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Thanks To Grand Father Google

It all started with last year’s Google Summer of Code where I, along with over 1100 others, took part in the program designed to pair university students with open source organizations for a three month project writing code over the summer. I was accepted by OpenMRS, which is an Open Source Medical Record System used by healthcare service providers the world over. I decided to stick around with OpenMRS after the final deadlines went by. That, plus my decision to apply for Google Summer of Code, were probably the wisest decisions I have made  in my entire life.

My association with OpenMRS brought me many noteworthy achievements over the past six months. These victories are priceless, and I wouldn’t have been able to achieve any of them if not for my decision to ‘stay on’ with the organization. It all goes to show that a little commitment and goodwill can take you a long way.

I feel that many students fail to make a very basic observation: that money isn’t the most important Google Summer of Code dividend. Of course, it’s the money that attracts many students (including myself) to these projects initially, and yes, the money does come in very handy. But what many students don’t realize is that it shouldn’t be just about the money. Google Summer of Code is all about connections and experience. Google is offering us a once in a lifetime opportunity to connect with the best and the brightest in the industry; a professional equivalent of ‘sustainable development’ for students. Google Summer of Code can only show us the way, the rest of the journey is up to us. Google gave us the opportunity and it’s up to us to make it work. It took me several months to realize this subtle truth.

At the time I started Google Summer of Code, I was an obscure student living in a small developing country with no real opportunity to move ahead in life. I had no connections, no access to academics in my preferred field of study and no hope of ‘changing the world’. Barely ten months later, I had traveled to three countries (all funded by benevolent mentors), co-authored two research papers (one of them with the co-founder of OpenMRS) and made important contacts from all over the world. I’d worked on some of the best health informatics projects on the planet, visited implementation sites, done cutting edge research work for leading American scholars, helped maintain implementation sites in Africa and, in my own little way, contributed to make the world a better place.

Six months ago, I used to write articles about others for our university newsletter. Now I’m a regular fixture in our local magazines. Instead of the usual chain mails and spam, my inbox now contains serious mails from academics and industry leaders. I’ve learned to communicate well, to work with diverse offshore based teams, to manage my time wisely and to make the best of any situation.

And what did all this cost me? Nothing more than simple good will and a moderate amount of work. Sure there is a certain amount of hard work involved, but if you must work, it should be for something you believe in, and will benefit your future. We have two options: to take the money and run or to be an active participant who benefits by helping improve their mentoring organization.

Writing in the wake of the Google Summer of Code 2012 announcement, I have just one hope - that the next generation of students will see Google Summer of Code for what it really is, and that they will make use of this golden opportunity to change their lives.

By Suranga Nath Kasthurirathne, Google Summer of Code 2011 student and OpenMRS contributor

The road not taken: The adventures of a post Google Summer of Code student

If this pointless debate continues kerfuffling any further, I may go into technical detail, but for now I want to explain exactly why I think this debate should not even be happening.

First, in the IRC chat log, Ember project lead Yehuda Katz admits to trolling. Actual verbatim quote: "I saw [Backbone creator Jeremy Ashkenas] in the audience and was trolling a bit."

Second, Ember vs Backbone is like Rails vs Sinatra. If a developer can't decide between Rails or Sinatra for an upcoming project, that developer either knows nothing about Rails and Sinatra, or knows nothing about the upcoming project itself. It's apples and oranges.

Third, and more importantly, Backbone vs Ember is like Brad Pitt vs who?

So you've got two utterly dissimilar things being compared. One of them gains credibility among developers just by being compared to the other. The person who made that comparison happen benefits from it. And that same person admitted openly to trolling in a very closely related discussion.

Is this how we all got excited about Rails? Or was it the badass screencasts?

Any project which wants attention that much is going to release some badass screencasts the moment they can.

Until then, don't feed the trolls.

I Wouldn't Learn Ember In 2012

I sometimes think that Silicon Valley is this weird abstract hunting ground where Neo-Victorian aristocrats hunt and kill good ideas for sport, the same way their ancestors would have killed foxes.

