Google Data

By Scott Knaster, Google Code Blog Editor

The idea of Google Web Fonts is one of those things that makes you say “of course!” once you hear about it. Google Web Fonts are stored remotely and loaded via HTTP for use on your web pages, so you don’t have to wonder about which fonts are installed on users’ machines. Using a web font is easy: add a tag to specify the font you want, then add styles to your CSS that use the font.

Earlier this week, the Web Fonts team launched an updated site with a three-step process for browsing and choosing fonts. It’s pretty simple:

• In the Choose step, check out the available fonts and choose from among them by looking at whatever text you want, in any size. You can search for fonts by name, filter by category or thickness, or look for fonts that support specific scripts.
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• After you pick one or more fonts, use the Review step. This step includes a Test Drive feature to see your chosen fonts in a sample layout.
• Finally, you’ll see a nice speedometer that shows you an estimate of loading time for your selected fonts, and you’ll also get the necessary code for adding the fonts to your pages.

From beautiful fonts to beautiful art: this week we announced that Google Goggles now knows all about the permanent collection of the J. Paul Getty Museum in Los Angeles. When you use Goggles on your phone to view a painting, you’ll get details and audio commentary about the work you’re looking at.

Finally, here’s a tale of danger in space: the crew of the International Space Station temporarily evacuated into docked capsules this week when a piece of space junk got a little too close to the station. That’s a story you don’t hear every day; in fact, the last time it happened was in 2009. Stay safe up there!

Fridaygram posts are lighter than our usual fare. They're designed for your Friday afternoon and weekend enjoyment. Each Fridaygram item must pass only one test: it has to be interesting to us nerds.