The New Google Mobile Community
If you've been following this blog at all, it's probably pretty clear that we're passionate about mobile technology. And if you have really been following this blog, it probably means that you are passionate about mobile technology too. Well, we've created a place for you to connect with other mobile enthusiasts: the new Google Mobile Community.
We envision this community as being a place where you can discuss the world of mobile in general -- like cool new applications you've discovered or what you wish your phone could do. Or maybe you're looking to buy a new phone, and you're not sure which one to pick. Ask the group.
We also want the community to be a place where you can tell us what you think about our very own products. Sometimes we'll throw out a question about our products that only you have the answers to, such as why you use (or don't use) a certain feature. So keep an eye out for posts where we're asking for your feedback -- like this one. But also feel free to give us unsolicited feedback. What do you like about our mobile products? What don't you like? Are there features or products you would like to see? Be honest. We can take it.
There's really no limit to the discussion, with one small caveat: if you are trying to troubleshoot a specific technical issue with a particular Google product, check out our general Google Mobile Help Group or our more specific Maps and Gmail for mobile groups -- those are the places to ask technical questions. Search the group or post questions to find answers from other users about Google mobile products.
So come join the community... We're excited to hear from you!
road trip!
Today my mom, Ryan and I are making the 8-hour trip to White Deer, Texas! We're spending the weekend with my grandfather ("papa") while my mom attends her 32nd high school reunion. White Deer, a thriving metropolis, has a population of about 1,000 people, a main street with one or two restaurants, and a pretty cool wind farm with about 80 windmills. Most importantly, it's a place that I hold very dear to my heart because I spent many, MANY summers there visiting my grandparents with my brother. Ryan's never been before so I wanted to show him!Back in the day, we would help my grandmother bake, ride in the tractor while Papa harvested on the farm, play around in their super-cool storm cellar, drive Papa's golf cart around town (so exciting when you're not old enough to drive a real car), and play outside with our friends. They only had about 4 channels, so we watched a LOT of golf and Price is Right :) Visiting this weekend will be very different now that Grandmother is gone, and I have a feeling I'll probably be very emotional for most of the time, but it means a lot that I can share these childhood memories with my husband!
Stay tuned for more pictures of what will be a very fun weekend trip down memory lane :)
Have a good weekend! :)
An easier way to get started with Google Mobile
As we've added more and more products to the Google Mobile lineup, our users have asked for an easier way to learn how to get started with Google on their phones. We've listened closely to the feedback and are happy to announce the launch of the new mobile.google.com site -- the place to discover what you can do with Google on your phone.
When you go to the site, just select a phone from the list of popular devices and you'll get to see the Google products that are available. You can click on a product to get more information and watch a short video.When you're ready to get started, just enter your mobile number and we'll send a link directly to your phone so you don't have to type the address. You can also go straight to m.google.com from your phone's browser to find out what products are available for your phone and to get started.
If you're in the US, try out the new site at mobile.google.com -- you'll be able to get the best from Google on your phone, with less effort than ever. Be sure to visit the new Google Mobile Community group to share feedback and discuss with fellow mobile enthusiasts.
New Google search results pages for BlackBerry users
Two weeks ago we updated our mobile homepage in the US so that it would load more quickly. Today, we're releasing in the US a number of improvements to our mobile search results pages for BlackBerry browsers. These new improvements are designed to help you find the information you want more easily.
- Improved comprehensiveness: Our mobile search now incorporates results from Product Search, Blog Search, News archives search, and more.
- Blended results: Instead of showing you web, image, local and news results in separate sections, we now combine them to improve relevance. We've also made it easier for you to focus your search on any one of these categories -- notice how the links are now placed at the top of the results page.
- Longer snippets: Web results include longer snippets so that your answer may be right on the results page.
- Related searches: At the bottom of the search results page, you'll find a list of related searches to help you refine a query.
To watch a demo of our new mobile search results pages, take a peek at the video below. Or better yet, test drive our new search results page yourself. It's simple. Go to google.com on your BlackBerry browser and search away!
App Engine Community Update
Over the past two months we've seen the App Engine community do some exciting things. To highlight community participation, we'll be posting regular App Engine community updates.