It's really hard to explain project managers and technology executives without postulating that higher education and corporate management exist to preserve aristocracy. They certainly don't exist to increase efficiency or productivity. To be fair, this is the Marxist angle, and there's definitely room for consideration of its polar opposite, the Ayn Rand angle, but Google's current condition is pretty fucking hard to explain in a world where the only powerful forces are excellence and amphetamines.

In 2004-ish, a recruiter from Google emailed me saying "we can't hire smart people fast enough!" I remember hoping it was exaggeration, since the only logical conclusion was that they would have to either slow down or start hiring stupid people, and they didn't seem to be slowing down. Since then, every programmer has noticed the growing useless of Google's "search product" (remember when Google's "search product" was called Google?), and the company has embarrassed itself repeatedly with Google Wave, Google Buzz, and now Google+. Google+ is, admittedly, the company's most credible effort to date, but it's still not impressing everybody.



Between two or three failed Facebook clones and an operating system which supports a huge range of iPhone clones, it's tempting to think of Google as a middle-aged guy with a pathetic combover who left his wife a few years ago and spent every moment since then driving around in a Ferrari, asking younger guys what music he should listen to, and begging various 19-year-old girls just to notice him at all for longer than two seconds. The best model for Google, however, is Flowers For Algernon, a tragic sci-fi novel aimed at a teenage reading level. In the book, scientists transform the life of a mentally disabled man by injecting him with an experimental brain-boosting drug. He discovers art, poetry, literature, science, and mathematics, but the drug wears off -- and kills him in the process.

It's a tragic story, but the most tragic thing of all is that Google has decided to present a live theater version to us all over the Internet, and with a bold, innovative stroke, they have cast a web site in the starring role. That web site is Google's search product (the web site normal humans outside of Silicon Valley refer to as "Google"), and they have fucked it up so badly it's like they built a Frankenstein monster using no other parts but the ass cheeks of a hundred different cadavers. This undead buttocks homunculus once awed us with its genius, but in its present, retarded state, it is a horror to behold.

I hope for the sake of the children that somebody shoots it, burns it, and scatters the ashes.

Google Is Flowers For Algernon

Amidst the craziness of celebrating Arizona's 100th birthday all day, we also managed to squeeze in a little bit of Valentine's Day fun as well. 

We have been working the last week or so on a special Valentine's Day project. First, students had to write a message in Google docs. Then they cut and paste the text into this cool site to turn the text into a heart!

Next, students worked together to create a festive background on the whiteboard. I recorded each student wishing their parents a happy Valentine's Day. Some of the students worked with me to create a Keynote presentation, which we converted to a Quicktime movie. We added each individual student recording to the beginning of the Keynote "ending" and created a personalized movie. Each movie was uploaded to YouTube and the privacy setting was changed to "anyone with link can view" (meaning it can't be searched or found, so the movies could remain a bit of a surprise!) Finally, we created a QR Code to the link for each movie and glued it to the Valentine greeting. 

A QR Code is a type of matrix bar code. QR stands for “quick response” and the code is able to hold significantly more data than a traditional bar code. Additionally, the code can link directly to text, a website, a telephone number, a vCard, a video and more!

We have been learning about QR Codes in the classroom. The QR generator we’ve been mainly using is from qrcode.kaywa.com and the app we use in the classroom to scan the codes is the i-nigma reader but there are MANY other free QR scanner apps available.

QR Codes can be scanned using any smartphone which includes Droids, Blackberries, iPhones and Palms. QR Codes can also be scanned using iTouches or iPad 2s. If you don’t happen to own any of those devices, they can also be scanned on a Mac or a PC using QReader or QuickMark QR Code Reader.

Although originally created by Toyota to track vehicles during the manufacturing process, they have become increasingly common and you will notice them on everything - magazines, packaged food items, boarding passes, cups from fast food restaurants, menus, clothing labels, etc. Using QR Codes in the classroom is a highly effective and engaging teaching tool! Not only do they enhance the interaction in class, they also make learning more fun.

Each student created a special QR Code message for you, for a 21st Century Valentine’s Day card! Please let me know if you have any challenges scanning it.

Happy Valentine's Day!

