Google Friends Newsletter

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Jun 30, 2009, 10:23:12 PM6/30/09

to Google Friends

Google Friends Newsletter - June 2009

We hope all our Google friends are enjoying sunny summer weather. Here
is this month's update on our products and services.

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POWER TIP

"What's here?" in Google Maps

This new option on the right-click menu in Google Maps gives you the
most relevant results based on your current location, whether it's a
specific address, a natural feature, or a place name. "What's here?"
takes into account the zoom level you're looking at to give you the
most appropriate geographical detail at that point. For example, if
you're very zoomed in, you will get an exact address. If you're more
zoomed out, you might get a neighborhood, a city or a state. If you
combine this with the "At this address" feature, you can also see a
list of the businesses located at that place.
http://www.maps.google.com

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NEW PRODUCTS & UPDATES

Search by Author on Google News

The Google News homepage is a good place to go for an overview of
current events, but what if you're interested in a specific
journalist's take on the news? That's now easy with a new Search by
Author feature on Google News. If you spot an article with a
reporter's byline, click the name to bring up other articles by that
person. You can also find a specific journalist's articles by typing
"author:" followed by their name in the Google News search box. This a
great way to get an overview of the most recent op-eds and articles by
your favorite columnists or local reporters. As with any search on
Google News, you can sign up to get the latest results through a feed,
email alerts, or by adding a custom section to your Google News
homepage.
http://www.news.google.com

New iGoogle for Android and iPhone

You can now get a new and improved version of iGoogle for your iPhone
or Android-powered mobile device. More of the gadgets you're used to
on your desktop iGoogle page now work in this version, and you'll also
see the same tabs that you've already defined on your desktop. You can
rearrange the order of the gadgets on your phone, and customize which
ones you want to expand automatically. To try it out, go to
iGoogle.com in your mobile browser. The new iGoogle for mobile is
available in 38 languages.
http://www.google.com/ig

New features in Google Books

We have made several changes to Google Books that give readers
everywhere new ways to interact with the words and images contained
within the books we've brought online. It's now easier to embed and
share previews of your favorite books on your blog or website. For
more information, head to the Inside Google Book Search Blog:
http://booksearch.blogspot.com/2009/06/new-features-on-google-books.html

Explore Google Search

Our new "Explore Google Search" site collects together 15-second
videos giving you tips on the main features of Google Search, stories
from Google engineers, and user testimonials. If you discover
something you didn't know you could do on Google, be sure to share it
with your friends and family. The site is available in the U.S., U.K.,
Ireland, Australia, New Zealand and India.
http://www.google.com/landing/searchtips/

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MISCELLANY

The faster you can do what you need to do, the more time you have to
spend on things that might matter more. That's one reason we care a
lot about speed — as in the speed of delivering your information to
you. The belief that faster is better is behind much of what we do,
from finding the most relevant search result for a query to releasing
a speedier version of Google Chrome. Lately, we've been working on
several initiatives dedicated to a faster experience on the Internet
overall. We've just introduced a site for developers full of tips and
tools for improved performance and speed on the web, as well as a call
for ideas on how to speed things up even more. We've also released
some speed updates to Google products, including Picasa Web Albums and
iGoogle for mobile phones. For updates on our efforts toward a faster
web, check out the "faster web" label on the Official Google Blog.
http://googleblog.blogspot.com/search/label/faster%20web