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Matt Harding: Around the world, one dance at a time with Google Maps
April 29, 2013
Today is
International Dance Day
, a celebration of a universal art form that spans cultures and countries. But dancing isn't just limited to holidays. Since 2003,
Matt Harding
has famously been dancing his way across the globe with people from all walks of life and sharing to millions on his
YouTube channel
. His mission is simple: Dance. Dance with everyone. Dance everywhere. Dance to spread joy.
Matt's journey began with a serendipitous,
single dance step
in Hanoi. While traveling through Southeast Asia, his friend encouraged him to dance for the camera—and he just kept dancing. At first, he was amused by the idea of capturing himself dancing in front of famous landmarks and in famous cities around the world. Since then, Matt's videos have evolved beyond a single man dancing; his videos now focus on individuals that gather together to share in the fun of dance, as you can see in his
2012 YouTube film
The joy that goes into Matt's work is apparent—and well documented. However, there's also a fair amount of planning involved to choreograph his efforts. Matt relies on
Google Maps
for comprehensive, accurate and useful tools to execute and track his steps.
Before he sets off on each adventure, Matt uses Google Maps to scout various locations. Using
Street View
and photos in Google Maps, he finds landmarks and points of interest around the globe that are prefect dance spots. For instance, he came across Piazza del Popolo while exploring Rome with Street View. These tools come in handy to help Matt choose a backdrop to highlight his assembly of exuberant, local dancers.
Piazza del Popolo in Rome -
View Larger Map
Scouting is only part of the process. Once Matt has coordinated a group in a city, he helps everyone get to the designated destination by creating a customized
My Map
and sharing it with the participants so they can easily navigate to the planned meetup location. The end result is something everyone around the world can relate to.
Follow Matt as he continues to travel the world on his site
Keep dancing!
Posted by Dave Kim, Google Maps Marketing Manager
Google Now on your iPhone and iPad, with the Google Search app
April 29, 2013
Many of us can no longer imagine life without our smartphones. We use them for all sorts of things, like getting reminders of important calendar appointments (say, a first date), and driving directions to the Italian restaurant where your table for two awaits. Today, with the launch of Google Now on iPhone and iPad, your smartphone will become even smarter.
Google Now is about giving you just the right information at just the right time. It can show you the day's weather as you get dressed in the morning, or alert you that there's heavy traffic between you and your butterfly-inducing date—so you'd better leave now! It can also share news updates on a story you've been following, remind you to leave for the airport so you can make your flight and
much more
. There's no digging required: cards appear at the moment you need them most—and the more you use Google Now, the more you get out of it.
Google Now for iPhone and iPad is available as part of the updated Google Search app. Together, Google Now and voice search will make your day run a little smoother.
In addition to the handy cards in Google Now, the Google Search app still gives you instant answers to all your questions. Try tapping the microphone and speak to your phone—you'll get quick answers spoken back to you. For example, ask Google, "Do I need an umbrella this weekend?" and you'll get the forecast. Or ask "Who's in the cast of 'Oblivion'?" to decide if you want to see it. Voice Search is particularly handy on the go—try "Show me nearby pizza places" and you'll see a map of restaurants around you with directions, phone numbers, ratings and hours.
Get the Google Search app
with Google Now from the App Store. Drag it to the tray, open it, sign in and you're ready to go.
Posted by Andrea Huey, Engineer
The Big Tent comes to Washington
April 26, 2013
When we started holding our
Big Tent
events in London
two years ago
, we wanted to stir up lively conversation about some of the hot topics relating to the Internet and society. After all, the political meaning of a
"big tent"
is to attract diverse viewpoints to come together in one place. Since then, we've held more than 20 Big Tents on three different continents to debate issues ranging from arts and culture online to the economic impact of the web.
Later today, the Big Tent is
coming to Washington, D.C.
for the first time. Along with our partner Bloomberg, we'll hear from some of the top names in media, government and the arts for discussions about one of the values we hold most dear: the
right to free expression
Can free speech survive in the digital age? At a time when too many governments deny their citizens the right to dissent, we'll ask if the Internet is reaching its promise of empowering people around the world. We'll have sessions on the limits to free speech online, national security in the Internet age, and creativity and freedom on the web.
Google's executive chairman Eric Schmidt and senior vice president and chief legal officer David Drummond will be joined by a variety of speakers, including former U.S. attorney general Alberto Gonzales, deputy secretary of homeland security Jane Holl Lute, Bloomberg chief content officer Norman Pearlstine, former New York Times executive editor Bill Keller, and Saudi Arabian comedian and YouTube star Omar Hussein.
Things kick off at 1:30pm EDT today—you can watch the entire event on
Bloomberg's live stream
and tune in to the
Big Tent Google+ page
for updates as the event unfolds. Later on, we'll also upload video clips to the
Big Tent YouTube channel
. We hope you'll join us for exciting conversations about how to best keep the Internet free and open.
Posted by Susan Molinari, Vice President, Public Policy and Government Relations
Two Googlers elected to the American Academy of Arts and Sciences
April 25, 2013
On Wednesday, the
American Academy of Arts and Sciences
announced its list of
2013 elected members
. We're proud to congratulate
Peter Norvig
, director of research, and
Arun Majumdar
, vice president for energy; two Googlers who are among the new members elected this year.
Membership in the American Academy of Arts and Sciences is considered one of the nation's highest honors, with those elected recognized as leaders in the arts, public affairs, business, and academic disciplines. With more than 250 Nobel Prize laureates and 60 Pulitzer Prize winners among its fellows, the American Academy celebrates the exceptional contributions of the elected members to critical social and intellectual issues.
With their election, Peter and Arun join seven other Googlers as American Academy members: Eric Schmidt, Vint Cerf, Alfred Spector, Hal Varian, Ray Kurzweil and founders Sergey Brin and Larry Page, all of whom embody our commitment to innovation and real-world impact. You can read more detailed summaries of Peter and Arun's achievements below.
Dr. Peter Norvig,
currently director of research at Google, is known most for his broad expertise in computer science and artificial intelligence, exemplified by his co-authorship (with Stuart Russell) of the leading college text,
Artificial Intelligence: A Modern Approach
. With more than 50 publications and a plethora of webpages, essays and software programs on a wide variety of CS topics, Peter is a catalyst of fundamental research across a wide range of disciplines while remaining a hands-on scientist who writes his own code. Recently, he has taught courses on artificial intelligence and the design of computer programs via massively open online courses (MOOC). Learn more about Peter and his research on
Dr. Arun Majumdar
leads Google.org's energy initiatives and advises Google on its broader energy strategy. Prior to joining Google last year, he was the founding director of the U.S. Department of Energy's
Advanced Research Projects Agency-Energy (ARPA-E)
, where he served from October 2009 until June 2012. Earlier, he was a professor of mechanical engineering as well as materials science and engineering at the University of California, Berkeley, and headed the
Environmental Energy Technologies Division
at the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory. He has published several hundred papers, patents and conference proceedings. Find out
more about Arun
Posted by Alfred Spector, Vice President, Engineering
Transparency Report: More government removal requests than ever before
April 25, 2013
Three years ago when we
Transparency Report
, we said we hoped it would shine some light on the scale and scope of government requests for censorship and data around the globe. Today, for the seventh time, we're releasing new numbers showing
requests from governments to remove content
from our services. From July to December 2012, we received 2,285 government requests to remove 24,179 pieces of content—an increase from the 1,811 requests to remove 18,070 pieces of content that we received during the first half of 2012.
As we've gathered and released more data over time, it's become increasingly clear that the scope of government attempts to censor content on Google services has grown. In more places than ever, we've been asked by governments to remove political content that people post on our services. In this particular time period, we received court orders in several countries to remove blog posts criticizing government officials or their associates.
You can read more about these requests by looking at the
section of the Transparency Report. Of particular note were three occurrences that took place in the second half of 2012:
There was a sharp increase in requests from
, where we received 697 requests to remove content from our platforms (of which 640 were court orders—meaning we received an average of 3.5 court orders per day during this time period), up from 191 during the first half of the year. The big reason for the spike was the
municipal elections
, which took place last fall. Nearly half of the total requests—316 to be exact—called for the removal of 756 pieces of content related to alleged violations of the
Brazilian Electoral Code
, which forbids defamation and commentary that offends candidates. We're appealing many of these cases, on the basis that the content is protected by freedom of expression under the Brazilian Constitution.
Another place where we saw an increase was from
, where a
new law took effect
last fall. In the first half of 2012, we received six requests, the most we had ever received in any given six-month period from Russia. But in the second half of the year, we received 114 requests to remove content—107 of them citing this new law.
During this period, we received inquiries from 20 countries regarding YouTube videos containing clips of the movie "Innocence of Muslims." While the videos were within our
Community Guidelines
, we restricted videos from view in several countries in accordance with local law after receiving formal legal complaints. We also temporarily restricted videos from view in Egypt and Libya due to the particularly difficult circumstances there.
We've also made a couple of improvements to the Transparency Report since our last update:
We're now breaking down government requests about YouTube videos to clarify whether we removed videos in response to government requests for violating Community Guidelines, or whether we restricted videos from view due to local laws. You can see the details by scrolling to the bottom of each country-specific page.
We've also refreshed the look of the
section, making it easier to see where and when disruptions have occurred to Google services. You can see a map where our services are currently disrupted; you can see a map of all known disruptions since 2009; and you can more easily navigate between time periods and regions.
The information we share on the Transparency Report is just a sliver of what happens on the Internet. But as we disclose more data and continue to expand it over time, we hope it helps draw attention to the laws around the world that govern the free flow of information online.
