The challenge at this year’s EUhackathon was to shine a light on government surveillance during a 24-hour coding marathon - a particularly pertinent subject given recent headlines. European Commission Vice-President Viviane Reding saluted the coders at the Awards Ceremony, saying “you’re hacking for your rights.”
A total of 29 coders from 13 countries participated. Team Frontwise from the Netherlands won the first prize with its BIGSIS – Privacy Ranking app. Reding gave them a EUR 5,000 award. BIGSIS is a Chrome plugin which “visualises your exposure to web services while you’re browsing the internet. It displays with which governments this data can be shared.”
All the competing projects can be found at the Visualizing.org website. Take a look at the coders in action.
[Youtube link to official movie
As well as from these technical achievements, the EUhackathon hosted a series of discussions on government surveillance, bringing together academics represented by Professors Milton Mueller and Pompeu Casanovas, civil society leaders including Trevor Timm from the Freedom of the Press Foundation and Joe McNamee from the European Digital Rights initiative (EDRi), and international officials such as UNICRI’s Francesca Bosco.
Google’s been at the forefront of calls for transparency about government surveillance for many years. Every six months, we publish detailed statistics on the number of requests we get from governments to access user data – and we’ve done that since 2009. We’ve supported the EUhackathon for the last three years because data visualisation is a great way of making statistics more meaningful, and of raising awareness of an issue that has serious implications for democratic societies.
Senin, 30 September 2013
Kamis, 26 September 2013
Street View arrives at CERN
At CERN, the European particle physics laboratory based in the suburbs of Geneva, some of the world’s best physicists and engineers are using advanced particle accelerators to help solve age old questions about the universe — What is it made of? How did it start?
We’re delighted that CERN opened its doors to Google Maps Street View allowing anyone, anywhere in the world to take a peek into its laboratories, control centers and its myriad underground tunnels housing cutting-edge experiments. Street View also lets scientists working on the experiments, who may be on the other side of the world, explore the equipment they're using.
For two full weeks back in 2011, members of our Street View team from Google’s Zurich office worked with our CERN partners to capture this incredible imagery. You can check out the above experiments, like ATLAS, ALICE, CMS, LHCb and the Large Hadron Collider tunnel in Google Maps, as well as collections of other Street View imagery from amazing sites around the world, on our Views site.
You can also learn more about CERN by following its Google+ page.
We’re delighted that CERN opened its doors to Google Maps Street View allowing anyone, anywhere in the world to take a peek into its laboratories, control centers and its myriad underground tunnels housing cutting-edge experiments. Street View also lets scientists working on the experiments, who may be on the other side of the world, explore the equipment they're using.
You can also learn more about CERN by following its Google+ page.
Rabu, 25 September 2013
Troll-proofing Europe’s patent system
As the European Union moves towards a unified patent system, we’re excited about the prospects for a harmonised patent regime that promotes efficiency and long-term competitiveness.
After all, the whole point of a patent system is to promote innovation. Patents encourage inventors to publicly disclose their inventions, sharing knowledge and spurring further progress while recouping their investment.
But in the United States, the abuse of dubious patents is having the opposite effect, impeding innovation and harming consumers. Patent trolls - litigation shops that use questionable patents to extort money from productive companies—are placing a huge drag on innovation. Trolls use the threat of expensive and extended litigation to extract settlements, regardless of the merits of their claims.
The economic impact of patent troll litigation has been enormous, draining an estimated $29 billion in direct costs from productive enterprises in 2011 alone. Over the years Google has faced down hundreds of patent claims, mostly from patent trolls, but only after paying millions of dollars in legal fees.
Europe now has a clear opportunity to adopt rules that limit the risk of fostering patent trolling in Europe. Patent trolls have no real business interests to defend. So, at the very least, trolls should have to prove their patents are actually valid and consumer harms should be considered before giving trolls blocking orders that would impact 500 million Europeans.
Today, we’ve joined 16 European and U.S. companies, including Adidas, Deutsche Telekom, Apple and Microsoft in an open letter, suggesting improvements to the Unified Patent Court’s proposed rules. These fixes will help the EU system avoid the issues that have plagued the U.S. and will ensure companies are investing in innovation and growth—not patent litigation.
After all, the whole point of a patent system is to promote innovation. Patents encourage inventors to publicly disclose their inventions, sharing knowledge and spurring further progress while recouping their investment.
But in the United States, the abuse of dubious patents is having the opposite effect, impeding innovation and harming consumers. Patent trolls - litigation shops that use questionable patents to extort money from productive companies—are placing a huge drag on innovation. Trolls use the threat of expensive and extended litigation to extract settlements, regardless of the merits of their claims.
The economic impact of patent troll litigation has been enormous, draining an estimated $29 billion in direct costs from productive enterprises in 2011 alone. Over the years Google has faced down hundreds of patent claims, mostly from patent trolls, but only after paying millions of dollars in legal fees.
Europe now has a clear opportunity to adopt rules that limit the risk of fostering patent trolling in Europe. Patent trolls have no real business interests to defend. So, at the very least, trolls should have to prove their patents are actually valid and consumer harms should be considered before giving trolls blocking orders that would impact 500 million Europeans.
Today, we’ve joined 16 European and U.S. companies, including Adidas, Deutsche Telekom, Apple and Microsoft in an open letter, suggesting improvements to the Unified Patent Court’s proposed rules. These fixes will help the EU system avoid the issues that have plagued the U.S. and will ensure companies are investing in innovation and growth—not patent litigation.
Senin, 23 September 2013
Bringing KENZO online during Paris Fashion Week
Fashion leaders from around the world are converging on Paris, birthplace of haute couture and home to some of the world’s greatest fashion houses, to celebrate Paris Fashion Week. For the first time, Google is participating, thanks to an exclusive collaboration with KENZO.
Together, we’re releasing a designer cover for our Nexus 7 device. Inspired by KENZO’s Autumn/Winter 2013 collection, the cover's colorful ribbons replicate the façades of old Asian temples in India, China and Nepal. Soft fabric on the inside protects the Nexus. This designer cover will be available in early October in a limited edition on KENZO’s online store.
