a modem."

In April 1st 2005, they brought to us Google Gulp, a line of "smart drinks" designed to maximize your surfing efficiency by making you more intelligent, and less thirsty.

"Note from Google Gulp and Your Privacy: From time to time, in order to improve Google Gulp's usefulness for our users, Google Gulp will send packets of data related to your usage of this product from a wireless transmitter embedded in the base of your Google Gulp bottle to the GulpPlex™, a heavily guarded, massively parallel server farm whose location is known only to Eric Schmidt, who carries its GPS coordinates on a 64-bit-encrypted smart card locked in a stainless-steel briefcase handcuffed to his right wrist. No personally identifiable information of any kind related to your consumption of Google Gulp or any other current or future Google Foods product will ever be given, sold, bartered, auctioned off, tossed into a late-night poker pot, or otherwise transferred in any way to any untrustworthy third party, ever, we swear."

Last year, they presented us with Google Romance, because, you know, love is just another search problem. And Google knows a lot about search. So, Google Romance™ is the solution.

"Google Romance is a place where you can post all types of romantic information and, using our Soulmate Search™, see search results that could, in theory, include the love of your life. Then we'll send you both on a Contextual Date, 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.

By the way, a Contextual Date is a free date plus the added accrued value of the past decade’s worth of post-Industrial Age online marketing genius, all tied into a real-time, video-based, GPS-tracked, psychographically astute and environmentally pervasive promotional system."

If you can find your soul mate using Google Roamnce, your answer could be here.


And in 2007 they've launched two new programs: Google Tisp and GMail Paper
Google TiSP is their free in-home wireless broadband service:

"Google TiSP (BETA) is a fully functional, end-to-end system that provides in-home wireless access by connecting your commode-based TiSP wireless router to one of thousands of TiSP Access Nodes via fiber-optic cable strung through your local municipal sewage lines."

They also Have Google TiSP for Enterprise.

"GMail Paper is free, since the cost of postage is offset with the help of relevant, targeted, unobtrusive advertisements, which will appear on the back of your Gmail Paper prints in red, bold, 36 pt Helvetica. No pop-ups, no flashy animations (these are physically impossible in the paper medium).

With Gmail Paper, photo attachments are printed on high-quality, glossy photo paper, and secured to your Gmail Paper with a paper clip. Unfortunately, MP3 and WAV files will not be printed, so it's a good idea maintaining copies of your non-paper Gmail in these cases."

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Google and the Time Machine
Google Maps - Send addresses to BMW
The Truth About Google Earth
Google Apps Premier Edition - time to leave Microsoft Office?
Smoke Signals on Google Map
Watch the sunrise, everyday

How can you go from New York to London? Flying?

Well, you could use Google Maps. Check it here: NY to London
The best part of the travel is "Swim across the Atlantic Ocean" 3,462 mi

But take care, cold water.

My husband loves BMW's. Now I know he will definitely wants one.

Google Apps Premier Edition is a collection of office tools for businesses -- word processor, spreadsheet, e-mail, calendar and web page creator -- all of which are accessible through a web browser.

Should you leave Microsoft Office and move to Google Apps?

Wired News numbered 5 reasons to switch to Google's web-based office suite and 5 reasons to stay with Microsoft Office.

Take a look and make your decision.

Why switch to Google:

1. Cost. Compared to the $500 list price for the full version of Microsoft Office Professional 2007, Google's $50-per-year price tag is cheap. Telephone, e-mail and web support are included in that price, so organizations could see a drop in IT support costs as well.
2. Centralized data storage. Documents are available from any web browser, upping the convenience ante for remote workers. Plus, 10 GB is plenty of room. For most users, that's more than they'll ever need.
3. Security. Data is accessed through secure connections and stored redundantly, and Gmail uses SSL for mail connections. Gmail arguably has the best spam and virus filters of all the web-based e-mail services. Gmail automatically bounces executable files and employs platform-wide spam filters kept current by the user community.
4. 24/7 access to the work space. The beauty of web-based applications is that they are accessible from any computer with an internet connection, anywhere in the world. Also, every worker in the company gets the same tool set without the production and installation costs.
5. Cut the Microsoft leash. Any company switching to Google Apps will be free of Microsoft's upgrade cycle and confusing, restrictive licensing requirements.

Why stay with Microsoft Office:

1. Privacy. Persuading any company, large or small, to store sensitive intellectual property, financial documents and customer data on a server owned, sheltered and maintained by Google would take a truckload of trust. And even if company execs are OK with it, customers and investors might not be.
2. Regulatory compliance. Certain industries are bound by regulations concerning storage, transfer and privacy of data. Even though Google has strategies in place for disaster recovery (all of its Apps data is stored redundantly in multiple data centers) and offers optional enhancements to e-mail security, it's unlikely that the financial and health care industries will be switching away from Microsoft Office soon.
3. Google Apps is incomplete. Where's the PowerPoint killer? Also, anyone who keeps their entire contact list in Outlook is going to be seriously underwhelmed by Gmail's contact-management features.
4. Working on the web is weird. Users who have grown accustomed to the smooth responsiveness of desktop applications will feel like a stranger in Web 2.0 land. Latency issues, Ajax-powered user interfaces and the absence of true drag-and-drop functionality will prove a turnoff for many.
5. No offline access. Even in today's "always on, always connected" corporate environment, the tubes occasionally get clogged. Plus, there's no Wi-Fi on airplanes yet. Web-based applications are useless when the user isn't connected to the internet. Also, documents stored at Google can't be retrieved when Google can't be reached.