Posted by Susan Infantino, Legal Director
Celebrating the 50th country on Street View
April 23, 2013
Whether you're planning a summer vacation to visit
the Colosseum
or exploring potential neighborhoods for your next move, Street View gives you instant access to the places you want to see—even before you leave the house. We launched Street View
in 2007 in five U.S. cities
to give you what we called a "feet on the ground" experience and have since been growing the program to make it more comprehensive, accurate and useful for everyone.
Today, we've reached 50 countries with the launch of Street View in Hungary and Lesotho and are significantly expanding our coverage in Poland and Romania, among other locations around the world. This is also the
largest single update
of Street View imagery we've ever pushed, including new and updated imagery for nearly 350,000 miles of roads across 14 countries.
Now you can take a virtual stroll through the historic center of Budapest, right along the Danube (the river that carves the city in two). See the
Hungarian Parliament building
or the famous
Chain bridge
View Larger Map
Budapest, Lánchíd (Chain bridge)
Other Hungarian treasures to be discovered include the
Széchenyi thermal bath
, the largest medicinal bath in Europe, as well as the wonders of
Buda castle
Lesotho, an enclave surrounded by South Africa, is the only independent state that sits entirely 1,000m or more above sea level. Explore some of the mountainous imagery captured by our Street View cars, including
the winding roads
View Larger Map
Leribe District, Lesotho
Other sights include the
Lesotho Evangelical Church
, which is one of Africa's oldest Protestant churches, founded in 1833 by missionaries from Paris, and the
traditional architecture
in Nkesi, Maseru.
We're also refreshing and expanding existing Street View coverage in France, Italy, Poland, Romania, Russia, Singapore and Thailand. And, we've added new special collections of a host of picturesque spots—using our
Street View Trike
technology—including Portugal's
Pena National Palace
, or the
Sha Tin Che Kung Temple
in Hong Kong or the
Kilkenny Castle in Ireland
View Larger Map
Kilkenny Castle, Ireland
From the first handful of
U.S. cities
, to the now thousands of cities and villages worldwide, we've spent the past six years updating Google Maps for you. From
, from
South Korea
South Africa
, from the
snow-capped peaks of Everest
to the
Great Barrier Reef
, you can navigate more than 5 million miles of the world, without ever leaving home. So spin the globe and take a walk through any one of the 50 countries now on Street View.
Posted by Ulf Spitzer, Program Manager, Google Street View
A new kind of summer job: open source coding with Google Summer of Code
April 22, 2013
If you're a university student with CS chops looking to earn real-world experience this summer, consider writing code for a cool open source project with the
Google Summer of Code
Over the past eight years more than 6,000 students have "graduated" from this global program, working with almost 400 different open source projects. Students who are accepted into the program will put the skills they have learned in university to good use by working on an actual software project over the summer. Students are paired with mentors to help address technical questions and concerns throughout the course of the project. With the knowledge and hands-on experience students gain during the summer they strengthen their future employment opportunities in fields related to their academic pursuits. Best of all, more source code is created and released for the use and benefit of all.
Interested students can submit proposals on the
starting now through Friday, May 3 at 12:00pm PDT. Get started by reviewing the ideas pages of the
177 open source projects
in this year's program, and decide which projects you're interested in. Because Google Summer of Code has a limited number of spots for students, writing a great project proposal is essential to being selected to the program—be sure to check out the
Student Manual
for advice.
For ongoing information throughout the application period and beyond, see the
Google Open Source blog
, join our Summer of Code
mailing lists
or join us on Internet relay chat at #gsoc on
Good luck to all the open source coders out there, and remember to submit your proposals early—you only have until May 3 to apply!
Posted by Stephanie Taylor, Open Source team
In support of a national STEM Teacher Corps
April 22, 2013
Last year, while hosting the White House Science Fair,
President Obama said
, "If you win the NCAA championship, you come to the White House. Well, if you're a young person and you produce the best experiment or design, the best hardware or software, you ought to be recognized for that achievement, too." We agree—and we think the best science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) teachers who inspire those young people should be honored and supported as well.
That's why Google and our partner organizations support a national STEM Teacher Corps to acknowledge the great teachers who help students achieve amazing things in the fields of science and technology. We're excited that the President has recommended funding for a STEM Teacher Corps in
his budget
Today we're co-publishing a
white paper
(PDF) with
Math For America
and the
Broad Institute
that outlines some of the key features of such a corps. We gathered input from more than 80 organizations to make recommendations for a program that will reward teachers and schools with significant stipends, foster a community of teachers empowered to make broad improvements in STEM education, and recognize a larger percentage of teachers than any existing recognition program.
We must do more to retain the best teachers so our students have the opportunity to succeed in these growing fields, and we applaud the many organizations already working to elevate and celebrate the top STEM teachers nationwide. We look forward to continuing to support the development of the STEM Teacher Corps and doing our part to ensure that every student has access to truly great STEM teachers.
Posted by Jordan Lloyd Bookey, Head of K-12 Education Outreach and Nancy Lee, Director of People Operations
Following the lead of nature's engineers
April 22, 2013
It's no surprise that Google appreciates engineers. And this Earth Day, we're looking at some of our favorite engineers from nature to see how they can teach us to treat the environment better. We've created a
where we can see the beauty and ingenuity of the natural world through photos from National Geographic. We also want to provide easy ways to be greener in our own lives, so this site shows us how we can all be like those organisms by taking simple actions to care for the environment.
For instance, until recently I'd never heard of a
. Turns out that these fish latch on to other ocean creatures such as whales and turtles to catch rides. In a way, these fish are using their own form of mass transit. To be like the remora and travel with a lighter footprint, we can plan trips using rapid
. Or we can be inspired by
—the true experts on "sleep mode"—to
save energy
in our own lives by
our home thermostat and using energy efficient appliances.
Our doodle today also acknowledges the interconnections of the natural world. You can interact with elements of the environment to affect the seasons, weather and wildlife.
As another way to move from awareness to action, we're hosting a Google+ Hangout On Air
focused on pressing environmental issues. We'll kick it off today at 12pm ET with a Hangout on Air connecting NASA (live from Greenland), National Geographic explorers from around the world, and Underwater Earth (live from the Great Barrier reef). Throughout the week, we'll hold daily Hangouts on Air covering topics such as clean water and animal conservation.
This Earth Day and every day, let's take a moment to marvel at the wonder of nature and do our part to protect the natural ecosystem we all depend on. A salute to
nature's engineers
Posted by Erin Reilly, Google Green team
Happy birthday Campus London. You've grown up so fast.
April 22, 2013
Just over 12 months ago,
Campus London
opened its doors to the young, upcoming London tech startup community. I'd like to think we always knew it would succeed, but I don't think any of us expected the level of engagement and enthusiasm we've seen in year one.
In just 365 days of operation, Campus now has more than 10,000 members, permanently houses more than 100 young companies and has hosted more than 850 events, attracting more than 60,000 guests through the door. From individual entrepreneurs looking to explore their back-of-a-napkin idea to global venture fund managers, there's something for everyone in the London tech scene at Campus, and the vibe is electric.
We asked Campus members to provide their feedback and outlook on year one, and their
has been overwhelmingly positive. Campus-based companies are growing and creating jobs. One in four are already looking to find bigger office spaces to house their growing teams. We've also seen that the success of the London technology startup community as a whole has mirrored that of Campus.
Campus members are younger than the average Tech City entrepreneur, and with initiatives like Women@Campus, increasingly more female entrepreneurs are signing up. Campus is also truly international, with 22 nationalities working, interacting and attending the many mentoring sessions and classes we and our Google volunteers run every day.
Looking ahead to the next year and beyond, we're offering even more: more globally-acclaimed speakers, a new Campus EDU education programme offering mentorship from Googlers, inspirational talks from thought leaders like Guy Kawasaki, Eric Schmidt and Jimmy Wales, and a curriculum of classes to develop the skills young startups need to build successful businesses.
Google started as a two-person startup in a garage in California. We're looking to provide the best possible garage to our 10,000 members every day. And so far, all indicators show that Campus is one of the most exciting places in the world for technological innovation.
Posted by Eze Vidra, Head of Campus
Expanding options for companies to buy renewable energy
April 19, 2013
We're always looking for ways to expand the use of renewable energy. To date we've committed more than $1 billion to renewable energy project
, signed agreements to
procure wind power
near our data centers, and
installed solar panels
at our corporate headquarters.
It's also important to work directly with our utility partners to find solutions that will make more renewable energy available for us and for others. The most straightforward way to do this is for utilities to offer a renewable power option for companies that request it—something that's not currently offered by most utilities. We've just published a
white paper
(PDF) laying out our thoughts on how and why such programs might work.
We're also announcing our first effort to put this idea into practice. We're expanding our
Lenoir, N.C.
data center, and our local electricity provider, Duke Energy, has pledged to develop a new program for large companies like Google who want to buy renewable power for their operations. Duke will file the plan with their state commission within 90 days.
Our Lenoir, N.C. data center
Offering companies like Google a renewable energy option has many advantages. Because the service is made available to a wide range of customers, companies that don't have the ability or resources to pursue alternative approaches can participate. And by tapping utilities' strengths in power generation and delivery, it makes it easier for companies to buy renewable energy on a larger scale. Of course, the approach is not without its challenges: utilities will need to work out the mechanics of the service within their local regulatory structure, and in many cases state utility commissions will need to approve the programs. There's also the challenge of finding cost-effective renewable projects.
We'll continue to find creative ways to supply our facilities with renewable energy, but we think this solution can provide an important new way to increase the use of renewable energy nationwide. We look forward to working with utilities, state utility commissions, companies and other stakeholders to make it a reality.
