Google launches minisite for Chinese New Year

MANILA – Web search giant Google has launched a minisite that lets users prepare for Chinese New Year online as the Year of the Wooden Horse nears.

In Google.com/chinesenewyear, users can search for recipe ideas for “lucky” dishes, share these with their family and friends via Google Docs, set reminders for events, provide directions to where you will celebrate the occasion and send greetings abroad.

After the festivities, users can also back up the photos on their phone using Google+ Auto Backup.

The Year of the Wooden Horse will commence on Friday, January 31.

source: www.abs-cbnnews.com

Google aims to bring 'the best of the internet' to Pinoys

MANILA – Google recently launched its new unit in Makati, in an effort to “bring the best of the internet” to the Filipino internet user.

Narciso Reyes, country head of Google Philippines, described the move as a major step for the tech giant.

“This is a big step for us because it enables us to be closer to our users, our partners and our advertisers,” he told ANC’s “Inside Business”.

Reyes is tasked to lead a sales and marketing team in the country to further the growth of their services by localizing more of their content to fit the needs of Filipino internet users.

“Google is all about bringing the world’s information readily available and we feel that being on the ground here is a step in the right direction,” he said.

Reyes said there are about 33 million Filipinos online, a number they expect to double by 2016.

He noted that in spite of the doors opened by online transactions, opening an office still has its advantages.

“What we found is that we are able to get more in touch with the local pulse and we are able to bring a better user experience to our users,” he said.

Reyes added the reception of Filipinos has been “tremendous.”

“It’s given us an avenue to be closer to our user base and just the excitement generated by that launch is testament of how exciting it is for us to be here,” he said.

Google has started hiring for the Philippine office, but Reyes did not say how many employees they plan to hire.

“It’s kind of a running number depending on how things stack up and how things progress,” he said.

source: abs-cbnnews.com

Google opens office in PH, starts hiring

MANILA, Philippines - Google has finally opened an office in the Philippines with the launch of its new unit in Makati.

The tech giant, in a briefing on Wednesday, said the country is a key market in Southeast Asia amid its growing Internet population.

"The Philippines is a key country in Southeast Asia in terms of its digital economy and tech-savvy population," Julian Persaud, managing director of Google in Southeast Asia, said.

"This new office will allow us to better engage with our local users, partners and advertisers. Over 33 million Filipinos access the Internet regularly... [and this] is set to grow exponentially," Persaud added.

Google's new office will be situated in central Makati, although executives did not say if it will be as innovative as the firm's state-of-the-art centers in the US.

Persaud also declined to say how much the tech company will be investing the Philippines, only saying the company will pour in its "blood and soul" for this venture.

"We're not here for short-term gain. We're here in Manila for the long term," Persaud stressed.

Narciso Reyes, newly-appointed country manager for Google Philippines, said the firm will be working on localizing its products for the Filipinos.

"User journey is tantamount to us... we will be localizing our products more and giving them more information and tools. We want Filipino users to find and access local information relevantly and very quickly," he said.

Reyes also shared Google plans to provide a cost-efficient platform for Philippine businesses wanting to advertise online.

"Our local team will be committed to providing better services to our Filipino users and to helping businesses - large and small - grow locally and globally, contributing to the growth of the Philippine economy," Reyes said.

Google is currently hiring for its Philippine office but executives declined to say how many employees will comprise the new unit.

But Reyes and Persaud said Google is looking for Filipinos who will better give them an insight of current local market as the tech giant is eyeing to tap Philippine advertisers.

 Job postings for Google Philippines will be available at http://www.google.com.ph/jobs/

source: abs-cbnnews.com

Google Celebrates 14th Anniversary

V TECHNO NEWS ™ – The tradition of making doodle to commemorate the anniversary I had just done since 2002.

Internet giant from the United States, Google, today celebrated the 14th anniversary.

The presence of a doodle (or image themes) birthday cake bearing the word Google with fourteen candles were lit, the front page of the Google search engine shows the celebrations.

When clicked, birthday cake will turn into writing Google with attractive colorful paper with roman numerals fourteenth birthday candles at the bottom of the doodle.

Until now, no one knows the reason behind Google has always celebrated his birthday on the 27th of September.

As quoted by the website Mashable, Google was originally founded by Larry Page and Sergey Brin who receive investment funds of U.S. $ 100,000 from Andy Bechstolsheim who was the founder of Sun Microsystems.

Until now, Google is not just a search engine, but has grown into a giant corporation that provides a variety of services ranging from email, video sharing, social networking through the operating system for smartphones and tablet devices.

source: vtechnonews.com

Google honors music legend Moog with playable synthesizer doodle

Search giant Google on Wednesday honored American electronic music pioneer Robert Moog – and threatened to wreak havoc on office productivity – with a doodle of a playable and recordable Moog synthesizer.

Visitors to Google's homepage (www.google.com) were greeted with a doodle of an interactive synthesizer where users can adjust settings such as the mixers, oscillators, and filters.


They could even record their works and share them on Google+, Google's social network.

A link appears on the lower right part of the doodle explaining the reason for its presence: Robert Moog's 78th birth anniversary.

Clicking on it will lead the user to a Search Results page for Robert Moog.

Moog, born May 23, 1934 and died on August 21, 2005, was the founder of Moog Music, and an American pioneer of electronic music.

He was credited for an innovative electronic design now in numerous synthesizers including the Minimoog Model D, Minimoog Voyager, Little Phatty, Moog Taurus Bass Pedals, Moog Minitaur, the Animoog iOS app, and the Moogerfooger line of effects pedals.

Interactive doodle

An article on tech site Mashable said this was not the first time Google created a playable Doodle.

Last year, it noted Google released its wildly popular Les Paul Google Doodle to commemorate the guitar legend.

Users spent hours playing with the Les Paul doodle, recording their works and posting them on YouTube.

"Millions of manhours will be at stake at workplaces around the world as Google honors the American electrical engineer Robert 'Bob' Moog with a digital replica of the Moog electronic music synthesizer on his 78th birthday," a separate article on IBN Live said.

It noted that with the virtual Moog synthesizer on the Google home page, "users can not only create their own music on using the digital 24-key keyboard but also use the volume, mixer, oscillators, filter and envelope controls to tweak the sound that is music to their ears."

Logged-in Google users can also record and share their compositions on the Moog Google doodle synthesizer on Google+.


Other users can also record their compositions and get a short g.co URL leading to a version of the Google home page that plays the recorded music. — LBG, GMA News

source: gmanetwork.com