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Want to learn more about this year’s holiday-themed Google doodle?
On Thursday the holiday-themed Google doodle you see right now was unveiled to the masses. This year was rife with all kinds of Google doodles (from Pac-Man to UFOs), but this one’s being touted as the “most ambitious one yet.” Chief Google doodler Michael Lopez (yes, that is a real position) headed this year’s festive doodle with a team of four other artists. It took them over 250 hours to complete the 17 interactive portraits of holiday scenes. Originally, the plan was to unveil the doodle in stages over three days, but at the last minute Google execs decided that it’d be best to push out the doodle in one piece and keep it up for two-and-a-half days. Lopez and his team rushed to make it happen, and they managed to put it up just in time around 9am Thursday morning. The majority of the holiday scenes focus on food, dance, architecture, and textile from all around the world. Google estimates that it has created over 900 doodles since 1998, with approximately 270 of them running in 2010. Of all the doodles thus far, this one seems to be the one that most diverges from spelling out the search engine’s name. Can you find where it says “Google” there? It’s very subtle. Anyway, can’t wait to see what Lopez has in store for us next year!
[Via WSJ]
Google Demo Slam contest gives ordinary people the chance to creatively shine
The G-Men started to think how can we make tech demos fun so people would actually watch and learn from them? Demo Slam is their answer. Google is relying on everyday people (ahem, you don’t need to be a fancy developer) to submit personalized demos that feature Google tech. Using Android phones or Google on the computer, people can show off their creative side by coming up with ways to demonstrate Google tech like search by voice, updates in real-time, and universal search. I’ve included my top five favorite Demo Slam videos in this post. The one embedded above is called “Extra Spicy” and it features two girls using Google Translate to call a real Indian restaurant and order in Hindi. Never thought of giving that a try, now did you?
Look after the break for the others; a group of friends recreates Mt. Rushmore and uses Google Googles to identify the them as the real deal, three brothers see how many marshmallows they can shove into their mouths until Google Search by voice cannot recognize the query “chubby bunny”, Maria Sharapova uses Google Search to answer questions in English and Russian, and then there’s the epic Google Docs animation.
Want to see more tech demos? They are so much fun to watch right? Head over to the official Demo Slam website where you can view all the submissions and vote for your favorites. The contest is still happening, so unleash your creative side and show the world what you’ve got!
[Via GoogleBlog] Continue reading Google Demo Slam contest gives ordinary people the chance to creatively shine
Facebook visualizes friendships, a bizarre map is born
An intern at Facebook named Paul Butler was interested in what he calls “the locality of friendship”; he wanted a visualization that would show which cities had a lot of friendships between them. He sampled about ten million pairs of friends, combing that data “with each user’s current city and summed the number of friends between each pair of cities. Then [he] merged the data with the longitude and latitude of each city.” The image above is the result, and this was his initial reaction:
The blob had turned into a surprisingly detailed map of the world. Not only were continents visible, certain international borders were apparent as well. What really struck me, though, was knowing that the lines didn’t represent coasts or rivers or political borders, but real human relationships.
Pretty incredible, huh? Just by combining data points between friend connections on Facebook he was able to recreate a unique map of the world (though Russia and China are almost totally absent). The white areas on the “map” represent cities and towns, while the blue streaks highlight the relationships between them. If you’re interested in learning more about how this was constructed, head over to Butler’s blog post; there you’ll also find a super hi-res version of the visualization. FYI, it makes for a visually splendid desktop background.
[Via Facebook]
Motorola teases Android tablet, bills it as the next big thing in ‘Tablet Evolution’ video
Check out this slick animated teaser from Motorola. In it the tech company takes us on a journey through the evolution of tablets, from ancient Egyptian hieroglyphic tablets to the modern ones like the iPad. Speaking of the iPad, Motorola made it their mission to slam the Apple tablet in the video: “It’s like a giant iPhone… but it’s like a giant iPhone.” Burn! And if you’re of the speculating kind, let’s dig deeper into the teaser. Though Moto does not unveil the final product, their shiny new red Motorola logo attracts a buzzing bee at the end of the clip. A bee, hm? That matches up quite nicely with the name of Android’s next mobile OS: Honeycomb. Google’s Andy Rubin recently previewed a Motorola tablet running a new version of Android and he boasted that Honeycomb will include features made from the ground up specifically for the touchy tablet form factor. One more thing: Verizon teased via Twitter that they plan on showing off a whole bunch of LTE Android-based devices at CES in January; and this lines up perfectly with the CES 2011 tease at the end of this clip. Will we see a Motorola tablet running Android’s next-gen Honeycomb OS with Verizon LTE support next month? Only time will tell, but I’d put money on it.
Google Maps 5.0 available for Android devices now
The next version of Google Maps for Android-powered mobile devices is now available as a free download in the Android Market. Google’s Andy Rubin previewed it (and I provided you with details) a little over two weeks ago. In a nutshell, the new Maps uses vector graphics to provide 3D modeling of streets and buildings with a skyline; there are new multitouch inputs like tilting, rotating and smooth zooming; in compass mode the map will start rotating to match your perspective; offline caching will proactively save large mapped areas on your device based on where you use Maps the most; and with offline rerouting you no longer need to rely on a network connection once you’ve started a route and find yourself lost. In fact, Google claims that viewing maps now requires almost 70% less mobile network data overall than before; you should notice considerably faster speeds in Maps. Android 1.6+ devices can run version 5, but 3D and offline features require Android 2.0+ devices. If you’re reading this on your phone, click here to access the Maps download page.
