Today Google announced a couple new features for the Google Toolbar in Firefox. The first one is the addition of a "new tab page." This feature allows you to open different pages when you open a new tab, so you don’t just get the standard blank white page. Now you can bring up one of your favorite pages or one that you recently viewed. You can choose from up to 9 different thumbnails you have stored as well as recent bookmarks and recently closed tabs:
Google Street View Driver Hits Deer
Google has a lot of ground to cover when it comes to collecting imagery for Google Maps Street View. It is not surprising that some hiccups would occur along the way. If you don’t know, Google has drivers with cameras on top of their vehicles going around to capture the images it uses to compile the Street View feature some people find exceptionally cool, while others find it invasive and creepy.
Google Flips Off Cable ISPs With M Labs
Suspect your ISP is interfering with the “unlimited” connection you contracted them for but don’t know how to prove it? Google can help. In a bold, message-sending move to broadband providers (primarily cable), Google’s Vint Cerf unveiled Measurement Lab (M-Lab), an open platform people can use to test their Internet connections.
The President Dips Into the Google Pool
Add another layer onto the Obama administration’s ties to Google. Obama’s Director of Citizen Participation is reportedly going to be Google Product Manager Katie Jacobs Stanton.
Google TV Ads Adapts To DVRs
People take their television seriously; even in very poor neighborhoods, you’ll find all sorts of satellite dishes and cable connections representing folks who don’t want to miss shows. And since more and more people are using DVRs, too, Google TV Ads has started taking the devices into account.
Google Unveils M-Lab To Monitor ISPs
Get ready for ISPs to become less than pleased with Google. The search giant, together with the New America Foundation’s Open Technology Institute, the PlanetLab Consortium, and various academic researchers, has introduced something designed to monitor Internet service providers for iffy behavior.
Google Earth Gets 3D Model Of Vancouver
Remember how, in the months, weeks, and finally days before the 2008 Summer Olympics, companies were churning out all sorts of interesting little products that no one had time to use? Google is starting to gear up for the 2010 Winter Olympics much sooner with a 3D model of Vancouver.
Google Needs A Couple Months to Heal the World
Back in September, Google made an announcement that seemed to reflect it’s policy of not doing evil quite well. As a celebration of Google’s ten-year anniversary, the company announced "Project 10100" or "10 to the 100th," which is a contest where the prize is you get to help people all over the world.
Google on Defusing Googlebombs
Google only needs to run its "Googlebomb" algorithm once in a while. And just recently, one of these times emerged. You may have read about it. Obama was ranking for "failure". He doesn’t rank for failure anymore, and that’s because Google ran the algorithm. Matt Cutts was kind enough to explain Google’s process for this type of thing:
Cutts, Google Defend And Promote Knol
It seems that Google didn’t miss Knol by accident when the company was killing Dodgeball, Jaiku, and other services two weeks ago. Matt Cutts has stepped forward to defend the would-be Wikipedia competitor, and a new contest aims to spark a bit of interest in it.