Japanese Singer Aya Matsuura

Matsuura Aya is a female Japanese popular music artist who was born on June 25, 1986 in Himeji, Hyogo Prefecture. She had originally tried out to be a member of Morning Musume but didn’t make the cut. However, Morning Musume’s producer and creator Tsunku spotted her talents and decided to make her a soloist in Hello! Project, the umbrella artists’ group that includes Morning Musume and other performers.

Asides from a successful solo career, Aya Matsuura (nicknamed Ayaya) has also done numerous collaborations with other members of Hello! Project, including one-time group Gomattou with Maki Goto and Miki Fujimoto, the “Folk Song” series which feature Yuko Nakazawa and other H!P artists, as well as Hello! Project’s summer shuffle groups (Ayaya was placed in 3-nin Matsuri for 2001, Odoru 11 in 2002, and Salt 5 in 2003).

Recently stunning her fans with her red hot mature image, Matuura Aya is all set to unleash her first ever hit compilation via BEST 1! All the tracks on this superb LP have been selected by devoted fans from all the 55 songs Aya has so far released. Her 5th single Peach-colored Solitary Love that was released in 2002 received the highest rating. If you'd like to listen to this incredible smash as well as 15 other Aya classics including GOOD BYE Remarkable Boy and Yeah! Happy Holiday as well as the bonus track Method of Possibility (New Version) just reach out for this first class collection!

The platypus of the Internet

Posted by Justin Voskuhl, Tech Lead

It’s surprising what natural selection will produce – for instance, a platypus. How could something with such a seemingly discombobulated set of attributes be fit for survival in the hostile natural world? I had a similar reaction when I first heard about the XUL programming language, used to create the Firefox browser and the plethora of extensions that the Internet ecosystem is creating around it. Strange concept, using JavaScript, which is used to write code that works *in* a browser, to create the browser *itself*. As with the platypus, it’s not until we saw XUL in action that we realized how well suited for survival this product of Internet evolution is.

Not that long ago, the Google Firefox Toolbar team met for the first time - and now we've built the Google Toolbar for Firefox in 10 languages for three operating systems (Windows, Mac and Linux). Self-congratulatory urges aside, we marvel at how well-suited this platypus was to our task. For a small team that had never worked together, or used XUL, to create a product quickly that works across languages and platforms from a single ~250K download - that's good stuff, if you ask me.

In the interest of brevity (already compromised by how long I've gone on), we also tip our hats to the folks at the Mozilla Foundation for making it so easy for us to look good. ;-)

200 ngultrums? What a deal!

Posted by Bret Taylor, Product Manager

Want to see how your much Brazilian real will get you in Malaysia, or how the US dollar is holding up relative to the euro? You’re in luck -- Google's calculator feature now supports currency conversion.

[Updated URL]

The O.C.'s Mischa Barton

She was born Mischa Anne Barton on January 24, 1986 in London, England, UK. Mischa moved to the US at a young age and experienced her childhood here.

Now, at the age of 18, Mischa has developed an extensive filmography and theatrical resume that will surely make her one of the most sought after young actresses of her generation. Her feature film debut occurred in 1998 with the critically lauded Sundance favorite "Lawn Dogs" opposite Sam Rockwell. Her hailed performance was followed by "Pups," a modern day version of "Bonnie & Clyde" for filmmaker Ash ("Bang"). She has since racked up key roles in the 1999 Blockbusters "The Sixth Sense" with Bruce Willis and Haley Joel Osment, and "Notting Hill," with Julia Roberts and Hugh Grant.

Barton has subsequently completed work on an additional six features. They include this Summer's "Lost and Delirious" opposite Piper Perabo for Lions Gate and "Julie Johnson" with Courtney Love and Lili Taylor (Fall); both of which premiered at Sundance. Also in the can is "Skipped Parts" with Jennifer Jason Leigh and Drew Barrymore, "Tart" with Melanie Griffith and Dominique Swain, "Paranoid" with Jessica Alba.

