April 2012 Summaries

Google Analytics has expanded its Site Speed reports with the introduction of User Timings, allowing for more detailed tracking and visualization of custom website performance metrics. This feature enables users to measure the execution speed or load time of specific interactions, such as image loads, button response times, AJAX actions, and more, without affecting pageview counts. Implementing User Timings requires adding JavaScript timing code via the _trackTiming API, which organizes data using Categories, Variables, and optional Labels. The User Timings report includes three tabs: Explorer, Performance, and Map Overlay, each offering distinct views and insights into user-reported timings. These tabs allow users to analyze average execution times, sample sizes, speed variations across different browsers, and geographical distribution of site speed. This enhancement aims to assist website developers in identifying and optimizing performance bottlenecks to provide faster web experiences.

Scott Knaster, editor of the Google Developers Blog, shares a "living in the future" moment by highlighting the impressive capabilities of Google Translate, which celebrated its sixth anniversary and now translates text across 64 languages, including translating the equivalent of one million books daily. The blog post also covers the LOOK3 Festival of the Photograph in Charlottesville, Virginia, which uniquely displays images among trees to raise environmental awareness, and the spectacle of giant marionettes in Liverpool commemorating the Titanic's centenary, both of which provide visual experiences beyond words. Concluding with a nod to the playful spirit of "Fridaygram" posts, designed for casual enjoyment rather than technical insight, Knaster mentions that April 27, 2012, was declared Passive Voice Day, encouraging readers to embrace the lighter side of language.

Google is actively supporting African developers who are leveraging its platforms to create impactful applications and services across the continent, aligning with the company's vision to make the internet more relevant to Africans. Notable examples include Battabox, a Nigerian social television platform utilizing YouTube and Google App Engine for video crowdsourcing and distribution; Nomanini's airtime vending device in South Africa powered by Google App Engine; Envaya SMS, a tool transforming Android phones into SMS gateways for NGOs in East Africa; and SAF SMS, a school management solution adopted by over 100 schools in Nigeria using Google Web Toolkit. Additionally, developers like those behind AfriNolly and the Nigerian Constitution Android app have engaged with Google's Android Developer Relations team to share insights and expand their reach. These initiatives highlight the diverse and innovative ways African developers are utilizing Google technologies to address local needs and opportunities.

Google Drive, introduced on April 24, 2012, is a cloud-based service designed to facilitate creation, sharing, collaboration, and storage of various types of files, effectively evolving from Google Docs. It seamlessly integrates with other Google applications like Google+, Docs, and Gmail, and allows third-party applications to connect through the Google Drive SDK, providing access to millions of users via the Chrome Web Store. Google Drive supports collaboration tools such as Lucidchart for visual diagramming and MindMeister for mind mapping, enabling users to store and access files from any modern browser. It offers robust features like automatic OCR for searchable text in images and supports files up to 10 GB in size, enhancing storage, indexing, and file management. Developers are encouraged to integrate their apps with Google Drive and can find comprehensive resources and support from Google's development team on platforms like Stack Overflow and through scheduled Hangouts.

Google's Developers Blog Editor, Scott Knaster, shares an engaging Fridaygram highlighting student involvement in creative pursuits, such as the Google Photography Prize, which attracted over 20,000 entries from students in 146 countries. The post also features a captivating space video by Alex Rivest, offering viewers a glimpse of the International Space Station's stunning views, and celebrates the retirement of the U.S. Space Shuttle Discovery, which recently moved to its new home at the National Air and Space Museum. These lighthearted entries are curated to entertain and interest readers with a penchant for technology and space exploration.

In an effort to keep pace with technological advancements, Google announced several updates to its API deprecation policies, including transitioning some services like Google App Engine, Google Maps/Earth APIs, and YouTube API to a one-year deprecation policy starting in April 2014, while retaining the one-year policy for Google Cloud Storage. The company aims to provide clearer and more concise policy language, ensuring developers receive one year's notice before any breaking changes are made. For other APIs, Google is removing the deprecation policy entirely, effective by April 2015, while maintaining its commitment to communicating changes well in advance. Additionally, Google is deprecating several older APIs and versions, such as the Moderator API and Legacy Portable Contacts API, with detailed information and alternatives provided in their documentation. These changes are part of Google's broader strategy to deliver scalable and user-friendly technology that empowers developers to build innovative applications.

Code Jam, a global programming competition where participants tackle algorithmic problems using any programming language, recently concluded its qualification round with over 36,000 entrants vying for a spot in the finals in New York. Although registration for the 2012 Code Jam is closed, Google offers another opportunity through a Code Jam sprint starting April 19, where the top 100 developers who solve at least one two-part challenge can purchase tickets to the sold-out Google I/O conference. The challenge URL will be available on the Google Developers page, and participants are encouraged to register in advance and use the Code Jam quick-start guide for preparation. Igor Naverniouk, a software engineer primarily focused on analytics for Google Play, contributes to Code Jam during his 20% time, while Scott Knaster serves as the editor of the related post.

