May 2010 Summaries

Starting June 1, 2010, videos and slides from all sessions of Google I/O 2010 will be made available on code.google.com/io and the GoogleDevelopers YouTube channel, with updates shared on @googleio and Buzz. The release schedule is organized by session tracks: App Engine and GWT on June 1, Enterprise and Android on June 2, Google Chrome and Social Web on June 3, Tech Talks and Fireside Chats on June 4, and Geo, Google APIs, and Google Wave on June 7, all during PDT business hours. Christine Tsai from the Google I/O Team expresses gratitude for the audience's patience and encourages them to stay tuned for these upcoming releases.

Google Chrome offers a suite of developer tools and extensions to enhance web development, providing features such as live debugging of HTML, JavaScript, and CSS directly within the browser. Among these tools are extensions like Speed Tracer, which helps identify and resolve performance issues by analyzing time spent on various application tasks, and Resolution Test, which allows developers to preview websites in different screen resolutions. The Web Developer extension offers additional tools, including validation, page resizing, and a CSS viewer, while the Chrome Editor facilitates in-browser coding and local code reference saving. These extensions, accessible through the extensions gallery, aim to streamline the development process and improve efficiency for web developers.

In May 2010, orkut announced the release of its open-source Java client library, designed to facilitate the development of desktop and mobile applications for the orkut platform. The library utilizes three-legged OAuth to enable a range of functionalities such as accessing friends' profile data, managing status updates, creating and sharing photo albums, and interacting with scraps. Developers can easily get started by downloading the library, exploring included samples, and integrating features with minimal coding effort. The announcement also highlights the FotoScrapr app, developed using Google App Engine and Google Web Toolkit, as an example of the library's capabilities, and invites developers to contribute to porting the library to other programming languages. The orkut team encourages developers to share their creations and engage with them through the orkut developer forum.

Random Hacks of Kindness (RHoK) is a collaborative initiative launched by Google, Yahoo!, Microsoft, NASA, and The World Bank, aiming to unite software developers in creating impactful solutions for challenges related to natural disaster risks. By participating in hackathons, developers work on software projects that can save lives, alleviate suffering, and aid community recovery after disasters, utilizing problem definitions crafted with input from NGOs, governments, and experts worldwide. These events foster the creation of new technologies and enhancement of existing platforms, offering opportunities for exposure, feedback, and collaboration among participants. The upcoming hackathon takes place in Washington, D.C., with satellite events in multiple global locations, featuring intensive hacking sessions and a reception hosted by The State Department. Previous RHoK projects have been successfully implemented in disaster-stricken areas like Haiti and Chile, showcasing the tangible benefits and real-world applications of the solutions developed during these events.

Jonathan Howard, lead developer at Drawloop Technologies, discusses the development and implementation of Dynamic Document Packages (DDPs) for Google Apps in the context of cloud-based mail merge solutions. The aim was to address the absence of a cloud-based mail merge tool, which combines documents and merges data without requiring local software installations. By leveraging Google APIs and the existing capabilities of Google Docs, Drawloop created a system that uses spreadsheets within Google Docs to manage and execute mail merges. This approach allows for the integration of Google Forms, enabling users to populate data easily and streamlining the document management process entirely in the cloud. Howard invites readers to try DDPs for Google Apps via the Google Apps Marketplace and to engage with the team at the Developer Sandbox at Google I/O.

Google I/O 2010 in San Francisco was a bustling event with over 5,000 developers, featuring more than 90 sessions and major announcements, including the future of the web with HTML5, WebM, and the Chrome Web Store, as well as Google App Engine for Business. The event also showcased Android 2.2, codenamed Froyo, mobile app monetization strategies, and the unveiling of Google TV. Beyond the keynotes, there were announcements of various APIs like Google Storage for Developers and Google Buzz API, and live notes and videos from the sessions were made available online. The event was marked by engagement with developers, fun activities such as driving the Mondo Spider, and was actively covered on the Google Code blog and Twitter, with plans for future video releases on YouTube.

