At Google, you will find smart people, big problems, and opportunities to make a real impact. We look for the brightest in a range of fields, and the University Programs team seeks to help students understand our business, as well as how their passions align with it. With this in mind, our team is pleased to announce that the 2013 application has launched for Google AdCamp.

Up to 30 current college sophomores and juniors attending four-year colleges and universities in the U.S. will be selected to participate in the all-expense-paid program at Google New York from August 4-7, 2013. AdCamp will include a collaborative curriculum focused on Google’s advertising sales and marketing operations, as well as an overview of Google’s advertising products and insight into the marketing industry. AdCamp participants will also get the opportunity to meet with Googlers and interns, compete in a case competition and participate in social activities in NYC.

Please review the AdCamp website for more details. The deadline to apply is Friday, April 5, 2013 at 11:59 p.m. PST.

Questions about the program can be directed to [email protected].

Posted by Vic Alonzo, University Programs

Our users trust Google with a lot of very important data, whether it’s emails, photos, documents, posts or videos. We work exceptionally hard to keep that information safe—hiring some of the best security experts in the world, investing millions of…

Update: Due to unexpected circumstances, this hangout has been canceled on Thursday, March 7. Stay tuned for more information when it is rescheduled.In our next installment of “Programmatic in the future”. Join us on Thursday, 3/7 at 1:30 ET/…

Update: Due to unexpected circumstances, this hangout has been canceled on Thursday, March 7. Stay tuned for more information when it is rescheduled.This will be the discussion in our next installment of “Programmatic in the future”. Join us on Th…

Today, we’re releasing an update for Google Maps for iPhone with new search icons that make finding local places faster and easier, and with integration of your Google Contacts to make it simple to find your friends.

This update is part of our goal to make Google Maps comprehensive, accurate and useful – wherever you may be in the world. To that end, we’re rolling out the English version of the app in seven new countries: Bahrain, Egypt, Lebanon, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and UAE. You can also choose between kilometers and miles in the settings menu, depending on your preferences.

For faster local search, you can tap one of the new icons for restaurants, coffee shops, bars and other types of places to quickly see nearby haunts. So if you’re in a rush and need a quick coffee, just tap the search box, then the coffee cup icon, to see the cafes closest to you.  

Your Google Contacts are now integrated into Google Maps for iPhone – meaning that when you’re signed-in and search for a friend’s name, their address will appear as a suggestion (if you have their address saved). Simply tap their name to see the address, which will be visible only to you, on the map. To learn an easy way to keep your Google Contacts synced with your iPhone, click here.

We hope you enjoy these updates! Visit the App Store today to download the latest Google Maps for iPhone app. Please note some of the features mentioned in this post aren’t available in all countries.

Posted by Salahuddin Choudhary, Product Manager, Google Maps

Our recent Chrome updates bring faster and simpler browsing to your phones and tablets.

Chrome for Android, faster and more responsive

Speed is critical, especially when you’re on the go. With the latest version of Chrome for Android, you can scroll and fling to view all of your favorite web pages with even more speed and ease. Based on the latest version of the V8 Javascript engine, now optimized for mobile, we have improved the Octane performance benchmark by 25 percent on average since our previous update. This means that interactions within web pages in the browser are snappier.

We’ve also added expanded support for HTML5 features such as CSS Filters, which should result in better mobile websites in the future. We plan to continue optimizing Chrome for Android platform at the same rapid pace that you’ve come to expect on Chrome across other platforms.

Chrome for iPhone and iPad, improved search and sharing

If you’re using Chrome on your iPhone or iPad, searching with Google just got even easier. Now you can see your search term in the omnibox, instead of the long search URL. This will help you refine search queries and view more content on the results page. This feature will roll out in the coming weeks, so you may not see it right away after upgrading.

Also, thanks to your feedback, we’ve added a couple more fun features. To quickly view your tab history, simply press and hold the back button to access any page you had previously visited from that tab. Head to “Menu” then “Share” to share a web page via email or to your favorite social network. Now you can also share any web page via Messages.

We’re continuing to add plenty of under-the-hood stability, security improvements and bug fixes to Chrome for both Android and iOS. We look forward to your feedback on the latest versions of Chrome, now available on Google Play and in the App Store.