Posted by Gary Demasi, Director, Global Infrastructure
Bringing Google+ Comments to Blogger
April 18, 2013
Reading and responding to comments can be one of the most rewarding aspects of blogging. Not only do they help you connect with your readers, they can also inspire later blog entries. The challenge, oftentimes, is following all the conversations around your content—on Google+, for instance, as well as on your website. So we're making things a lot simpler.
Starting today, you can bring Google+ Comments to your Blogger blog. Once you've enabled the feature through your Blogger Dashboard, you'll enjoy a number of important benefits:
View your blog and Google+ comments, all in one place
Now when you're browsing your blog's comment threads, you'll see activity from direct visitors, and from people talking about your content on Google+. For example, if there's a public Google+ discussion about one of your blog entries, those comments and replies will also appear on your Blogger blog. This way you can engage with more of your readers, all in one place.
Help readers comment and connect with their circles
Your blog readers will now have the option to comment publicly, or privately to their circles on Google+. And when they're browsing blog comments, they can view all of them, just the top ones, or only those from the people in their circles.
In all cases, you and your readers will only see the comments you have permission to see. Giving people these kinds of controls not only encourages more meaningful sharing—it can lead to more blog traffic.
To get started with Google+ Comments, just visit the Google+ tab of your Blogger Dashboard, and check "Use Google+ Comments." (Older comments will continue to appear in the new widget.) You can also visit any post on the Official Google Blog (like
this one
), or on Blogger Buzz (like
this one
), to see Google+ Comments in action.
Happy commenting!
Posted by
+Yonatan Zunger
, Principal Engineer
Google Fiber—on the Silicon Prairie, the Silicon Hills and now the Silicon Slopes
April 17, 2013
Today the
Google Fiber
team is in Provo, Utah, where Mayor John Curtis just announced that we intend to make Provo our third Google Fiber City.
Utah is already home to
hundreds of tech companies and startups
, and many of them are based in Provo. In fact, the Provo area
ranks second in the nation
in patent growth, and is consistently ranked as
one of the top places to live and do business
in the U.S. We believe the future of the Internet will be built on gigabit speeds, and we're sure the businesses and residents of Provo already have some good ideas for what they'd build with a gig.
In order to bring Fiber to Provo, we've signed an agreement to purchase iProvo, an existing fiber-optic network owned by the city. As a part of the acquisition, we would commit to upgrade the network to gigabit technology and finish network construction so that every home along the existing iProvo network would have the opportunity to connect to Google Fiber. Our agreement with Provo isn't approved yet—it's pending a vote by the City Council scheduled for next Tuesday, April 23. We intend to begin the network upgrades as soon as the closing conditions are satisfied and the deal is closed.
Provo started building their own municipal network in 2004 because they decided that providing access to high speed connectivity was important to their community's future. In 2011, they
started looking for a partner
that could acquire their network and deliver an affordable service for Provoans. We're committed to keeping their vision alive, and, if the deal is approved and the acquisition closes, we'd offer our
Free Internet service
(5 Mbps speeds) to every home along the existing Provo network, for a $30 activation fee and no monthly charge for at least seven years. We would also offer Google Fiber Gigabit Internet—up to 100x faster Internet than today's average broadband speeds—and the option for Google Fiber TV service with hundreds of your favorite channels. We'd also provide free Gigabit Internet service to 25 local public institutions like schools, hospitals and libraries.
Over the next few days, we'll be in and around Provo with Mayor Curtis, attending community meetings and talking to residents about what widespread gigabit connectivity could mean for their community, and the ways in which we'd invest in their iProvo network. If you are a Provoan, we
hope to see you there
Posted by Kevin Lo, GM, Google Fiber
Helping entrepreneurs take the "NEXT" step
April 17, 2013
Entrepreneurs around the world tell us that they want to launch new businesses—but that before they do, they need to make sure they have the skills to make those companies as successful as possible. Starting today, a new partnership with
our friends
at Startup Weekend will help these entrepreneurs realize that dream.
Startup Weekend NEXT
, powered by
Google for Entrepreneurs
, will enable any entrepreneur to register for a comprehensive, five-week course developed by renowned entrepreneur and educator
Steve Blank
. The curriculum, built around customer development and in-person interaction, helps entrepreneurs validate and modify their business models. And it lets them sit next to and work with established entrepreneurs and peers who've experienced the exact same challenges they face.
Active in a number of cities now, Startup Weekend NEXT will expand globally over the course of 2013. Using Google+ Hangouts, NEXT experts will train local instructors from Reykjavik to Ramallah, enabling entrepreneurs all over the world to launch and build their businesses.
We were excited to officially launch this partnership at
Campus London
, with Steve Blank joining us live over Google+ Hangout to kick things off. Campus opened a year ago this month and now has 10,000 members, is home to more than 100 young businesses and has hosted more than 800 entrepreneurship events.
We've been energized by the incredible momentum and connections that are happening within Campus' walls and through our partners' programs—including Startup Weekend's, which runs its European operations from Campus London. Together, we look forward to equipping entrepreneurs with the skills they need to start and scale great companies.
Posted by John Lyman, Google for Entrepreneurs
Secretary of State John Kerry kicks off "Hangouts at State" series on Google+
April 15, 2013
Over the past year, Google+ has been used across the globe to connect people and enable free expression—from
Syria Deeply
, an independent news site which regularly uses Google+ and Hangouts to report about the crisis in Syria to
Tom Fletcher
, the British Ambassador to Lebanon, who issues dispatches from one country to another via Hangout.
Today, the U.S. Department of State is building on this trend by announcing a new series of discussions called "Hangouts at State." Each month, these conversations will bring people together across global boundaries to discuss the most pressing U.S. foreign policy issues, like democracy promotion, human rights, counterterrorism efforts, economic development, climate change and drug interdiction.
The series kicks off on Friday, April 19 with a
with U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry, entitled "The U.S. in the World: What's In It for Us" and moderated by NBC's Chief Foreign Affairs Correspondent Andrea Mitchell. The Secretary will be joined by a group of Americans to discuss the impact of U.S. foreign policy on people at home.
Tune in on Friday at 1 p.m. E.T. to watch the conversation unfold, and keep your eye on the
Google Politics and Elections page
for news about the next "Hangout at State."
Posted by Ramya Raghavan, Google+ Politics and Causes
Taking a minute to enjoy some art on World Art Day
April 15, 2013
Today is
World Art Day
and it's around two years since we
Google Art Project. In honour of this and all our partners, large and small, traditional and modern, let's take a quick look at how people are interacting with art online.
The Internet brings paintings to life and it seems that
The Starry Night
by van Gogh is the one that visitors to Art Project admire the most. In the past six months, this was the most viewed painting in
—an extremely high resolution painting which allows viewers to zoom in to brushstroke level. While nothing beats seeing a painting in real life, the ability to examine a work of art in this level of detail seems to be encouraging viewers to linger. One minute is the average time spent looking at any given painting on the Art Project website, compared to under 20 seconds (according to several studies) in a museum.
The Starry Night is also the most frequently included painting in
user galleries
, where individuals create and share their own virtual art collections. We have 40,000 works of art on the platform but some remain perennial favourites. The other most popular inclusions in user galleries (in order) are :
The Birth of Venus
Self Portrait Drawing at a Window
van Gogh:
The Bedroom
In the Conservatory
Bruegel (the Elder):
The Harvesters
van Gogh:
Holbein (the Younger):
The Ambassadors
van Gogh:
Field with Flowers near Arles
The Isle of the Dead
The Starry Night on Art Project
Viewings of user galleries were in fact higher than any individual artist or painting. To date, 360,000 galleries have been created, 14,000 of which are public on the web. To mark World Art Day, we asked some of our
to curate user galleries of their own. Take a look through the selections of eight museum directors
Given the list above, it's clear the classics remain popular with viewers, but there is increasing interest in modern art as well, with
featuring among the most searched for artists. The Internet has also allowed users to explore multiple genres in a single destination. More than 30 different mediums co-exist on Art Project with oil on canvas next to over 5,000 objects including
silk textiles
. There can't be many places where you can find
Brazilian street art
Many partners who have contributed an art collection have also opted to put their museums on Street View. On average, visitors spend around two minutes exploring the interior of the buildings and viewing the paintings on display. The most-visited Street View destination on Art Project is
The White House
. As the majority of us will never get the opportunity to go inside, the Internet allows a rare glimpse into a global institution that also houses an extensive art
With over 200 partners from 43 countries, we continue our quest to open up access to art to millions of professionals, students, beginners and amateur enthusiasts. At 1pm ET today, we'll be holding the latest in our
Art Talks
series on our
G+ page
, which aims to put art lovers in touch with art experts online. Sign up
to hangout with the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York to chat about multimedia in the arts from the comfort of your armchair on World Art Day.
Posted by Amit Sood, Google Cultural Institute
Introducing the Glass Collective
April 10, 2013
is a potentially transformative technology. It's a window into the world's information, and a new way to share experiences with those you care about.
Here at
Google Ventures
, my partners and I thought the potential for Glass was significant enough to invite our friends at
Andreessen Horowitz
Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers
to join us in exploring this big opportunity. We've formed the Glass Collective, an investment syndicate among our three firms, to provide seed funding to entrepreneurs in the Glass ecosystem to help jumpstart their ideas.
Smart entrepreneurs and engineers are going to develop amazing experiences through Glass. If you've been mulling over a brilliant idea for Glass,
let us know
Posted by Bill Maris, Managing Partner, Google Ventures
For Malaysia: Bringing Google Apps and Chromebooks to the classroom
April 10, 2013
As a parent of three kids, I have the same aspirations as many other parents and educators—to provide them with the best opportunities to learn and discover their passions. For many students, the web has become an incredible resource for the classroom, offering tools to work collaboratively, share and research. School systems of all sizes—from a single primary school to an entire country such as the
—have "Gone Google" in their schools and embraced the web to transform education.
