Europe Blog
Our views on the Internet and society
Following in Galileo’s footsteps
Thursday, August 1, 2013
Many of us spend the summer lounging on Europe’s beaches and use the Internet to plan our vacation and satellite navigation to get there. This summer, hundreds of ambitious students are spending their vacation in a different way - improving their computer programming skills with
Google’s Summer of Code
. Among them is Italy’s Mara Branzanti, a 26-year old PhD student in geomatics at the University of Rome’s La Sapienza. She’s working to, among other goals, improve your holidays.
Her
project
, financed by Google, is to write software that will make it quicker and easier to use the European Union’s Galileo
global navigation satellite system
. The EUR 5 billion
Galileo programme
being built by the European Union and
European Space Agency
is named after the Italian astronomer
Galileo
. It aims to provide a high-precision positioning system upon which European nations can rely, independent of competing Russian and U.S. systems.
Mara Branzanti in
EconomyUp.it
Branzanti is helping write open source source software that will enable satellite receivers back on earth to better identify and connect with Gallileo satellites in orbit. Her work is part of a larger software
effort
under the leadership of Javier Arribas at the non-profit Catalonian research foundation
Centre Tecnològic de Telecomunicacions de Catalunya
. Currently, the software in Gallileo receivers is only designed to 'see' the satellites that are already in orbit, and needs to be adapted so it can discover new satellites as they are launched. Branzanti’s code will make it easy to find the nearest orbiting Galileo signal, even from the most remote of locations. The European Commission recently
praised
her contributions.
Google Summer of Code is a global program that offers student developers stipends to write code for various open source software projects. We work with many open source, free software, and technology-related groups to identify and fund projects over a three month period. Since its inception in 2005, the program has brought together nearly 6,000 successful student participants and over 3000 mentors from over 100 countries worldwide, all for the love of code. To learn more about the program, read our 2013
Frequently Asked Questions
page.
Meanwhile, enjoy your holidays and let’s thank Mara and other summer coders for developing technology that improves them. Mara gave up a planned trip to New York to stay at home and code. though she will take a week this month on the beach in Sardinia. “But I’m taking my computer,” she promises. “I need to finish by September.”
Posted by Marco Pancini, Public Policy Senior Counsel, Brussels
Inspiring talented children in Northern Russia
Monday, July 29, 2013
The
Northern Arctic Federal University in Archangelsk
in Russia's far north ranks among Google’s furthest flung outposts for
RISE
, our Roots in Science and Engineering programs. Its summer camp recently brought 40 talented children to Moscow's Institute of Mathematics, Informatics and Space Technology.
During five days, the teens learned about computing and ways to solve real world problems. They received hands-on lessons about how to build and program a robot to manage a computer without a keyboard or mouse.
Local Google engineers aimed to inspire the students to think big. Software engineer Anna Kondratieva from our Moscow office described Google's
self driving car
and
Google Glass
. Via Hangout, engineer Gulnara Lastovetsky spoke about career opportunities in computing.
The visit to the Moscow provided students with an opportunity to test a future studying science and technology. As the Institute’s director Lyudmila Haymina said:
“
Most of the students are keen to pursue IT studies and to come here as undergraduates.”
Plans are already underway for 2014, including creating an online version to reach more children. As this success from Russia's far north demonstrated, science and technology stars can come from anywhere.
Posted by Alison Cutler, Pre-University Education Outreach, Europe, Middle East and Africa
WeAreOpen brightens Budapest
Friday, July 26, 2013
Throughout much of Europe, intolerance towards minorities is on the
rise
. The
European Union Agency for Fundamental Rights
published data last year showing ethnic minorities face a high level of hate crime. More established politicians, not just the far-right, are increasingly scapegoating migrants and minorities.
We think that it's important to remind ourselves and others - even in trying times - that diversity and tolerance are core to every community's success. As a part of our efforts, we have joined with two Hungarian companies,
Prezi
and
Espell
, to launch
'WeAreOpen'
, a diversity initiative in Hungary with a simple message: "Being open is not only the right thing to do, but it's also worth it."
The WeAreOpen website encourages other companies, organizations and other communities to stand up in support for inclusion and diversity by putting their logos on the site. At this month’s
Budapest Pride
march, we supplied an
army of colorful balloons and oversized sunglasses
and invited everyone to join. The march was live streamed the march via Hangouts on Air.
The initiative caught the public imagination. Record numbers of people turned up for the Pride march, three times more than in previous years. More than 17,000 viewers watched our Budapest Pride Hangouts on Air.
Since the 'WeAreOpen' website went live, more than 500 companies, organizations and other communities have joined. As well as local Hungarian companies, multinationals ranging from Morgan Stanley to Vodafone, signed up. Whether you are Hungarian or not, please go ahead and speak up in favor of tolerance.
Posted by Richard Schuster, Communications Manager, Budapest
Creating the Library of the Future in Greece
Thursday, July 25, 2013
The famed
Library at Alexandria
was located in Egypt - but an expression of Greek culture. A student of
Aristotle
created the library and it was designed in the style of Aristotle’s Lyceum and placed adjacent to a Greek temple. Most of its collection came from trips to the book fairs of Rhodes and Athens. So perhaps it is no accident that we’re working in Greece to launch one of the world’s most exciting projects to reinvent the library for the digital age.
The
Stavros Niarchos Foundation
is investing EUR560 million to build a Cultural Center which will host the National Library of Greece and the Greek National Opera. As part of the project, the Foundation is also funding
“Future Library”
, an effort that aims to transform public libraries into media labs and hubs of creativity, innovation and learning, attracting many groups who now spend little time there - entrepreneurs, students, unemployed, and immigrants. So far, nine libraries are participating from all over Greece - including the municipal libraries of Kozani, Trikala, Corinth, Keratsini-Drapetsona, Heliopolis, Chania, Drama,Levadia, and Nafpaktos.
