Europe Blog
Our views on the Internet and society
Searching in Summer
Friday, August 9, 2013
For much of Europe, August is synonymous with holidays and we’ve been trolling through
Google Trends’s new Hot Searches
tool to see what is amusing, fascinating or titillating Europeans during the summer.
The clear winner - football.
Even before the Premier League kicked off, UK searchers went looking for game scores as lower Championship League swung back into action. Liverpool's Luis Suarez and Manchester United Wayne Rooney’s
transfer sagas
scored high and
Charlotte Green’s appointment
as the first woman announcer of the BBC’s Saturday Football topped the ranking of the August 7 Hot Searches.
In Germany, results of the first round of the DFB Cup, particularly Bayern Munich’s crushing 5-0 victory, led the August 6 results. Russians searched for the fortunes of the
Anzhi team’s
financial issues and St. Petersburg’s Zenit’s
purchase
of two players, full-back "Rubin" and Argentinian Cristian Ansaldi.
Admittedly, some serious issues received serious attention. When Bavarian judges ordered the immediate release of 57-year old
Gustl Mollath
, from an institution for the criminally insane, the legal scandal surrounding the case soared to the top of Germany’s searches.
Severe storms
affecting German train traffic received wide attention, as did Amazon founder
Jeff Bezos’s purchase
of the Washington Post. Russians searched for news about government’s decision to accept American leaker
Edward Snowden’s asylum request
and the
mass protest
against a new Internet anti-piracy law.
Take a look yourself at Google Trends and see for yourself what people, places and issues are making waves.
Posted by William Echikson, External Relations, Europe, Middle East and Africa
Get an All Access music pass on Google Play
Thursday, August 8, 2013
With millions upon millions of songs out there, it can be a daunting task to figure out what to choose. Sometimes you just want to sit back, press play and hear something new. Starting today, you can do just that.
All Access
, our new monthly music subscription service in Google Play, is now available in Austria, Belgium, France, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, Portugal, Spain and the UK.
All Access provides an unlimited pass to a huge library of music on all your devices — from all the major record companies, as well as top local and independent labels.
The new service lets you create an ad-free, interactive radio station from any song or artist. You can add, remove or re-order your station and see what’s coming next. Or browse recommendations from our expert music team and explore songs by genre. The “Listen Now” tab puts artists and radio stations we think you’ll like front and center allowing you to start listening the minute you open your library.
When millions of songs just aren’t enough, Google Play Music lets you combine our collection with your own collection. You can store 20,000 songs for free online, and listen to them alongside the All Access catalogue on any Android device, or via the web at
play.google.com
. You can even ‘pin’ specific albums and playlists songs so they’re available offline.
Try it today for free for the first month and -- as a special introductory offer -- pay only EUR7.99 each month after that. Regular pricing for those who sign up after September 15 will be EUR9.99 a month, with a 30-day free trial.
With today’s launch, Google Play moves one step closer to your ultimate digital entertainment destination, where you can find, enjoy and share your favourite apps, games, books, movies, magazines, TV shows and music on your Android phone or tablet. Go ahead and start discovering a whole new world of music.
Posted by Paul Joyce, product manager for Google Play Music
Inspiring the next generation: Apply for a 2014 RISE Award
Monday, August 5, 2013
Inspiring the next generation of scientists and engineers is crucially important—breakthroughs don't happen without people to make them. We want students to not just be consumers of technology, but also creators of it; to enrich not only their own lives, but those of their communities. That's the motivation behind the
Google RISE
(Roots in Science and Engineering) Awards.
Given once a year, Google RISE Awards are designed to promote and support education initiatives to increase engagement in science and technology, especially computer science. Google grants awards of $15,000 - $50,000 USD to non-for-profit organizations around the world working to expand access to these fields for K-12/Pre-University students, specifically girls and underrepresented groups.
In 2013, 30 organizations
received
RISE grants—with projects ranging from robotics contests in Germany to programming challenge days for girls in New Zealand. In June, we brought all of our partners together for a Global Summit. It was an inspiring meeting, and since the Summit several organizations have begun to work together to expand their reach.
For example, our RISE partners in Nigeria,
WAAW Foundation
and
W-TEC
, have teamed up to organize a one-week residential Advanced STEM Camp. The program launched this week and will provide 27 public school girls exposure to robotics. Over in Argentina, an
organization
already connecting Belgium to Argentina is is now collaborating with
another
on programming workshops for students and teachers. And organizations in
Liberia
and
India
are sharing resources to overcome common challenges in access to technology for girls.
The hard work of RISE organizations has also drawn support from leading figures such as
President Obama
, Ireland’s
Taoiseach Enda Kenny
and
HRH Prince Andrew
.
We’re looking for more organizations to partner with in 2014.
Submit
your application by September 30, 2013. You can submit your application in English, French, Japanese, Russian or Spanish; all eligible countries are listed on our
website
. Show us what you can do to get students excited about STEM and CS!
Posted by Marielena Ivory, K12/Pre-University Education Outreach
Dude, where’s my phone? Protecting your Android device
Sunday, August 4, 2013
This summer we’re
posting regularly
with privacy and security tips. Knowing how to stay safe and secure online is important, which is why we created our Good to Know site with advice and tips for safe and savvy Internet use.
-Ed.
With summer vacation in full swing, you’re likely out and about, using your smartphone or tablet to get answers on the go or check out the latest cool apps and games. But you don’t have to leave safety at home! In this post, we’re sharing a few tips and tools that you can easily set up if you’re on an Android phone or tablet to keep your device—and the contents inside—safe and secure, including a new service that makes it easy to locate a misplaced device.
1. Lock your device screen.
Whether you’re on a phone or a tablet, it’s easy to set up a
screen lock
. This is important to do in case your device gets left in the back of a car, or you’re worried about someone picking up your phone and scrolling through your stuff. You can lock your device with a pin, password, pattern (or even
your face
!) by going to Settings > Personal > Security > Screen Lock.
2. Protect your phone from suspicious apps.
We automatically scan Google Play to block and remove harmful apps. That makes Google Play the safest place to get Android apps. But Google Play can also help
protect you
even for apps you get elsewhere, like the web or a third-party app store. The first time you start to install an app from an unknown source, a message will pop up asking if you’d like Google to scan the file to make sure it’s not harmful. Tap “OK” to let Google help protect you from harmful apps.
3. Locate, ring and wipe a misplaced device.
Have you ever lost your phone in between the couch cushions or left it in a restaurant? Later this month, you will be able to use a new service called Android Device Manager, which can quickly ring your phone at maximum volume so you can find it (even if it’s been silenced), or locate it on a map, in real time, using Android Device Manager. If your phone can’t be recovered, or has been stolen, you can quickly and securely erase all of the data on your device to keep your data from ending up in the wrong hands. The Android Device Manager will be available for devices running Android 2.2 and above, as part of Google Play. You can read the full announcement on the Android blog.
For more advice on how to protect yourself and your family online, visit our
Good to Know site
, and stay tuned for more posts in our security series.
Posted by Adrian Ludwig, Android Security Engineer
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
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