Posted by Grace Kloba & Rohit Rao, Especially Mobile Software Engineers

Posted by Fabrice Di Meglio, Android Frameworks Team

Android 4.1 (Jelly Bean) introduced limited support for bidirectional text in TextView and EditText elements, allowing apps to display and edit text in both left-to-right (LTR) and right-to-left (RTL) scripts. Android 4.2 added full native support for RTL layouts, including layout mirroring, allowing you to deliver the same great app experience to all of your users, whether their language uses a script that reads right-to-left or one that reads left-to-right.

If you do nothing, your app will not change — it will continue to appear as it currently does. However, with a few simple changes, your app will be automatically mirrored when the user switches the system language to a right-to-left script (such as Arabic, Hebrew, or Persian). For example, see the following screenshots of the Settings app:

To take advantage of RTL layout mirroring, simply make the following changes to your app:

1. Declare in your app manifest that your app supports RTL mirroring.

   Specifically, add android:supportsRtl="true" to the element in your manifest file.

2. Change all of your app’s “left/right” layout properties to new “start/end” equivalents.
   • If you are targeting your app to Android 4.2 (the app’s targetSdkVersion or minSdkVersion is 17 or higher), then you should use “start” and “end” instead of “left” and “right”. For example, android:paddingLeft should become android:paddingStart.
   • If you want your app to work with versions earlier than Android 4.2 (the app’s targetSdkVersion or minSdkVersion is 16 or less), then you should add “start” and end” in addition to “left” and “right”. For example, you’d use both android:paddingLeft and android:paddingStart.

For more precise control over your app UI in both LTR and RTL mode, Android 4.2 includes the following new APIs to help manage View components:

• android:layoutDirection — attribute for setting the direction of a component’s layout.
• android:textDirection — attribute for setting the direction of a component’s text.
• android:textAlignment — attribute for setting the alignment of a component’s text.
• Gravity start and end — for managing relative position of subscomponents.

• –>

• getLayoutDirectionFromLocale() — method for getting the Locale-specified direction

You can even create custom versions of layout, drawables, and other resources for display when a right-to-left script is in use. Simply use the resource qualifier “ldrtl” to tag your resources, meaning “layout direction right-to-left”. To debug and optimize custom right-to-left layouts, HierarchyViewer now lets you see start/end properties, layout direction, text direction, and text alignment for all the Views in the hierarchy.

It’s now easy to create beautiful Android apps for all your users, whether they use a right-to-left or left-to-right language. We look forward to seeing some great apps!

Join the discussion on

+Android Developers

Posted by Angie Blake, City of Monterey, CaliforniaEditor’s note: Today’s guest blogger is Angie Blake, Information Solutions Manager for the City of Monterey, California. See what other organizations that use the Google Apps have to say.The Informat…

Are you a current senior in high school?

Have you had some exposure to computer science and would like to learn more?
Are you interested in computer science but not sure if it’s the right path for you?

If so, Google’s Computer Science Summer Institute (CSSI) may be the program for you. Read on to learn more about CSSI and how you can apply.

Computer Science Summer Institute
CSSI is a three-week institute that includes an interactive and collaborative computer science curriculum, as well as a unique residential experience in which students can build a network with other attendees. Up to 60 aspiring computer scientists will be selected to attend one of our all-expenses-paid CSSI sessions.

Qualifications
Candidates must:

• Intend to be enrolled as a full-time student at a 4-year BA/BS program in the US or Canada. International students are eligible to apply as long as they intend to be enrolled at a university in the US or Canada.
• Intend to be enrolled at a university with a Computer Science, Computer Engineering, Software Engineering, or related area department for the 2013–2014 academic year.
• Able to demonstrate an interest in and motivation for studying Computer Science.

The program is open to all qualified current high school students, and is committed to addressing diversity in the field of computer science. Students who are a member of a group that is historically underrepresented in the technology industry are encouraged to apply.

Application Materials
If you’re ready to apply, please be prepared to submit the below materials.

• An updated resume (PDF preferred)
• A current unofficial or official high school transcript (PDF preferred)
• SAT or ACT scores (if applicable)
• The answers to the following essay questions. Each essay should be 300 words or less (PDF preferred).
• • Why do you want to study Computer Science? What has drawn you to the field? What do you hope to accomplish with a Computer Science degree? Your response might include courses you have taken, projects you have worked on, events you have attended, or other ways you have been exposed to Computer Science.
  • List your junior and senior math and science classes plus any summer programs, college or junior college math or science classes you have taken. Please also include grades received when applicable.
  • Google is committed to encouraging underrepresented students to seek degrees in Computer Science. What ideas do you have for ways in which you can help increase diversity in the field of Computer Science?

