Google Friends Newsletter - January 2009

POWER TIP

Google Hot Trends gadget

Google Hot Trends is a fascinating real-time tool for seeing what people are searching for right now. Add the Google Hot Trends gadget (from the gadget directory) to your iGoogle page to see search queries that have sudden surges of popularity in the U.S., Japan, India, Korea, Hong Kong/Taiwan and Singapore.
http://www.google.com/ig

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NEW PRODUCTS & UPDATES

Explore New York City with Google

We joined Mayor Michael Bloomberg at a press conference to announce nycgo.com and the brand new Official NYC Information Center located in midtown, both of which use Google tools and technology to help visitors and residents explore all there is to see and do around New York City. Plan a trip there using the Google Maps features available on nycgo.com, navigate using Google Maps for mobile, and stop by the Information Center to create a personal itinerary using the interactive map tables.
http://m.google.com/nyc

Google Maps Transit layer for 50 cities

The Transit layer is a visual overlay of public transit options on Google Maps, which offer an alternative to driving directions wherever possible. The next time you visit London and want to visit the Tate Modern, you can simply search for [Tate Modern] on Google Maps, and then click on "More" and activate "Transit" to see nearby tube stations and which lines serve them. You can even click on a station and see which transit lines are passing through right now. The layer is available for 50 cities around the world, including Chicago, Dallas, London, Madrid, Paris, San Francisco and Seattle, and you can find schedule data and itineraries for any transportation agencies that are part of Google Transit.
http://maps.google.com

Picasa for Mac

We recently rolled out our photo organizing software, Picasa, for the Macintosh, bringing all of the advanced sharing and sync features of Picasa to the millions of Mac OS X users who use Picasa Web Albums. Now sharing your photos with friends and family is as easy as pressing a button. Picasa for Mac also includes all of the key editing and photo-management features from Picasa 3 on Windows, ranging from basic fixes like automatic red-eye correction to creative tools such as photo collages.
http://picasa.google.com/mac

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MISCELLANY

On January 28, the U.S. and Canada joined 27 European countries to celebrate Data Privacy Day. As the volume of data uploaded to the Internet every day grows exponentially, it becomes more and more important to understand the benefits and risks of online communications -- and to learn how to use tools to control and manage information you share online. To mark this special day of awareness, we joined U.S. and European government officials and key members of the privacy community on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C., to discuss how to increase public awareness about data privacy. In addition to these efforts, we work to connect directly with everyone who uses our products too. Our Privacy Center offers information, tips and videos that explain how we're committed to protecting your online privacy and how you can control what data you share. If you haven't been there yet, we encourage you to visit. And, we'll continue to add new information, so check back often.
http://www.google.com/privacy