We launched Google Public DNS in December 2009 to help make the web faster for everyone. Today, we’re no longer an experimental service. We’re the largest public DNS service in the world, handling an average of more than 70 billion requests a day.

DNS acts like the phone book of the Internet. If you had to look up hundreds or thousands of phone numbers every day, you’d want a directory that was fast, secure and correct. That’s what Google Public DNS provides for tens of millions of people.

Google Public DNS has become particularly popular for our users internationally. Today, about 70 percent of its traffic comes from outside the U.S. We’ve maintained our strong presence in North America, South America and Europe, and beefed up our presence in Asia. We've also added entirely new access points to parts of the world where we previously didn't have Google Public DNS servers, including Australia, India, Japan and Nigeria.

Shortly after launch, we made a technical proposal for how public DNS services can work better with some kinds of important web hosts (known as content distribution networks, or CDNs) that have servers all of the world. We came up with a way to pass information to CDNs so they can send users to nearby servers. Our proposal, now called “edns-client-subnet,” continues to be discussed by members of the Internet Engineering Task Force. While we work with the IETF, other companies have started experimenting with implementing this proposal.

We’ve also taken steps to help support IPv6. On World IPv6 Day, we announced our IPv6 addresses: 2001:4860:4860::8888 and 2001:4860:4860::8844 to supplement our original addresses, 8.8.8.8 and 8.8.4.4.

Google Public DNS’s goal is simple: making the web—really, the whole Internet!—faster for our users. If you’d like to try it yourself, please see our page Using Google Public DNS. For more information, please see our Introduction to Google Public DNS and Frequently Asked Questions.

Posted by Jeremy K. Chen, Ph.D, software engineer, Google Public DNS

Google Public DNS: 70 billion requests a day and counting

We are delighted to announce the grand prize winners of Google Code-in 2011, a contest designed to introduce pre-university students (age 13-17) to the world of open source software development. Congratulations to all 542 students from 56 countries who completed an impressive 3,054 tasks in the contest. All students who participated will receive a t-shirt and a certificate for their participation in the contest. Those students who successfully completed 3 or more tasks will be receiving a small monetary prize as well.

And the 10 grand prize winners are... (in alphabetical order by first name)

Aaron S. - United States
Abhishek A. - India
Aneesh D. - India
Cheng S. - United Kingdom
Edward W. - Canada
Gaurav N. - India
Gautam G. - India
Laurentiu I. - Romania
Oana S. - Romania
Shitiz G. - India

These 10 pre-university students completed an impressive 449 tasks during the eight week contest period. The grand prize winners will be flown to Google’s headquarters in Mountain View, California in early June along with a parent or legal guardian for a four night trip. During the trip they will have an awards ceremony, an opportunity to meet with Google engineers, and enjoy a fun day exploring San Francisco.

Thank you to all of the students, mentors, organization administrators and the many IT teachers who encouraged their students to learn more about the world of open source.

By Stephanie Taylor, Open Source Programs

Google Code-in 2011 Grand Prize Winners... the envelope please!

It’s Valentine’s Day, and all you need is love.

Well, maybe you need a few more things.

This year, lovebirds in the U.S. are pulling out all the stops and are expected to hit a 10-year spending high on romantic goods. Whether you’re looking for a box of chocolates or buying a diamond ring, we’ve taken notes on how Google can turn any last-minute Cupid into a polished Romeo. Think of us as Cyrano de Bergerac, whispering words of wisdom in your ear for dishes, dates and romantic inspiration.

Sweets for a sweetie
They say the way to a man’s heart is through his stomach. Searches for [valentine’s day dinner], [valentine’s day recipes], [romantic dinner] and [romantic recipes] ramp up at the start at February, hitting their peak on the 14th.

If you’re whipping up a homemade treat, you can use Google Recipe view to search for thousands of heart-shaped cookie recipes, and tailor the ingredients (and the calorie count) for the best fit.

If you’re not a maestro in the kitchen yet, we can help. Peruse some trendy dishes and learn how to cook from YouTube’s Next Chefs, who have created a highlight reel of their best aphrodisiacs. We’re not playing favorites, but we do love the Sweetest Vegan’s red velvet beet cupcakes, which will come in handy for many couples—searches for [vegan valentines] have more than tripled since 2006.