Important Dates to Remember
The deadline to apply will be midnight EDT on April 7th, 2013.
CSSI Session 1 will take place in Mountain View, CA from June 23 – July 13, 2013.
CSSI Session 2 will take place in Cambridge, MA from July 21 – August 9, 2013.

Ready to apply?
The 2013 CSSI application is now open, please click here to apply.

Questions?
Check out CSSI’s Frequently Asked Questions. If you have questions that aren’t answered in our FAQ, please email [email protected]

Still wondering if CSSI is right for you? Check out the Hangout On Air that we taped last week featuring Googlers, former CSSI participants, and rising freshmen who were interested in learning more about CSSI.

Posted by Vanessa Valentine, Student Engagement Specialist

AdSense provides access to a number of resources to resolve issues and answer your questions. Many of these resources are available in the Help Center, including the Fix a Problem troubleshooting section, the AdSense Academy learning modules, and answers to common (and not so common) questions.

Today, we’re excited to announce a recent addition to our Help Center: a simplified, personalized contact options page. This page serves as a single source for many commonly used troubleshooters that can help you resolve your issue in minutes. In some cases, these troubleshooters lead to issue-specific contact forms that generate emails to our team. We’ve developed automated tools, closely monitored by our support specialists, to help fix issues you’ve identified and process these incoming emails, making it possible for us to typically answer your questions in only a few hours.

The new contact options page, troubleshooters, and specialized contact forms are available to all publishers with an approved AdSense account.

For those publishers generally earning more than $25 per week, we’re now offering consultations with members of our team via email in 33 languages. We’re happy helping you manage your AdSense account or discussing strategies to grow your business. If your account qualifies, you’ll see an alert notifying you on the contact options page. We aim to reply to all consults within two business days, though turnaround may be longer during certain holiday periods.

We understand publishers want even simpler ways to answer questions and more intuitive contact options, so we’re working on a number of additional initiatives to help you resolve your issues. Keep up to date with new features and opportunities by subscribing to this blog, adding our Google+ page to your circles, and opting in to receiving email.

Posted by Chris Sater – Support and Operations Specialist

Was this blog post useful? Share your feedback with us.

An excellent guide often best brings an art gallery or museum’s collections to life. Starting this week, we’re hoping to bring this experience online with “Art Talks,” a series of Hangouts on Air on our Google Art Project Google+ page. Each mon…

Posted by Alan Norman, Principal, Access

Cross-posted from the Official Google.org blog

Today, there are billions of phones, tablets, laptops and other mobile devices connecting to the Web wirelessly. Meanwhile, people living in parts of the world without wired infrastructure rely on wireless broadband for their last mile connection. As more people go online and the number of wireless devices grows, so does the need for spectrum.

There is available spectrum out there — but it can be hard to find if you don’t know where to look. One way we’re trying to help researchers and other stakeholders identify available spectrum is through dynamic spectrum sharing. Spectrum sharing allows devices to use spectrum when it is not in use by someone else simply by checking a data base. We’re in the process (with several others) of becoming a certified database administrator for a band of spectrum called the TV white spaces.

Today, we’ve reached a milestone in the certification process: our database is beginning a public trial with the FCC. Our trial site allows industry stakeholders (broadcasters, cable, wireless microphone users, licensed spectrum holders) to test and provide feedback on the database. The trial site also allows anyone to find out how much TV white spaces spectrum is available at any location, such as your home or office.

Google Earth visualization of available TV whitespace spectrum.

The completion of the trial will bring us all one step closer to freeing up more spectrum, which in turn will help the industry bring new wireless technologies to market and enable people to get wireless Internet access when and where they need it.

On February 19th, we held a webinar in which we discussed both the immense potential of consolidated buying platforms as well as considerations and requirements for achieving such integration. If you missed this event, you can watch it here on demand.