Applications
Below are some of the more popular ones we've seen:
- Wordle - Create word clouds for user provided text
- Guess-a-Sketch - Fans of Pictionary will love this sketching-guessing game!
- BuddyPoke - An OpenSocial application for interacting with your friends
Developer Articles
Many developers have written useful articles tutorials about App Engine. This week, we published our first externally written article on the App Engine developer pages Configuring Eclipse on Windows to Use With Google App Engine. Below are some other contributions we've found out there on the world wide web:
- Google Engineers are passionate about unit tests, and it's exciting to know our developers are too! App Engine fan wrote an article 'Unit tests for Google App Engine apps'.
- Thomas Brox Røst wrote an article that outlines porting the data of an existing Django App to App Engine.
- A big theme for App Engine at Google I/O was creating applications that scale. The developers at Logilab attended one of the talks and wrote up a very helpful summary on Building Scalable Web Apps.
Mobile usage is becoming increasingly popular across the globe. Ronan at dev.mobi wrote an article about using App Engine to create a mobile website.
Open Source Projects
Recently, we invited developers to list their Open Source projects on our group's pages. So far, we have 14 projects - these range from App Engine utility libraries, web frameworks, Open Source applications, and even an HTTP implementation of Map Reduce. Please continue to let us know what you are working on!
App Engine Group
Lastly, discussion continues to thrive on our Google group. Recently popular threads include discussions on full text search, session management, downloading apps, and executing common functionality before serving a request.
crying over spilled noodles...
Have y'all ever had one of those days where the tiniest thing just puts you over the edge? Yeah, that happened to me last Friday. Let me set the stage...
I had a REALLY long day at work, and I had to stay late which made me extra upset, considering it was Friday afternoon... And, I was exhausted all day due to my severe lack of caffeine intake (yes I'm still keeping that up)! And then I drove home in really annoying traffic (which -- sidenote -- I've gained a lot of road rage as I've gotten older, so traffic is REALLY not fun). So, by the time I got home, I was NOT in a good mood. Y'all know how it is. Well, home wasn't much better than work. Ryan and I had taken a brief hiatus from cleaning for about a week, so things had definitely piled up, and I'm one of those people that gets stressed when things are messy. So, all in all, not a great start to the evening.
Well, I decided to make spaghetti for dinner because I had enough points left for the day. And since Ryan and I have COMPLETELY different diets right now, we have just started making our own things separately, which is kind of sad because I'd love to cook together and eat the same meals but I'm pretty sure mac & cheese isn't in my Weight Watcher's diet.
ANYWAY-- I was in the pantry, and I found my big box of noodles to make my spaghetti. As I pick up the box, I QUICKLY realized that it was already opened...on the BOTTOM of the box. So, all 100 noodles come crashing to the ground into our dirty pantry. And, since we have wire shelves, the noodles not only fell to the floor, but they fell through all of the shelves and got stuck in all of the food. AWESOME.
This almost put me over the edge, but I took a deep breath and got down on my hands and knees to meticulously pick up each tiny, annoying noodle off the floor. (P.S. This is NOT fun. I do NOT recommend this for impatient people...) So, after about 10 minutes of picking up noodles and putting them in a little plastic grocery bag, I decided to get out the vacuum to finish the job since there was a lot of little tiny pieces still lingering on the floors. So as I'm finishing up, the vacuum accidentally catches the plastic bag, picking it up into the air, and flinging ALL OF THE NOODLES onto the ground again. Seriously!??! At this point, Ryan had obviously noticed my frustration, so he was ready for me when I totally LOST it. That's right. I just started crying over some stupid noodles. Thankfully, my wonderful husband hugged me and said he'd take care of it. I just couldn't do it. I had reached my breaking point.
So, a few minutes later, Ryan dumped ALL of my no-longer-wonderful spaghetti noodles into our big trash bag. As he did this, we realized there was a LARGE hole in the side, and (guess what) the noodles fell to the floor AGAIN.