Today the country of Malaysia is going a step further by adopting
Google Apps
for 10 million students, teachers and parents. As part of this initiative they are also deploying Chromebooks to primary and secondary schools nationwide. These efforts to integrate the web are a central part of a
national plan
(PDF) to reform its educational system.
To deploy technology across a nationwide school system, computers need to be simple, manageable and secure. Chromebooks are ideal for learning and sharing in the classroom—there's nothing complicated to learn, they boot up in seconds and have virus protection built in. They also offer
easy setup and deployment
, which means they're ready to go the moment a student opens the lid and logs in. And with reduced overhead costs, Chromebooks are a cost-efficient option* to deploy technology at scale.
To date, more than 3,000 schools worldwide, from Edina, Minnesota to Point England, New Zealand, have deployed Chromebooks to
improve attendance and graduation rates
make learning more fun
enable students to take more ownership for their learning
The web gives our children and students new opportunities to access the world's information and work collaboratively. We look forward to working with
national and regional leaders
to make the most of the web with Google Apps and Chromebooks and help them provide the best opportunities to every student.
Posted by Felix Lin, Director of Product Management
*In research sponsored by Google, research firm IDC found that Chromebooks yield three-year cost of ownership savings of $1,135 per device compared to traditional PCs or tablets, require 69% fewer hours to deploy and 92% fewer hours to manage.
Learn more
Fighting human trafficking
April 9, 2013
Human trafficking, the narcotics trade and weapons smuggling all have one major thing in common: Their ill-gotten proceeds feed conflict, instability and repression worldwide. Out of all of these, human trafficking is perhaps the most devastating, enslaving nearly 21 million people and
at least $32 billion of illicit profits every year. At last summer's
Google Ideas
summit on mapping, disrupting and exposing illicit networks
, it became clear that connecting anti-trafficking helplines in a global data sharing collaboration could help identify illicit patterns and provide victims anywhere in the world with more effective support. Today,
Polaris Project
Liberty Asia
, and
La Strada International
are receiving a $3 million
Global Impact Award
from Google to do just that. Building on our
2011 grants
, this brings our total commitment to anti-trafficking efforts to $14.5 million.
Global Impact Awards support nonprofits that use technology to launch disruptive solutions in their sector. We
the Global Impact Awards program last December to fund new ideas with a potential for huge scale. And at the
Google Ideas INFO summit
over the summer, we brought together technologists, leaders, and those with unique personal experiences — including former weapons brokers and survivors of domestic and international human trafficking — to look at illicit networks and their defining obstacles. By connecting technologists and experts with those who understand and have lived through trafficking situations, our discussion centered around a fundamental question: What if local, national, and regional anti-trafficking helplines across the globe were all connected in a data-driven network that helped disrupt the web of human trafficking?
Since the summit, we've worked with Polaris Project, Liberty Asia and La Strada International to make this concept a reality. These organizations exist to provide vital help to victims in need across the United States, the Mekong Delta region and Europe. Now, working across borders, this new Global Human Trafficking Hotline Network will collect data from local hotline efforts, share promising practices and create anti-trafficking strategies that build on common patterns and focus on eradication, prevention and victim protection. To enhance the participating organizations' ability to better share, analyze and act upon their data in real time,
Palantir Technologies
will expand on its existing relationship with Polaris Project by donating its data integration and analytics platform for this project. In addition,
supports Polaris Project's hotline center and is helping scale their call tracking infrastructure internationally.
Together, these partners will not only be able to help more trafficking survivors, but will also move the global conversation forward by dramatically increasing the amount of useful data being shared. Appropriate data can tell the anti-trafficking community which campaigns are most effective at reducing slavery, what sectors are undergoing global spikes in slavery, or if the reduction of slavery in one country coincides with an increase right across the border.
In the U.S., Polaris Project has collected data from over 72,000 hotline calls, helping local and national anti-trafficking communities better understand the dynamics of the crime. No such actionable hotline database has existed globally — but it doesn't need to be that way. Clear international strategies, increased cooperation, and appropriate data sharing amongst anti-trafficking organizations will help victims, prevention efforts, and sound policymaking. Slavery can be stopped. Let's get to it.
Posted by Jared Cohen, Director of Google Ideas and Jacquelline Fuller, Director of Google Giving
Google Fiber's Next Stop: Austin, Texas
April 9, 2013
We know that your time is valuable and so we've always focused on speed — from search to Gmail, Chrome to Android. Two years ago, we announced that we'd be bringing Google Fiber to Kansas City to show what's possible with super fast Internet access, and since November we've been connecting homes there to gigabit Internet that's 100 times faster than today's average broadband performance.
Today, we're pleased to announce with Mayor Lee Leffingwell that Austin, Texas is becoming a Google Fiber city. It's a mecca for creativity and entrepreneurialism, with thriving artistic and tech communities, as well as the University of Texas and its new medical research hospital. We're sure these folks will do amazing things with gigabit access, and we feel very privileged to have been welcomed to their community.
Our goal is to start connecting homes in Austin by mid-2014. Customers there will have a similar
choice of products
as our customers in Kansas City: Gigabit Internet or Gigabit Internet plus our Google Fiber TV service with nearly 200 HD TV channels. We're still working out pricing details, but we expect them to be roughly similar to Kansas City. Also, as in Kansas City, we're going to offer customers a free Internet connection at 5 mbps for 7 years, provided they pay a one-time construction fee. We're also planning to connect many public institutions as we build in Austin— schools, hospitals, community centers, etc. — at a gigabit for no charge. If you live in Austin and want to sign up for more information, please visit our website.
The Internet is still in its early days and has so much more potential to improve our lives. The web helps students and families access essential resources, from information about jobs and healthcare to banking and educational services. Communities that are connected to the Internet grow stronger because there's greater potential to create jobs, drive economic growth, and help businesses succeed. We believe the Internet's next chapter will be built on gigabit speeds, and we hope this new Google Fiber city will inspire communities across America to think about what ultrafast connectivity could mean for them. If you're a city leader and you're looking for some help making your city gigabit-friendly, have a look at
this video
from the FCC's March 2013 Workshop on Gigabit Community Broadband Networks for steps you can take towards your own gigabit-powered future.
Posted by Posted by Milo Medin, Vice President, Access Services
Become a public speaking pro: learning how to present the next great idea
April 4, 2013
This is the third post in a
profiling Googlers who facilitate classes as part of our g2g program, in which Googlers teach, share and learn from each other. Regardless of role, level or location, g2g's community-based approach makes it possible for all Googlers to take advantage of a variety of learning opportunities. - Ed.
"[Public speaking] is quite simple, say what you have to say and
when you come to a sentence with a grammatical ending, sit down." —Winston Churchill
If only public speaking were actually that easy. We're often asked to present in front of a group, so good presentation skills are really important. Fear of public speaking is often
higher than fear of spiders, flying and heights. While spiders can make me jumpy, I not only
public speaking, I also teach it.
In addition to my core role as Google Toronto's agency team lead (helping to nurture relationships with some of the largest ad agencies in Canada), I help my colleagues amp up their public speaking skills as a g2g (Googler-to-Googler) facilitator for two classes, "Presenting with Confidence" and "Presenting with Charisma." These two classes help my fellow Googlers erase anxiety and self-doubt and focus on the goal—communicating your message. I am actually a mechanical engineer by trade who, at one point, entered graduate school to study robotics. Not exactly the type that comes to mind when you think of great orators. But I've learned along the way, as an engineer turned "sales guy," that a confident demeanor and a little charm can turn a snooze-fest into an engaging, lively meeting.
Here I am teaching one of our Presenting with Confidence classes in our New York City office.
Photo by Jane Hu.
"Presenting with Confidence" goes beyond the "picture the audience in their underwear" adage. First, students are tasked with making brief presentations about themselves, whether it be about their most recent vacation or how they play in a jazz band. We videotape the students giving their presentations on their phones to review later as a part of the exercise and to keep for their own reference. This, as it turns out, is one of the most effective, eye-opening exercises in the class. Before we roll the tape, the participant comments on an area he/she believes will be pointed out by others, such as, "I always fidget with my hands" or, "I blush as red as a tomato." The reality is often completely different, and provides an immediate boost of confidence, allowing the student to focus on the content of their presentation. Part of the confidence boost also stems from being surrounded by peers who are in the same boat, so there's no judgment.
Sharing honest feedback with your peers is an important part of the learning process.
Photo by Jane Hu.
"Presenting with Charisma" focuses on adding charm and magnetism to your speech. The more the audience wants to hear from a speaker, the more information they'll absorb. In this class, Googlers nail down the right mix of tone, body language and delivery to better captivate their audience. We role play to learn how to conquer inevitable yet potentially disastrous moments, like when your technology demo crashes.
I experienced one such moment myself when I covered a presentation for a fellow Googler at the last minute. When I started getting asked questions that were beyond my ability to handle, I followed the advice I give my own students, which is to remain calm, upbeat and easy-going—no matter what. I decided to play off the audience's own knowledge so that the Q&A became more of a dialogue rather than the spotlight shining solely on me.
Solid communication skills anchor any job function. Whether you are an engineer presenting new findings to your manager or a salesperson pitching a new business strategy to a client, a few tips and a lot of practice can make a significant impact on your presentations. If you're one of the many,
professionals who feels uneasy about getting up in front of a room full of people, try the following tried-and-true techniques to start mastering the art of public speaking.
Tips and tricks to boost your public speaking confidence and charisma:
1) Pace yourself.
To slow down and build momentum, try reciting a sentence then walking to the other side of the room. Pause, then walk back to the other side and deliver your next sentence.
