Trekking the Grand Canyon for Google Maps

In our ongoing effort to create the perfect map—one that’s as comprehensive, accurate and easy to use as possible—we’ve gone well beyond just the streets. Through the Street View feature on Google Maps, you’ve been able to explore panoramic views of amazing places around the world ranging from the Swiss Alps to the Amazon to Antarctica, and a variety of urban cities, university campuses, ancient ruins and ski resorts as well.

Today, demonstrating the rocky and rugged paths we’ll travel to make Google Maps even more complete, we’re collecting imagery from a place no car, trike or snowmobile has ever been before. On its first official outing, the Street View team is using the Trekker—a wearable backpack with a camera system on top—to traverse the Grand Canyon and capture 360-degree images of one of the most breathtaking natural landscapes on the planet.

Operations Manager Steve Silverman (left) and Product Manager Ryan Falor (right)

hiking the Bright Angel Trail on the South Rim with Trekkers

The narrow ridges and steep, exposed trails of the Grand Canyon provide the perfect terrain for our newest camera system. The Trekker—which its operator controls via an Android phone and automatically gathers photos as he walks—enables the collection of high-quality imagery from places that are only accessible on foot.

Falor controlling the Trekker with his Android device

This week, photos are being gathered from portions of the South Rim at Grand Canyon National Park, including the ridge, the famous Bright Angel Trail, South Kaibab Trail, and more. These panoramic views will soon be live on Google Maps, giving everyone from real-life visitors to armchair travelers the opportunity to marvel at this beautiful, majestic site from the comfort of their computers or mobile devices.

The team hiking the Bright Angel Trail

So get ready for the virtual adventure that awaits! And in the meantime, we’ll keep on trekken’ and working hard to bring you panoramic imagery of more visually stunning places we have yet to explore and share on Google Maps.

Posted by Ryan Falor, Product Manager, Google Street View

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Samsung C6712 PC Suite Free Download

A boost in the dual SIM category, Samsung C6712 Star II duos is truly a star. Announced in April 2011, this is one of the best phones in dual SIM category. The 3.2 inch capacitive touch screen is cool enough for the user, and the display quality is very good.
Along with GPRS,
EDGE, Bluetooth v3.0 and microUSB v2.0, it also has Wi-Fi to cater to all your data transfer issues. The 30 MB of internal memory can be expanded up to 16 GB. It has a 3.15 MP camera along with a VGA front camera to allow for video calling. The document viewer feature allows us to access MS-Word, MS-Excel and PDF files on the go. The battery life is impressive nonetheless, with it giving a 550 hour standby and 10 hour of talk-time. Other features as inbuilt Social Networking Application, Accelerometer sensor, IM, versatile Media Player and GPS make this phone indispensable.
Samsung Kies For Windows – Download
Samsung Kies For Mac – Download

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Samsung Corby 2 PC Suite Free Download

An upgraded version of Samsung Corby, this was released in April 2011. This set has many improved features as Wi-Fi and 3.5 mm earphone jack. The 3.2 inch capacitive touch screen responses well, and TouchWiz UI makes it more user friendly.

The internal memory of 26 MB stores 1000 contacts, and can be expanded to 16 GB via a microSD card slot. The quality of 2 MP rear camera is decent, and the Smile Shutter feature is impressive. Bluetooth and GPRS are also improved, allowing for faster data transfer. Battery life is good, providing 620 hours of standby and 10 hours of talk time. Other features as Social networking integration with live updates, find music recognition service, Document Viewer, versatile media player and IM adds to the worth.
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Samsung Kies For Mac – Download

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HTC Sync Free Download

HTC Sync works with all HTC android phones & HTC Smart. HTC Sync PC suite allows users to install applications on Android smart phones, transfer photos, videos, documents, songs, and playlists. It let you Sync Outlook contacts and calendar or Outlook Express contacts in Android & HTC Smart and the bookmarks of web browser between your computer and your phone Android phones.

How to install HTC Sync

• Download HTC Sync from the link given below.
• Run the setup file and install it to your PC.
• Select “Complete” Type for faster installation and “custom” for advanced user options.
• Click “Finish” to exit the setup wizard.

How to use HTC Sync

• Connect your phone to your PC using USB cable.
• Choose USB connection, tap HTC Sync, and then tap Done on your phone.
• HTC Sync will recognize your phone and ask you to enter a name for your phone.
• Device panel will open, you can set sync options there.
• Users can see phone information, check storage and start synchronization.

