Google Product Helping Blog

Every year, Larry and Sergey write a Founders' Letter to our stockholders updating them with some of our recent highlights and sharing our vision for the future. This year, they decided to try something new. - Ed. In August, I announced Alphabet and our new structure and shared my thoughts on how we were thinking about the future of our business. (It is reprinted here in case you missed it, as it seems to apply just as much today.) I�m really pleased with how Alphabet is going. I am also very pleased with Sundar�s performance as our new Google CEO. Since the majority of our big bets are in Google, I wanted to give him most of the bully-pulpit here to reflect on Google�s accomplishments and share his vision. In the future, you should expect that Sundar, Sergey and I will use this space to give you a good personal overview of where we are and where we are going.  - Larry Page, CEO, Alphabet When Larry and Sergey founded Google in 1998, there were about 300 million people online. By...

Soledad O�Brien is a broadcast journalist and founder of Starfish Media Group . She is also CEO of the Starfish Foundation, which provides financial assistance and mentoring to help kids go to college. Recently, the Starfish Foundation launched virtual career tours using Google Expeditions, about which O�Brien joins us to talk about today. To become part of the Expeditions Pioneer beta program, sign up via this form . -Ed. Kids dream about what they want to be when they grow up, but these dreams are often limited�built around the few professional people they know. What if children don�t know a veterinarian, an airplane pilot, a paleontologist, or someone in dozens of other careers? What if they lack access to internships or mentors? Can they ever dream big? I know from watching my own kids visit me at work, and from the scholars I mentor, that exposure to all kinds of professionals is the key to inspiring young people. When I first found out about Expeditions, I saw its potential for b...

Ten years ago, we launched Google Translate. Our goal was to break language barriers and to make the world more accessible. Since then we�ve grown from supporting two languages to 103, and from hundreds of users to hundreds of millions. And just like anyone�s first 10 years, we�ve learned to see and understand , talk , listen , have a conversation , write , and lean on friends for help . But what we're most inspired by is how Google Translate connects people in communities around the world, in ways we never could have imagined�like two farmers with a shared passion for tomato farming , a couple discovering they're pregnant in a foreign country , and a young immigrant on his way to soccer stardom . Here�s a look at Google Translate today, 10 years in: 1. Google Translate helps people make connections. Translate can help people help each other, often in the most difficult of times. Recently we visited a community in Canada that is using Translate to break down barriers and make a...

Just say the word Australia, and people immediately think of the elegant sails of the Sydney Opera House, jutting out into the water of Circular Quay. An Australian icon, this architectural wonder transcends its location. And starting today it�s easier for anyone, anywhere in the world to experience the many sights and sounds of this masterpiece, with the opening of the Sydney Opera House on the Google Cultural Institute . The Google Cultural Institute provides a new digital home for the Sydney Opera House, bringing together more than 1,000 artifacts and 60 years of history in a single online platform. From architect J�rn Utzon�s early designs, to the inner workings of the world�s biggest mechanical organ , to spectacular late night shows , these 50 online exhibits capture the Sydney Opera House from every angle. � The Story Begins Here � exhibit explores the history of the building, the performances and events that have taken place on Bennelong Point. This new collection showcases ...

Over the last few days, Japan and Ecuador have been affected by significant earthquakes. Hundreds have been killed, and many thousands injured or displaced. We�re doing a few things to try to help. Find and call loved ones To help people post and search for family or friends affected by the disaster we activated Person Finder in Spanish and Japanese. We�re also offering free calls via Hangouts, Hangouts Dialer or Google Voice to and within Ecuador to help people communicate with loved ones. Learn more on the ground For people in and around the affected areas, we have Google Now cards with critical crisis-related information like missing person resources, safety zones, and aftershock safety tips. We�ve made the same information available on search for earthquake-related searches. In Japan, we launched a landing page and crisis map showing accessible roads and places where people can get disaster resources like fresh water. In Ecuador, we updated Waze with more than 90 safe place loca...

Hello, and welcome to the latest episode of Google Play Music. Today we�re going to talk about something near and dear to my heart: podcasts. People love podcasts. In fact, these days, there are so many podcasts to choose from, it can be hard to pick which one to listen to at any given time. That�s where Google Play Music comes in. Google Play Music already gives you the right kind of music for the right moment�whether you want to have fun at work , prepare for a dance party , or just need to focus �and now, that includes podcasts. Starting today on the web and rolling out on Android in the U.S. and Canada, we�ll connect you with podcasts based on what you�re doing, how you�re feeling and what you�re interested in. Similar to our contextual playlists for music, we want to make it easy to find the right podcast�whether you�re a podcast aficionado or listening for the first time. Try � Learning Something New � to talk about at a dinner party and listen to our favorite episodes from Stuff...