2) Unfreeze.
What to do if you totally freeze during your presentation? Look at your slide or notes and just describe what you see on the slide or page in front of you. The words will start flowing and come back to you.
3) Fidget and fiddle no more.
Displacement tactic: if you find yourself always fiddling with your hands or keeping your hands in your pockets, try standing behind a chair or a podium and planting your hands on the podium so you appear confident. (Even
political leaders
use this trick.)
4) Get physical.
Use the room to your advantage and keep your audience alert. Walk across the room or even among the audience to get people involved in your presentation.
5) Stop saying "Um."
To rid yourself of "umm"-ing your way through a presentation, use this physical displacement tactic: Every time you are transitioning from one point to another, do something small but physical, like moving your pen. Making a conscious effort to move the pen will turn your brain off from using a verbal filler instead.
Posted by Adam Green, Agency Lead and G2G Instructor
April 1
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I recently reviewed the Garmin ForeRunner 10, and have been thrilled with it as a simple, entry-level running GPS-watch. But what if you want to use a heart-rate monitor, ride a bike, go into the water and so on? At that point you need a new device – something like the Magellan Switch series. Magellan is very explicit that the Switch is designed as a multi-sport device, and was kind enough to send along a review sample of the Switch for me to check out (UPDATE: Magellan recently sent me a pre-release update for the Switch, and I will comment where it made a noticeable difference). Let's see how it did!
The Hype:
Switch is a crossover GPS watch designed primarily for running but expandable to cycling, swimming and other outdoor activities.
Switch tracks position precisely with GPS satellite data and records time, distance, speed/pace, elevation and more. High-sensitivity GPS allows Switch to acquire satellites quickly and track movement in many tough environments – near tall buildings, on mountainous terrain or under heavy tree cover. By using ANT+TM wireless technology, the Switch easily connects to a Magellan heart rate monitor or any ANT+ compatible heart rate monitor, foot pod, bike speed/cadence sensor and power meter.
Boasting a high-resolution display, Switch provides superior readability in varying light conditions – especially bright light. With 8 hours of battery life from a rechargeable lithium-ion battery, Switch has enough gas in the tank to capture most activities. And for endurance athletes, Magellan offers an optional Battery Extender Pack that provides 16 hours of additional battery life, for a total of 24 hours.
Switch is water-resistant to 50 meters, so it can be worn for an extended period in water to track swimming activities and other high intensity water and snow activities. The slim design and flexible wristband mean Switch can be used in a variety of conditions.
Switch breaks away from the pack by introducing a new training concept for GPS watches – Activity Pacer. Once a desired distance, time and speed/pace have been set, Activity Pacer not only shows the targeted progress, but more importantly, provides specific targets to attain or maintain the original goal.
Additionally, Switch includes fitness and training features such as customizable activity screens with over 80 data fields to choose from, 9 activity profiles to save device configurations based on activity type, auto lap, auto pause, backtrack navigation, marking locations, activity history, and more.
For those looking to analyze and share their activities, Magellan makes it easy for customers to upload, view and store activities at Magellan Active as well as other leading fitness sites, including MapMyFitness, TrainingPeaks, Strava and more.
The Reality:
As I mentioned with the Garmin, there are really only a few things that matter to me: that the GPS works, is repeatable, is accurate, and that the watch is comfortable. Let's dig through all of them one at a time.
Size & Comfort
The first GPS watch I even tried on was my brother's Garmin 305 … the beast! That thing should come with a quick-release, because it is heavy enough to be used as a wrist weight!
After several months using the Nike+ GPS Watch and then checking out the small and ultralight Garmin, the Switch was much bigger and heavier than the Garmin and a bit heavier than the Nike+. It was also larger, but that was deceptive because the smooth lines of the Nike+ make it appear smaller than it actually is. The Switch is built to accommodate the change between running and biking, and therefore it is a fairly boxy design.
Build Quality
When I first put the switch on my wrist, aside from noting how large it felt, I also noticed how solid it was. The band is thick and wide, and the metal latch is wide so the closure feels robust and secure. It also feels like it will last a very long time.
The same is true for all of the buttons – everything is sealed to be water-tight, but also feels very well made. It takes significant pressure to activate the buttons, which means you don't have to worry about the 'trigger happy' effect some find with the Garmin. Using the buttons while wearing my running gloves is more of a pain, but at least it is consistent.
Not Really a Watch
The reason I call this a 'wrist GPS' is that because when not in use the screen is blank … there is NO watch! This might seem like a moot complaint, as the main focus is to track performance, and no one would wear something as large as this as an everyday watch. That said, when you are at a race or even meeting up for a group run, chances are you check the time … frequently. OK, so there IS a time function, but no easy way to get it to simply display the time like a 'normal watch'.
Let me be blunt – I consider digging through menus or having to use a secondary timepiece unacceptable when I just strapped something on my wrist with a built-in timing mechanism.
How do you build a device that works for running, swimming and biking? Since each has its own terminology and sets of monitors, it means adding extra parameters, making icons and screens more generic, and building in support for just about everything. A simple example is speed – in biking I care about speed in terms of miles per hour, whereas for running I want my pace in minutes per mile. This means having menu items that allow you to deal with both.
In terms of wireless device support, fortunately the ANT+ technology is standard across sports, so your wireless monitor will likely work with the Switch. You can use footpods, heart rate monitors, cadence meters, and pretty much anything else related to running, biking or swimming.
The final cost is flexibility IS flexibility: as mentioned, since you need to take the Switch to a variety of sports it needs to be flexible. Nowhere is this more demanding than biking. For running you strap the Switch to your wrist. For biking it gets hard-mounted to the bike. The Switch-Up has a quick-release plate to ease these transitions, something I would strongly recommend if you are a triathlete.
Ease of Use
The core marketing of the Garmin was around 'one button' operation and 'just start running' as a mantra. Most GPS watches require a bit more understanding and up-front work, possibly even reading the manual. The Switch definitely falls into that category. Whereas the Nike+ and Garmin are running watches exclusively and use those standards, the Switch has a very different set of icons and standards, and doesn't feel immediately obvious in terms of operation.
The great example is getting started – there is a power button that starts the GPS, but that has nothing to do with recording a workout. THAT button is on the middle of the opposite side with an icon that looks more like 'stop' than anything else. But the power button DOES activate the backlight, something not apparent on the Switch itself. Just take a look at the couple of images of the buttons – they really don't seem to suggest anything particularly helpful.
As for the screen layout and information display … I will get to that shortly.
Let's Go For a Run
So once I figured out how to start and stop data collection, and that the GPS starts hunting as soon as you power on, I was ready for a run. I headed outdoors, stretched while waiting for the 'beep', started 'activity recording' and headed out. So far, so good.
As you proceed you get pace, distance and elapsed time on the main screen. You can customize the information display, but those were my choices. By default you get a beep every mile as an auto-lap, similar to what Garmin does (Nike+ doesn't default to auto-lap). If you push the menu button you toggle what is displayed, and like everywhere else there is tremendous depth that will benefit some and hinder others.
At the end of a run press the start button again to stop recording, and then hold it for a few seconds to bring up the save menu. Unlike many other devices, your data isn't saved until you explicitly choose to 'save and erase' the data. It was a bit disconcerting at first to do this, since you were erasing the system before you knew it saved properly. UPDATE: Magellan has changed the terminology in a pre-release update they sent to me … THANK YOU!
Pacing, Elapsed Time and More!
Remember I was mentioning the depth of the Switch? Interactivity is where it shines. If you want to maintain a specific pace to hit a certain marathon time, you can program that into the watch. It will tell you if you are on target currently and overall with visuals to help know where you are compared to target.
Similarly, if you are swimming or biking and are looking for an estimated arrival time on a course, you can program that in as well. Since there is a timing function, you will get an accurate ETA based on your pace and the course.
Again, there is a tremendous amount of depth beyond what the normal runner will ever use, but if you are a triathlete would be indispensable.
The Curse of the 'Under 40 Font'
As mentioned, there are three lines of information displayed when the Switch is active – you can customize it to display just two lines, but with three lines there can be as many as SIX items of information on-screen at once! This makes it a challenge to glance at data as simply as on many GPS watches, but as you seen in the image I too at arm's length, it isn't too bad. The viewability of activity data is acceptable, owing to a higher resolution screen than just about any other GPS watch.
The problem is that the Switch also pops up dialog boxes with information. The second time I used the Switch, I heard a beep and assumed that meant that the GPS had locked, but the text was too small for me to quickly see and I just pressed the 'start recording button'. Turns out the GPS did NOT lock, and whereas I had data from my Garmin, Nike+ and Samsung Galaxy SIII (RunKeeper), I had only an elapsed time from the Switch.
This 'invisible font' issue becomes more problematic when you try to actively use the watch when running (or biking or swimming). The screens look like they were viewed on a projector in a conference room and seemed fine, but never really checked out for real-world use. This isn't always the case, but there were too many times when the lettering was too small for an active display.
My reference to the 'Under 40 Font' goes back to a Visual C++ conference I attended in the 90s when an older programmer spoke about the dangers of young programmers with huge monitors writing stuff that looks fine to them but that folks with 15″ screens and aging vision will not be able to read. My vision, fortunately, remains excellent … but there are limits.
Battery Life
The Switch is rated for 8 hours of active use, and that seems to hold up pretty well to what I experienced. I did a few two-hour long runs before uploading my data to test storage (I worried about the 'erase' thing) and that pretty much ran down the battery. In standby mode the battery seems to last forever – I had a two-week gap between uses, and the battery was still at 85%!
One cool thing Magellan offers for the Switch Up watch is an external battery pack. This clips on where the USB cradle would attach and provides 16 more hours of charge, for a full 24 hours of recording!
