Google Friends Newsletter - October 2006
Google Friends Newsletter
Autumnal greetings to all friends of Google! We hope you enjoy this
monthly update on our products and services.
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POWER TIP
Get ready to vote
November 7th is election day across the U.S., and now's the time to get
informed about all the Congressional races. The Google Earth team has
gathered information on every candidate running for office from all 436
congressional districts. You can find this geo-reference guide in the
"2006 US Election Guide" folder in the Google Earth Layers sidebar.
http://earth.google.com
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NEW PRODUCTS & UPDATES
Google Docs & Spreadsheets
October marked the graduation of a product from Google Labs and a
marriage of sorts: Writely, the web word processor, and Google
Spreadsheets are now available under one name, Google Docs &
Spreadsheets, and now share a common look and feel. You still have all
the features of both, with the added benefit of being able to access
files for the two in one convenient location. You can create, store,
share and publish your documents and spreadsheets online, which means
you can access your files from any computer with a web browser. It's
easy to get to your saved files and collaborate with friends,
classmates and coworkers.
http://docs.google.com
Google for Educators
Teachers tell us they use Google for the classroom, so we've pulled
together a big batch of resources in one handy place for K-12 teachers.
Google for Educators offers lesson ideas and resources for everything
from collaborative writing with Google Docs & Spreadsheets to searching
the full text of out-of-print books with Google Book Search or to
drawing in 3D with Google SketchUp. Teachers can test out some of our
ideas in the classroom, then submit your own. You can share your
expertise with fellow educators by sending your story to
educators...@google.com. We'd love to feature it at Google for
Educators.
http://www.google.com/educators
Google Groups 3 Beta
The newest version of Google Groups has a slicker, cleaner interface
and offers lots of new features. Now it's possible to customize your
groups with colors and photos, upload and share documents, and even
create and collaborate on web pages right inside your group. Come see
your existing group in the new interface, or create a new group.
http://groups-beta.google.com
And by the way, you can even view and share this newsletter using
Google Groups 3 Beta.
http://groups-beta.google.com/group/google-friends
Google Maps for your Palm Treo
A top requested feature of Google Maps for mobile is now available:
Google Maps on your Palm OS Treo. This is our fastest version yet, and
it includes some Treo-specific features too: quicker start-up time,
maps you can drag with your stylus, transluscent bubbles and tool tips
that don't obscure the map. Don't have a Treo? We support over 350
other phones too.
http://www.google.com/gmm
$10 off through Google Checkout
For the remainder of October, save $10 when you make purchases of $30
or more through Google Checkout. A large number of stores are
participating, and there's plenty to buy. See all the stores at the
link below to make a safe and speedy purchase.
http://www.google.com/checkout/10off30.html
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MISCELLANY
+ Google Student Speakout -- for teachers and students +
Through recent films like "An Inconvenient Truth," people are becoming
more knowledgeable about global warming, but there's always more to
learn. We think it's an important topic for all ages to study and
discuss. Together with Global SchoolNet, we've organized a Global
Warming Student Speakout, and welcome teachers to engage students to
work together on this subject. The Speakout is a 1-2 day project that
could result in your students' ideas appearing in a November edition of
The Washington Post. Interested teachers must sign up for a Google Docs
& Spreadsheet account by November 3 (please be sure to list "Google" as
a collaborator), and then submit the collective ideas of your students
no later than November 7th. Our partners at Global SchoolNet will judge
all the entries, and the top 50 ideas will be posted online and in a
Washington Post ad, along with the names of every participating school.
http://www.google.com/educators/globalwarming.html
+ Google Gadget Awards -- for university and college students + *
Attention, university and college students! If you're procrastinating
on your studies, and want to dabble in some fun web design, Google
Gadgets may provide a little relief. It's easy to create a gadget for
the Google Gadget Awards - and we're looking for clever and creative
entries from university and college students across the U.S. No
prerequesite courses are required, either -- just an email address
ending in .edu. We have a distinguished panel of judges who'll be
judging across all categories from the "prettiest gadget" to the
"gagdet most likely to get you a date." How often do you get to be
awarded by Commander Taco of Slashdot or Chris Anderson, Wired
Magazine's Editor in Chief? And of course any gadgets you create are
automatic resume-boosters, too.
http://www.google.com/gadgetawards
* The legal fine print:
No Purchase Necessary. Contest open only to legal residents of the 50
United States and District of Columbia 16 or older. Entrants must be
enrolled as full or part time students in a university, college or
vocational school and be the authorized account holder of an email
address ending in edu. Contest begins August 23, 2006 and ends November
1, 2006. Entry constitutes acceptance of and agreement to be bound by
official rules available here. Void where prohibited. Sponsor: Google
Inc. 1600 Amphitheatre Parkway, Mountain View , CA 94043.
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