[Via GoogleMobileBlog]
Microsoft says over 1.5 million WP7 devices sold to carriers and retailers since launch
In an interview posted on the company’s website, Microsoft’s corporate VP of Mobile Communications Business and Marketing Group Achim Berg spilled that “phone manufacturers sold over 1.5 million [Windows Phone 7] phones in the first six weeks” since the October launch. I added bold formatting there for a reason. This sales figure is not as effective or all that impressive as you might think. Rather than specifying the actual number of devices sold to end users, they are hiding that sales figure and replacing it with the number of units sold to mobile carriers and cell phone retailers. In a word, this is baloney. I mean, this figure is not incorrect; it’s just that it makes it hard for us to genuinely know how well Microsoft is doing with its new mobile OS. Perhaps they are reluctant to revealing the actual number of units sold to customers because that number isn’t as high as they expected. But Berg’s words counter that logic; he says, “Sales are ramping well as our reputation is growing for offering users a unique experience and are in line with our expectations – especially when compared to other new platform introductions.” So why not tell us like it is? Oh well, all we can do is sit and wait for a celebratory Microsoft press release to help us make sense of the massive 60 carriers/over 30 countries WP7 launch.
Apple TV is about to hit the one million mark in units sold
Apple let out a press release yesterday excitedly stating that “it expects sales of its new Apple TV to top one million units later this week.” Apple TV, mind you, only starting shipping three months ago. The cheap price point ($99) and the general consumer shift to streaming content on the big screen are certainly the two major factors contributing to this sales figure. Is the Apple TV still your pet “hobby”, Steve Jobs? Huh! Full PR, that is noticeably missing a quote from Jobs, sits after the break.
[Via Gizmodo] Continue reading Apple TV is about to hit the one million mark in units sold
iTunes song previews extend to 90 seconds in length
After many years of mediocre 30 second song previews, Apple now allows artists to upload 90 second previews. Two restrictions apply: for the preview length increase the song must be 2 minutes and 30 seconds or longer, and lengthier previews only exist in the U.S. iTunes Store (for now). The preview extension is very handy; purchasing decisions become easier when you have more time to demo a track. Open up iTunes, head to the Store, and see if your favorite artists are embracing the positive change.
[Via AppleInsider; Engadget]
Google extends free voice calling in Gmail through the new year
I know you’ve been taking advantage of Google’s free calling in Gmail feature since it was integrated into the mail client back in August. Well in the “spirit of holiday giving” Google has decided to extend free calling for all of 2011. Thanks, Google! Remember, free calls are only applied to those made in the U.S. and Canada.
[Via GmailBlog]
OnLive comes to iPad with limited functionality, bright future
OnLive, that gaming on-demand cloud-based service you’ve been hearing so much about, has found its way to the iPad but not in the way you might suspect. No you cannot demo and purchase games on Apple’s ubiquitous device; what can do, however, is hook up to OnLive’s servers to watch other people play games. With the free OnLive Viewer app you can spectate live gameplay, view and rate Brag Clips, add your favorite players to a friends list and send them messages, and view trailers for current and upcoming games. Says John Spinale, OnLive VP of Games and Media: “Watching live games and interacting with the people playing them takes social gaming to an entirely new level. It’s unlike any other experience. And people love it.”
But this is just the beginning for OnLive on portable devices. The company promises that the update will receive an update sometime next year that will allow users to demo, purchase, and instantly play games and create Brag Clips–so much more than just spectating. What they’re waiting for is games to become “touch- or motion-aware” so that gameplay is more suitable for a touchscreen experience a la the iPad. CEO Steve Perlman says that the app “is the last piece of the puzzle to unify the worlds of TV, computing and mobile all under one real-time cloud-based platform, enabling previously inconceivable experiences, capabilities and live, video-rich social interaction.” Beyond gaming, Perlman’s plan is to have the app bring the touch-based Windows 7 OS to OnLive users, effectually porting Adobe Flash and Microsoft Silverlight to iOS and Android devices.
For now you’re stuck with spectating–but it’s not all that bad actually. Download the free app here and give it a whirl. An Android version is currently in beta.
Pee-wee Herman’s Broadway show coming to HBO in 2011
Paul Reubens brought his signature character to Broadway for a limited two-month run, and now he’s solidified plans to televise his Pee-wee Herman stage show on HBO! So if you missed out on his Broadway stint, this should be music to your ears. An unspecified January show at the Stephen Sondheim Theatre will be shot and used for the HBO special which will air sometime in 2011 following the show’s run.
Nancy Geller, SVP HBO Original Programming: “Before his hit series and movies, HBO introduced Paul Reubens’ Pee-wee Herman to a national audience in the Young Comedians series, followed by the groundbreaking 1981 special. It’s thrilling to have Paul back on the network, and it will be a blast to return to Pee-wee’s Playhouse.”
Marty Callner, who directed the aforementioned 1981 special, has been called on again to direct the HBO presentation of The Pee-Wee Herman Show on Broadway.