Don’t know a truffle from a trifle? Then let a professional handle the meal. If you haven’t booked a table yet, you’re not alone: searches for [valentines day reservations] typically peak on February 9 and remain high through the holiday. For ideas, check out Zagat’s recommendations for romantic hotspots in your neighborhood. A word to the wise, though: If you’re planning on popping the question on Valentine’s Day, avoid dining out, as 69 percent of those surveyed in Zagat’s recent Valentine’s Day Survey feel that restaurant proposals are “cheesy.”

Perfect planners and last-minute cupids
Women have a head start on the menfolk when it comes to Valentine’s Day gifts, searching earlier (and more often) than their male counterparts—about 160 percent more since January.

The staple romantic gifts haven’t lost their appeal. Searches for [jewelry gifts] have grown over 10 percent, searches for [flower delivery] have increased nearly 20 percent, and searches for [couples massage] have jumped nearly 50 percent over last Valentine’s Day.

To impress, some folks are thinking outside the (heart-shaped) box. For the daring, create your own [valentines scavenger hunt]—searches are up more than 20 percent from last year. Or, add a personal touch—searches for [personalized valentines day gifts] are up over 20 percent compared to last year and searches for [homemade valentines gift] are up over 60 percent since last year. The last-minute lovers don’t have to despair, though. Visit Google Shopping to find gift ideas and filter results to see which items are in stock nearby.

Celebrating solo
Celebrating Valentine’s Day solo doesn’t mark you as a Miss (or Mr.) Lonelyhearts. Instead, treat yourself to a night on the town. View interactive results for nearby movie showtimes on your mobile phone, and know that if you indulge your inner cynic by skipping the rom com and catching a horror film, you won’t be alone: in the past 30 days, searches for [horror movie] are 230 percent higher than searches for [romantic movie].

Vive la romance
Everyone loves a fairytale ending, so let’s wrap up with two final ways to make your heart grow two sizes too big today. For a close-up look at romance at its finest, check out the “Awww: Romantic Proposals” YouTube Slam. Vote for your favorite mushy, creative, artistic, or—in one case—magic proposal.

Finally, today’s homepage doodle gives a nod to love, both young and old. Though “Cold, Cold Heart” plays in the background, we bet yours will warm just a bit.

Happy Valentine’s Day, everyone!

Posted by Jim Lecinski, Vice President, U.S. Sales

(Cross-posted on the Inside Search blog)

Roses are red, violets are blue...here are some Valentine’s Day tips for you

Google usually returns pretty good search results, but only if there are pages that include the words from your query or some synonyms. Google doesn't understand the query, it only tries to match the words from that query. Sometimes Google can answer questions like "How tall was Albert Einstein?" or "What's the real name of Al Pacino?", but it can't go beyond simple facts.

Amit Singhal, Senior Vice President at Google, says that Google works on building "a huge knowledge graph of interconnected entities and their attributes". Freebase was just the starting point: Google's knowledge graph has 200 million entities, while Freebase only has 22 million entities. The graph is actually an encyclopedia with structured information obtained from the web. This will help Google understand your queries, provide answers to complex questions and find more relevant results.

Right now, Google only uses the graph to show a list of related searches for singers, actors, painters etc. As Google improves its infrastructure, the knowledge graph will be used more and more.

Google's Knowledge Graph

For some reason, Google added a YouTube contact group to many Gmail accounts. I currently have 82 contacts in the YouTube group and they have only one thing in common: they sent me or I sent them an email in 2006, 2007 or 2008. They don't have anything to do with YouTube and some of the email addresses couldn't be used to create Google accounts (for example, the Writely email address for importing documents).


The YouTube group can be renamed or deleted, but it's strange that it was automatically created. Gmail has some system groups for Google Latitude, Google Talk, Google Buzz, but they're hidden and can't be removed.

Do you see the YouTube group in your Gmail account?

{ Thanks, Katty and everyone who commented on Google+. }

Gmail's YouTube Group