Google, in collaboration with Typekit, has launched the WebFont Loader, an open-source JavaScript library aimed at enhancing the web font experience by addressing browser-related challenges in web font rendering. While web fonts offer the visual and stylistic benefits of print typography with the accessibility of digital formats, different browsers handle web font downloads in varying ways, leading to inconsistent text rendering. The WebFont Loader gives developers control over how web fonts are managed across browsers by firing JavaScript events when fonts are downloaded, enabling consistent behavior and allowing for adjustments to fallback font sizes to prevent content reflow. Furthermore, the modular design of the WebFont Loader facilitates easy integration with multiple web font providers, including Google and Typekit, with plans to add support for other providers in the future, reflecting Google's commitment to advancing web typography.

Mickaël Rémond, Founder of ProcessOne, discusses his company's enthusiastic adoption and development of a Wave server implementation following the announcement of the Google Wave protocol and platform at Google I/O in 2009. ProcessOne was drawn to Google Wave for its real-time capabilities, asynchronous workflow integration, and the potential for incorporating gadgets as mini applications within conversations, which allows for seamless application aggregation. The Google Wave Federation Protocol, which enables cross-domain content management and interoperability, was particularly appealing, prompting ProcessOne to extend its XMPP-based platform to support Wave by developing a new server from scratch using Erlang. This effort has resulted in a fully operational Wave server with a transform engine and Wave store, integrated into their OneTeam chat and VoIP client. The company's Wave service, set to be deployed as an experimental option on their Hosted.IM platform, aims to position ProcessOne as the first independent Wave Service Provider, while also laying the groundwork for the expansion of Wave services globally.

Brian Dorry from LTech discusses a technique for implementing basic text search on Google App Engine's Datastore, which lacks full-text search support as of 2010. He outlines a method using Java Data Objects (JDO) to create a "starts with" search function by applying inequality queries that filter records beginning with a specific search string. This approach involves concatenating a Unicode replacement character to the search input, allowing the datastore to return results starting with the query term. Although the method is demonstrated using JDO, it can also be applied using GQL, offering a practical interim solution for developers until Google provides official full-text search capabilities.

Google unveiled two new developer tools, BigQuery and Prediction API, designed to enhance data utilization and intelligence in applications. BigQuery offers fast, interactive analysis of massive datasets using SQL commands through a RESTful API, making it ideal for tasks like network log analysis and identifying sales trends. Prediction API provides access to Google's advanced machine learning algorithms as a RESTful web service, enabling real-time decision-making for applications such as product recommendations and sentiment analysis. Both tools, initially available as a free preview to a limited group of developers, integrate with data stored on Google Storage for Developers, and interested parties were encouraged to sign up for an invitation or attend a session at Google I/O for more information.

In May 2010, Google announced the launch of the Google Font API and the Google Font Directory, aiming to enhance web typography by providing access to a collection of high-quality open-source web fonts. This initiative addresses the historical lag in typographic sophistication on the web compared to print and other media, largely enabled by the CSS3 @font-face standard, which allows fonts to be cloud-hosted and delivered to browsers as needed. The Google Font API simplifies the process of using these fonts on web pages, offering a cross-browser, easy-to-implement solution that maintains the benefits of standard text, such as searchability and accessibility. It optimizes font delivery for modern browsers, ensuring fast performance and compatibility, and supports advanced styling with CSS3 and HTML5. The directory includes contributions from diverse designers, including well-known fonts like Droid Sans and Droid Serif. Open-source licensing allows these fonts to be used freely for various purposes, including print, and Google encourages designers to contribute more fonts to the directory. The Google Font API has already been integrated into platforms like Smashing Magazine, showcasing its potential for enriching visual experiences across web applications, with plans to expand language support beyond Western European languages.

In 2010, Google announced the launch of the Google Latitude API, allowing developers to integrate location-based services into their apps or features. This API enables applications to leverage continuously updated location data for innovative uses, such as smart thermostats that adjust based on proximity, traffic alerts, fraud detection for credit card transactions, and mapping vacation photos. Google emphasizes user privacy, requiring explicit user consent for data access and allowing users to control who sees their location information. The API aims to provide a seamless and efficient way to utilize location data without compromising device performance, and developers are encouraged to provide feedback as the API is tested in Google Labs.