While on the subject of the Switch Up, aside from the ability to quick-change from run to bike, you also get sensors for temperature and a barometric altimeter – which is theoretically more accurate than the GPS altimeter.
Precision & Accuracy
This is the most problematic and contentious item in the review – because quite honestly while I might seem to be nitpicking the Switch so far, there isn't a single thing that would defer me from recommending it aside from an inability to determine the distance I am running accurately and precisely.
Precision is getting the same answer (right or wrong) repeatably; accuracy is getting the correct answer. So naturally precision is an easier metric since most of us don't have the means to truly estimate GPS distance accuracy directly. My answer there was 'triangulation' – use a trusted source, then measure as many devices together in a repeated fashion as possible.
I was never overly thrilled with the precision of my Nike+ watch, as I found it could deviate ~0.2 miles over the 8-10 mile runs I was doing every day training for the marathon. When running the 5 – 8k road races, I also found it a bit out of sync (i.e. accuracy) with the 'Garmin beep chorus' and total distance at the finish line … but again only by a couple of tenths.
As a contrast, my Garmin has demonstrated what I call 'street width precision'. I have four different courses I run on a regular basis, and each has me crossing a mile marker at an intersection at least once. And after running these course more than 25 times each over the last three months, I have come to expect to hear the 'beep' within a few steps of the exact same location each time. As for accuracy, the Garmin mapped the 26.2 miles of the Wineglass Marathon (which is measured and marked to international standards) within ~0.1 mile.
From the very first day I used the Switch – which was a ~3 mile recovery run after the Marathon – I found it to be 'off'. Specifically I found it to over-report my distance, and therefore also my pace (since time was dead-on). For the first run the offset was only ~0.1 miles (which is 3%), and for a nice 12 mile killer double-hill loop the difference was 0.45 miles. These values are compared to the average of the Nike+, Garmin and RunKeeper.
But since my entire marathon training was based on a watch with dodgy accuracy and precision, why does that matter? Well, the big thing was the order of magnitude: with the Nike+ I was within a couple of tenths, and even though early on in my training that bothered my, by the time I was doing 50+ miles per week it was just a minor annoyance. My bigger concern was precision – so I decided to test out the set of four GPS devices!
The graph shows the results – the Garmin was all within <0.1 mile, the Runkeeper slightly worse (I did switch to the Galaxy Note II during the test), the Nike+ had ~0.2mile range … and the Magellan was the most variable. The Magellan also had the most variable GPS lock times, a couple of times being nearly instantaneous, and a couple of times taking a very long time.
I had reported the issue to Magellan a while back, and more recently I got a software update. I ran with the Switch only a few times after applying the patch, and while it seemed that the distances were much more precise (7.04, 7.05, 7.08mi on three tests) the accuracy was still off (6.88 was the average of other devices).
I have read comparisons of up to SEVEN devices at once, and to be honest the 0.4mi difference is fairly small compared to some of those comparisons. However, compared to other devices I tested it was a concern for me.
UPDATE: With the software update I was REALLY hoping for an improvement here, and in a way there was: I did three runs late last week on the same course and all were within 0.1 mile. There was still an offset, but it was ~0.2mi for a 7.75 mile course, so it seems like there was marked improvement from the update.
Connection Software
I stated in my Garmin review that I felt spoiled by the Nike software, as it auto-starts when the watch is attached to USB, records everything and then opens the results in a web browser. Using Garmin Connect felt like a step down, as I needed to manually open the website and upload my workouts from the watch.
The Magellan Active site is more like the Garmin experience. You login using credentials from the Magellan site, and once you've installed a browser plugin the site will find your watch and upload the data. You get all of the pace, terrain, GPS and other useful information displayed in a quick-to-glance format. You can export the data to a variety of other sites and share it on Facebook.
When uploading data, you can also opt to have GPS data downloaded to the Switch, which will help with sync-up time in the future. While Nike+ and Garmin do sync GPS data for better prediction, this actually tells the Switch about GPS positioning for the next week. In my usage, I only noticed any difference in GPS location time based on this once or two – and am not sure it helped, but it is a cool feature.
My only issue with the software was that there were two separate occasions when I could login to the Magellan site but not the 'Active' portal to upload workouts.
From the start I called the Magellan Switch both feature-packed and flawed … and that is something of a problem. The Switch brings a level of interaction, multi-sport, pacing details, customization and more that is simply unheard of in the industry. Yet it suffers from issues with readability of fonts, lack of a decent watch functionality, clunky design aesthetic compromises, and some concerns around precision and accuracy.
Do I recommend it? That depends on the usage: for runners or other single-sport athletes: NO. Period. You can get a better specific device for less money. For runners both my low-end Garmin and comparable Nike+ performed better and felt better to wear for a long run.
But if you are a triathlete, it is hard to match the Switch (particularly the Switch Up) offering: multi-sport capabilities, great ANT+ functionality, extended battery option and more. And with the update delivering better text readability and context, and some much-needed GPS accuracy and precision improvements, Magellan might well be on the way to having a top-notch GPS watch. Or … non-watch.
So there it is: single sport, move along; multi-sport, check this out! But my final caveat is this: the Magellan Switch is a deep GPS system, but all of that depth of functionality and customization comes at a price.
Here is my hands-on video of the Magellan Switch:
Review: Magellan Switch
Where to Buy: Magellan.com or Amazon.com
Price: $229.95 ($217.66 at Amazon.com)
What I Like: Amazing functionality; tremendous depth; excellent and useful customization; ANT+ compatibility; extendable battery; usable across multiple sports
What Needs Improvement: Issues with GPS accuracy and precision; basic 'watch mode' lacking; 'do it all' functionality makes doing the basics more difficult.
Source: Manufacturer provided review sample

subset: commoncrawl


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Window tint Citroën C5
- Glue-free film for easy installation
- Delivered pre-cut
- Tool kit included
- Assembly guarantee 30 days
- NOTE! No right of withdrawal. Check your order carefully.
Order individual films, click here
Window tint film for the Citroën C5.
Removable precut window tint film for all Citroën C5 year's models from 2001 and forward. The Citroën C5 has five windows behind the driver (behind the B-pillar), of which three windows are in the trunk and two windows are in the passenger doors, and two windows in the front doors.
Note that there are different body models for the Citroën C5 for models 2008, so choose the right one!
Buy window tint film for the front doors of your Citroën C5 at a reduced price! (Reduced price applies when ordering window tint film for the other windows behind the driver). With window tint film on all windows, you get a nicer, safer and cooler Citroën C5.


text:
Honda Builds 1 Millionth Automobile for Export From U.S.
Twenty-five years after the first U.S.-made Honda automobile was exported to overseas markets, associates at the company's Marysville Auto Plant today marked production of the 1 millionth Honda automobile to be exported from the U.S. The silver 2013 Honda Accord EX-L Sedan will be shipped to South Korea.
Within two years, Honda will become a "net exporter" of automobiles from North America - exporting more vehicles built in its auto plants in North America than it imports from Japan - as these local production operations take on a larger responsibility for the introduction of global automobiles sold in multiple countries.
"Quality for the world, made in America, has been an important Honda commitment for the past 25 years," said Takanobu Ito, president & CEO of Honda Motor Co., Ltd., in a video message to the gathering. "In the coming years, we will take on the challenge of helping even more customers around the world enjoy Honda products made in the USA."
Since 1987, Honda has exported more than $22 billion worth of automobiles and components from the U.S. This includes its exports of finished vehicles as well as component parts sets from suppliers in the U.S. that are used to produce automobiles at Honda plants overseas.
The export milestone Accord Sedan that rolled off the assembly line in Marysville, Ohio, now embarks on a more than 8,000-mile journey across the United States to Port Hueneme in Southern California, and then across the Pacific Ocean to Seoul, South Korea, where the company recently began sales of its U.S.-made vehicles. Honda currently exports automobiles to more than 40 countries (Honda does not include shipments from the U.S. to Canada as exports), with total exports expected to reach nearly 100,000 Honda and Acura vehicles from the U.S. in 2012.
Honda recently marked its 30th anniversary of producing automobiles in America, becoming the first Japanese carmaker to make automobiles in America on Nov. 1, 1982. Five years later, Honda became the first international automaker to export U.S.-made automobiles to overseas markets when it began shipping Ohio-made Accords to Taiwan in fall 1987. A year later, Honda exported its first U.S.-made Accord Coupe to Japan.
With an investment of more than $2.2 billion in its North American operations over the past two years, Honda will increase automobile production capacity in North America from the current 1.63 million to 1.92 million units per year in 2014. As a result, in the coming years, annual exports of Honda and Acura automobiles from the U.S. are expected to far surpass the company's previous single-year export record of 105,511 vehicles set in 1994.
Every Honda auto plant in North America builds cars and trucks for export to global markets, including operations in Ohio, Alabama and Indiana. Exported models include the Honda Civic, Accord, CR-V, Pilot, Odyssey, Crosstour and Ridgeline and the Acura ILX, TL, RDX and MDX. Further, many of the vehicles exported from the U.S. were designed and developed in the U.S. by Honda R&D Americas.
Honda currently exports automobiles to more than 40 countries from the U.S. through seven port facilities in three states:
- Port Hueneme, Calif.
- Jacksonville, Miami and Tampa, Fla.
- Brunswick, Ga.
- Baltimore, Md.
- Newark, N.J.
The one million automobiles exported from America represents a value of $19 billion dollars since the first export to Taiwan in 1987. Further, the cumulative export of component parts sets is valued at more than $3.24 billion.