The National Parks have famously been called �America�s Best Idea.� The 400+ parks, preserves, historic sites and other areas in the National Park System are a source of national pride, home to hundreds of species of flora and fauna, a place for researchers to study and discover�and above all, destinations for explorers and adventurers of all ages, backgrounds and abilities. This week (April 16-24) marks National Park Week, and we thought we�d do our part in celebrating the occasion by helping you get one step closer to visiting these amazing places. With Street View in Google Maps and the Cultural Institute , you can park hop your way through 50 states, from sea to shining sea. Start at the southern tip of Florida with the Everglades �the largest subtropical wilderness in the U.S. and a UNESCO heritage site. Go deep inside the longest known cave system in the world at Mammoth Cave in Kentucky , or take in the sun and the scene at Fire Island National Seashore . On your way, wave to L...

We want to create technology that helps millions of others understand our changing world and live more sustainably�whether it�s connecting people with public transit routes, or using the data that powers Google Earth to help you see if your roof is good for solar panels. In honor of Earth Day this month, we�ve gathered together some of the ways Google can help you reduce your everyday emissions and learn more about preserving our world. Monitoring forests and wildlife Google Earth satellite technology gives scientists and environmentalists a way to measure and visualize changes of the world on both land and water. This technology can have great impact on monitoring endangered animal populations around the world. For example, with the help of Global Forest Watch , powered by Google Earth Engine , scientists at the University of Minnesota are suggesting that wild tiger populations may rebound by 2022 , due to the efforts to restore tiger habitats in key regions. Anyone can now view tige...

Whether it�s reading more books, learning a new language or working out regularly, achieving your goals can be really hard. One day it's "I got called into a last-minute meeting." The next day it's "I have a friend in town." And before you know it, your goals are delayed or forgotten. In fact, with all the things you need to do in a given week, it�s probably harder than ever to find the time�even when your goal really matters to you. That�s why starting today, we�re introducing Goals in Google Calendar. Just add a personal goal�like �run 3 times a week��and Calendar will help you find the time and stick to it. Goals are easy to set up To set a goal (like �Work out more�), simply answer a few questions (like �How often?� and �Best time?�), and you�re all set. From there Calendar will look at your schedule and find the best windows to pencil in time for that goal. Goals adjust to your busy life Goals aren't easy�especially when the unexpected comes up�but ...

More than a billion people have a disability. And regardless of the country or community they live in, the gaps in opportunity for people with disabilities are striking: One in three people with a disability lives in poverty. In places like the United States, 50 to 70 percent of people with disabilities are unemployed; in developing countries that number increases to 80 to 90 percent. And only 10 percent of people with disabilities in developing countries have access to the assistive devices they need. Last spring, Google.org kicked off the Google Impact Challenge: Disabilities , an open call to global nonprofits who are building transformative technologies for the billion people around the world with disabilities. We�ve been amazed by the ideas we�ve received, coming from 1,000+ organizations spanning 88 countries. We�ve shared a handful of the organizations we�re supporting already�and today we�re excited to share the full list of 30 winners . The organizations we�re supporting all ...

Nearly 20 percent of the U.S. population will have a disability during their lifetime, which can make it hard for them to access and interact with technology, and limits the opportunity that technology can bring. That�s why it�s so important to build tools to make technology accessible to everyone�from people with visual impairments who need screen readers or larger text, to people with motor restrictions that prevent them from interacting with a touch screen, to people with hearing impairments who cannot hear their device�s sounds. Here are some updates we�ve made recently to make our technology more accessible: A tool to help develop accessible apps Accessibility Scanner is a new tool for Android that lets developers test their own apps and receive suggestions on ways to enhance accessibility. For example, the tool might recommend enlarging small buttons, increasing the contrast between text and its background and more. Improvements for the visually impaired in Android N A few weeks...

From the earliest cave drawings, to classical paintings, to crayon scribbles, humans just have a thing for visual expression. These days digital art has spurred new opportunities for creativity, going well beyond good old pencils and paper. It's against this canvas that we bring you Tilt Brush �a new virtual reality (VR) app that lets you paint from an entirely new perspective, available today on the HTC Vive . With Tilt Brush, you can paint in three-dimensional space. Just select your colors and brushes and get going with a wave of your hand. Your room is a blank slate. You can step around, in and through your drawings as you go. And, because it�s in virtual reality, you can even choose to use otherwise-impossible materials like fire, stars or snowflakes. 3D artwork drawn in Tilt Brush One of the best parts about any new medium is just seeing what's possible. So, we brought Tilt Brush to The Lab at Google Cultural Institute�a space in Paris created to bring tech and creative...