Together, we’re releasing a designer cover for our Nexus 7 device. Inspired by KENZO’s Autumn/Winter 2013 collection, the cover's colorful ribbons replicate the façades of old Asian temples in India, China and Nepal. Soft fabric on the inside protects the Nexus. This designer cover will be available in early October in a limited edition on KENZO’s online store.
We’re also working with KENZO to connect fashion lovers online. On Sunday, September 29 from 1 to 3 p.m. Paris time, we’re hosting a Hangout on Air to bring everyone backstage at KENZO’s show. Reporters equipped with Nexus 7s will film the action and publish exclusive content. Kenzo's Creative Directors Carol Lim and Humberto Leon will give their thoughts on the morning’s proceedings live, as soon as the last model leaves the runway.
Tune in on KENZO’s Google+ page or YouTube channel. The fashion-filled Hangout on Air promises to be as exciting as watching the models parade from the front row.
Hackers will shine a light on government surveillance
The EUhackathon returns to Brussels on Tuesday for its highly topical third edition. Thirty computer programmers from 13 countries will participate in the 24-hour coding marathon, entitled Hack4YourRights. Their goal is to create insightful visualisations that illustrate the extent of government access to citizens’ online private communications.
The coders will be based at the Brussels Googleplex as they work through the night to transform large data sets including network access analyses, corporate transparency reports and Freedom of Information Act requests. Their goal is to shine a light on the degree of government surveillance in various countries around the globe and empower citizens to stand up for their fundamental rights. Greater transparency and awareness are critical to ensuring government surveillance is only used when necessary and proportionate.
After a guaranteed sleepless night of coding, the programmers head to the European Parliament for an awards ceremony hosted by MEP Petru Luhan. It will include a debate between representatives from government academia and civil society. And the European Commissioner for Justice, Fundamental Rights and Citizenship, Viviane Reding, will announce the winner of the EUR5,000 prize for best data visualisation.
Google and Facebook are sponsoring the event. NGOs lending their support include Access Now, the Center for Democracy & Technology , Digitale Gesellschaft, the European Digital Rights initiative, the Electronic Frontier Foundation, the Net Users’ Rights Protection Association, the Open Knowledge Foundation, quintessenz, Transparency International and visualizing.org.
We think it’s vitally important to shine a light on how government actions could affect our users. When we first launched our Transparency Report in early 2010, there wasn’t much data out there about how governments hamper the free flow of information on the web. But we’re heartened that in the past years and months, more companies have begun to share their statistics too. Our hope is that over time, more data and visualisations will bolster public debate about how we can keep the Internet free and open and protect our privacy and security online.
The coders will be based at the Brussels Googleplex as they work through the night to transform large data sets including network access analyses, corporate transparency reports and Freedom of Information Act requests. Their goal is to shine a light on the degree of government surveillance in various countries around the globe and empower citizens to stand up for their fundamental rights. Greater transparency and awareness are critical to ensuring government surveillance is only used when necessary and proportionate.
After a guaranteed sleepless night of coding, the programmers head to the European Parliament for an awards ceremony hosted by MEP Petru Luhan. It will include a debate between representatives from government academia and civil society. And the European Commissioner for Justice, Fundamental Rights and Citizenship, Viviane Reding, will announce the winner of the EUR5,000 prize for best data visualisation.
Google and Facebook are sponsoring the event. NGOs lending their support include Access Now, the Center for Democracy & Technology , Digitale Gesellschaft, the European Digital Rights initiative, the Electronic Frontier Foundation, the Net Users’ Rights Protection Association, the Open Knowledge Foundation, quintessenz, Transparency International and visualizing.org.
We think it’s vitally important to shine a light on how government actions could affect our users. When we first launched our Transparency Report in early 2010, there wasn’t much data out there about how governments hamper the free flow of information on the web. But we’re heartened that in the past years and months, more companies have begun to share their statistics too. Our hope is that over time, more data and visualisations will bolster public debate about how we can keep the Internet free and open and protect our privacy and security online.
Kamis, 19 September 2013
Bringing “Moonshot Thinking” to Germany
Germany is famous for its entrepreneurial spirit and innovative capacity, which is why it is suprising that Germans have been more reluctant than others to grasp new opportunities offered by the Internet. In an attempt to jumpstart moonshot thinking, Google and its partners Deutsche Bank, Shell, and start-up hub Factory recently launched initiative called ConSensus.
Since June, ConSensus collected from all over Germany some 280 audacious Internet ideas, ranging from energy & finance to education. This month, business executives, researchers, entrepreneurs and artists came together at the Factory campus close to Berlin’s former wall. Based on the suggestions, steering committee created a 10-point charter to trigger a new kind of “moonshot innovation” in Germany which was handed over to the Ministry of Economics State Secretary Anne Ruth Herkes.
The experts also chose 10 “lighthouse” projects for innovation ranging from an online education platform, a cloud computing platform, to an Aupair exchange programme for seniors. Hopefully, ConSensus can help show that Germany is still the country of bold innovators that are willing to take their idea up to the moon - and further.
Posted by Max Senges, Internet Policy and Innovation Manager
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| Technology & Society: this logo captures the innovative spirit of ConSensus |
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| From left to right: Wolfgang Warnecke (Shell), Philipp Justus (Google), State Secretary Anne Ruth Herkes, Simon Schaefer (Factory) and Harald Eisenach (Deutsche Bank); Foto: Jürgen Stüber |
The experts also chose 10 “lighthouse” projects for innovation ranging from an online education platform, a cloud computing platform, to an Aupair exchange programme for seniors. Hopefully, ConSensus can help show that Germany is still the country of bold innovators that are willing to take their idea up to the moon - and further.
Posted by Max Senges, Internet Policy and Innovation Manager
Rabu, 18 September 2013
Debating the German General Election
The Internet allows new and fascinating exchanges between citizens and politics. For Germany’s upcoming September 22 general election, we launched this weeka map to help German voters find information about the the country's 299 voting districts and learn about the candidates in all of Germany's electoral district. On election night, the map will display official results.