In addition to the export of automobiles and automobile parts, American Honda also exports power sports (ATVs) and power equipment products made at Honda's U.S. plants to overseas markets:
- Cumulative exports of power sports products from the U.S., including ATVs now produced in Timmonsville, S.C., total more than 500,000 units, since 1980.
- Cumulative exports of power equipment products from the U.S., including lawn mowers, general purpose engines, surpassed the 2 million-unit mark in 2012, since the start of power equipment production in Swepsonville, N.C. in 1984.
A complete, year-by-year history of Honda's automobile, power sports and power equipment exports can be found in the Honda Digital FactBook. To see a video about Honda's U.S. manufacturing and export efforts, please click here.
About Honda
Honda established operations in America in 1959, and now employs more than 26,000 associates in its U.S. sales, R&D and manufacturing operations with a capital investment of more than $12.5 billion.
Based on its longstanding commitment to "build products close to the customer" Honda operates 14 major manufacturing facilities in North America, producing a wide range of Honda and Acura automobiles, automobile engines and transmissions, Honda all-terrain vehicles, and power equipment products such as lawn mowers, mini-tillers and general purpose engines, using domestic and globally sourced parts.
Seven Honda auto plants in the region, including four in the U.S., have the capacity to produce 1.63 million automobiles each year. In 2011, 85 percent of the Honda and Acura automobiles sold in the U.S. were produced in North America. This will increase to 1.92 million vehicles per year in 2014, when the sales percentage of locally produced automobiles is expected to rise to more than 90 percent.
Honda operates major research and development centers in the U.S. that fully design, develop and engineer many of the products Honda produces in North America.
Honda media contacts:
Jeffrey Smith (American Honda Motor Co., Inc.): (310) 781-5062, email@example.com
Ron Lietzke (Honda of America, Mfg., Inc.) (937) 644-6627, firstname.lastname@example.com
Edward Miller (Honda North America, Inc., Detroit): (313) 202-3150, email@example.com
Connect to Honda:
Honda Multimedia Newsroom (for media only): http://www.hondanews.com
Honda of America Mfg., Inc. (Press Room): www.ohio.honda.com
Honda News & Views: http://www.honda.com/news
Honda in America: https://hondainamerica.com
Honda on Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/americanhonda
Honda of America Mfg. on Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/hondamfgohio
Honda on Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/honda
Honda on YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/honda
Honda on Flickr: http://www.flickr.com/hondanews
Honda Website: http://www.honda.com
Pinterest: http://pinterest.com/honda/
On Google+
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Thursday, 12:40pm
Reno, NV
"I write because I cannot NOT write." (Charlotte Bronte)
I want to cover three important things today.
Important Thing #1: Very exciting news this morning: My first Kindle ebook ("The Entrepreneur's Guide To Getting Your Shit Together") elbowed its way into best-seller territory on Amazon in less than half a day. It's #4 on the "entrepreneur" books-for-sale chart, with a bullet, and surging on the "business" charts (in the top 35).
This is like watching your latest album climb the Billboard rankings. I labored over the book (with superb editing help from our pal David "Flashman" Raybould) for many months, whipping it into shape and waiting for the right moment to dive into the wonderful new world of self-publishing that has just hit the Big Turning Point.
Now, it's up to the reading public to decide if it's worthwhile or not. A little scary, a little thrilling, a lot of fun for a writer who has craved being in control of publishing my own stuff, in my own damn way, for most of my life.
And, as satisfying as it is to read the great buzz-comments on the Amazon page (and in social media) for this new tome… it's even more energizing to have finally busted my cherry in digital publishing. This first book took a while to finish and get launched. The next one will follow blazingly quick, and there are even more in the hopper.
If you are so inclined, you can check out a free preview of the book (or even, gasp, buy it) here.
Leave a comment, too. And hit the "share" button on the page. The tome is getting rave reviews, which makes sense since it's a lovingly-revised compilation of my best Rant newsletters (which I mailed to subscribers for 6 amazing years). This is time-tested stuff, the best "here's what Carlton's been teaching all these years" resource possible.
Hope you enjoy it, if you buy it. Hope you stay awake all night thinking about it if you don't buy it, and feel compelled to buy it first thing in the morning. Cuz it's damn cheap as a digital book, and you really SHOULD own it. (And yes, we'll be offering a paperback version down the road, but this digital version is what you need right now.)
Important Thing #2: I now know much about self-publishing ebooks that was a mystery to me before.
For example… Read more…


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Your Score: N-A-O
You scored 77% Non-Reductionism, 77% Epistemological Absolutism, and 55% Moral Objectivism!
You are an N-A-O: a metaphysical Non-Reductionist, an epistemological Absolutist, and a moral Objectivist. If you are simply dying inside to figure out what all this mumbo-jumbo means, then simply continue reading.
Metaphysics: Non-Reductionism (Idealism or Realism) In metaphysics, my test measures your tendency towards Reductionism or Non-Reductionism. As a Non-Reductionist, you recognize that reality is not necessarily simple or unified, and you thus tend to produce a robust ontology instead of carelessly shaving away hypothetical entities that reflect our philosophical experiences. [I think the test designer has a pretty clear preference here] My test recognizes two types of Non-Reductionists: Idealists and Realists.
1. Idealists believe that reality is fundamentally unknowable. All we can ever know is the world of sense experience, thought, and other phenomena which are only distorted reflections of an ultimate (or noumenal) reality. Kant, one of the most significant philosophers in history, theorized that human beings perceive reality in such a way that they impose their own mental frameworks and categories upon reality, fully distorting it. Reality for Kant is unconceptualized and not subject to any of the categories our minds apply to it. Idealists are non-reductionists because they recognize that the distinction between phenomenal reality and ultimate reality cannot be so easily discarded or unified into a single reality. They are separate and distinct, and there is no reason to suppose the one mirrors the other. Major philosophical idealists include Kant and Fichte.
If your views are different from the above, then you may be a Realist. 2. Realists deny the validity of sloppy metaphysical reductions, because they feel that there is no reason to suspect that reality reflects principles of parsimony or simplicity. Realism is the most common-sensical of the metaphysical views. It doesn't see reality as a unity or as reducible to matter or mind, nor does it see reality as divided into a phenomenal world of experience and an unknowable noumenal world of things-in-themselves. Realist metaphysics emphasizes that reality is for the most part composed of the things we observe and think. On the question of the existence of universals, for instance, a realist will assert that while universals do not physically exist, the relations they describe in particulars are as real as the particular things themselves, giving universals a type of reality. Thus, no reduction is made. On the mind-body problem, realists tend to believe that minds and bodies both exist, and the philosophical problems involved in reducing mind to matter or matter to mind are too great to warrant such a reduction. Finally, realists deny that reality is ultimately a Unity or Absolute, though they recognize that reality can be viewed as a Unity when we consider the real relations between the parts as constituting this unity--but it doesn't mean that the world isn't also made up of particular things. Aristotle and Popper are famous realists.
[This is a tough one. The Idealist position has a strong post-modern feel; the Realist position seems closer to the pragmatic approach which I think represents my position. I'm not entirely sure, from these descriptions, how these two positions are opposed to each other]
Epistemology: Absolutism (Rationalism or Pragmatism) My test measures one's tendency towards Absolutism or Skepticism in regards to epistemology. As an Absolutist, you believe that objective knowledge is possible given the right approach, and you deny the claims of skeptical philosophers who insist that we can never have knowledge of ultimate reality. The two types of Absolutists recognized by my test are Rationalists and Pragmatists.
[Maybe it's a measure of my philosophical unsophistication that I think both positions have merit, but I don't see a contradiction between believing that some objective knowledge is possible but that ultimate reality is likely beyond our comprehension]
1. Rationalists believe that the use of reason ultimately provides the best route to truth. A rationalist usually defines truth as a correspondence between propositions and reality, taking the common-sense route. Also, rationalists tend to believe that knowledge of reality is made possible through certain foundational beliefs. This stance is known as foundationalism. A foundationalist believes that, because we cannot justify the truth of every statement in an infinite regress, we ultimately reach a foundation of knowledge. This foundation is composed of a priori truths, like mathematics and logic, as well as undoubtable truths like one's belief in his or her own existence. The belief that experiences and memories are veridical is also part of the foundation. Thus, for a rationalist knowledge of reality is made possible through our foundational beliefs, which we do not need to justify because we find them to be undoubtable and self-evident. In regards to science, a rationalist will tend to emphasize the foundational assumptions of scientific inquiry as prior to and more important than scientific inquiry itself. If science does lead to truth, it is only because it is based upon the assumption of certain rational principles such as "Every event is caused" and "The future will resemble the past". Philosophy has a wide representation of philosophical rationalists--Descartes, Spinoza, Liebniz, and many others.
["Self-evident" works best for ethical propositions, and mathematical ones]
If that didn't sound like your own views, then you are most likely the other type of Absolutist: the Pragmatist. 2. Epistemological Pragmatists are fundamentally identified by their definition of truth. Truth is, on this view, merely a measure of a proposition's success in inquiry. This view is a strictly scientific notion of truth. A proposition can be called true if it leads to successful predictions or coheres best with the observed facts about the world. Thus, for the pragmatist, knowledge of reality is possible through scientific reasoning. A pragmatist emphasizes man's fallibility, and hence takes baby-steps towards knowledge through scientific methodology. Any truth claim for a pragmatist is open to revision and subject to change--if empirical observations lead us to call even logical rules into question (like quantum physics has done for the law of the excluded middle), then we can and should abandon even these supposed a priori and "absolutely certain" logical rules if they do not accord with our testing and refuting of our various propositions. As a consequence of this, a pragmatist doesn't feel that scientific knowledge is based upon unfounded assumptions that are taken to be true without any sort of justification--rather, they believe that the successes of scientific inquiry have proved that its assumptions are well-founded. For instance, the assumption of science that the future will be like the past is adequately shown by the amazing success of scientific theories in predicting future events--how else could this be possible unless the assumption were true? Pragmatism borrows elements from realism and yet attempts to account for the critiques made by skeptics and relativists. It is essentially a type of philosophical opportunism--it borrows the best stances from a large number of philosophical systems and attempts to discard the problems of these systems by combining them with others. Famous pragmatists of this type are Peirce and Dewey.