Now, there are 2 ways to handle this situation. 1: Start bawling and throw a big temper tantrum and curse the noodles that you'll no longer be eating for dinner... or 2: Just crack up at the hilariousness that the noodles won. And, we laughed. And laughed. And as we were picking them up AGAIN, I realized that this is one of those newlywed stories that I'll remember forever because as stupid as it was to cry over spilled noodles, these are the times we'll appreciate for years :) And, I'll always remember how sweet Ryan was to take pity on my mellow-dramatic pity party by swooping me up and saying "It'll be alright."
So... warning to all of you who enjoy spaghetti... Make sure the box is facing UP in your pantry. I hope you learned from my (three) battles lost with my Healthy Harvest whole wheat noodles.
Notice the noodles still stuck in the shelving. Let me tell you how much fun THAT was!
I had a REALLY long day at work, and I had to stay late which made me extra upset, considering it was Friday afternoon... And, I was exhausted all day due to my severe lack of caffeine intake (yes I'm still keeping that up)! And then I drove home in really annoying traffic (which -- sidenote -- I've gained a lot of road rage as I've gotten older, so traffic is REALLY not fun). So, by the time I got home, I was NOT in a good mood. Y'all know how it is. Well, home wasn't much better than work. Ryan and I had taken a brief hiatus from cleaning for about a week, so things had definitely piled up, and I'm one of those people that gets stressed when things are messy. So, all in all, not a great start to the evening.
Well, I decided to make spaghetti for dinner because I had enough points left for the day. And since Ryan and I have COMPLETELY different diets right now, we have just started making our own things separately, which is kind of sad because I'd love to cook together and eat the same meals but I'm pretty sure mac & cheese isn't in my Weight Watcher's diet.
ANYWAY-- I was in the pantry, and I found my big box of noodles to make my spaghetti. As I pick up the box, I QUICKLY realized that it was already opened...on the BOTTOM of the box. So, all 100 noodles come crashing to the ground into our dirty pantry. And, since we have wire shelves, the noodles not only fell to the floor, but they fell through all of the shelves and got stuck in all of the food. AWESOME.
This almost put me over the edge, but I took a deep breath and got down on my hands and knees to meticulously pick up each tiny, annoying noodle off the floor. (P.S. This is NOT fun. I do NOT recommend this for impatient people...) So, after about 10 minutes of picking up noodles and putting them in a little plastic grocery bag, I decided to get out the vacuum to finish the job since there was a lot of little tiny pieces still lingering on the floors. So as I'm finishing up, the vacuum accidentally catches the plastic bag, picking it up into the air, and flinging ALL OF THE NOODLES onto the ground again. Seriously!??! At this point, Ryan had obviously noticed my frustration, so he was ready for me when I totally LOST it. That's right. I just started crying over some stupid noodles. Thankfully, my wonderful husband hugged me and said he'd take care of it. I just couldn't do it. I had reached my breaking point.
So, a few minutes later, Ryan dumped ALL of my no-longer-wonderful spaghetti noodles into our big trash bag. As he did this, we realized there was a LARGE hole in the side, and (guess what) the noodles fell to the floor AGAIN.
Now, there are 2 ways to handle this situation. 1: Start bawling and throw a big temper tantrum and curse the noodles that you'll no longer be eating for dinner... or 2: Just crack up at the hilariousness that the noodles won. And, we laughed. And laughed. And as we were picking them up AGAIN, I realized that this is one of those newlywed stories that I'll remember forever because as stupid as it was to cry over spilled noodles, these are the times we'll appreciate for years :) And, I'll always remember how sweet Ryan was to take pity on my mellow-dramatic pity party by swooping me up and saying "It'll be alright."
So... warning to all of you who enjoy spaghetti... Make sure the box is facing UP in your pantry. I hope you learned from my (three) battles lost with my Healthy Harvest whole wheat noodles.
The damage:
Notice the noodles still stuck in the shelving. Let me tell you how much fun THAT was!Introducing Mobile Tricks, our new YouTube channel for cell phone enthusiasts
Mobile phones are awesome. I use mine all the time, from using it as a flashlight to find my keys, to a calendar to see just how late I am for an appointment. But people do much more interesting things than that with phones nowadays. And so the Google mobile team poses the question to you: what can you do with your phone?