This new feature adds to our recently launched Election Page which aims to allow voters to make informed choices. Our motto is "2013+you. It's your election. Take part in the discussion.” The page tracks the campaign’s hottest topics with news, video and other links. It includes a new debating tool on Google+ that allows anybody, with just a few clicks, to participate in discussions and join the German language Google+ Community, "Politics & Elections."
A new series of "Hangouts" with politicians are being held on blogger Tilo Jung’s "Jung & Naiv" site. In these video chats, he addresses young, often first-time voters. Tilo already has hosted Pirate party politician Marina Weisband and Social Democrat Chancellor Candidate, Peer Steinbrück.
Another election partner politik-digital.de, provides for the selection of editorial content on google.de/wahlen. Much more is planned: we will continue to provide interesting Google search trends. And on election night we will provide fresh election results as they come. Keep coming to our election page and participate!
This new feature adds to our recently launched Election Page which aims to allow voters to make informed choices. Our motto is "2013+you. It's your election. Take part in the discussion.” The page tracks the campaign’s hottest topics with news, video and other links. It includes a new debating tool on Google+ that allows anybody, with just a few clicks, to participate in discussions and join the German language Google+ Community, "Politics & Elections."
A new series of "Hangouts" with politicians are being held on blogger Tilo Jung’s "Jung & Naiv" site. In these video chats, he addresses young, often first-time voters. Tilo already has hosted Pirate party politician Marina Weisband and Social Democrat Chancellor Candidate, Peer Steinbrück.
Another election partner politik-digital.de, provides for the selection of editorial content on google.de/wahlen. Much more is planned: we will continue to provide interesting Google search trends. And on election night we will provide fresh election results as they come. Keep coming to our election page and participate!
Selasa, 17 September 2013
Broadening Google Patents
Last year, we launched two improvements to Google Patents: the Prior Art Finder and European Patent Office patents. Today we’re happy to announce the addition of documents from four new patent agencies: China, Germany, Canada, and the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO). Many of these documents may provide prior art for future patent applications, and we hope their increased discoverability will improve the quality of patents in the U.S. and worldwide.
So if you want to learn about a Chinese dual-drive bicycle, a German valve for inflating bicycle tires, attach a Canadian trailer to your bike, or read the WIPO application for pedalling with one leg, those and millions of other inventions are now available on Google Patents.
Thanks to Google Translate, all patents are available in both their original languages and in English, and you can search across the world’s patents using terms in any of those languages. When there are multiple submission languages, you can move between them with a single click on the tabs at the top of the page, as shown in the screenshot below:
Moving journalism into the digital age
As the news business experiments with new ways of creating and delivering journalism in the digital age, we’re keen to offer support at the grassroots level. Over the past two years, the Google-funded IPI News Innovation Contest has awarded $2.7 million in grants to media projects throughout Europe, Africa and the Middle East.
On September 13, we celebrated the fund’s 17 winners at the Guardian in London. The event included a Google+ Hangout on Air to allow contest winners who couldn’t make it to the event in person to participate - and to allow the public to watch.
Grants were given to both non-profit and for-profit organisations working on digital journalism initiatives, including open-source and mobile technology projects created by or for journalists and distributed in the public interest. Winners ranged from the Guardian’s own experiment with collaborative journalism to the World Wide Web Foundation’s Citizen Journalism project in Africa to Mediacenter Sarajevo’s data journalism program in Bosnia. You can find links to all the projects here.
In London, much of the discussion focused on making the winners’ innovations sustainable. IPI plans to host an ongoing online dialogue to keep track on progress. We’re delighted to be part of that conversation.
On September 13, we celebrated the fund’s 17 winners at the Guardian in London. The event included a Google+ Hangout on Air to allow contest winners who couldn’t make it to the event in person to participate - and to allow the public to watch.
Grants were given to both non-profit and for-profit organisations working on digital journalism initiatives, including open-source and mobile technology projects created by or for journalists and distributed in the public interest. Winners ranged from the Guardian’s own experiment with collaborative journalism to the World Wide Web Foundation’s Citizen Journalism project in Africa to Mediacenter Sarajevo’s data journalism program in Bosnia. You can find links to all the projects here.
In London, much of the discussion focused on making the winners’ innovations sustainable. IPI plans to host an ongoing online dialogue to keep track on progress. We’re delighted to be part of that conversation.
Senin, 16 September 2013
The HALO Trust: Helping communities clean up mines
From time to time we invite guests to post about subjects of interest and today we’re pleased to share a post from Guy Willoughby, Executive Director of the HALO Trust, a U.K.-based nonprofit dedicated to landmine clearance in post-conflict areas. Hear how HALO is using Google Maps for Business to fight the war against mines, clearing more than 1.4 million landmines worldwide. -Ed.
When conflicts end, making communities safe and livable often means removing dangerous remnants of war. “Getting mines out of the ground, for good,” as we say at the HALO Trust, has been our mission over the last 25 years. We work in more than a dozen countries and regions across the globe, clearing landmines and other explosives, many of which have been buried underground. While we’ve been in operation for almost three decades, there is still more to be done.
In Kosovo, where people are reclaiming their homeland after the conflict in 1999, we’re working in close cooperation with the government and local population to collect and share information about where mines are located. It’s a true community effort—farmers tell us where they’ve seen signs of mines and where accidents have occurred. It’s our job at the HALO Trust to take this data and make it usable, accessible, and visually compelling, so clearance becomes more efficient and happens faster.
One of our biggest challenges is keeping our field teams safe. We need easy-to-use tools that can help us find, map and clear hazardous areas without putting our operations at risk. Over the years, we’ve continuously improved our mine clearance techniques, including the deployment of Google Earth Pro.