Unveiled at Google I/O 2010, the Google Buzz API was introduced as a work-in-progress tool designed to integrate with existing web protocols and standards for sharing social content, including ActivityStreams and OAuth. The API, part of Google Code Labs, offers developers the ability to create applications that interact with Google Buzz by fetching and posting updates, managing profiles, and conducting searches over public updates. Users can control app access through various Google settings, ensuring data privacy. Developers are encouraged to collaborate with the protocol communities and contribute to refining the API, with Google inviting feedback through an issue tracker and developer forum. This initial release is seen as a foundation for future development, with Google expressing excitement over the potential applications developers could build using the API.

Google I/O's Day 1 keynote on May 19, 2010, introduced several innovative products and features, emphasizing advancements in HTML5, the launch of the Chrome Web Store, and the introduction of App Engine for Business. The event also highlighted a new partnership, with additional surprises shared online. While some announcements were detailed on the Google Code blog, a comprehensive recap of the highlights can be found on the Google Blog.

Google announced Google App Engine for Business in 2010, expanding its cloud platform to cater specifically to enterprise IT departments by offering enhanced management and support features. This initiative allows organizations to build and maintain applications on Google's scalable infrastructure, with benefits such as centralized administration, a 99.9% uptime service level agreement, and premium developer support. The platform is designed to be secure by default, restricting access to users within a company's Google Apps domain and enforcing security policies across all applications. Costing $8 per user per month, with a cap at $1000, it provides flexibility with pay-as-you-go pricing and promises future features like hosted SQL databases and SSL for secure communications. The service supports development in languages like Java and Python, simplifies administration by eliminating concerns over hardware and maintenance, and ensures effortless scalability. Google App Engine for Business was in a preview stage at the time, available to a limited number of enterprises, with a roadmap for upcoming features.

Google Storage for Developers, introduced on May 19, 2010, is a RESTful cloud service designed to meet the increasing demand for core cloud services by offering fast and reliable storage through Google's infrastructure, replicated across multiple US data centers. The service supports various authentication methods, SSL, and convenient access controls, providing scalability with read-after-write data consistency and the ability to handle large objects per request. Developers can manage storage via a web-based interface or the open-source GSUtil command-line tool, and during the limited preview, they can receive up to 100GB of storage and 300GB of monthly bandwidth at no cost. The service was showcased at Google I/O, inviting developers to learn more and join the waiting list for access.

In May 2010, Google announced two updates to its AdSense products aimed at helping developers monetize their websites more effectively. The first update, AdSense for search ads only, allows publishers to add Google search functionality to their sites and display search ads alongside their own search results, even if they are not Google-based. The second update, AdSense for Ajax, is designed for websites with content that isn't easily crawled by search engines or that use Ajax for dynamic updates. This feature enables developers to provide hints about such uncrawlable content and refresh ads dynamically with context changes. These tools broaden the monetization opportunities for developers by integrating advanced ad placement strategies into their sites.

In May 2010, Google announced Google App Engine for Business, introducing new features aimed at helping enterprises run business applications on Google's infrastructure while collaborating with VMware to enhance cloud portability. This partnership enables developers to create multi-device web applications that can be hosted on various Java-compatible environments, such as Google App Engine for Business, VMware's vSphere, vCloud, or Amazon EC2. Developers can leverage tools like Spring Roo for rapid application development and the Google Web Toolkit SDK to improve application performance and interactivity. The SpringSource Tool Suite, based on Eclipse, facilitates the deployment of applications across different environments, promoting interoperability and choice. Additionally, Speed Tracer, with integrated server-side time traces, aids in identifying performance issues across client, network, and server components. This initiative aims to simplify and expedite the development and deployment process for business applications, offering flexibility and avoiding vendor lock-in.

StrataLogica™ is a web-based learning application developed by Roundarch in collaboration with NYSTROM Herff Jones Education Division, designed to transform educational maps and globes into an interactive 3D experience using the Google Earth API. Addressing the shift from traditional classroom tools to digital alternatives, the application wraps high-resolution map content onto Google Earth, overcoming challenges related to file size and content granularity through a custom process that converts Adobe Illustrator files into Superoverlays. Content is managed via a content management system and includes geo-referenced coordinates for interactive elements like placemark balloons, which enhance learning with supplementary audio, images, and videos. By utilizing standard web technologies alongside KML, StrataLogica™ allows for an immersive educational experience, featuring tools for marking, content authoring, and collaboration, enriching the way teachers and students engage with geographical data.

