Guided tour to Google Lively

Google gets Second Life. The no. 1 search engine company has launched a 3D virtual space, called Google Lively, that aims to give competition to the popular virtual world hangout Second Life.

The free service which requires no registration and can be accessed through a user's Google account enables people to congregate in fantasy rooms and other computer-manufactured versions of real life.

Lively's users will be able to create an avatar for themselves that can be male, female or even a different species. This avatar can assume a new identity, change clothes or convey emotions with a few clicks of the mouse.

Lively also enables users to create different digital environments to roam, from a child's room to an exotic island.

Hottest Google Earth apps

Google mail might be the most popular application in Google’s software arsenal but when it comes to casual use, perhaps Google Earth takes the cake.

When it was launched, many observers had turned their noses up at it, saying that it was at best an online atlas that allowed you to zoom into specific locations.

Well, those gentlemen (and some ladies) have been consuming vast amounts of humble pie ever since as Google Earth has emerged as one of the most popular online applications of recent years.

And it is not just because it shows a lot of maps and zoomed-in locations and is extremely easy to use -- there is oodles of fun hidden behind Google Earth for those willing to look for it.

And Google keeps adding to the goodies -- from tours to games to developer tools and other little knickknacks, there is plenty to play around with in Google Earth, even if you are not a great fan of maps. Here’s a brief look at just some of them. (Note: All of them might not work with all versions of the software.)

Life at Googleplex! Enjoyable

It's hard to figure out, for first time visitors to Googleplex located at 1600, Amphitheatre Parkway, Mount View California, if the campus they are in is a hi-tech hotbed or a play school.

Googleplex is the headquarters of the Internet economy titan, Google. There are red, green, yellow, purple and orange coloured soft toys scattered around on a red couch placed on a distractingly multi-coloured carpet.

A two-seater plane is suspended mid air and a toy T-Rex close by seems to be hunting a toy flamingo. It’s almost unimaginable that the cutting edge technological innovation half the world seems to fear can be born in an atmosphere of such puerility. But then, Google is hard to figure out.

Over the last few years Google has consistently topped several ‘best employer’ surveys globally to the extent that its number one billing is now taken for granted.

The company’s carefully assembled university campus like environment -- lava lamps, massage chairs, free gourmet food courts -- has been the subject of saturation media coverage.

But despite its much-lionised and benign corporate credo ‘Do No Evil’, and a self-projected work culture that would appear to border on bohemian anarchism, Google gives media and technology giants from Redmond to New York to Minato sleepless nights. For the conspiracy theorists, Google’s takeover of the world is imminent.


Google shopfloors are designed to be fluid -- employees work inside makeshift igloo-like cabins. Corridors on the workfloors are lined with red, white, green and yellow sofas on equally colorful carpet blocks.

Even your pets are welcome to the Google experience, provided people around your desk don’t object. But then again, if they do, you can shift your workstation anywhere you like.

Inspired by Google-- Print Your Own Monopoly Board Game

Googolopoly (Google+Monopoly) is a very creative monopoly board game inspired by Google. You can download the game sheet as a PDF and print on your home computer.

Like your regular monopoly game, the goal at Google Monopoly is to acquire as many products and companies on the Internet as possible.

The only difference is that dollars are replaced by Google Cash (you can print as many you like) and here you buy servers or hire developers with spare Google money instead of building motels on your properties.

The game is on Box.net as a PDF. Also check out some more wonderful Google Games.

Innovative Idea From Google - Call Google to know the Information about AnythinG

Another innovative idea from Google.

The limited launch of Call Google 1 800 41 99 99 99 pilot in Hyderabad . This service is a part of Google's initiative to make local information easily available at the touch of a button on your phone. You can call this service any time of the day for toll free (from mobile and landline phones), find a local business, get your call connected and receive an SMS with the results.

You can call and ask for:

1. Local Business Information. e.g. Where can I find Pizza in Panjagutta?
2. Movie Showtimes. e.g What movies are running in PVR today? or What are the show timings for watching "Jodhaa Akbar" ?

Call Google is completely free. You will not be charged anything to find a local business and connect the call to talk them. So remember the number 1 800 41 99 99 99 (One eight hundred - four one - double nine - double nine - double nine) when you need help with local information. Currently, this number is active for callers from Hyderabad only.

Please share this News to all your friends and family and let them know about this new service from Google for callers from Hyderabad .


Tip: Add Call Google (1 800 41 99 99 99) to your contact list

How Many Google AdSense Ads Did You Click Today ?

