Speaking of search

Posted by Michael Krantz, Google Blog Team

Do you manage to lose track of files, emails and websites in languages other than English? If so, you’ll be glad to know that Google Desktop Search is now available in French, Italian, German, Spanish, Dutch, Chinese (simplified), Chinese (traditional), Japanese and Korean.

Give them a hand

Posted by Debbie Jaffe, Product Marketing Manager

The product marketing team is currently experimenting with some new ideas for Google Local, and I just went to Kansas City to beta-test some of them with my colleagues Resmi and Samantha. Our first order of business was to visit mall kiosks. Since my poor sense of direction has inspired my family to invoke “The Debbie Rule” (the listener travels in the opposite direction from what Debbie says), before arriving in Kansas City I used Google Maps to print out driving directions from Rafael Hotel to Town Center Plaza, and from there to the Oak Park Mall.

Aside from Arthur Bryant’s barbeque, a highlight of the trip was a ball game between those major rivals, the Kansas City Royals vs. the St. Louis Cardinals. Not only did the Royals rally in the 8th inning to come within one run of the Cards, but it was pretty cool to see fans wave big foam hands from Google.



(If it's too hard to read, one side says “Know your city like the back of your hand. In this case, a big foam hand. Google Local.” The other side says “Go Royals.”)

Some Cardinals fans also enjoyed the hands - but none of those photos are suitable for posting (the hands we provided all started out with five fingers, I swear).

Controversial Mallika Sherawat

Mallika Sherawat is one Bollywood babe in top demand and who is in news constantly. Mallika is co-starring with Jackie Chan in an action comedy film called THE MYTH.

Mallika was discovered by director Stanley Tong in Mumbai as he met many Bollywood heroines for the lead role of the film and was impressed with Mallika's acting talent in the controversial film, MURDER. He then showed the same film to Jackie who too liked her in the role in the film. Jackie Chan then cast her as first ever-Indian heroine for his film.

Mallika, with only two films in Bollywood, has made a significant mark in the industry with KHWAHISH and MURDER. She plays the role of an Indian princess in THE MYTH. "Jackie Chan films are known for clean image. It is a very clean film. I do martial arts rather than doing any bold or nudity scenes," gushes Mallika daring not to perform any bold scenes for the film.

She further adds that the Hollywood action hero adores India and its women. "Jackie loves India and I must say he loves Indian women. He is crazy for Indian girls and it goes without saying that he loves me too," utters the actress wondering how Jackie performs such dangerous stunts knowing the risks involved.

She revealed that when Jackie came to know she was a vegetarian, he arranged for a special cook to prepare vegetarian Chinese cuisine for her. Mallika said Jackie invited her to a Formula 1 charity show, "It was great! They had invited top actors, singers and models from Southeast Asia. So it was a massive cultural exchange! Now I feel I have grown a lot as an actress."

"I feel very lucky to be the first Indian actress to co-star with a big international actor like Jackie Chan," exclaims Mallika. Mallika was also the first Indian actress to be offered to pose for Playboy magazine but she turned it down.

No scraping necessary

Posted by Brian Singerman, Software engineer

My friends have been asking me for something that could add Gmail and news headlines to the Google homepage. I saw a Slashdot post requesting the same thing, and someone wrote back: if you want that feature, do it yourself and whip up some code or scrape the data. Of course, why would my friends spend any time hacking this together when they could just get me to do it for them?

So I got involved with the 'fusion' initiative by joining the team working on a personalized homepage. We launched today, so now I can return the Python books I bought my lazy friends. Check it out and tell us what else you want to see. We just might code it up.

A method to our madness

Posted by Marissa Mayer, Director of Consumer Web Products, and Jessica Ewing, Product Manager

Does Google have a strategy, or are we just a bunch of mad computer scientists running around building whatever we want? Today this question gets an answer: we've launched our personalized homepage via Google Labs. It's part of a strategic initiative we refer to as 'fusion' to bring together Google functionality, and content from across the web, in useful ways.

The personalized homepage is a complement to the existing Google homepage - not a replacement. Keep using the original Google homepage if you want to. (We expect many people will.) But if you're keen to organize and customize your information, take a stab at designing your own homepage. You can add Gmail, news, stocks, weather and more. Plus you can add great content from websites like the BBC and Wired. We're incorporating feeds from just a few other sites today, but we envision being able to accept any standardized feed very soon.

Enjoy, and let us know what you think!

Miss World Cup 2002 Shin Mina

Relatively unknown until spotted by photogrpahers during the 2002 World Cup match between host South Korea and Germany. Being a typical fan, Shin Mina had her face painted with the Korean national flag, wearing the "Be the Reds!" T-shirt rolled up into a sexy top and a mini-shorts with the Korean flag around her hips. This sexy 25 year old gained overnight popularity in South Korea after being named Miss World Cup 2002

Before her fame, she was a back-up dancer for Park Ji Yoon, a Korean artist. Months after that fateful day, the recording comapany, J Company, signed Mina and the rest was history.

Her sexy good looks, bubbly personality and good moves made her a big hit in Korea's music industry. Mina has just recently released her first album entitled 'Rendezvous' and first single "Answer the Phone", was both a big hit in South Korea.

Tomorrow, work that bike

Posted by Joe Gross, System Ops Manager

So many Googlers commute by bike every day that you can't easily look down a hallway and not see a bicycle or two leaning against the wall. Some people bike in from just a few miles away while others combine their commute with other training. I ride 40 miles from San Francisco to Mountain View (and back!) twice a week. Somehow, I'm much more awake and refreshed than I would have been if I sat in my car on 101 for an hour. Or more...

Google is a huge supporter of bike commuting, and Bike to Work Day is a real party in Mountain View. Cyclists can get Google-branded bike goodies, monthly onsite bicycle tune-ups, and classes on basic commuter skills, bike maintenance, touring - even how to ride your first century. But it doesn't matter what or how far you ride. Biking to work is a great way to get some exercise, save some gas, improve the environment, and most importantly of all, have fun!

this just in from Aparna Brown, Commuting Coordinator:

Since he was just named San Francisco County's Bike Commuter of the Year by the Bay Area Bicycle Coalition, Joe is the perfect Googler to write about bike commuting. As someone who only bikes 2.5 miles to work, I'm pretty darn impressed with his dedication to regular rides to work. To encourage others to bike to work, Joe and others will be leading rides to Mountain View from all over the Bay Area on Thursday. Watch for bikers with Google shirts and give them a friendly wave (from your bike, natch).