Mark this for future reference

Posted by Jenny Zhang, Software Engineer

Ever forget to return to a website you bookmarked? If you’re like me, the answer is "definitely." For those of us with more than a few neglected bookmarks, the enhanced search box in the newest Google Toolbar beta can help you rediscover them. Now when you start typing in the Toolbar's search box, relevant bookmarks that you’ve saved with the Toolbar will display in the list of suggestions.

And since bookmark negligence seems to be a worldwide phenomenon, the Google Toolbar beta for Internet Explorer is now available in 16 additional languages: UK English, French, Italian, German, Spanish, Dutch, Brazilian Portuguese, Finnish, Danish, Norwegian, Swedish, Chinese (Simplified and Traditional), Japanese, Korean, and Russian. So don't let your bookmarks fade away – install the Toolbar beta for IE today.

Update: Last sentence now specifies that Google Toolbar 4 is currently for Internet Explorer only.

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Two more Gmail languages

Posted by Shanjian Li, Gmail Engineer

We've just launched Arabic and Hebrew language interfaces for Gmail, as well as several new features that will improve the Gmail experience for the people using those interfaces. (You can change the Gmail language interface on the Settings page in your account.)

This was my first project at Google, and I ended up learning a lot about Arabic and Hebrew by talking to native speakers. I'm really pleased to have worked on a launch that will help some of these folks use Gmail and make it available to even more users (we now offer 40 different language interfaces).

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Map your way to greener travel

Posted by John Hanke, Director, Google Maps & Earth

Summer is almost here and the Googleplex is buzzing with travel plans. (Hey, even geeks have to play sometime.) We looked at all the great Maps mashup sites out there and thought, why shouldn't we have some fun too? So we started working on a Maps mashup that would highlight some fun summer activities that also respect the environment. The result is our Summer of Green travel mashup site. We've teamed with Earth Day Network to highlight some planet-friendly travel tips for top U.S. travel destinations as well as how to use Google Maps in your daily routine to find and support green activities.

Did you know you could go kayaking in Las Vegas? Or rent a hybrid limo service in LA? Or stay at a Disney hotel in Orlando that recycles its water? These are a just few of the stops documented in our video-enhanced Google Maps mashup.

Hope you enjoy these and maybe even find some fun -- and green -- destinations for your summer trips.

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On the map Down Under

Posted by Julian Sonego, Marketing Manager, Google Australia and New Zealand

Google Australia has officially come out of beta--we've recently launched our new Australian operation. While Google has had a presence Down Under since late 2002, we have only recently moved into our new digs, which have water views that are the envy of Googlers worldwide.

This new Googleplex in Sydney gives us the opportunity to scale our operation to support a growing band of users, advertisers, and partners. We have also invested heavily in local engineering talent, underscoring Google's commitment to Australia and willingness to set up shop wherever there's talent.

To coincide with the grand opening of the office, the team recently released street maps for Australia and New Zealand so web developers can get a jump start on integrating Down Under maps into their sites.

If you're interested in becoming an Aussie Googler, take a look here. Who wouldn't want to join this team?

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Picture this: Picasa for Linux

Posted by Chris DiBona, Open Source Programs Manager

Let's say you happily use Linux, but you sometimes find yourself wishing you had access to interesting new apps that launch for Windows but not Linux. And maybe, like a lot of us, you have a lot of photos stored on your personal machine, and you've read about or even tried Google's photo organizer, Picasa. But using it means switching to Windows, even temporarily. (We know--thanks but no thanks.)

Well, we've got you covered, because today we're launching Picasa for Linux on Google Labs. It incorporates nearly all the features of the current Windows version of Picasa, providing you with the tools you need to easily find, edit, and share the photos on your computer. And because it runs on a carefully tested version of Wine, Picasa avoids the slowing effects of an OS emulation or a virtual machine.

Have fun with it--and tell us what you think.

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Attention all Pearl Jam fans

Posted by Eva Ho, Product Marketing Manager, Google Video

Pearl Jam's new music video "Life Wasted" is now on Google Video for free! Be sure to check it out now, as free streaming and download is available only until June 1.

And in line with the band's experimental personality, Pearl Jam released the "Life Wasted" video under a Creative Commons "some rights reserved" copyright license. What does all that legal gibberish mean to you? It means that you can download the video for free, share it with your friends, and even post it on your own site--provided you give the band credit and don't use it for commercial purposes. It's yet another example of Pearl Jam putting its fans first.

[UPDATE 05/25: The free streaming-and-download period was originally scheduled to end on May 24; due to popular demand, we're extending it until June 1.]

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Never browse outdated posts again

Posted by Dave Weissman, Software Engineer, Google Blog Search

Today we launched a new feature on Google Blog Search that lets you narrow your search by date. Using this feature, you can track blog posts on your favorite topics according to when those items were posted. We've also incorporated some improvements in search quality that should make your blog-search experience even better.

Ever since Google Blog Search launched, we've noticed that the universe of blogs has truly exploded--our index is doubling every six months. Perhaps even more striking, though, is that there's no one region in the world that leads the growth of blogs. Self-publishing clearly has global appeal, and blogging makes it easy for everyone on the web to share their voices and connect. True, there continues to be blog spam (and we continue to fight it), but our blog search reveals the great range and quality of ideas and writing out there.

Take it for a spin and let us know what you think.

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