But, my 2 cents, you don't have just two options, you can have all those Microsoft Office's features, with low cost, open source options like Open Office.

Open Office comfortably replaces Microsoft Word, Excel and Power Point. I've been using Open Office for at least 2 years and I don't miss Microsoft Office. Well, do your own research and make your decision.

Related Articles:

Do you pay for your softwares?

If you haven’t tried Google Earth yet, there’s a new reason to Google the Earth from your computer screen with Google’s globe trotting software: you can watch the sun rise from points of interest all over the world. Courtesy of Discovery HD Theater’s “Sunrise Earth” program, this new Google Earth layer adds hot spots all over the globe that link to sunrise videos in DHD’s video library. Here’s how to do it:

1. Download and install Google Earth.
2. Once you’re up and running, locate the “Layers” panel on the bottom left.
3. Expand the following categories: Primary Database → Featured Content → Discovery Networks.
4. Check off “Sunrise Earth”.

If you can’t find these layer categories, select “View: All Layers” and try again.

Once you check off the “Sunrise Earth” layer, you’ll see Discovery Channel icons sprinkled all over the globe. Click on any one of these, and you’ll be able to watch the sun rise from places such as Alaska, Reykjavik in Iceland, the Foothills of Turkey, and much more.

Many of the satellite photos are so clear, that some of you might be able to spot your own car parked outside your front door.

Via Geek Sisters

The next time you use Google Maps to look up a business, click the new "call" link beside the phone number and Google will make the call for you--free of charge.

From Google Blog:
"There are two things that I really like about this. The business's phone number is automatically stored in your caller ID so you can easily call back in the future. And by checking the box to remember your phone number, you can make future calls from Google Maps with just two mouse clicks (and picking up your phone, of course).

We're providing the 'call' link as a free service to all businesses. These aren't ads and don't influence the ranking of businesses in the search results. We foot the bill for calls (local and long distance), but airtime fees or other mobile fees will still apply if you use a mobile phone number. Currently, the calling feature works if you live in the U.S. and are looking for a business located in the U.S. "

You can use this to make fool with your friends, for example:

Find a local Turkish restaurant then let Google call in your Greek friend's phone number connecting it directly to the restaurant, sit back and watch the magic unfold.

Make Google call someone at 4 a.m. from a local strip club business. Chances are you just set off a huge argument when someone's partner is wondering why a strip club is calling their mate at that time in the morning.

Also, want to call a friend for free? Set them up as a generic business, like Tom's Greeting Cards through Google. They will add it, you can search it, and people can call you for free.

What is Google preparing? Maybe something new to Orkut users?

16 hours down is too much for just an update.

An online business owner is threatening to sue blog owner Dean Hunt (DeanHunt.com) because he is upset that the blog owner is doing better than his business in the Google search rankings. After an initial threat, Dean received a follow-up threatening to take legal action against him.

So far Dean has elected not to name and shame this business owner.

Here you can read his first e-mail and after that, his second email to Dean:

Hello Dean,

My name is [edited] and I run [edited].com

I have been running the site for over two years and we have been ranked very highly for the search term [edited].

On Thursday morning I checked our google positions and your site is now above us for this term. I have checked your blog and it has nothing to do with [edited], so I think it would be best all round if you remove your blog from google for this search term.

Please understand that we make our living from this, and you are just writing a blog that has nothing to do with [edited].

If you do not remove yourself from google for this search, then I will call them myself and have you removed.

I expect a reply soon.

Thank you.

Second email:

Dean,

Firstly, I have to admit that I was not impressed with the sarcastic nature of your reply.

Secondly, I am writing to let you know that I have contacted Google and am awaiting their reply.

You have to understand Dean that an online business should be higher in Google than a blog.

Don’t forget that Google is a business as well, they obviously make more money from other businesses than they do from blogs, so it is in their interest that I am higher than you for certain searches.

I have also contacted my lawyer about this issue, so you should expect a letter in the post very soon.

I expect a reply soon.

Good news for Yahoo!

Google quietly shut down its Answers service on Tuesday. They said the goals for a “company fuelled by innovation” sometimes change for some products.

In my humble opinion, they realized they lost this battle, as their arch rival Yahoo!’s own Answers product has been incredibly popular.