If you ever wanted to know about the Google AdSense ads that you have recently clicked from Firefox or IE, here’s a tip:

Open the history panel (Ctrl+H) in the browser and type googleadservices - you will see all the Google Ad URLs that you have clicked since the last time you cleared your browser history.

You can also know the exact web address of the Adwords advertiser from these URLs. Firefox 3 users can type googleadservices in the address bar and get the same information from the auto-complete entries in the drop down.

Nothing very useful but will give you an idea about how frequently you click on Google AdSense Ads on other websites.

Search Engine of Japan - MIXI

If it's Baidu in China, it's Mixi in Japan. The site has developed into a top social outlet for Japanese young people since its creation in 2004.

A Japanese version of MySpace was also launched in 2006 in a joint venture with Internet conglomerate Softbank Corp aimed at winning over some of Mixi's business in the Internet-savvy country. However, Mixi has continued to grow. It says it currently has 13.3 million members, up from 8.01 million a year ago.

Mixi's share price nearly doubled within a day of being listed in September 2006. Japan's popular online social networking site recently announced its plans to expand into China.

The Tokyo-based company was founded in 1997 as an operator of a job search service, started Mixi.jp in 2004 and listed its shares in 2006.

www.Baidu.com - China's Leading

Popularly known as Google trouncer in China, Baidu is the No. 1 serach engine in China and was the third-largest worldwide search property with 3.4 billion searches in December 2007, capturing 5.2 per cent of worldwide search share and beating Microsoft Sites for third place, according to comScore.

In China, Baidu.com leads the search engine market with as much as 61 per cent marketshare, Google comes a distant second with a 25 per cent share, followed by Yahoo China with 9.6 per cent.

In December 2007, Baidu became the first company from China to be included in the NASDAQ-100 index. The site's name Baidu has been inspired by a Song Dynasty poem written by Xin Qiji in the 12th century.

One of the most popular features on Baidu is its music search, called "MP3 Search," which includes Baidu 500 a comprehensive listing of popular Chinese music. Baidu started its own search engine in Japan known as www.baidu.jp. The company recently announced public tests of its new voice-activated search.

Now It's Time For Google to Cut Jobs

Google Inc plans to make an unspecified number of job cuts at DoubleClick Inc following the closing of its $3.1 billion acquisition of the advertising technology company, Google said.

In a statement on Google's website, the Internet leader said it has been limited by law from making detailed integration plans, but by early April it expects to have a plan for staffing levels in DoubleClick's US operations.

"An immediate task we'll undertake over the next few weeks is matching and aligning DoubleClick employees with our organizational plan for the business," Google said in a blog post.

"As with most mergers, there may be reductions in headcount. We expect these to take place in the US and possibly in other regions as well," the company said.

DoubleClick has 1,500 employees. Outside of the United States, Google will begin consultations with employee organizations on potential job reductions in line with local laws, it said.

A pioneer in the field of Web advertising, DoubleClick was headquartered in New York in the same building as Google's local offices. Google completed the acquisition earlier Tuesday.

Google is the Home of Hackers

Infamous computer hacker group Cult of the Dead Cow (CDC) said that it is offering a software tool that lets people use Google to scan websites for security flaws.

CDC says a "Goolag Scanner" programme based on work done by a hacker using the name "Johnny I Hack Stuff" is available for free download at its website.

The tool lets people with fundamental programming skills check websites or Internet domains for weaknesses that could be exploited by hackers, according to CDC.

The group said it uncovered "some pretty scary holes" through random tests of the tool in North America, Europe, and the Middle East.

CDC advised website operators to use to tool to find and patch vulnerabilities before hackers use it for crime or mischief. "If I was a government, a large corporation, or anyone with a large web site, I'd be downloading this beast and aiming it at my site yesterday," CDC spokesman Oxblood Ruffin said in a message posted at the website.

Google did not respond to an AFP request for comment.

Computer security specialists warn people to make certain any programs they download onto their computers don't contain malicious code.

Hackers routinely try to trick people into installing programs that then take over machines or mine them for passwords, financial accounts, or other valuable information.

CDC was established in the US in 1984 and its history includes declaring war on the Church of Scientology and claiming to have given former US president Ronald Reagan Alzheimer's Disease with a tainted dart from a blow gun.

Chat with Live Readers by adding Google Talk Badge To your Blog

Like Meebo Me, Google Talk now allows you to chat with people who may not have signed up for Google Talk or a Google Account.

This is possible through a new Google Talk Chat Badge that bloggers can embed in their web pages to chat live with blog readers and other site visitors.

It really doesn’t matter whether your readers have a Google Talk account or not - they can talk to you through the web page as long as you are signed into your GTalk account.