Google Earth Pro makes it easier for the HALO team to do the dangerous and detailed work of finding and mapping at-risk areas. Because it’s based on the same technology as Google Maps and Earth, it’s easy for our teams to use and create maps without IT or GIS expertise. It’s a tool that is familiar to our employees and something they use in their daily lives, so we can start mapping right away.
The information we gather, including GPS references to landmines in the field, is imported into Earth Pro so that we can plot mine locations. We also use the incredibly detailed satellite imagery in Google Earth to identify and map hazardous areas. These high-resolution maps serve many people: from families who live near mines, to crews who clear them, and donors and other organizations that support us. When donors view the vivid interactive maps of our project areas—with mines so close to schools, farms and houses—they understand why the HALO Trust’s work is so critical.
Accurate maps from Google Earth Pro mean safer working conditions for our local teams, and faster progress toward our goals. In Kosovo alone, we’ve removed thousands of landmines, cluster munitions and other explosives. And with the help of Google’s mapping tools and our donors, we’ll be able to declare the country mine-free.
When conflicts end, making communities safe and livable often means removing dangerous remnants of war. “Getting mines out of the ground, for good,” as we say at the HALO Trust, has been our mission over the last 25 years. We work in more than a dozen countries and regions across the globe, clearing landmines and other explosives, many of which have been buried underground. While we’ve been in operation for almost three decades, there is still more to be done.
In Kosovo, where people are reclaiming their homeland after the conflict in 1999, we’re working in close cooperation with the government and local population to collect and share information about where mines are located. It’s a true community effort—farmers tell us where they’ve seen signs of mines and where accidents have occurred. It’s our job at the HALO Trust to take this data and make it usable, accessible, and visually compelling, so clearance becomes more efficient and happens faster.
One of our biggest challenges is keeping our field teams safe. We need easy-to-use tools that can help us find, map and clear hazardous areas without putting our operations at risk. Over the years, we’ve continuously improved our mine clearance techniques, including the deployment of Google Earth Pro.
Google Earth Pro makes it easier for the HALO team to do the dangerous and detailed work of finding and mapping at-risk areas. Because it’s based on the same technology as Google Maps and Earth, it’s easy for our teams to use and create maps without IT or GIS expertise. It’s a tool that is familiar to our employees and something they use in their daily lives, so we can start mapping right away.
The information we gather, including GPS references to landmines in the field, is imported into Earth Pro so that we can plot mine locations. We also use the incredibly detailed satellite imagery in Google Earth to identify and map hazardous areas. These high-resolution maps serve many people: from families who live near mines, to crews who clear them, and donors and other organizations that support us. When donors view the vivid interactive maps of our project areas—with mines so close to schools, farms and houses—they understand why the HALO Trust’s work is so critical.
Accurate maps from Google Earth Pro mean safer working conditions for our local teams, and faster progress toward our goals. In Kosovo alone, we’ve removed thousands of landmines, cluster munitions and other explosives. And with the help of Google’s mapping tools and our donors, we’ll be able to declare the country mine-free.
Kamis, 12 September 2013
Explore the Galapagos’ biodiversity with Street View
This week marks the 178th anniversary of Darwin’s discovery of the Galapagos Islands. This volcanic archipelago is one of the most biodiverse and unique places on the planet, with species that have remarkably adapted to their environment. Through observing the animals, Darwin made key insights that informed his theory of evolution. Here’s a short documentary that captures the 10-day expedition:
Today, in partnership with the Directorate of the Galapagos National Park and Charles Darwin Foundation, we’re launching the 360-degree images from the Galapagos Islands that we collected in May with the Street View Trekker. Now, you can visit the islands from anywhere you may be, and see many of the animals that Darwin experienced on his historic and groundbreaking journey in 1835.
Darwin may have first sighted San Cristobal Island from the water, perhaps near where we sailed with the Trekker strapped to a boat in order to observe the craggy shoreline and the Magnificent Frigatebirds that the rocky landscape shelters. After landing on San Cristobal, we made our way to Galapaguera Cerro Colorado, a breeding center that helps to restore the population of the island tortoises, seriously threatened by invasive species. Wearing the Trekker, we walked by giant tortoises munching on leafy stalks and recently hatched baby tortoises.
Darwin visited Floreana Island, but he didn’t have the scuba gear needed to properly explore the marine life just off the island’s coast. Thanks to our partner, Catlin Seaview Survey and their SVII underwater camera, we were able to collect underwater imagery of some especially energetic and inquisitive sea lions that came out to see whether the divers wanted to play!
On our hike through the wetlands of Isabela Island, we spotted some marine iguanas, including this one sunning itself after a morning swim. On North Seymour Island, we got up close and personal to blue-footed boobies performing their mating dance and the Magnificent Frigatebirds with their red throat sacs.
The extensive Street View imagery of the Galapagos Islands won’t just enable armchair travelers to experiences the islands from anywhere in the world—it will also play an instrumental role in the ongoing research of the environment, conservation, animal migration patterns and the impact of tourism on the islands. See our Lat Long blog post for an example of how the imagery will be used for scientific research.
Visit our behind-the-scenes experience and tune in to an exclusive Google+ Hangout with the Google Maps team and our partners at 9:00 a.m. PT today to learn more about this special collection of imagery.
Today, in partnership with the Directorate of the Galapagos National Park and Charles Darwin Foundation, we’re launching the 360-degree images from the Galapagos Islands that we collected in May with the Street View Trekker. Now, you can visit the islands from anywhere you may be, and see many of the animals that Darwin experienced on his historic and groundbreaking journey in 1835.
Darwin may have first sighted San Cristobal Island from the water, perhaps near where we sailed with the Trekker strapped to a boat in order to observe the craggy shoreline and the Magnificent Frigatebirds that the rocky landscape shelters. After landing on San Cristobal, we made our way to Galapaguera Cerro Colorado, a breeding center that helps to restore the population of the island tortoises, seriously threatened by invasive species. Wearing the Trekker, we walked by giant tortoises munching on leafy stalks and recently hatched baby tortoises.
