Fifteen years on—and we’re just getting started

Google Search is turning 15. Remember what it was like to search in 1998? You’d sit down and boot up your bulky computer, dial up on your squawky modem, type in some keywords, and get 10 blue links to websites that had those words. It seemed like magic (and it was way way faster than card catalogs and microfiche!).

The world has changed so much since then: billions of people have come online, the web has grown exponentially, and now you can ask any question on the powerful little device in your pocket. You can explore the world with the Knowledge Graph, ask questions aloud with voice search, and get info before you even need to ask with Google Now.

But 15 years on, we’re just getting started. We want to help you make more of each day. Here are a few of the latest features you can try out:

Comparisons and filters in the Knowledge Graph

We keep expanding features of the Knowledge Graph so it can answer more questions—even those that don’t have a simple answer. Let’s say you want to get your daughter excited about a visit to the Met. You can pull up your phone and say to Google: “Tell me about Impressionist artists.” You’ll see who the artists are, and you can dive in to learn more about each of them and explore their most famous works. If you want to switch to Abstract artists, you can do that really easily with our new filter tool:

Or let’s say you want to compare two things: How much saturated fat is in butter versus olive oil? Now you can simply tell Google: “Compare butter with olive oil.” Our new comparison tool gives you new insights by letting you compose your own answer:

You can try this for some other things you might be curious about, such as dog breeds (“compare pekingese vs. chihuahua”) or celestial objects (“compare earth vs. neptune”)—and we’ll keep adding more.

Get things done with Google across your devices

Having a “conversation” with Google should also be more natural. Ideally, you wouldn’t need to pull out your phone or tap buttons to use Google. We’re not quite there yet, but you can already do a lot with just your voice. In the next couple of weeks, you’ll be able to download a new version of the Google Search app on iPhone and iPad. With this update, you can get notifications across your devices. So if you tell your Nexus 7, “OK Google. Remind me to buy olive oil at Safeway,” when you walk into the store with your iPhone, you’ll get a reminder. We’ll also show you Google Now notifications so you’re not late to your cooking class.

A simpler, more unified design on mobile devices

You’ll also notice a new look and feel for Google Search and ads on your phones and tablets. It’s cleaner and simpler, optimized for touch, with results clustered on cards so you can focus on the answers you’re looking for.

We’ll keep improving Google Search so it does a little bit more of the hard work for you. This means giving you the best possible answers, making it easy to have a conversation and helping out before you even have to ask. Hopefully, we’ll save you a few minutes of hassle each day. So keep asking Google tougher questions—it keeps us on our toes! After all, we’re just getting started.

Posted by Amit Singhal, SVP, Google Search

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A fresh look for Google Translate on iOS, with more languages and new features

Cross-posted from the Google Translate Blog.

When you’re trekking around a new place or trying to communicate with someone who speaks a different language, Google Translate helps break down the language barrier. Today we updated and optimized the Google Translate app for iOS 7, where you’ll see a fresh new look, handwriting support, and 70+ languages.

If you’re on vacation in Kyoto, and want to learn more about an exotic flower arrangement, use text-input to type in your question and translate from English to Japanese with ease. You can also hear your translation spoken back to you in Japanese.

If a shopkeeper in Paris wants to talk with a visitor from Spain, they can tap the microphone, speak naturally, and quickly translate from French to Spanish with a few simple taps.

If you are an expat living in China and want to know what’s on the menu, use the Handwrite feature to discover a tasty new treat. Tap the Handwrite icon, and input natural handwriting in nearly 50 languages.

Google Translate is useful in many situations, especially while you’re on the go. We hope you enjoy the new design and features.

Posted by Masakazu Seno, Software Engineer, Google Translate

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Updating the Google bar: many products, multiple devices

If you're anything like me, you move among devices and Google products on a regular basis. You might check Gmail on your phone, for instance, then organize your Calendar via laptop, then browse Google+ photos from your tablet.

Regardless of your routine, getting around Google should be seamless, and once you're inside an app, you don't want any distractions. So we're introducing an updated Google bar that streamlines your experience across products and devices:

Your Google products are now accessible under a new app launcher, located at the top right of the screen. Just click on the familiar 'Apps' grid, also present on Android devices and Chromebooks:

As part of this design, we’ve also refined the color palette and letter shapes of the Google logo. We'll be rolling out this update across most Google products over the next few weeks, so keep an eye out and let us know your thoughts.

Posted by Eddie Kessler, Tech Lead / Manager

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Broadening Google Patents

Cross-posted with the US Public Policy Blog, the European Public Policy Blog, and the Google Research Blog.

