Power of 2

We've always loved Powers of 10, the classic 1977 film by Charles and Ray Eames that takes you on a visual ride from inside an atom to the edge of space in under 10 minutes. It turns out Keyhole brings a similarly astonishing perspective to its visual mapping software, and it's an incredibly powerful information tool besides. That's why we've acquired the company. We like the way the Keyhole folks think, and can't wait to get under the hood to see how this service might assist Google users around the world in finding the information they need.

-- Jonathan Rosenberg
VP, Product Management

It's a wonderful Digital Life

If you've been following Google closely, you'll know that we don't do a lot of marketing type activities. We prefer to let our products speak for themselves. That's worked pretty well so far, but as we've introduced an increasing array of services, from Orkut to Gmail, there have a been a lot of Google voices competing for your attention. So, to get a feel for exactly what people are hearing from us, we recently took part in our first live event, DigitalLife, in New York's Javits Convention Center. Our ears are still ringing.



Many of those who stopped by our Lego™-flavored booth were pretty confident they knew all there was to know about Google. And they often did know a lot. But when we showed them how to find digital cameras in a given price range using Froogle, or how to sort all their photos instantly with Picasa, or how to use Google to convert the speed of light into furlongs per month, they walked away shaking their heads as if they might asplode. "I didn't know you could do that," was the mantra du jour.

If you'd like to up your own Google experience points, check out our helpful help pages and our advanced search tips or download our easily concealed cheat sheet. It's not that all you know about Google is wrong; it's just that, most likely, all you know isn't all there is to know.

Doug Edwards
Google Blog Team

They might be giants, or just standing on them

Those of us who are lucky enough to make our living thinking about challenging problems know that real breakthroughs are rarely as discontinuous as they might appear. Sometimes it's a matter of timing. Sometimes it's a matter of two failed approaches coming together with a twist that makes them right. So when we win recognition for what Google has become, we like to remind ourselves that many others have contributed to our success. As Newton said, "If I have seen farther than others, it is because I have stood on the shoulders of giants."

Recently, for example, Larry was inducted into the National Academy of Engineering. His class of 87 joins more than 2200 engineers who the NAE says have "made important contributions to engineering theory and practice." And both Sergey and Larry have been named the 2004 Marconi Fellows, joining such notables as Bob Metcalfe and Tim Berners-Lee.

The honors are truly and deeply appreciated. But Larry and Sergey have always been quick to acknowledge that their early work was made possible by the support of the faculty and staff of Stanford University, the University of Michigan, and the University of Maryland. Since Google left academia, many fine engineers have contributed to its development. And then there are the thousands of users who help us improve our products through beta testing, feedback and ideas, and simply by using Google day in and day out. Unfortunately that's too many names to put on a plaque. So to all those who have contributed to Google's success, our thanks.

Urs Hoelzle
Google Fellow

Dobro Pozhalovat, Mr. President

When I shook Mikhail Gorbachev's hand, my heart was pounding. We get a fair number of prominent visitors at Google, but none have thrilled me more than my former President, the 1990 Nobel Peace Prize winner for his efforts to free the Soviet bloc. Gorbachev has been my hero and inspiration for most of my life. A lot of Russians have mixed feelings about his presidency, but I always felt he was the only Russian leader who wasn't seeking power for its own sake, but because he wanted to make the world a better place for everyone.



He still does. Speaking to a hall full of rapt Googlers, Gorbachev, now a spry 73, talked about how since 1992 he has been President of Green Cross International (its American affiliate is Global Green USA) which advocates for an environmentally sustainable global community. "We cannot go on with our business-as-usual attitude" toward the environment, he warned. "Young people should be watchful. Don't forget this is your world, and you have to search for solutions."

What struck me most is the way, after all he's seen and experienced, Gorbachev insists on maintaining the sort of focused positive thinking that, say, a young tech company could learn from. Green Cross's quarterly magazine, for instance, is called The Optimist. And its slogan? "Looking beyond the horizon."

Lydia Shtarkman
Corporate Development
(Former USSR citizen)

Scholarly pursuits

Much of scholarly research is learning what others have discovered and building on it. As the famous Isaac Newton quote goes, "If I have seen further, it is by standing on the shoulders of giants." Today we are launching the beta version of a service which we hope will help this process. Google Scholar is a free service that helps users search scholarly literature such as peer-reviewed papers, theses, books, preprints, abstracts and technical reports.

Just as with Google Web Search, Google Scholar orders your search results by how relevant they are to your query, so the most useful references should appear at the top of the page. This relevance ranking takes into account the full text of each article as well as the article's author, the publication in which the article appeared and how often it has been cited in scholarly literature. Google Scholar also automatically analyzes and extracts citations and presents them as separate results, even if the documents they refer to aren't online. This means your search results may include citations of older works and seminal articles that appear only in books or other offline publications.

We at Google have benefited much from academic research. This is one of the ways in which we are giving back to the research community. We hope Google Scholar will help all of us stand on the shoulders of giants.

Anurag Acharya
Principal engineer

Will code for fun (and money)

For those adept in C++, Java, C# or VB.NET, the rewards aren't always apparent. They toil over eye-straining command structures and obscure data bits about which most people are happily unaware. Yet those arcane bits are the very things that can deliver the right search results, not to mention lead to sleek interfaces and elegant functionality in computer systems for everything from ATMs to GPS.

We just concluded the Google CodeJam, our annual celebration of computer programming chops. It began September 1 with 7,500 contestants around the world. It ended today with Sergio Sancho of Buenos Aires, Argentina winning the top prize of $10,000. We flew the 50 finalists to the Googleplex for a championship round and cash prizes.



For two hours, their brains simmered and fingers flew as they focused sharply on complex computing problems. As usual, the nerds won, and we're glad they did.

Alan Eustace
Director of Engineering

And now, search for your own computer

Considering how important the information on your own computer is, it's always been a bit strange that you could find what you were looking for more easily if it were hidden on a website in Irkutsk than in a corner of the hard drive sitting right in front of you. Today, Google offers a first step toward fixing that anomaly with the beta introduction of Google Desktop Search, a free downloadable application for your PC.

Google Desktop Search will retrieve your email in Microsoft Outlook and Outlook Express; files in Microsoft Word, Microsoft Excel, Microsoft PowerPoint, and text; your website history in Internet Explorer; and your instant message chats in AOL Instant Messenger. In other words, if you've seen it on your computer screen, Google Desktop Search can likely help you find it. Simply put, it's like a photographic memory for your computer.

Google Desktop Search is also fast, and it integrates with your online Google web searches. While Google.com searches the web for you, the Google Desktop Search client software retrieves your relevant local information, and adds it to your search results page. And it lets you view web pages you've seen, even if you're not online anymore. You can read all the details or just download and try it yourself. We do advise you to read the privacy policy, as Google Desktop Search is different from other search products, and you should understand exactly how it protects your personal information.

All in all, we believe this is a non-trivial advance in making information accessible. But you tell us. We'd love to hear your reactions, comments and suggestions.

-- Marissa Mayer
Director, Consumer Web Products