The Galapaguera plays a critical role in conservation of the giant tortoises
Darwin visited Floreana Island, but he didn’t have the scuba gear needed to properly explore the marine life just off the island’s coast. Thanks to our partner, Catlin Seaview Survey and their SVII underwater camera, we were able to collect underwater imagery of some especially energetic and inquisitive sea lions that came out to see whether the divers wanted to play!
The playful Galapagos Sea Lion is one of the endemic species of the islands
On our hike through the wetlands of Isabela Island, we spotted some marine iguanas, including this one sunning itself after a morning swim. On North Seymour Island, we got up close and personal to blue-footed boobies performing their mating dance and the Magnificent Frigatebirds with their red throat sacs.
The blue-footed boobies on North Seymour island
The extensive Street View imagery of the Galapagos Islands won’t just enable armchair travelers to experiences the islands from anywhere in the world—it will also play an instrumental role in the ongoing research of the environment, conservation, animal migration patterns and the impact of tourism on the islands. See our Lat Long blog post for an example of how the imagery will be used for scientific research.
Visit our behind-the-scenes experience and tune in to an exclusive Google+ Hangout with the Google Maps team and our partners at 9:00 a.m. PT today to learn more about this special collection of imagery.
Rabu, 11 September 2013
Discovering Europe’s historic Parliament buildings
Few Europeans have the opportunity to visit their parliament, the historic home of their democracy. Now, however, technology and the Internet offer a glimpse into the splendours of the some of these hidden chambers where important decisions are made.
To mark this year’s European Heritage Days (where people can get a peek inside iconic buildings not normally open to the public), we joined with the French National Assembly on two exciting projects. From today, you can virtually visit the Palais Bourbon, seat of France’s National Assembly via Street View in Google Maps. A trolley equipped with fifteen lenses took 360° pictures allowing anyone with an Internet connection to virtually explore the architecture, paintings and decor of this impressive building. At the click of a button you can transport yourself to the centre of decision-making in France.
View Larger Map
The Street View imagery is also featured in an online exhibition created by the National Assembly using imagery from the the Google Cultural InstituteG. Entitled "Enter the Chambers", the exhibition features photos and historical commentary on the European Union’s 42 parliaments, ranging from the Bundestag in Berlin to the Sejm in Warsaw. ontributions have been made from many individual Parliaments to showcase an impressive array of buildings and architecture rarely seen in a single place.
The parliamentary initiative is not the only one way we are working to bring online historic buildings and sites On our Cultural Institute platform, we offer virtual tours of many sites around the world, from the archaeological site of Pompeii to the Versailles Palace and even the art collection of the White House in the US on the Cultural Institute site with content contributed from cultural institutions from all around the world. We hope you enjoy exploring.
To mark this year’s European Heritage Days (where people can get a peek inside iconic buildings not normally open to the public), we joined with the French National Assembly on two exciting projects. From today, you can virtually visit the Palais Bourbon, seat of France’s National Assembly via Street View in Google Maps. A trolley equipped with fifteen lenses took 360° pictures allowing anyone with an Internet connection to virtually explore the architecture, paintings and decor of this impressive building. At the click of a button you can transport yourself to the centre of decision-making in France.
View Larger Map
The Street View imagery is also featured in an online exhibition created by the National Assembly using imagery from the the Google Cultural InstituteG. Entitled "Enter the Chambers", the exhibition features photos and historical commentary on the European Union’s 42 parliaments, ranging from the Bundestag in Berlin to the Sejm in Warsaw. ontributions have been made from many individual Parliaments to showcase an impressive array of buildings and architecture rarely seen in a single place.
The parliamentary initiative is not the only one way we are working to bring online historic buildings and sites On our Cultural Institute platform, we offer virtual tours of many sites around the world, from the archaeological site of Pompeii to the Versailles Palace and even the art collection of the White House in the US on the Cultural Institute site with content contributed from cultural institutions from all around the world. We hope you enjoy exploring.
Selasa, 10 September 2013
Report: How Google fights piracy
More music, video, text and software is being created on the Internet by more people in more places than ever before. Every kind of creative endeavor, both amateur and professional, is being transformed by the new opportunities and lower costs made possible by digital tools and online distribution. But copyright infringement remains a problem online, and Google is working hard to tackle it.
Today, we are releasing a report, “How Google Fights Piracy,” bringing together in one place an overview of the programs, policies, and technologies we have put in place to combat piracy online. Here are few highlights:
Posted by Fred von Lohmann, Legal Director, Copyright
Today, we are releasing a report, “How Google Fights Piracy,” bringing together in one place an overview of the programs, policies, and technologies we have put in place to combat piracy online. Here are few highlights:
- Better Legal Alternatives: The best way to fight piracy is with better, convenient, legal alternatives. On YouTube and Play, Google is committed to creating those compelling alternatives for users. Each time a music fan chooses YouTube or Play over an unauthorized source, for example, it’s a victory against piracy. And thousands of copyright owners now use Content ID on YouTube to elect to monetize user-generated content on YouTube, rather than take it down, resulting in hundreds of millions of dollars in royalties from Google each year.
- Follow the Money: When it comes to rogue sites that specialize in online piracy, other anti-piracy strategies will have limited effect so long as there is money to be made by their operators. As a global leader in online advertising, Google is committed to rooting out and ejecting rogue sites from our advertising services, to ensure that they are not being misused to fund these sites. In 2012, we disabled ad serving to more than 46,000 sites for violating our copyright policies, the vast majority detected through our proactive efforts. We are also working with other leaders in the industry to craft best practices aimed at raising standards across the entire online advertising industry.
- Removing Infringing Results from Search: When it comes to Search, Google is a leader in addressing the concerns of copyright owners, responding to more copyright removal notices, and faster, than ever before. During 2012, copyright owners and their agents sent us removal notices for more than 57 million web pages. Our turnaround time on those notices was, on average, less than 6 hours. That’s faster than we managed in 2011, despite a 15-fold increase in the volume of requests.
