Google
on Wednesday took another step in its quest to merge the Internet with
the real world with Maps and put itself at the heart of mobile gadget
lifestyles in the process.
It also began allowing users to extend online searches to include messages stored in accounts at Web-based email service Gmail.
The California technology titan added Poland and the Ukraine to the list of more than 200 countries and regions where people can correct, update, or enhance Google Maps with local insights or expertise.
"Google has been about searching the online world, but most people live in the offline world, the physical world," Google Earth and Maps vice president Brian McClendon told AFP.
"We want to be able to provide a map wherever you are going; a way to have the best answers for what is within walking distance and transmit them in a fast, interactive way."
Google began tapping into collective knowledge for cartography in 2008 with the launch of a Map Maker tool in India, where details regarding streets in cities was meager to non-existent.
"There were some places in the world where, even in big cities, the map was essentially a blank canvass," said Map Maker product manager James Kelly.
"We have taken the tool from just adding roads to adding all kinds of features like speed limits and suitability for bicycles," he continued. "We also made it possible to add businesses and other points of interest."
The tool allows people to update Google Maps to show local features ranging from bicycle paths and foot trails to parking lots or playgrounds.
Verified or trusted editing changes go live in minutes and spread across the more than 800,000 websites that embed Google Maps.
"We started Map Maker for the developing world and have been ramping it up," McClendon said. "We definitely want Map Maker to reach everyone in the world."
A global community of thousands of volunteer mappers review and approve each others edits.
When needed, additional data used to corroborate suggested edits include satellite imagery, public feedback, and information collected by Street View vehicles that capture pictures to provide views of locations in maps.
Politically set borders can't be edited.
Position-sensing features in smartphones present opportunities to advertise local shops or events.
McClendon believed that how well mapping software helps people find what they seek in the real world is so important it could be a reason to choose one smartphone over another, perhaps an Android handset instead of an iPhone.
Extending online search to email boxes
"Sometimes the best answer to your question isn't available on the public Web -- it may be contained elsewhere, such as in your email," Google search senior vice president Amit Singhal said in a blog post.
"We think you shouldn't have to be your own mini search engine to find the most useful information; it should just work."
Google invited people to visit google.com/experimental/gmailfieldtrial to sign up to take part in the new feature, which was still taking shape.
"We're developing a way to find this information for you that's useful and unobtrusive, and we'd love your feedback," Singhal said.
The trial was limited to English language searches and messages in Gmail accounts.
Enhancements under development include a feature for organizing air travel confirmation emails so that a query of "my flights" would serve up results that include a concise list of bookings.
"These are baby steps, but important ones on our way to building the search engine of the future," Singhal said.
Those steps include upgrading Google search to look beyond query words to figure out what people are actually seeking online.
"Knowledge Graph" technology built to recognize people, places or things signified by keywords was extended beyond the United States to every English-speaking country in the world on Wednesday, according to Google.
"The Knowledge Graph is built to understand real things in the world," Google fellow Ben Gomes told AFP when the improvement debuted in May.
It also began allowing users to extend online searches to include messages stored in accounts at Web-based email service Gmail.
The California technology titan added Poland and the Ukraine to the list of more than 200 countries and regions where people can correct, update, or enhance Google Maps with local insights or expertise.
"Google has been about searching the online world, but most people live in the offline world, the physical world," Google Earth and Maps vice president Brian McClendon told AFP.
"We want to be able to provide a map wherever you are going; a way to have the best answers for what is within walking distance and transmit them in a fast, interactive way."
Google began tapping into collective knowledge for cartography in 2008 with the launch of a Map Maker tool in India, where details regarding streets in cities was meager to non-existent.
"There were some places in the world where, even in big cities, the map was essentially a blank canvass," said Map Maker product manager James Kelly.
"We have taken the tool from just adding roads to adding all kinds of features like speed limits and suitability for bicycles," he continued. "We also made it possible to add businesses and other points of interest."
The tool allows people to update Google Maps to show local features ranging from bicycle paths and foot trails to parking lots or playgrounds.
Verified or trusted editing changes go live in minutes and spread across the more than 800,000 websites that embed Google Maps.
"We started Map Maker for the developing world and have been ramping it up," McClendon said. "We definitely want Map Maker to reach everyone in the world."
A global community of thousands of volunteer mappers review and approve each others edits.
When needed, additional data used to corroborate suggested edits include satellite imagery, public feedback, and information collected by Street View vehicles that capture pictures to provide views of locations in maps.
Politically set borders can't be edited.
Position-sensing features in smartphones present opportunities to advertise local shops or events.
McClendon believed that how well mapping software helps people find what they seek in the real world is so important it could be a reason to choose one smartphone over another, perhaps an Android handset instead of an iPhone.
Extending online search to email boxes
"Sometimes the best answer to your question isn't available on the public Web -- it may be contained elsewhere, such as in your email," Google search senior vice president Amit Singhal said in a blog post.
"We think you shouldn't have to be your own mini search engine to find the most useful information; it should just work."
Google invited people to visit google.com/experimental/gmailfieldtrial to sign up to take part in the new feature, which was still taking shape.
"We're developing a way to find this information for you that's useful and unobtrusive, and we'd love your feedback," Singhal said.
The trial was limited to English language searches and messages in Gmail accounts.
Enhancements under development include a feature for organizing air travel confirmation emails so that a query of "my flights" would serve up results that include a concise list of bookings.
"These are baby steps, but important ones on our way to building the search engine of the future," Singhal said.
Those steps include upgrading Google search to look beyond query words to figure out what people are actually seeking online.
"Knowledge Graph" technology built to recognize people, places or things signified by keywords was extended beyond the United States to every English-speaking country in the world on Wednesday, according to Google.
"The Knowledge Graph is built to understand real things in the world," Google fellow Ben Gomes told AFP when the improvement debuted in May.
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