System Requirements -
Intel® Pentium® III or higher
1GB of RAM or higher
1024 x 768 minimum resolution
300 MB of free hard disk space
Windows XP Home SP 2 and 3 (32-Bit)
Windows Vista (32 & 64-Bit) Service Pack 1
Windows 7 (32 & 64-Bit)
Microsoft Office Outlook 2000, XP, 2003, 2007 and 2010-32 & 64bit.
HTC Sync – Download

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HTC PC Suite Free Download

HTC PC Suite which is aslo known as HTC Sync is the official software released to manage HTC Android and Smart mobile phones.
HTC PC Suite is not full featured phone management tool like Nokia PC Suite, it lacks functionality. This software is available for all Android phones and HTC Smart.

HTC users can download the HTC PC Suite using the link given below. After downloading run the installation file, installation process takes around one minute. It is recommended to close all other programs before starting the installation program
If you get any problem while connecting your phone to the computer via USB or you cannot see the HTC Sync option, read Instructions below:

• Select USB Debugging in Settings > Applications > Development before connecting your HTC phone to the computer.
• If you are connecting for the first time, it may take up to 1 minute for HTC Sync to recognize your Phone.
• After connecting phone to PC, wait 20 seconds for your phone to install HTC Sync.
• Unplug the USB sync cable for 5 seconds, Reconnect.

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Expanded coverage of building footprints in Google Maps

As we go about our daily travels, we often rely on buildings to orient ourselves, locate landmarks and navigate from place to place. So today, we’re expanding the coverage of building footprints that are already available in Google Maps.

Now, you can see 25 million new building footprints that have been added to Google Maps on desktop and mobile across major metropolitan regions in the United States, including Houston, Los Angeles, Chicago, Miami, and the San Francisco Bay Area. This expansion is part of our ongoing effort to provide you with maps that are as comprehensive as possible.

Before (left) and after (right) screenshots of the map in Houston, Texas, now with building footprints

A neighborhood complete with building footprints in San Diego, California

These building footprints, complete with height detail, are algorithmically created by taking aerial imagery and using computer vision techniques to render the building shapes. This process enables us to provide more building footprints and a more comprehensive and detailed map than ever before.

For areas that you’re familiar with, you can also help ensure that the building footprints are accurate and up-to-date by using our community mapping tool, Google Map Maker. In addition to improving the shapes, you can also assign your favorite local business to an existing building or draw the building footprint for that business using Map Maker.

For example, I enjoy exploring and updating the map around Detroit, Michigan, where I lived for many years. Now, whenever I go back for a virtual visit, I won’t have to imagine where all the buildings were in my old neighborhood since their footprints have been added for the world to see on Google Maps!

Posted by Bobby Parikh, Engineering Manager

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Google’s data centers: an inside look

(Cross posted from the Official Google Blog)

Very few people have stepped inside Google’s data centers, and for good reason: our first priority is the privacy and security of your data, and we go to great lengths to protect it, keeping our sites under close guard. While we’ve shared many of our designs and best practices, and we’ve been publishing our efficiency data since 2008, only a small set of employees have access to the server floor itself.

Today, for the first time, you can see inside our data centers and pay them a virtual visit. On Where the Internet lives, our new site featuring beautiful photographs by Connie Zhou, you’ll get a never-before-seen look at the technology, the people and the places that keep Google running.

In addition, you can now explore our Lenoir, NC data center at your own pace in Street View. Walk in the front door, head up the stairs, turn right at the ping-pong table and head down the hall to the data center floor. Or take a stroll around the exterior of the facility to see our energy-efficient cooling infrastructure. You can also watch a video tour to learn more about what you're viewing in Street View and see some of our equipment in action.

Finally, we invited author and WIRED reporter Steven Levy to talk to the architects of our infrastructure and get an unprecedented look at its inner workings. His new story is an exploration of the history and evolution of our infrastructure, with a first-time-ever report from the floor of a Google data center.

Fourteen years ago, back when Google was a student research project, Larry and Sergey powered their new search engine using a few cheap, off-the-shelf servers stacked in creative ways. We’ve grown a bit since then, and we hope you enjoy this glimpse at what we’ve built. In the coming days we’ll share a series of posts on the Google Green Blog that explore some of the photographs in more detail, so stay tuned for more!

Posted by Urs Hölzle, Senior Vice President, Technical Infrastructure

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