From Google’s Blog:

“Google is a company fueled by innovation, which to us means trying lots of new things all the time -- and sometimes it means reconsidering our goals for a product. Later this week, we will stop accepting new questions in Google Answers, the very first project we worked on here. The project started with a rough idea from Larry Page, and a small 4-person team turned it into reality in less than 4 months. For two new grads, it was a crash course in building a scalable product, responding to customer requests, and discovering what questions are on people's minds.

Google Answers taught us exactly how many tyrannosaurs are in a gallon of gasoline, why flies survive a good microwaving, and why you really shouldn't drink water emitted by your air conditioner. Even closer to home, we learned one afternoon that our building might be on fire.

The people who participated in Google Answers -- more than 800 of them over the years -- are a passionate group committed to helping people find the information they need, and we applaud them for sharing their incredible knowledge with everyone who wrote in.

If you have a chance, we encourage you to browse through the questions posted over the last 4+ years. Although we won't be accepting any new questions, the existing Qs and As are available. We'll stop accepting new Answers to questions by the end of the year.

Google Answers was a great experiment which provided us with a lot of material for developing future products to serve our users. We'll continue to look for new ways to improve the search experience and to connect people to the information they want.”

After Google’s announcement yesterday about ending Google Answers, Yahoo has sent out an open invitation to Google Answers community to join Yahoo!:

“And we’d like Google Answers researchers to join us, tell us what you think and get to know what we’re doing here. Please drop us a line!”

They are inviting Google Answers researchers to join the Yahoo! Answers community. I´m not sure if this is in fact an unofficial invitation to former Google Answers Researchers to join the Yahoo! Answers team and work for Yahoo. Who knows?

Is Yahoo Answers the answer for Yahoo?

Google fails at something (finally). Will this victory help Yahoo? Maybe, only time will tell. We know Yahoo has lots of problems to solve, as you can see at Peanut Butter Manifesto.

I think that one of the things that Google still doesn’t get is that a social aspect, community felling that Yahoo does.

Google Answers is just like its search engine, blank, people can go there, do what they need to do, and then leave. Yahoo! Answers has this sense of community; everyone is encouraged to answer the questions of others.

Ms. Dewey is the new front end of Microsoft Search.

She’s entertaining and comments on search items and goes mad if you leave her alone for a minute or two! Search for President Bush or even gmail for some weird stuff! Try Yo Mama if you dare!

Want to have some fun? You can ask her "your phone". Or maybe do a search for "Eminem". Do you want to know Mr.Dewey? Ask her "where babies come from".

If you don't do anything, you eventually find her telling you:
- Hello. Type Something Here

If you don't get a move on, another chuckle. But how about the search features?
I got told (in words on the screen, not by her):
- Ms. Dewey is thinking

Then after literally a minute, I finally got my answers! The answers come from Windows Live Search. Over there, they come up in three seconds. For the minute Ms. Dewey took, I got nothing special in return. She doesn't read the results to you, nor make them better.

She's kind of funny, but not funny enough for me to spend more than a search or two with her. So go have fun, but I doubt you or anyone will be spending quality and useful time with her.

She flirts, she insults the viewer, she jokes about booze and knives and world domination. SheÂ’s just told me that I need to type in something, so she can Rule the world. If you donÂ’t type anything, she's going to tap a your computer "monitor" and asks, Anyone there?

The fact is that so many of us abandoned Microsoft search engines and became Googlers. Ms Dewey is determined to change that, trust me.

But, that was fun for the first minute only! I guess, she makes you laugh, but is she useful? An attractive brunette is no salve for a dysfunctional search engine.

Also, the Google experimental search engine, SearchMash is worth a look. It's still been developing but it shows promise.

From Wikipedia:

Ms. Dewey is a search engine owned by Microsoft. It also refers to the character of the same name, who is the engine's main subject. The Ms. Dewey website is an Adobe Flash-based experimental interface for Windows Live Search. The interface features a futuristic city as a backdrop with the character on the left side, while the search results appear on the right. Developed by MRM and EVB, Ms. Dewey is a fully animated search assistant who audibly comments on searched keywords in her own style, as well as make random actions when idle. Microsoft is not openly marketing it, as they intend it to be explored by users in the natural way. Janina Gavankar plays the role of the Ms. Dewey character.

More about Microsoft (in latin): la.wikipedia

While Google bought Youtube, Yahoo! buys Bix.

Do you know Bix? Bix is a company based in Palo Alto. The company went live in August and since then; they report 1 million unique visitors since launch.

They are an online karaoke and contest site, and have built a community of users by offering prizes of up to $50,000 in its contests. Users can create their own contests. Those contests include not just karaoke but everything from pet contests to photo competitions.

I guess it was a great deal for the Bix CEO, he will continue running Bix under Yahoo!, but also he is the new Yahoo! VP of Community, responsible for Yahoo! Groups, 360 and Photos.

What do you think? Was a great move for Yahoo too!? Or is it just another “mistake” in its fight against Google?

Anyway, probably my mum you love this Bix site. She loves Karaoke.