Another use of Google Talk - If you run a support website where you provide live support to customers via IM, Google Talk could be a wonderful option for you because its free and definitely very reliable.

The Google Talk chat badge on the blog will be automatically disabled if you set your Google Talk status as "Busy". And you chat with more than one person at the same time as each session will open in a separate tab (see screenshot).

Yahoo Might Link Up with Google

Yahoo Inc would consider a business alliance with Google Inc as one way to rebuff a $44.6 billion takeover proposal by Microsoft, a source familiar with Yahoo's strategy said. Yahoo management is considering revisiting talks it held with Google several months ago on an alliance as an alternative to Microsoft's bid, source said. At $31 a share, Yahoo believes the bid undervalues the company, two sources said.
A second source close to Yahoo said it had received a procession of preliminary contacts by media, technology, telephone and financial companies. But the source said that they were unaware whether any alternative bid was in the offing. In a memo to Yahoo employees, which was obtained by Reuters, Yahoo leaders wrote, “We want to emphasize that absolutely no decisions have been made -- and, despite what some people have tried to suggest, there's certainly no integration process underway.” Few natural bidders exist besides Google that could engage in a bidding war, and Google would be unlikely to win approval from antitrust regulators, some Wall Street analysts said.
The Wall Street Journal reported on its website that Google's chief executive Eric Schmidt called Yahoo's chief executive Jerry Yang to offer his company's help in any effort to thwart Microsoft's bid. Spokesmen for Yahoo and Google declined comment. Google was not immediately available for comment on the WSJ story. Yahoo's efforts to find an alternative bidder could simply be a measure to pressure Microsoft to boost its bid, which valued Yahoo at $44.6 billion when first announced. Sanford C Bernstein analyst Jeffrey Lindsay wrote in a research note that “the Microsoft bid of $31 is very astute” because it puts pressure on Yahoo management to take actions that could unlock the underlying value of Yahoo assets, which he estimates are worth upward of $39-$45 a share. The bid gave a boost to markets in Asia when they opened on Monday. Shares in Softbank Corp soared as much as 16 per cent and Yahoo Japan was untraded due to a flood of buy orders on Monday, on hopes a potential deal between Microsoft and Yahoo would boost the Japanese firms' competitiveness. Softbank holds a 3.9 per cent stake in Yahoo Inc in terms of voting rights. The benchmark Nikkei average ended the morning up 2.4 per cent while indexes in Shanghai, Hong Kong, South Korea, Taiwan and Singapore also gained.

Google CEO, co-founders pact revealed

Google Inc's top three executives had pledged to work together for 20 years in a pact they made shortly before the company's initial public offering in August 2004, Fortune magazine has reported.

Co-founders Larry Page and Sergey Brin, together with Chief Executive Eric Schmidt say in a joint interview for Fortune's February 4th issue that the three had agreed to work together for two decades starting one month before the 2004 IPO.

"We agreed the month before we went public that we should work together for 20 years," said Schmidt, who added that he will be 69 years old by that time. Page would be 51 and Brin 50. The interview can be found at http://tinyurl.com/2oo5vt/.

A Google spokesman could not immediately be reached to comment. Schmidt is Google's chairman. Page is president of products and Brin is president of technology. Each is a billionaire. With a market capitalisation now around $170 billion, the world's most valuable Internet company is scheduled to report results for the final quarter of 2007 on Thursday.

Wall Street expects Google to report 2007 revenue around $16.6 billion, an increase of 57 per cent over the prior year.

Capture Ideas For Your Mind Map Via Firefox Search Box or iGoogle

MindMeister, a web based tool for creating mind maps online, provides some very unique options for capturing and inserting ideas into an existing mind map without having to load the map.

IE and Firefox users can type their "idea" into the browser search box and it will automatically get added as a new node to the default mind map.

Then there’s a Windows Vista gadget to capture ideas from the desktop pretty similar to GyroQ that’s available for Mindjet MindManager. Likewise iGoogle users can capture ideas straight from the Google homepage.

Once you have all your ideas / notes added to the mind map, you can arrange nodes into branches via drag-n-drop. MindMeister also lets you edit mind maps offline using Google Gears. Useful.

Translation from English to English is not supported --- Google Free Proxy Server via Language Translation Is Gone Forever

When you translate a website from one language to another using Google Translate, the URL is something like google.com/translate?langpair=en|ar where en|ko is the language pair indicated the site will be converted from English to Arabic.

Now if you make both the languages in the pair same (i.e., en|en for English to English), the translation is effectively skipped but the requested web content is still served from Google servers. Thus, lot of people use Google Translate as a proxy server to access blocked websites.