Google is participating, providing design know-how to the architects hired by Future Library to help create innovative and creative spaces. With the help of the Google real estate team, we will review the architect submissions, provide technical comment on all proposals and assist the Foundation in executing the exciting project. In addition, we are holding workshops for participating librarians, helping them acquire skills on effective use of Google tools and including Google search, Google+, YouTube and Docs.
Some might have imagined that the Internet would make libraries superfluous or irrelevant. But the reality looks like quite the opposite - the Internet can help libraries become a center for new digital learning and a point of reference for local communities.
Posted by Dionisis Kolokotsas, Public Policy & Government Relations Manager, Greece
Measuring the UK’s Digital Economy
Tuesday, July 23, 2013
The British mathematician and physicist
Lord Kelvin
famously said “If you cannot measure it, you cannot improve it.” In 1948, the post-war British Government badly needed to improve the nation’s economy. To help it draw up the right policies for jobs and growth, the Government took a scientific approach - one of which Lord Kelvin would have been proud. Government statisticians were instructed to count, classify and measure the economic activity of every business in the country. They developed a set of Standard Industrial Classification codes and the data they collected was used to shape policy in every aspect of the British economy.
This week, a
new report
by the
National Institute for Economic and Social Research
, and supported by Google, updates these SIC codes to include the new, fast growing digital sector. After 65 years, the old codes are out of date. One in ten companies in the UK are now classified vaguely as ‘other’. One in five have no classification at all.
This new report is based on pioneering big data techniques. It draws not just from official tables and accounts but instead is gleaned from more than five billion data points, providing us with a level of detail and insight that statisticians in 1948 could scarcely have imagined.
The scale of the UK’s digital economy that emerges from this research is immense. In June 2013, the Government estimated from SIC codes that there were 120,000 businesses in the digital economy. The most conservative estimate from this new report of the number of digital companies is more than double government estimates - 269,695. In addition, the report found that digital companies employ 15% more, grow 25% faster than non-digital companies.
The digital economy has spread into every part of the United Kingdom, not just in London and the South East but throughout the country, with particularly great intensity in places like Manchester, Middlesbrough and Aberdeen. It has spread into every sector, from architecture firms whose activities have become almost entirely digital to machine tool manufacturers who now use huge online data-processing facilities, such as Hadoop, to monitor every aspect of their processes.
This is a groundbreaking work. For the first time in 65 years - it presents us with a new way of measuring the economy that can only help us to take the right steps to support growth and jobs.
Posted by Hal Varian, Chief Economist
Supporting Spanish cinema - and combating piracy
Monday, July 22, 2013
Spanish cinema is famous around the world thanks to the likes of directors such as
Pedro Almodovar
,
Luis Buñuel
and others. Now, thanks to a groundbreaking agreement with Spanish collecting society
Egeda
, these filmmakers could collect royalties from their works on YouTube.
The agreement represents a significant endorsement of our
Content ID
system, which helps combat piracy by allowing video producers to identify their copied content - and make money from it. Whenever copyrighted content is uploaded, the rights owner is asked whether the material should be blocked, allowed to stay up - or whether advertising should be inserted, with the copyright owners receiving revenue as a result.
Once signed up to Content ID, the vast majority of advertising owners choose to insert advertising and generate income from their works. Over recent months, Egeda conducted a pilot study that generated promising results. Advertising was inserted in 65% of a set of videos, increasing revenue from the videos by 87% compared to before the test. “This agreement with YouTube is an example of how the film industry and the technology sector should cooperate: protecting the works of creators and opening the door to new business models,” says
Enrique Cerezo
, Egeda’s president.
In addition to our Content ID cooperation, Egeda also has launched a new YouTube channel featuring trailers, sequences, scenes, selection of actors and other information about Spanish cinema. Take a look below - and enjoy new insights into much of the best of Spanish language filmmaking.
Posted by Maria Ferreras, Director of Strategic Alliances for YouTube, Madrid
Growing our Map Maker community in Europe
Wednesday, July 17, 2013
Exploration is at the heart of the summer season, and what better way to take part than sharing your knowledge on the places you love on Google Maps? Today,
Google Map Maker
is diving into summertime by welcoming mappers of Czech Republic, Hungary, Sweden, and Bosnia and Herzegovina to our ever-growing team of citizen cartographers in our quest to map the world.
With Google Map Maker, you can contribute your local knowledge to make a more useful and comprehensive map of the changing world around us. Begin in your neighborhood and try adding the building footprints for local shops and restaurants. Then, embrace your inner traveler and enrich the maps of national parks and historic landmarks. If you’ve got the itch for adventure, try adding campgrounds, beaches or your favorite hiking trails.
View Larger Map
Jajići, Bosnia and Herzegovina was a blank space on the map
before citizen cartographers put it on the map.
Whether it’s a cycling route through Budapest or a cafe alongside Prague’s Vltava River, each improvement to the map will help locals and tourists alike as they navigate your neighborhood this summer. Once approved, your contributions will appear on
Google Maps
,
Google Earth
and
Google Maps for Mobile
.
To get started, join other mappers on the Google Map Maker
community forum
, explore the
Help Centre
for tips and tricks, or watch mapping in real-time with
Map Maker Pulse
. Now, from the
Heart Shaped Land
, through Central Europe, to Swedish Lapland, you can help Google Maps to embody the rich culture and spirit unique to your homeland -
starting today
!
Posted by Kaushik Sridharan, Software Engineer
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