OrangeScape enhances Google App Engine's capabilities for enterprise application development by addressing key limitations that have previously deterred this community, such as the unfamiliarity with GQL, lack of aggregate queries, and read consistency issues. The platform allows developers to build business applications using a modeling environment with a process design interface similar to spreadsheets, which can be deployed on both Google App Engine and traditional data centers, thus providing flexibility in deployment options. By improving the persistence layer to support transactions and read consistency on BigTable, OrangeScape ensures that applications can run seamlessly on either relational databases or cloud infrastructure, catering to diverse customer preferences. This initiative aims to make Google App Engine a viable option for businesses seeking scalable and reliable cloud solutions, and OrangeScape plans to announce its public beta shortly after Google I/O.

Amit Kulkarni, Co-Founder and CEO of Manymoon, shares insights on how their social productivity tool achieved success in the Google Apps Marketplace, highlighting four key strategies. First, they identified a significant problem—ineffective email communication—and capitalized on the opportunity presented by Google Apps' large user base. Emphasizing simplicity, Manymoon designed an intuitive web app, focusing on essential features like task and project sharing. They resisted diversions from their core vision, choosing instead to integrate with Google Docs APIs to rapidly meet user needs, which led to substantial user engagement and a 300% increase in daily visits. By leveraging Google APIs, Manymoon reduced user friction and increased relevance by allowing seamless integration with existing Google tools, thereby enhancing user engagement. Kulkarni invites further discussion on these strategies at Google I/O, aiming to help others succeed in the Google Apps Marketplace.

Dito, an IT services company founded in 2007, capitalized on its experience as an early Google Apps Authorized Reseller to develop the Dito Directory for Google Apps, addressing the client need for better shared contact management. Recognizing the limitations of Google Apps' API-based approach for many small organizations, Dito created a cloud-based solution on Google App Engine, which integrates smoothly with Google products like Google Web Toolkit and the Google Apps APIs. The development of Dito Directory, Dito's first venture into app development, was completed by two developers in under four months and launched on the Google Apps Marketplace, where it quickly gained traction with nearly 1000 installations. The success was achieved with minimal marketing effort, leveraging Dito's existing customer base and the marketplace's popularity. The cloud-based nature of their application allows for easy updates and continuous improvements based on customer feedback, ensuring the app evolves in line with user needs. Dito's presence at Google I/O, including a showcase at the Developer Sandbox, provides an opportunity for further engagement and feedback, while attendees can win the paid version of the app and other prizes.

The blog post by Adam Kalsey, a Developer Evangelist at Voxeo Developer Network, highlights the growing significance of integrating voice, instant messaging, and Twitter applications into cloud-based services to enhance customer engagement. With the advent of web programming tools and APIs like VoiceXML and Tropo, creating communication services has become more accessible, allowing developers to innovate by incorporating telephony into applications without needing extensive hardware or specialized programming languages. As real-time communication channels like SMS, IM, and social networks gain popularity over traditional phone calls, businesses are encouraged to adapt their customer service systems to meet these changing preferences, anticipating that half of automated communications will shift from telephones to other mediums in the next decade. The post provides an example of the Tropo platform, demonstrating its capabilities through a BART schedule mashup that interacts with users via multiple communication channels, including phone calls, SMS, IM, and Twitter, illustrating how developers can leverage these tools to create versatile, user-friendly applications.

Jeremy Glassenberg from Box.net discusses the integration of Box's services with various Google services through Google's diverse APIs, emphasizing the use of OpenID and OAuth protocols for seamless connections. By leveraging Google's platform, Box.net has enabled users to access and interact with Google services such as Google Docs, Gmail, and Google Calendar directly from within Box, using features like Google Gadgets to enhance the user experience. This integration allows for a two-way interaction, making both Google services accessible within Box and vice versa, with a focus on maintaining a straightforward user experience for businesses using Google Apps. The process involves ensuring ease of installation and usability, allowing administrators and users to choose which services to engage with, and providing clear instructions for integration. Box.net aims to continue expanding its collaboration with Google to deepen integration as both platforms grow.