Last year, we launched two improvements to Google Patents: the Prior Art Finder and European Patent Office (EPO) patents. Today we’re happy to announce the addition of documents from four new patent agencies: China, Germany, Canada, and the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO). Many of these documents may provide prior art for future patent applications, and we hope their increased discoverability will improve the quality of patents in the U.S. and worldwide.

So if you want to learn about a Chinese dual-drive bicycle, a German valve for inflating bicycle tires, attach a Canadian trailer to your bike, or read the WIPO application for pedalling with one leg, those and millions of other inventions are now available on Google Patents.

Thanks to Google Translate, all patents are available in both their original languages and in English, and you can search across the world’s patents using terms in any of those languages. When there are multiple submission languages, you can move between them with a single click on the tabs at the top of the page, as shown in the screenshot below:

Happy patent searching!

Posted by Jon Orwant, Engineering Manager

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Improving your conversational Spanish

In my last post, I want to learn Spanish, now what?, I explained what autodidacta is, as well as my idea of a foundation course and how I used them as a part of my learning process to teach myself Spanish.  If you haven't read that post or don't know what autodidacta is, click here.

At about the 2 year point in my learning Spanish journey, I had two short trips to Mexico under my belt. The first trip served to rekindle the desire I had to learn Spanish, and inadvertently started me down the path of autodidacta. The second trip taught me that while my foundation courses were really helping, they weren't enough.

 Learning Spanish Like Crazy Level 1, Synergy Spanish and Rocket Spanish were getting me off to a great start.  I was able to get around town, order food and handle everyday touristy type tasks with relative ease.  However it quickly became apparent that social conversations (among other things) were another story.

I realized I had two problems I needed to resolve.  The first problem was finding someone to talk to.  The second problem was learning conversational/colloquial Spanish.

I eventually reached a point where I knew that if I wanted to be able to speak this language, I had to find someone to talk to.  Desperation was setting in.  I remember thinking aunque me muera (even if it kills me), I was going to learn this language.  

The feeling of desperation and the desire to master this language forced me to get out there and find or create opportunities to speak Spanish.  Here's what I came up with:

(1) I ate at a lot of Mexican restaurants.

I should have turned into a burrito by now, but Mexican restaurants are great places to practice your Spanish.   If you visit the same restaurant multiple times and gain the confidence of the wait staff, you'll have a small army of people more than happy to help you with your Spanish.

The best part is you can study all of the Spanish you need in before you go.  Do your homework and learn how to order your food before you even get to the restaurant.  Jot down some notes and off you go.  You'll even be able to prepare yourself for the responses you can expect to hear back.

I have to admit, I learned quite a bit of Spanish in Mexican (or Cuban, etc) restaurants.  Looking back on my experiences, it's amazing how much Spanish you can learn just by trying to order a burrito.

(2) Several of the companies I've worked for had a Hispanic janitorial and/or cafeteria staff.

I used to look forward to lunch time because I got to chit-chat with a few Spanish speakers, even if it were only for 2-3 minutes a day.  I even looked forward to working a little late to talk with the janitorial staff.

Sometimes I had to be a bit persistent because they were shy or had some sort of reservation about speaking to me in Spanish, but with perseverance I eventually gained their confidence and conversation.

(3)  I started speaking Spanish with co-workers.

Admittedly, I didn't have many Spanish speaking co-workers, but I worked up the courage to start speaking to them.  It actually worked out great.  I remember going to lunch with a Colombian co-worker and my knowledge of Spanish was sky-rocketing on a daily basis.  Not to mention he was taking me to a lot of great hidden spots to both eat and use my Spanish even more.

(4)  I discovered a website called MeetUp.com.

Go to the site and do a search for Spanish language groups in your area.  If you live in a respectable size city, there's likely at least one group of Spanish lovers like you who meet on a regular basis to practice.   At the time there weren't that many groups in my area, but I got lucky and found one that turned out to be great.  We met weekly and did nothing but talk for 1-2 hours every meeting.  At first it wasn't easy, but I was learning a lot and getting the conversational practice I so desperately needed.

After I had attend the group for a while, I eventually discovered something even bigger than the group conversations...the power of friendships.  I started making Spanish speaking friends, and that's when my Spanish really took off.  I started getting invited to social gatherings and meeting even more Spanish speakers.  I've even been to a few parties where I was almost the only English speaker there.  Talk about trial by fire!

(5)  Find a place where Spanish speakers hang out and join them.

I managed to find a nice restaurant/bar where Spanish speakers came to dance, play domino's and just hang out.  I made some new friends and had some pretty good times.