In an effort to enhance web performance, Google introduced mod_spdy, an Apache module that integrates the SPDY protocol to expedite the communication between web servers and browsers. Released initially in December 2011, this module aims to optimize data transfer by enabling header compression, request multiplexing, and simultaneous resource fetching, thus reducing network latency. Mod_spdy supports SPDY-compatible browsers like Google Chrome and recent Firefox versions and operates exclusively over HTTPS. The integration of mod_spdy into Apache required overcoming challenges due to the differences between HTTP/1.1's serialized request handling and SPDY's concurrent processing needs, which was achieved by separating connection and request processing into distinct threads. This open-source project, which includes a version of mod_ssl with NPN support due to the unavailability of the NPN extension in many Apache environments, continues to evolve with contributions from the community and is part of Google's broader efforts to speed up the web.

Rania Hadi, the MENA Outreach Manager at Google, reflects on her experiences organizing g|maroc events, highlighting the upcoming g|maroc 2012 event scheduled for June 7-8 in Mohammedia, Morocco. Having joined the MENA Outreach team the previous year and organized her first event in Rabat, Hadi is eager to continue the tradition of engaging with Morocco's vibrant tech and business communities. The event aims to offer new and updated sessions based on participant feedback, focusing on advanced user topics with the support of Google engineers, product managers, and business leaders. Additionally, g|maroc seeks to spotlight Moroccan talent by inviting participants to showcase creations made with Google products or technologies. The event is free, and registration has opened, encouraging attendees from across Morocco to join and share their insights.

Fridaygram, a lighthearted blog post from the Google Developers Blog, highlights various topics of interest to tech enthusiasts and nerds. The post recommends trying Google Chrome Canary for those eager to explore cutting-edge features, despite its potential instability, and offers insights into new developer tools for simulating mobile environments. It also celebrates the ingenuity of participants in the Rube Goldberg Machine Contest at Purdue University, where a team set a record with a machine involving 300 steps to pop a balloon. Additionally, the post commemorates Tom Lehrer's birthday week by recommending his witty songs, embodying the playful spirit of Fridaygrams aimed at providing enjoyable content for the weekend.

The second edition of the EUHackathon, themed "Hack4Kids," is scheduled for June 20-21, 2012, in Brussels, aiming to foster collaboration between European Institutions and the tech community by focusing on children's safety and creativity online. Organized alongside European Institutions, this event emphasizes bridging traditional governance with the digital world, specifically addressing children's needs by involving them as both participants and jury members. The hackathon features two main tracks: one dedicated to developing tools that enhance online safety for children and parents, such as robust reporting systems and parental controls, and another focused on fostering children's creativity, encouraging projects like 3D game environments and music production. Participants will have their travel and accommodation expenses covered, and winners in each track will receive a €5,000 prize, alongside additional perks like free food and WiFi. Interested developers can apply online until April 30, 2012, and are encouraged to share or vote on innovative ideas through the event's platform, with more information available on the EUHackathon's website.

In a lighthearted Fridaygram post from April 2012, Google Developers Blog Editor Scott Knaster highlights several intriguing technological advancements, including the addition of 3D graphing capabilities to Google Search, which allows users to visualize and manipulate three-dimensional graphs through WebGL in modern browsers. The post also discusses a "plasma flashlight" capable of instantly inactivating bacteria on the skin, a development with potential applications for hygiene, and the expansion of the Google Art Project, which offers online access to artworks from over 150 museums globally, making art more accessible despite lacking the experience of viewing in person. The post concludes with a nod to Google’s forward-thinking innovations, offering readers a couple of bonus links to test Google’s self-driving car and explore a special 2D graph, encapsulating the post’s aim to entertain and engage tech enthusiasts with developments that evoke a sense of living in the future.

Google Africa is expanding its outreach by hosting two major events in May 2012, g|Senegal in Dakar and g|Cote d'Ivoire in Abidjan, to foster connections with local communities and promote Google products. These events will feature hands-on coding sessions for developers, discussions on new Google technologies, and the sharing of local success stories. g|Senegal will include a Google Technology User Group Hackathon focused on the Google+ API, while g|Cote d'Ivoire aims to support the region's business community and encourage the development of innovative applications. Attendees are encouraged to register early for these free events and participate in the conversation using the event hashtags on Google+.

Google Cloud Storage is designed to provide high performance without requiring customers to engage in complex storage optimization, allowing them to focus on their applications instead. The performance hinges on two main factors: the network's efficiency and the storage service's speed. To ensure optimal network performance, Google uses its proprietary infrastructure to minimize latency by serving requests from the nearest data center and optimizing network routing. On the storage side, the service efficiently manages data requests using Google's advanced datacenter technology, which includes replicating data across multiple centers and leveraging caching strategies to enhance speed. This approach eliminates the need for users to worry about traditional file system optimizations, as Google handles all optimizations behind the scenes, ensuring that data requests are processed swiftly and efficiently.