Posted by Fred von Lohmann, Legal Director, Copyright
Celebrating start-ups at Campus Party London
Last week, I joined more than 10,000 “Campuseros” at Campus Party London - a huge gathering of coders, tech entrepreneurs, press and politicians, all focused on the Internet as an engine of economic growth for Europe. The event felt more like a music festival than a traditional conference, and featured an indoor campsite and countless, workshops, hackathons and demonstrations - all dedicated to showing what the digital sector can deliver for Europe’s future.
European Commission Vice President Neelie Kroes used the occasion to give an inspiring speech about the need for Europe to embrace digital innovation. Her “Startup Europe Leaders Club” launched the Startup Manifesto.
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Drafted by European entrepreneurs including Joanna Shields, CEO of TechCity UK, Daniel Ek, founder of Spotify and Niklas Zennström, founder of Atomico and Skype, the manifesto is an excellent proposal to tackle the issues that inhibit entrepreneurship and innovation in Europe. We hope it will be a useful guide for the 28 EU leaders who’ll meet to discuss digital opportunities in October at the European Council.
Google was glad to play its part in the event too. My Google colleagues Vint Cerf, one of the founding fathers of the internet, and Chris DiBona, Google’s open source guru, spoke about the future of the Internet and Open Source.
I gave a talk about the principles of innovation at Google and how we implement them in our own Campus London, which, in its first year alone, has hosted more than 860 events, offering more than 60,000 entrepreneurs mentorship, technical advice and training. We’re replicating these kinds of initiatives across Europe and around the world via our Google for Entrepreneurs programme too.
Throughout the event, noise and energy levels were high - in part because of performances from the likes of Beardyman - but also because Europe’s digital sector is gaining momentum. Since the start of the crisis in 2008, the number of European start-up accelerators and incubators has grown by nearly 400%, putting the continent more or less on an even footing with the US in terms of startup programs per capita. And more broadly, the digital economy already contributes up to 8 percent of GDP in some EU economies, and 4% of EU GDP and is predicted to grow seven times faster than the rest of the economy. This is an accomplishment to cherish - and nurture!
European Commission Vice President Neelie Kroes used the occasion to give an inspiring speech about the need for Europe to embrace digital innovation. Her “Startup Europe Leaders Club” launched the Startup Manifesto.
Drafted by European entrepreneurs including Joanna Shields, CEO of TechCity UK, Daniel Ek, founder of Spotify and Niklas Zennström, founder of Atomico and Skype, the manifesto is an excellent proposal to tackle the issues that inhibit entrepreneurship and innovation in Europe. We hope it will be a useful guide for the 28 EU leaders who’ll meet to discuss digital opportunities in October at the European Council.
Google was glad to play its part in the event too. My Google colleagues Vint Cerf, one of the founding fathers of the internet, and Chris DiBona, Google’s open source guru, spoke about the future of the Internet and Open Source.
I gave a talk about the principles of innovation at Google and how we implement them in our own Campus London, which, in its first year alone, has hosted more than 860 events, offering more than 60,000 entrepreneurs mentorship, technical advice and training. We’re replicating these kinds of initiatives across Europe and around the world via our Google for Entrepreneurs programme too.
Throughout the event, noise and energy levels were high - in part because of performances from the likes of Beardyman - but also because Europe’s digital sector is gaining momentum. Since the start of the crisis in 2008, the number of European start-up accelerators and incubators has grown by nearly 400%, putting the continent more or less on an even footing with the US in terms of startup programs per capita. And more broadly, the digital economy already contributes up to 8 percent of GDP in some EU economies, and 4% of EU GDP and is predicted to grow seven times faster than the rest of the economy. This is an accomplishment to cherish - and nurture!
Afternoon tea and a new gallery with computing’s heroines
Last Saturday saw a special gathering at Bletchley Park to showcase the contributions of women to computing. We were joined in person by some of the UK’s female pioneers—including Margaret Bullen who did the wiring and soldering for Colossus, the world’s first electronic computer; Sophie Wilson who co-designed the ARM processor, found in almost every mobile phone and tablet; and Dame Stephanie Shirley who founded Freelance Programmers, one of the UK’s earliest software startups.
The afternoon got into full swing with a presentation applauding the pioneers present and the announcement of a new Google sponsored gallery at The National Museum of Computing (TNMOC). The gallery aims to highlight the achievements and roles played by women as visionaries, engineers, entrepreneurs, programmers and more. It was aptly launched with a speech by Dame Stephanie Shirley speaking via hangout from the new Gallery.
Afterwards, people were free to enjoy tours of Bletchley Park, guided by some of the original ‘Wrens’ stationed there during the war, and to visit TNMOC where they could see the new gallery as well as many other exhibits, and even get hands on and learn to solder!
Bletchley’s Mansion was also decked out for the event with posters highlighting 20 women from the UK and beyond who have made groundbreaking contributions to computing—among them, Dina St Johnston, Grace Hopper, Kateryna Yushchenko, Karen Sparck Jones, Barbara Liskov, Sister Mary Kenneth Keller, Hedy Lamarr, and many more, not least Ada Lovelace who started it all. Other exhibits included displays by those working to encourage young people to get interested in computing, including CAS #include, Technology Will Save Us and Apps For Good.
Overall, it was a splendid day and a chance to shine a light on some of those whose contributions are often overlooked. And this is just the beginning. Thanks to the digital touch screens installed in the new gallery, the displays will evolve and expand as more stories are found. Do get in touch if you have an idea or would like to contribute. We’re keen for this to be an inspiring resource for all visitors—especially for girls curious about computing’s opportunities.
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| Photos thanks to Shaun Armstrong (copyright Mubsta.com) and James Martin |
The afternoon got into full swing with a presentation applauding the pioneers present and the announcement of a new Google sponsored gallery at The National Museum of Computing (TNMOC). The gallery aims to highlight the achievements and roles played by women as visionaries, engineers, entrepreneurs, programmers and more. It was aptly launched with a speech by Dame Stephanie Shirley speaking via hangout from the new Gallery.