At age nine, Barton began her promising career in New York Theatre with a lead role in Tony Kushner's "Slavs!" She soon segued into the lead role of Emma Hattrick in James Lapine's "Twelve Dreams" at the renowned Lincoln Center. Among her varied stage credits are "Where the Truth Lies" and "One Flea Spare," both of which took place at the New York Shakespeare Festival.

No stranger to television, Barton had a short run in 1994 on "All My Children", playing the character of Corvina Lang in flashbacks. She also portrayed the title role of Frankie alongside Joan Plowright in the recent Showtime feature "Frankie and Hazel" for producer Barbra Streisand's Barwood Films. After spending time on location in Australia filming the Disney telefilm "Ring of Endless Light"; Mischa returned to the US to a guest starring role in the popular television drama "Once and Again." Her next stop was the UK and Luxembourg to shoot the horror/thriller "Octane", which is set to be released this year. Currently Mischa is working on the set of the Fox series, "The O.C."

When Mischa isn't working she enjoys relaxing with her family and friends. She enjoys spending alone time with her boyfriend and "The O.C." co-star, Benjamin McKenzie. A native to Manhattan, Mischa resides to her home their with and her family which includes her parents and two sisters.

Sounds of summer

Posted by Hunter Walk, Product Manager

Googlers like music. We play in bands. We've got live music at our lunch BBQs. We've even been known to break into song at company meetings. But our secret sauce is the proximity of Google's Mountain View office to Shoreline Amphitheatre, a popular outdoor concert venue. They've got a full slate of shows each summer and sometimes I'll just hang out at the outer extremes of our campus, letting the tunes drift over the hills to my ears.

But while barely audible summer hits are nice, the fringe benefits of having rock stars so close to the office can sometimes pay off in more surprising ways. When Coldplay performed at Shoreline a couple of years back, it was an excellent excuse for some of the band - together with lead singer Chris Martin's inamorata, Gwyneth Paltrow - to come by and visit Google.

And with Coldplay returning to Shoreline this summer might we expect another visit from Gwyneth and her husband? Maybe. But I'm secretly hoping we get a different musical luminary walking the halls at Google this summer because, well, Ozzfest does come to Shoreline in August.

S Club 7's Rachel Stevens

Rachel was born April 1978, in Great Britain. She is a North London native and a performing member of S Club 7. Formerly a model, Rachel has always been a singer and actress, and originally decided to pursue a career in fashion design.

Since all S Club 7 members had singing and acting experience, an innovative marketing concept was created to exploit their talents. A TV show that would display their bubbliness, pop sound and youthful energy, was created. This TV show that was used as a platform to promote their records.

The group S Club 7 was organized by former "Spice Girls" manager Simon Fuller, who seems to have a knack for building pop wonders from obscurity. The group came together from over 10,000 candidates, and the smartest thing they have done since the band was formed was hand over business & creative control to their manager, Simon Fuller. This has been worth millions.

Rachel has gone from winning a modeling contest, to a celebrity star in only a very short time. Rachel is known as the "Fashion Addict" and has always been interested in fashion. She attended the London school of Fashion where she received her degree. She also attended a drama school, where she studied singing, dance, and acting.

As for talent, the girls are pros. And Rachel, a former model who has acting and singing experience, performs a very sexy role. Rachel does her best to make sure that there are more than just 15-year-old boys tuning in to see her shows. It's no doubt that Rachel and the club of 7 hasn't seen the end of her success.

Rachel is a major shopaholic, and yet is softly spoken, and very trustworthy. She enjoys games like football, yet also enjoys the smell of freshly baked bread, R&B music, Matthew McConaughey, EastEnders, and her wonderful dog, Rocky.

Looking for Ian Turner (updated)

Posted by Matt Cutts, Software Engineer

Last week I got back from the WebmasterWorld conference in New Orleans. I just found out that Ian Turner, a well-known moderator and search engine optimizer, hasn't been seen since last weekend. If you've seen Ian more recently, could you contact his family? There's more information here.

Everyone is hoping that he's safe and sound somewhere.

Update: Ian's okay! He lost his passport, but he's doing fine in Atlanta.