During the webinar, our guest Joanna O’Connell, Principal Analyst at Forrester Research presented the results of new commissioned research on Navigating the Road to the Consolidated Buying Platform. While the study began with interviews focusing on the consolidation of display buying through DSPs, it became clear over the course of the research that marketers and media execs are actually thinking in much larger terms about consolidated platforms—wanting truly integrated cross-channel solutions for media management, buying, and attribution.

Joanna believes that the future of digital media is audience-centric, programmatic, and data-driven, with the growth of real-time buying demonstrating this marketplace shift. Consolidated platforms that streamline reporting, consolidate buying, and enable cross-channel management are a natural progression of this evolution. They can offer agencies and advertisers new operational efficiencies, improved targeting and campaign performance, and more accurate reporting and insights. In this presentation, Joanna painted a picture of an industry ripe for consolidation but in need of a clear path to get there.

So how do we get from simply buying in various media channels to a seamless, data-driven, multi-channel approach to media management? According to the commissioned study conducted by Forrester Consulting, the first step is consolidating reporting, which leads to more effective measurement as well as operational efficiencies for more accurate analyses. Beyond that, each agency and advertiser must evaluate how consolidating data, audiences, and measurement could lead to better buying, attribution, and ultimately marketing insights for their own business.*

* “Navigating the Road to the Consolidated Buying Platform,” Jan 2013

Posted by Emily Wright, Product Marketing Manager

Guest post by Anna Senarclens de Grancy, former Google Summer of Code student and recent mentor for Systers 

Check out this inspirational story from a previous Google Summer of Code student (for 2 years) who went on to become a two time Google Summer of Code mentor in the program. If other students are unsure of whether they have what it takes to get involved in the program, read on and consider applying to Google Summer of Code 2013.

This is my story of how I did what anybody could have done but not everybody would. I dared to try something new and found out that with a little bit of guts, some luck, and support from people at Systers I can do almost anything. 

My mum realized I’d likely become an engineer when at the age of two I was managing  multiple remote controls better than most adults. Later on I confirmed her beliefs by attending a technical upper secondary school followed by a technical university. After some time in college I had to pick what field of engineering to pursue. I took an introductory course programming in Ada with a friend who told me there was no way I could do CS. I took this quite hard because, even though I wasn’t very good at it, programming had been a lot of fun. As a result, I decided to pick mechanical engineering instead of CS which means that I’m not a computer scientist. Then a friendly computer geek passionate about open source software introduced me to this whole new world. 

Newly inspired I realized I wanted to give CS a second chance, this time as a hobby. I got some books on Python and began learning on my own in the evenings and during weekends. Learning from a book is all fine but there is only so much one can do before one wants a challenge and to try something out for real. Someone suggested I check out Google Summer of Code, and when I did, I found Systers. I was fascinated by their mission and  since they were offering a project in Python for beginners, I gave it a try. I had never really done any real programming before, nor did I have any experience with databases or distributed revision control. My Python knowledge was mainly from books and I hadn’t taken many computer science classes in college. I had a lot to learn, but you can hardly imagine how much fun I had doing it! I dared myself to try and ended up having the summer of my life. Sure there were hard times trying to understand the code, what to do, and how to do it. In my ignorance I changed, moved, and removed enough things on my computer to have to reinstall Ubuntu three times and Mailman probably five or six times. I had sleepless nights sitting in front of the computer coding, and when I slept I dreamt of bugs. I added what seemed like a million debug statements and often got nonsense back (at that time I didn’t know how to use a debugger). 

Once I solved my first bug and got the taste of success and the feeling of I might actually be able to do this, I was hooked. So much fun! Such great feedback from Systers, they were always friendly, patient, and willing to help answer my questions. It’s such an ego boost when you solve that one problem you’ve been working on for days or even weeks. I dared to try something new and ended up learning a lot and having a great time while doing so. I lived the dream and also got to know amazing people along the way. The only thing it took was making that first step. 

Have you ever considered how easy it might be to fix a bug in your favorite open source software program? I encourage each of you to give it a try! 

By Anna Senarclens de Grancy, Google Summer of Code former student and mentor

As this story illustrates, you don’t have to be a CS major or have 10 years of coding experience to be a part of Google Summer of Code, you just need to have a desire to learn and to push yourself. The participating mentoring organizations will be announced on April 8th, students then have two weeks to discuss application ideas with the organizations. On April 22nd, student applications open for Google Summer of Code 2013.