Afterwards, people were free to enjoy tours of Bletchley Park, guided by some of the original ‘Wrens’ stationed there during the war, and to visit TNMOC where they could see the new gallery as well as many other exhibits, and even get hands on and learn to solder!
 |
| Photos thanks to TNMOC and James Martin |
Bletchley’s Mansion was also decked out for the event with posters highlighting 20 women from the UK and beyond who have made groundbreaking contributions to computing—among them, Dina St Johnston, Grace Hopper, Kateryna Yushchenko, Karen Sparck Jones, Barbara Liskov, Sister Mary Kenneth Keller, Hedy Lamarr, and many more, not least Ada Lovelace who started it all. Other exhibits included displays by those working to encourage young people to get interested in computing, including CAS #include, Technology Will Save Us and Apps For Good.
 |
| Photos thanks to Shaun Armstrong (copyright Mubsta.com) |
Overall, it was a splendid day and a chance to shine a light on some of those whose contributions are often overlooked. And this is just the beginning. Thanks to the digital touch screens installed in the new gallery, the displays will evolve and expand as more stories are found. Do get in touch if you have an idea or would like to contribute. We’re keen for this to be an inspiring resource for all visitors—especially for girls curious about computing’s opportunities.
Senin, 09 September 2013
What's the State of the European Union? #askbarroso!
Is Europe really emerging from the financial crisis? What’s going to happen to Europe’s 5 million unemployed young people? Does the rise of euro-sceptic politics spell the end of the EU as we know it? Will Europe act on Syria?
Now’s your chance to put these questions and others to the man in charge of the European Commission, President José Manuel Barroso, in a special, live State of the European Union Hangout interview, hosted by the euronews Global Conversation team, but driven by you.
The Hangout on Air takes place on Thursday 12 September at 20:50 CET / 11:50 PDT, one day after President Barroso’s 2013 State of the European Union address.
euronews is soliciting questions, comments and ideas for the interview until 12:00 CET / 03:00 PDT on Wednesday 11 September. No topic is too big or too small—all you need to do is submit your question (text or video) on Google+, Twitter and Facebook using the hashtag #askbarroso. The authors of the best questions—as chosen by euronews editors—will be invited to interview the President in person, live, in the Google+ Hangout.
To tune in, visit the European Commission’s Google+ page Thursday 12 September at 20:50 CET / 11:50 PDT. And of course, you can keep commenting up to and after the interview using the hashtags #askbarroso and #SOTEU.
Now’s your chance to put these questions and others to the man in charge of the European Commission, President José Manuel Barroso, in a special, live State of the European Union Hangout interview, hosted by the euronews Global Conversation team, but driven by you.
The Hangout on Air takes place on Thursday 12 September at 20:50 CET / 11:50 PDT, one day after President Barroso’s 2013 State of the European Union address.
euronews is soliciting questions, comments and ideas for the interview until 12:00 CET / 03:00 PDT on Wednesday 11 September. No topic is too big or too small—all you need to do is submit your question (text or video) on Google+, Twitter and Facebook using the hashtag #askbarroso. The authors of the best questions—as chosen by euronews editors—will be invited to interview the President in person, live, in the Google+ Hangout.
To tune in, visit the European Commission’s Google+ page Thursday 12 September at 20:50 CET / 11:50 PDT. And of course, you can keep commenting up to and after the interview using the hashtags #askbarroso and #SOTEU.
Kamis, 05 September 2013
Four women share stories from UK computing’s early days
So far, with rare exception, the focus of our computing history series has been on technology—the machines that broke new ground and the people behind them.
This time we’re approaching it from a different angle, with the release of short films highlighting the stories of four women. By luck or design, all found themselves working at the forefront of the UK’s computing industry in its earliest stages, and it was fascinating to hear their diverse experiences.
In three clips from past interviews, Joyce Wheeler and Margaret Marrs talk about their time using EDSAC at Cambridge, and Mary Coombs tells of programming LEO, the world’s first business computer. And in a fourth brand new film, Dame Stephanie Shirley shares her extraordinary tale of founding Freelance Programmers, one of the UK’s first software startups.
Launched in 1962, Freelance Programmers wasn’t the UK’s first independent software company—that honour goes to Vaughan Programming Services founded by another pioneering woman, Dina St Johnston, in 1959.
What made Dame Stephanie’s company stand out however was its unusual business model, dedicated to employing women programmers working part-time from home. In an era when women were routinely expected to leave the workforce upon marriage, this was a bold move. Against all odds, Dame Stephanie—or “Steve” as she signed her business letters—dramatically overcame the glass ceiling by sidestepping it, bringing many others in her wake.
Few entrepreneurs have been as successful as Dame Stephanie; even fewer have done as much to champion the cause of women in computing. We’re delighted to share her inspirational story.
This time we’re approaching it from a different angle, with the release of short films highlighting the stories of four women. By luck or design, all found themselves working at the forefront of the UK’s computing industry in its earliest stages, and it was fascinating to hear their diverse experiences.
In three clips from past interviews, Joyce Wheeler and Margaret Marrs talk about their time using EDSAC at Cambridge, and Mary Coombs tells of programming LEO, the world’s first business computer. And in a fourth brand new film, Dame Stephanie Shirley shares her extraordinary tale of founding Freelance Programmers, one of the UK’s first software startups.
Launched in 1962, Freelance Programmers wasn’t the UK’s first independent software company—that honour goes to Vaughan Programming Services founded by another pioneering woman, Dina St Johnston, in 1959.
What made Dame Stephanie’s company stand out however was its unusual business model, dedicated to employing women programmers working part-time from home. In an era when women were routinely expected to leave the workforce upon marriage, this was a bold move. Against all odds, Dame Stephanie—or “Steve” as she signed her business letters—dramatically overcame the glass ceiling by sidestepping it, bringing many others in her wake.
Few entrepreneurs have been as successful as Dame Stephanie; even fewer have done as much to champion the cause of women in computing. We’re delighted to share her inspirational story.