However, the honeymoon is almost over because Google has stopped accepting website translation requests that have the same language on both sides of the pair (en|en, it|it, etc). Google uses their own language translation software and they have probably done this to prevent misuse of their translation service.

The only consoling part is that this "free proxy" trick still works perfect with other translation tools like Yahoo! and AltaVista Babelfish that are powered by Systran. See example.

Boss is watching yourGoogle Queries.... Prevent Boss From Snooping On Your Google Search Queries

There are chances that someone is secretly spying on your Google search tracks for various reasons. For example, the employer may monitor your Google search habits to know if you are looking for jobs elsewhere while the local ISP may be collecting your Google queries with the purpose of selling that data to large analytics companies.

You cannot prevent these people from watching you because Google appends the search queries to the URL without encryption. So when you type "Jobs New York" in the Google search box, it returns a search page with the URL google.com/search?q=jobs+new+york and that makes data collection fairly simple.

There’s however a workaround - just use Google with a mask that comes indirectly from Google itself.

The following 10 websites are all hosted on the same server as Google.com and they are exact replicas of the main Google website - you cannot find a single difference unless you look at your browser address bar.

And the URL names of these websites ("ABN Amro Bank Group", "I Love Your Robin", "United American Fund", etc) sound fairly ambiguous so your boss (or local ISP) will never feel that they you are doing a search on Google.com.

1. www.americanlandmarkfence.com
2. www.unitedamericanfund.com
3. www.earningspace.com
4. www.jeanoffer.com
5. www.factualearn.com
6. www.abnamrobankgroup.net
7. www.glisteningwhitesmile.com
8. www.iloveyourobin.com
9. www.nuzrinmira.com
10. msm.byu.edu

They also let you search all Google sites like Google Images, Finances, News, Google Groups, etc.

Make any one of these sites as the default search provider in your web browser and toolbars and your Google searches will be secure again from voyeurs.

Related: Google also records your search queries for genuine reasons but if you are not convinced, here’s how to prevent Google from recording search habits

Self Googling Is Now a Popular Online Sport

Ego-surfing or Googling your own name on the Internet has become a very popular activity on the web.

PEW says that around half of Internet users have googled for their own name on the web and this number has almost doubled in five years.

And its not just about self-googling, people look for contact information about old acquaintances with whom they have lost touch. [PDF Report]

Self-searchers who locate information connected to their name online say that most of what they find is accurate. Only 4 percent of Internet users said embarrassing or inaccurate information online resulted in a bad experience.

Guess the Most Expensive Part of Google Homepage

Open the Google website, type some query in the search box (e.g. Yahoo) and click the “I am Feeling Lucky” button. Google will automatically transport you to the Yahoo! homepage bypassing the search results page.

Thus you save some important time (few microseconds) and don’t have to perform an extra mouse click but Google just lost a google chance to monetize your visit.

Marisa Mayer says that less than 1 percent of Google searches are done through the “I’m Feeling Lucky” button but some estimates suggest that Google could be losing $110 million of advertising revenue due to that button because people are skipping results pages that have Google ads.

Despite the indirect cost, this very expensive “feeling lucky” button will stay on the Google homepage.

Get your Website Indexed by Google, and Yahoo on Day 1 !!

In this article i'll be explaining a very simple method to get your new website indexed by Google, MSN, Yahoo, and all major search engines right away . You have just spent hours and hours creating a site with good content and a good looking page layout, but have no visitors to see it. In fact your site is no where to be found on any of the search engines, even if you type in the site's URL. An easy way to fix this problem is to join a webmaster forum, or ANY forum which will let you place your site's URL in your signature. Join a popular, high page ranked forum site and and go to your profile to create a signature. In your signature include your URL (in clickable form) and a short descrition of your site, being sure to use keywords that are important and relevant to your site.
Try if possible to use your best keywords in the clickable URL. Keywords in the URL are considered much more important by the search engines than just standard text in the description. Your next step is to just START POSTING!! This is also helpful in link building, because each one of your posts will count as a link in the eyes of the search engine. By using this method, you can quickly and easily be indexed by all major search engines and are a step closer to getting a steady stream of traffic to your site. Learn more about strategies like this and other easy SEO methods at the site Improving Pagerank.

search yahoo & google at the same time

most of the people use google and yahoo for searching any topic on net .both r different sites and both r the great search engine of the world.google has it's own criteria for search results and yahoo has others .....but now gahooyoogle brings a better option for searching any topic it provide both results(yahoo & google) at a single page .so i think it is more useful to reach better results