Will code for fun (and money)

For those adept in C++, Java, C# or VB.NET, the rewards aren't always apparent. They toil over eye-straining command structures and obscure data bits about which most people are happily unaware. Yet those arcane bits are the very things that can deliver the right search results, not to mention lead to sleek interfaces and elegant functionality in computer systems for everything from ATMs to GPS.

We just concluded the Google CodeJam, our annual celebration of computer programming chops. It began September 1 with 7,500 contestants around the world. It ended today with Sergio Sancho of Buenos Aires, Argentina winning the top prize of $10,000. We flew the 50 finalists to the Googleplex for a championship round and cash prizes.



For two hours, their brains simmered and fingers flew as they focused sharply on complex computing problems. As usual, the nerds won, and we're glad they did.

Alan Eustace
Director of Engineering

Read More

And now, search for your own computer

Considering how important the information on your own computer is, it's always been a bit strange that you could find what you were looking for more easily if it were hidden on a website in Irkutsk than in a corner of the hard drive sitting right in front of you. Today, Google offers a first step toward fixing that anomaly with the beta introduction of Google Desktop Search, a free downloadable application for your PC.

Google Desktop Search will retrieve your email in Microsoft Outlook and Outlook Express; files in Microsoft Word, Microsoft Excel, Microsoft PowerPoint, and text; your website history in Internet Explorer; and your instant message chats in AOL Instant Messenger. In other words, if you've seen it on your computer screen, Google Desktop Search can likely help you find it. Simply put, it's like a photographic memory for your computer.

Google Desktop Search is also fast, and it integrates with your online Google web searches. While Google.com searches the web for you, the Google Desktop Search client software retrieves your relevant local information, and adds it to your search results page. And it lets you view web pages you've seen, even if you're not online anymore. You can read all the details or just download and try it yourself. We do advise you to read the privacy policy, as Google Desktop Search is different from other search products, and you should understand exactly how it protects your personal information.

All in all, we believe this is a non-trivial advance in making information accessible. But you tell us. We'd love to hear your reactions, comments and suggestions.

-- Marissa Mayer
Director, Consumer Web Products

Read More

Froogle Britannia

Just in time to find a decent pair of wellies for the winter, we've launched Froogle UK. More Britons than ever are shopping online, so we wanted to offer the broadest possible shopping selection with merchants large and small who sell throughout the U.K. With unbiased price comparisons and free listings for all participating merchants, now Froogle can assist with retail therapy on both sides of the pond.

-- Karen Padham
Froogle Product Manager

Read More

Get the 411 with 46645

SMS stands for Short Message Service, and Europe and Asia have thoroughly embraced this text messaging technology. Using your phone to send and receive text messages is a newer phenomenon in the U.S. Now we're getting into the fray with Google SMS. It's a way to access Google for precise information from your mobile phone or handheld device (like a BlackBerry).

Google SMS is a handy way to, say, get a listing for a nearby restaurant, find the definition of a word, or look up the price of a product, an area code or Zip code. You can even use Google SMS to calculate a tip. If your phone is enabled for text messages, just send your query to this 5-digit US shortcode: 46645 (GOOGL on most phones). Your query results are sent as text messages, not links. Learn more about using Google SMS on our help page or by sending a text message with the word 'help' to 46645.

-- Benjamin Ling
Product Manager, Google SMS

Read More

Dublin go bragh

A year ago, Dublin became the first location for Google's regional operations outside the U.S. We designed it to serve Google customers across multiple time zones and languages spanning Europe, the Middle East and Africa. There were just five of us in 2003. Today we've built a team of 150, and their passion, energy, and tech savvy enliven our new Barrow Street HQ. It's about as polyglot as we could hope for, too: this lot of Googlers come from 35 countries and speak 17 languages.



To mark the opening of the Dublin office, we were honored to have a visit by Larry Page and Sergey Brin, who joined Mary Harney, An Tanaiste (Deputy Prime Minister) to formally open the office. As Ms. Harney's appearance demonstrates, we've had incredible support from the Irish government.

We're in the heart of Dublin in a state of the art facility. If you're fluent in European languages, if you're motivated, focused and ready for a fast ride, come join us!

Angus Kelsall
Head of Dublin office

Read More

Bookmark this site

We talk a lot about our mission to "organize the world's information and make it universally accessible and useful," and we think we've made a reasonable start on corraling the information that's roaming around the web. Unfortunately a lot of very useful information is not online, and books, journals and other forms of printed communication stubbornly refuse to spontaneously digitize themselves to make it easier for you to find them. So we've decided to help.

Google Print is an ongoing initiative to scan printed material and put it online where it can show up in Google search results. We've expanded the program, and we're now inviting publishers to send us books that we'll scan and put online for free. There are many, many books out there, and the process of scanning takes time, but depending on your areas of interest, it's likely you'll soon be seeing more Google Print results when you use Google.

-- Adam M. Smith
Google Print product manager

Read More

Made in the shade

You've probably wondered why there's never been a Google domain in Norway. As it turns out, our name means "sunglasses" in Norwegian, and, well, even the non-lawyers can see where this sort of problem leads.

But now the Great Norwegian Sunglasses Crisis is history, and this week we were able to launch Norway and Kenya, our 102nd and 103rd domains, respectively. Check them all out-- and hey, anyone got an up-to-date atlas we can borrow?

-- Sean Knapp
Software engineer

Read More