["Philosophical opportunism": Yup, that's me!]
Ethics: Objectivism (Deontology or Logical Positivism) In Ethics, my test measures your tendency towards moral Objectivism or moral Relativism. As a moral Objectivist, you are opposed to Subjectivist moral theories and believe that morality applies to people universally and actually describes objects and situations out in the world as opposed to just subjects themselves. The two types of moral Objectivists my test recognizes are Kantian Deontologists and Utilitarians.
[I didn't come out strongly Objectivist, which makes sense. This is definitely an area where I'm on the fence. Which is, probably, very ironic.]
1. Kantian Deontologists believe that the one intrinsic good is a good will. As rational beings capable of making decisions, the moral worth of our decisions is ultimately derived from the intentions behind our actions, not their consequences. A moral being does the right thing not out of recognition of any consequences, but out of a sense of moral duty. For Kant, a good will is the ultimate good because to deny the will is to deny the one thing that makes us rational, moral beings. If an act will accord with or further our status as free, rational beings, and it is possible to will the universalization of such a moral principle without infringing upon our good wills, then an act is good. Kant's categorical imperative provides an objective standard to judge moral worth--it is not hypothetical in the sense of other imperatives, which hide a latent if-clause. For instance, "Eating razors is good" is good ONLY if you tack on an if-clause that says something like: "If you wish to destroy your gums." Thus, the categorical imperative is good, not just IF something is the case, but in ALL cases. It requires people to treat others as ends, and not means to ends, for to treat everyone as a means to an ends would be to deny them their ability to function as rational, free beings--which is what makes morality possible in the first place. The major proponent of this view in the history of philosophy is, quite obviously, Kant.
[I've always liked the formulation "treat others as ends, and not means to ends" but the overweening nature of Kant's arguments doesn't help me much.]
If that didn't sound like your position, then you are probably the other variety of moral Objectivist--the Utilitarian. 2. Utilitarians define "happiness" or "pleasure" as the sole intrinsic good, and the principle "The greatest pleasure for the greatest number" best reflects a Utilitarian view of ethics. Utilitarianism is a consequentialist moral theory, meaning the consequences of an action--not the intentions behind it--determine the act's moral worth. Even if you intended to do great evil with a certain act, if the act produces a net gain of pleasure and happiness for the greatest number, then it was indeed a good act because your intentions weren't realized. What matters in this scenario, obviously, is the consequences of the act. Utilitarianism, of course, can also be reduced to Hedonism. If you do not feel that the greatest happiness of the greatest number matters, but only pay heed to the greatest happiness of individuals, then you are more adequately classified as a Hedonist. But both Utilitarians and Hedonists define "pleasure" as an intrinsic good and determine the moral worth of an act through its consequences. The only difference is whether we measure the collective pleasure of a group or only an individual's pleasure. Prominent Utilitarians include Bentham and Mill.
[Mill -- that's my guy. But John Stuart, not his dad, and there's a healthy dose of rights, not just opportunities, there.]
As you can see, when your philosophical position is narrowed down there are so many potential categories that an OKCupid test cannot account for them all. But, taken as very broad categories or philosophical styles, you are best characterized as an N-A-O. Your exact philosophical opposite would be an R-S-R.
Link: The Sublime Philosophical Crap Test written by saint_gasoline on OkCupid Free Online Dating, home of the The Dating Persona Test [via] |


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Artificial intelligence yields breakthrough innovation in crop science
Analytics and machine learning speed testing of new fungicides.
Protecting crops to feed a growing population
Boragen achieved this using • SAS® agriculture analytics • SAS® AI solutions
Boragen partners with SAS to fight plant disease, protect crops and boost agricultural production sustainably
People eat an estimated 100 billion bananas every year, making them one of the most consumed fruits on the planet. It's hard to imagine a world without bananas – yet the possibility exists. The future banana supply at your nearest supermarket is under siege by fungal diseases. Black Sigatoka is one of the most destructive diseases to commonly grown banana cultivars. Like so many pathogens, it has developed resistance to current fungicides.
Bananas aren't the only crop threatened by fungicide resistance. The problem affects global agriculture, with resistance documented for nearly 200 diseases. Without a solution, fungicides will continue to diminish in efficacy, resulting in poorer yields and reduced crop quality.
To ensure continued bountiful production of grains, fruits and vegetables, new tools are needed to augment sustainable agricultural practices. The most effective tools often merge ancient farmer know-how and natural products with new data-driven approaches. One example of this is using elements essential for life to grow healthier crops and protect them from noxious fungal diseases.
Biotechnology company Boragen is combining crop science with data science to spur sustainable fruit and vegetable production with a novel approach.
Better data analysis can help us uncover innovations that escape the human eye. SAS will be an essential tool for helping us discover more efficient and sustainable solutions to the most pressing agricultural challenges of our time. Dr. Tony Liu Chief Scientific Officer and Co-Founder Boragen
A novel approach with boron
Founded in 2015, boron chemistry discovery firm Boragen is on the vanguard of using boron to create new molecules for the next generation of crop-protection solutions.
Boron is a naturally occurring element in the environment and an essential micronutrient for plants. Boragen uses a unique boron-based toolbox to develop novel agrochemical compounds with potent broad-spectrum fungicidal activity with new modes of action. Its crop protection library contains compounds that have multisite modes of action to combat resistance while requiring fewer active ingredients than current products.
"Boron has historically been underutilized," says Dr. Tony Liu, Boragen Chief Scientific Officer and co-founder. "There's actually very promising chemical matter that can be created with boron for agricultural use."
To understand agriculture technology is to appreciate its complexity. Getting any new compound from the lab to the field is time-consuming and expensive, involving several phases of testing. For proof of just how difficult this work can be, just consider the lack of innovation in fungicide development despite the urgent need for it.
For Boragen, data and analytics offer a tremendous opportunity to streamline the development of new boron-based compounds. The firm recently partnered with SAS to see how cutting-edge data science could be applied to fuel much-needed innovation in the sector.
"Better data analysis can help us uncover innovations that escape the human eye," Liu says. "SAS will be an essential tool for helping us discover more efficient and sustainable solutions to the most pressing agricultural challenges of our time."
Boragen – Facts & Figures
Boragen was founded
$15.3 million
in funding
patents published
Predicting product effectiveness with AI
With agriculture analytics and artificial intelligence solutions from SAS, Boragen gets a unique service whereby the firm shares its research data sets with SAS, and SAS analytics experts apply AI and machine learning technology to identify areas for innovation.
Dr. Luke Steere is Director of Crop Protection and Product Development at Boragen. Early in the SAS partnership, he was curious to know what variables – such as pathogens and doses tested on in vitro data sets – could reliably indicate success on multiple crops in the field. His big question: What if Boragen could remove entire steps from its testing process and still achieve the same result?
According to Steere, the potential for streamlined testing offers the biggest opportunity, especially in greenhouse testing where space, supplies and employees are expensive. "If there's something in our data that would allow us to get a promising new compound to the field more efficiently, that is our goal," he says.
By applying SAS analytics and machine learning technologies to Boragen data, researchers were able to identify a lab success threshold that could foretell eventual field performance. This "rule" enables Boragen to better predict which chemistries will be more effective and should be moved to the next testing phase – and which can be abandoned – generating greater time and cost savings.
To illustrate this, Steere cited a scenario where Boragen looked at corn and cucumbers: "Using better data analytics, we could evaluate two separate cropping systems – a low-input crop like corn and a high-input crop like cucumber – with the same dosing structure for the same compounds. We could go back and look at the lab data, apply analytics and machine learning, and were able to find which parameters were most indicative of success in the field. This could potentially improve both the efficiency and accuracy of lab to field translation."
For Boragen, this AI-powered research is valuable on multiple fronts. "SAS really allows us to streamline our testing process and brings us closer to introducing new tools the world needs to confront some of the most urgent issues in agriculture," Steere said.
Advancement fueled by curiosity
Boragen is located in Research Triangle Park, NC, just a few miles from SAS world headquarters. Though the partnership is local, the potential is global.
"In agtech, everything you do has the potential for global impact," Liu says. "Innovation to improve plant health would have a much broader global impact. I believe food is really the first and most important medicine in human health."
While Steere acknowledges that new compounds alone won't solve our agriculture sustainability challenges, his curiosity continues to fuel him.
"My passion is crop protection, and in particular, protecting crops against fungal pathogens – especially pathogens with a proclivity for resistance," Steere says. "Given boron chemistry is a new chemical space, the possibility of unlocking the potential of these compounds is what keeps me motivated."
Feeding a growing planet
With the world population expected to top 10 billion by 2050, Boragen recognizes the dire need for solutions to help feed a growing population in an efficient and sustainable way.
To this end, SAS will also support Boragen's research into sustainable "bi-functional" products. These products effectively control crop diseases and subsequently degrade into beneficial byproducts that improve crop health.
By applying agriculture analytics and machine learning, Boragen can access another layer of inferences and insights into data sets, which further bolsters the novelty, efficacy and safety of the boron-based crop protection pipeline.
"We have already seen biological evidence of such bi-functional products being achievable, and sophisticated data analytics will be critical in guiding our research into this promising frontier," concludes Liu. "We're excited that SAS shares our commitment to transform agriculture through research and technology."