Ryan Massie, a Product Manager at Clicker.com, discusses how HTML5 has revolutionized web development by bridging the gap between web and operating system engineering, allowing for the creation of rich, browser-based experiences without the need for third-party plug-ins. HTML5's standardized guidelines for video, animation, audio, and storage have reduced web fragmentation, enabling developers to build agile and superior-quality experiences across multiple platforms. At Clicker, this advancement allows for innovative and immersive user experiences that enhance the accessibility and performance of online content like TV shows and movies. The instantaneous nature of web updates and the elimination of download requirements enhance the demand for rich in-browser experiences, pushing the boundaries of online capabilities. This ongoing evolution emphasizes the importance of the Open Web and the role developers play in driving innovation, which Massie plans to discuss further at Google I/O.

Google I/O keynote presentations were scheduled to be live-streamed for those unable to attend the event in person on May 19 and 20, 2010, at specific times via the Google Developers YouTube channel. The event aimed to keep remote viewers engaged with live updates on platforms such as Twitter and Buzz, and further interaction was encouraged through live wave sessions. The announcement emphasized the importance of staying connected with the latest I/O news and session content, highlighting the event's focus on widespread accessibility and community engagement.

Gmail contextual gadgets, initially introduced during the launch of the Google Apps Marketplace, are now accessible to all developers as of May 18, 2010. Following a limited trusted tester period that generated significant interest, Google invited a select group of developers to participate in the program. With the API now available to all Google Apps Marketplace developers, interested parties are encouraged to review the documentation and the full announcement on the Google Enterprise Blog for more information on getting started. Additionally, a detailed session on Gmail contextual gadgets is available at Google I/O, led by Dan Holevoet from the Gmail contextual gadgets team.

myERP.com, a comprehensive ERP solution, made its debut in the Google Apps Marketplace in March 2010, providing businesses with a suite of tools for CRM, accounting, and supply chain management. The company, led by CEO Francois Nadal and CTO Thomas Ricard, faced significant challenges in transitioning their Java application to the cloud using Google Web Toolkit, a process that took nearly two years and culminated in their 2008 launch. This attracted attention from Google, leading to their participation in the Google I/O 2009 developer conference. To integrate with Google Apps, myERP.com had to enable OpenID and SSO, ensuring seamless user experience across platforms like Gmail and Google Calendar. The integration of OAuth for security and the use of Google Contacts and Provisioning APIs for customer and account management further enhanced their offering. Future plans include expanding functionality with Google Docs, responding to user demand for features like exporting data to Google Spreadsheets and generating invoices in Google Documents.

Socialwok, a business sharing and social collaboration service for Google Apps, leverages a comprehensive stack of Google technologies, including Google App Engine Java, Google Web Toolkit, and Google Data APIs, to deliver scalable web applications. The platform utilizes HTML5 for optimized mobile web interfaces and integrates with Google Docs and Google Calendar through GData libraries, enabling seamless document and calendar sharing. By employing open standards like OpenID, OAuth, PubSubHubbub, and ActivityStrea.ms, Socialwok ensures secure authentication and facilitates integration with various social web services, while also supporting rapid deployment through the Google Apps Marketplace. The service, which has been adopted by over 10,000 Google Apps domains, is designed to enhance user experience by providing features such as external feed integration and is continually evolving to incorporate new social web standards.

Ignite Google I/O, hosted by Brady Forrest at Moscone West, features a series of rapid-fire talks on topics ranging from tech culture to digital art and memes, with each of the nine speakers given five minutes to present 20 auto-advancing slides. The event, part of the third Google I/O conference, showcases diverse speakers such as Krissy Clark on narrative landscapes, Ben Huh discussing the evolution of memes, and Aaron Koblin on digital art. Ignite, a global series present in over a hundred cities, aims to inspire through succinct storytelling, with many talks available online at igniteshow.com.