Rabu, 04 September 2013
Fighting against a censorship machine
The Internet is a remarkable platform for giving each of us a voice to reach a global audience. In some cases, unfortunately, people abuse this freedom by publishing unlawful content. Europe’s E-Commerce Directive provides clear rules for dealing with this content without sacrificing the Internet’s broader free expression mission. Importantly, the law says platforms should not be forced to become Internet police, monitoring all content to prevent certain material from ever getting online.
In a Paris courtroom today, former Formula One head Max Mosley's lawyers asked a judge to upset this balance by imposing an alarming new model of automated censorship. He wants web companies to build software filters, in an attempt to automatically detect and delete certain content. Specifically, Mr. Mosley demands that Google build a filter to screen Google’s index and proactively block pages containing images from our results – without anyone, much less a judge, ever seeing it or understanding the context in which the image appears.
We sympathize with Mr. Mosley, and with anyone who believes their rights have been violated. We offer well-established tools to help people to remove specific pages from our search results when those pages have clearly been determined to violate the law. In fact, we have removed hundreds of pages for Mr. Mosley, and stand ready to remove others he identifies.
But the law does not support Mr. Mosley’s demand for the construction of an unprecedented new Internet censorship tool. In repeated rulings, Europe’s highest court has noted that filters are blunt instruments that jeopardise lawful expression and undermine users’ fundamental right to access information. A set of words or images may break the law in one context, but be lawful in another. As an example, a filter might end up censoring news reports about Mr. Mosley’s own court case.
While constituting a dangerous new censorship tool, the filter would fail to solve Mr. Mosley’s problems. Pages removed from search results remain live on the Internet, accessible to users by other means – from following links on social networks to simply navigating to the address in a browser. As an example, one page Mr. Mosley sought to remove comes from a blog, which according to public sources, receives the vast majority of its visits from sources other than web search.
This not just a case about Google, but the entire Internet industry. If Mr. Mosley’s proposal prevails, any start-up could face the same daunting and expensive obligation to build new censorship tools -- despite the harm to users’ fundamental rights and the ineffectiveness of such measures.
We don’t hold paper makers or the people who build printing presses responsible if their customers use those things to break the law. The true responsibility for unlawful content lies with the people who produce it; how web companies work to reduce this content is set out in the E-Commerce Directive. We hope that the courts of France and Germany, where Mr. Mosley has also filed suit, will reject his request for a censorship machine.
In a Paris courtroom today, former Formula One head Max Mosley's lawyers asked a judge to upset this balance by imposing an alarming new model of automated censorship. He wants web companies to build software filters, in an attempt to automatically detect and delete certain content. Specifically, Mr. Mosley demands that Google build a filter to screen Google’s index and proactively block pages containing images from our results – without anyone, much less a judge, ever seeing it or understanding the context in which the image appears.
We sympathize with Mr. Mosley, and with anyone who believes their rights have been violated. We offer well-established tools to help people to remove specific pages from our search results when those pages have clearly been determined to violate the law. In fact, we have removed hundreds of pages for Mr. Mosley, and stand ready to remove others he identifies.
But the law does not support Mr. Mosley’s demand for the construction of an unprecedented new Internet censorship tool. In repeated rulings, Europe’s highest court has noted that filters are blunt instruments that jeopardise lawful expression and undermine users’ fundamental right to access information. A set of words or images may break the law in one context, but be lawful in another. As an example, a filter might end up censoring news reports about Mr. Mosley’s own court case.
While constituting a dangerous new censorship tool, the filter would fail to solve Mr. Mosley’s problems. Pages removed from search results remain live on the Internet, accessible to users by other means – from following links on social networks to simply navigating to the address in a browser. As an example, one page Mr. Mosley sought to remove comes from a blog, which according to public sources, receives the vast majority of its visits from sources other than web search.
This not just a case about Google, but the entire Internet industry. If Mr. Mosley’s proposal prevails, any start-up could face the same daunting and expensive obligation to build new censorship tools -- despite the harm to users’ fundamental rights and the ineffectiveness of such measures.
We don’t hold paper makers or the people who build printing presses responsible if their customers use those things to break the law. The true responsibility for unlawful content lies with the people who produce it; how web companies work to reduce this content is set out in the E-Commerce Directive. We hope that the courts of France and Germany, where Mr. Mosley has also filed suit, will reject his request for a censorship machine.
Senin, 02 September 2013
Reimagining Shakespeare's A Midsummer Night's Dream
For many, visiting Shakespeare’s hometown of Stratford-upon-Avon to watch the Royal Shakespeare Company perform is a pilgrimage. For many others, however, the trip is too far or too expensive. In an experiment with Google’s Creative Lab, the RSC extended their stage online, to let the world watch, and even participate in a new kind of production called Midsummer Night’s Dreaming. A video summing up the production just has been released.
This groundbreaking project saw a full RSC company, directed by Artistic Director Gregory Doran, perform Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream in real time over three days. A group of commissioned artists created new characters inspired by the activity in the play. The new sub-plots were shared on Google+, allowing audiences to interact and see the story unfold through new eyes on this new online stage.
As a legacy of the experiment, the RSC has created an interactive timeline to accompany an audio recording of A Midsummer Night’s Dream. Online audiences can hear the play while seeing the secondary content created by the creative team and audiences. Take a look at the timeline at and follow the RSC on Google+. We hope you will enjoy this attempt to bring Shakespeare to new audiences.
This groundbreaking project saw a full RSC company, directed by Artistic Director Gregory Doran, perform Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream in real time over three days. A group of commissioned artists created new characters inspired by the activity in the play. The new sub-plots were shared on Google+, allowing audiences to interact and see the story unfold through new eyes on this new online stage.
As a legacy of the experiment, the RSC has created an interactive timeline to accompany an audio recording of A Midsummer Night’s Dream. Online audiences can hear the play while seeing the secondary content created by the creative team and audiences. Take a look at the timeline at and follow the RSC on Google+. We hope you will enjoy this attempt to bring Shakespeare to new audiences.
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