And there you have it.  I went from a guy who thought he had no one to talk to, to a guy who learned how to turn over stones and find opportunities where it looked like none existed.  I hope I gave you some useful ideas on how you can find someone to speak to, even when it seems like there's no one around.

So now we can talk about the other problem I had, increasing my knowledge of conversational/colloquial Spanish.

When I traveled and even at home, I was always hearing Spanish that I wasn't learning from my study materials, and I wanted to be able to converse without sounding like a 5 year old.  Actually, 5 year old's probably don't stutter and grasp for words as much as I did back then.  So I turned to the one place I knew could help me.   Amazon.com.

There are many books and products out there, but very few of them offer the bang for your buck that you deserve if you're going to spend your hard-earned cash.  Here are my suggestions on what products are truly deserving of not just your money, but your time and effort.

Let's get started.

I wouldn't hesitate to call  Breaking Out of Beginners Spanish the best book on the market for improving your Spanish.  If you could only buy one book, this is it.  You'll increase your vocabulary and gain a deeper understanding of the language.  He discusses things like "YO-ISMO" (the overuse of the pronoun "yo"), tricksters (words commonly misused by English speakers) and he examines 64 verbs and tells you what they mean and how they're really used in conversation as well as a ton of other things.

He also takes a practical look at the subjunctive that anybody can understand.  I don't care what your level of Spanish is, if you're serious about learning and/or improving your conversational Spanish, this book needs to be in your collection.


Spanish Among Amigos will take your conversational abilities to a new level.  It's packed with tons of everyday vocabulary, speech and idioms that will have you sounding like a native in no time.  The material is presented through realistic dialogues that take place between 3 friends.   The book does use Spanish from Spain, but the author does a great job of pointing out regional differences and offering neutral alternatives.

The second edition features audio recordings of the dialogues.  That wasn't available when I bought it, so it's even better now.

The last book I'm going to suggest is Cassell's Colloquial Spanish, A handbook of idiomatic usage.  In the format of a dictionary, this book gives you the most common colloquial usages of the word and corresponding examples, along side the dictionary definition.

It's more of a reference book than something you read from cover-to-cover, but you'll find yourself quickly amazed at the wealth of information this book has to offer.  This book will go a long way in helping you understand the difference between classroom Spanish and colloquial Spanish.

While books are great, audio is even better.  Here's a great CD that Amazon offers that will also grow your conversational abilities.  Like everything I recommend, I own a copy and I found it to be worth every nickel.

Learn Conversational Spanish Now (Spanish Edition) 

This is a collection of 60 conversational dialogues that come with written transcripts so you can read along while listen to the conversations if you like.  A surprising feature about this CD is it offers a slower version of the dialogues in addition to the dialogues at regular speed.  The conversations are realistic and are true reflections of what you'll hear in real life.

It's time to wrap this post up.  I hope I've managed to help you in some form or fashion and keep working on that Spanish.

And remember, when the learning gets tough, ¡no te rindas! (don't give up!)

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New ways to explore what's trending on Google

Whether you're looking for trending celebrities, a monthly recap of what's hot, or power tools to make your own discoveries about what's piquing the world's curiosity - today you'll find new features in Google Trends to make it easier to explore hot topics in Google Search.

Trending Top Charts.
In May we added a new feature to Google Trends called "Top Charts," where you can explore real-world people, places and things ranked by overall search interest in the United States (with more countries coming soon). These "Most Searched" lists span dozens of areas from athletes to cities to cocktails. We've heard great feedback from people who want "Trending" lists -- not just what's most searched overall, but what's spiking compared with usual search volumes. Starting today, you can explore these new Trending Top Charts for a number lists across entertainment, sports, politics and more.

For example, while it may come as no surprise that the United States is the most searched country among people in the U.S., it's more interesting that Syria and Russia were the two top trending countries last month. To see the new "Trending" charts, click the arrow icon at the top of any supported Top Chart.

Past 30 Days view of Hot Searches.
Top Charts is a great way to see a monthly recap of the hottest people, places and things in a given category (politicians, cities, cars, etc), but what if you want to see a recap of what was hot overall? Now you'll find a new view of hot topics from the past thirty days. Click the new calendar icon at the top of the Hot Searches page for any of our thirteen supported countries. Hover on a topic for some quick information and a link to see more search trends from the day.

Updates to the Explore page.
For power users, the best part of Google Trends is the ability to look up search data for any topic, and slice and compare the data by region, time series, category, and more. Today we're rolling out some updates to make this a better experience. We've shifted refinements for countries, categories, and Google products (like Web Search, YouTube, etc) to the top navigation, making it a more consistent Google experience. We've also made it easier to discover power tools to compare countries and time ranges.

Posted by Itai Bar-Sinai, Software Engineer

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