Arnaldo M Pereira from BTBuckets discusses the company's journey in creating a scalable infrastructure by leveraging a mixed environment of Google App Engine and Amazon EC2, which eliminated the need for maintaining backend servers and reduced disaster recovery costs. The profiling and targeting framework developed by BTBuckets integrates with Google Analytics and Google Website Optimizer to enhance web analytics and A/B testing, allowing for user segmentation and optimization within Google Analytics. This integration, facilitated by a Chrome plug-in and a JavaScript API, adds value to traditional web analytics tools by enabling customization and increased sales conversions at no additional cost. The product, showcased at Google I/O, is deemed disruptive due to its ability to enhance common analytics tools without incurring additional expenses.

Spiral Universe, a school information management system, successfully expanded to 80 countries in 20 weeks, thanks in large part to Google Web Toolkit (GWT), which addressed their need for a scalable, flexible, and performant user interface compatible with any modern browser and language without requiring plugins. Initially, their "webtop" user interface faced sluggish performance issues, but with the release of GWT 2.0 and improvements from both the Ext GWT team and the Chrome team, the UI became responsive and closely mimicked a desktop experience. After over two years of development, they launched their beta version in January, now widely used in schools globally. The founders, Reuben S. Kerben and Andrei Volgin, showcased their technology at Google I/O, aiming to inspire other developers and explore potential integrations with apps beneficial for schools and educational stakeholders.

In May 2010, Google announced the launch of Eclipse Labs, a collaborative platform developed with the Eclipse Foundation to support the open-source community by providing a centralized location for managing Eclipse-based projects. Powered by Google Project Hosting, this initiative aims to enhance the visibility of unofficial add-on projects and facilitate their potential transition into official Eclipse Foundation projects. Google encourages the migration of existing Eclipse add-ons from Google Code to Eclipse Labs and highlights the availability of tools such as Workspace Mechanic and Project Hosting Connector for Mylyn. The announcement also invites feedback from developers and promotes engagement at events like Google I/O to foster community interaction and support.

Google's technical writers who contribute to code.google.com and developer.android.com are attending Google I/O to engage with developers utilizing Google APIs. They aim to gather feedback on how developers learn about APIs, identify gaps in the documentation, and explore ways to enhance coding efficiency. Sporting distinctive T-shirts with the message “I can explain Google to you,” these writers are approachable in the hallways or during office hour sessions, eager to connect and improve the user experience.

The Google Analytics API Team announced an update to the .NET Google Data client library to incorporate recent features, catering to the requests from developers for sample code and enhanced functionality. This update includes two reference examples for the Account Feed and Data Feed, enabling users to easily extract advanced segment, custom variable, and goal data from the Google Analytics Export API. The team encourages developers to explore various applications of the library, such as creating sophisticated visualizations, automating reports, or engaging in extensive data mining, and invites them to share their ideas or discuss them within the Google Analytics Data Export API group.

Matthias Schicker, Head of Client Development at Aloqa, discusses the evolution and limitations of location-based services (LBS) and introduces Aloqa as a solution at Google I/O. While traditional LBS are largely reactive, requiring users to manually search for location-based information, Aloqa offers a more proactive approach by notifying users about nearby opportunities like events, places, and bargains without the need for separate apps. By considering a broader context beyond just location, including user preferences and social connections, Aloqa aims to deliver a more personalized experience. This service allows users to customize notifications through various "channels" and provides an API for publishers to create contextually relevant content. Aloqa's innovative approach seeks to transform how mobile devices operate, making them less like browsers and more like smart, context-aware assistants.

Google announced the release of the Google Moderator API, which allows users to access, update, and interact with Google Moderator through custom interfaces. This API is designed to enhance the functionality of Google Moderator, a tool used internally at Google for meetings and feedback collection, and externally at conferences to harness participant insights. The API enables users to create new series, topics, and submissions, as well as vote and track voting status, offering a more interactive experience. Notable projects utilizing the API include a Google Wave gadget for event questions and an open-source Android app developed by a Google engineer. The API's flexibility allows for innovative applications, and Google is inviting user feedback and engagement through documentation and a Google Group.

With less than two weeks until Google I/O 2010, excitement builds around the 85+ technical sessions and 180+ speakers, including a notable debut of venture capitalists (VCs) as speakers. These VCs are unique in that they are not only respected for their insights on technology but are also programmers by trade, bringing firsthand experience as developers or entrepreneurs. The event promises lively discussions with a panel featuring Albert Wenger, Chris Dixon, Dave McClure, Paul Graham, and Brad Feld, moderated by Dick Costolo, where they will explore current tech trends. Additionally, another session led by prominent VCs like Brad Feld and Dave McClure will focus on the business model of converting free app users to paying customers. The inclusion of VCs aims to provide a fresh perspective on technology and innovation at the conference.

Stefan Richter, founder of freiheit.com technologies, shares insights from using Clojure, a Lisp language running on the JVM, for developing TheDeadline, an intelligent to-do manager on Google App Engine. He highlights the productivity benefits of functional programming with Clojure, noting that it allows his small team to write significantly less code compared to Java or Python, thereby speeding up the development process. Clojure's functional abstractions over simple data structures enable powerful coding with fewer lines, which is further enhanced by the use of Domain Specific Languages (DSLs) as building blocks. Integrating Clojure with Google App Engine feels seamless, as it easily accesses the App Engine SDK and integrates with Java libraries, while its compatibility with App Engine's datastore provides a competitive edge. This combination allows for rapid feature development and a low-cost, zero-maintenance infrastructure ideal for large-scale applications. Richter invites readers to explore more technical details on their blog and encourages interaction during the Google I/O 2010 event.

Benjamin Mestrallet, CEO of eXo, discusses the evolution from traditional enterprise web app frameworks to modern, cloud-based solutions utilizing consumer web technologies like gadgets, OpenSocial, and GWT. He reflects on his early work in creating the JSR 168 portlet container and how it paved the way for eXo's platform, which leverages lightweight, client-side technologies such as JavaScript, HTML, and CSS. These gadgets, which interact with servers via REST APIs, offer a more efficient and universal development process compared to the legacy portlet model. Mestrallet highlights a use-case involving a Marketing Mashup application that simplifies data integration from multiple sources using eXo's platform, illustrating a new generation of service-oriented architecture (SOA). The platform enables developers to build, test, and deploy applications entirely online in a web IDE, enhancing the accessibility and functionality of enterprise applications through seamless integration with mobile apps and other OpenSocial containers.

In anticipation of Google I/O on May 6, 2010, Google announced plans to incorporate Google Wave into the event, leveraging its capabilities to enhance attendee interaction and session engagement. Google Wave, which had been previously used in various conferences to facilitate discussions and note-taking, would be integrated into sessions through interactive waves created using Google Wave APIs. Attendees could participate in real-time by viewing live notes, asking questions via a Google Moderator gadget, and engaging in discussions. To get started, newcomers were encouraged to consult the Getting Started Guide and video tutorials, while those without accounts were invited to request Google Wave invitations.

More than 4,000 developers are expected to attend Google I/O on May 19-20, 2010, but to accommodate a broader audience, Google is offering live streams of the keynote presentations on YouTube at the scheduled start times. Interested viewers are encouraged to watch on a high-speed connection for optimal quality. The first keynote is scheduled for May 19 from 9:00-10:30 am PT, and the second for May 20 from 8:30-10:00 am PT, both promising to unveil exciting new technologies. The schedule can also be found on Google's agenda page.

In May 2010, Google Analytics celebrated the first anniversary of its Data Export API and developer programs by unveiling 38 new features and introducing the Google Analytics Application Gallery, which showcases innovative solutions that extend the platform's capabilities. Highlighted applications include Analytics HD for iPad access, visualization tools for referrer flow and keyword usage, BTBuckets for real-time user segmentation and optimization, CallTrackID for tracking phone inquiries, and ShufflePoint Studio for integrating Google Analytics data with PowerPoint. The App Gallery serves as a resource for customers to discover third-party solutions and offers developers an opportunity to reach more users by submitting their applications through a simple process. Additionally, Google invites those interested in further integration to attend a presentation at the Google I/O conference.