Upload your best tip or trick to YouTube on our brand new Mobile Tricks channel. We'll post all the ones we like to our playlists for the world to see in one centralized space, and will be blogging about our favorites here every so often. Be it a useful tip on how to use your phone to get internet access on your computer or a fun trick like juggling a phone and two rubber chickens, we want to see what you've got!
To get you started, our friend Dave Stone at the Advertising Program at Art Center saves us from aliens and our friends at Blendtec do what they do best. More great videos next week!
My Location in your Palm
We're excited to release an update to Google Maps for mobile for Palm OS. For Palm Centro users, this update includes the My Location feature which allows you to see your location on a map without GPS. If you have a Centro, just press 0 and the map will snap to your current area. Google Maps for mobile will determine your approximate location from the cell phone tower your phone is connected to. Please note that if you have a Sprint Centro, you must first upgrade its operating system to Maintenance Release 1 for My Location to work.
Unfortunately, older Palm models such as the Treos don't have the APIs needed to get the cell tower data, so My Location is not available on these models. All Palm OS phones will be able to enjoy the other features of this release. Google Maps for mobile now supports hybrid view so you can view satellite imagery with street names layered on top. We've also improved the user interface for finding businesses, addresses, and directions. The route summary now lets you scroll through step-by-step instructions that you can copy to the clipboard. Visit www.google.com/gmm on the desktop or your mobile phone to get the latest release of Google Maps for mobile.
Faster search for Nokia smartphones now available in eight international flavours
Back in February we announced a new search shortcut for Nokia smartphones. We've been really pleased with the uptake and with the very positive reaction it's received from the Symbian community. Even though we launched it in the US, we saw some very interesting usage patterns -- people all around the world were downloading and using it.
Of course, Symbian phones are popular almost everywhere. So we're now releasing an international version of the search shortcut for those of you in Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Spain, Russia and the UK. Nokia smartphone owners in these countries can now enjoy 40% faster search and get Google search results from their own country.
It's a free download. Just add it to your phone now by going to the URL for your country using the phone's browser and then choosing the download link for Search. The download and installation should only take a minute or so and you'll be good to go. Happy searching!
Final Words on IMS/MTT 2008
I was hoping that the attendance and participation would come back strong after a below average year in 2007 in Hawaii. This year�s show in Atlanta did bounce back with about 9200 total attendees and about 2500 technical session attendees although this was well below the record numbers set a several years ago. The buzz around the symposium this year was a return to Hawaii in 2016.
Congratulations to the general chairs, Joy Laskar � 2008 International Microwave Symposium General Chair, Jenshan Lin - 2008 RFIC General Chair, and Nick Ridler � 71st ARFTG Conference Chair and all of the volunteers who helped them make this a very successful symposium. The technical program for each conference was very strong thanks to the hard work of the technical chairs Manos Tentzeris � IMS, Tina Quach and Yann Deval � RFIC, Roger Pollard � ARFTG and all those who helped them.
I found the Plenary session very entertaining with a tornado themed video including funny scenes from the Wizard of Oz mixed in with actual photos of the severe damage in Atlanta after the storm. Everyone should be congratulated for working long hours after the tornado to get the convention center and the surrounding community back together in time for the symposium. The techincal sessions were very strong and the technical chairs and volunteers also deserve a big thanks.
I hope everyone who attended enjoyed the show and conference. The Microwave Journal special event was a hit at the Gordon Biersch brewery and we got to see the Celtics win the NBA championship so it was a great night all around (see photo).
For continued coverage of the show, please see our Online Show Coverage through June 27 with videos, news and more. Please let us know your comments and opinions on the show and conference by posting feedback here. See you in Boston next year!
Pat
Thursday - From the show floor
Last day of the exhibition and the frantic days of back-to-back meetings, everyone's growing list of action items and late nights of "networking" may be taking their toll on the exhibitors as the morning seems noticeably quieter than previous days. This will be my day for fewer scheduled meetings so that I can address some marketing issues such as following up on product announcements and press releases, while also stopping by more exhibitors for a quick hello and to check up on what's new. Time to cover as much ground as possible.
For me, the morning starts with the exhibitor�s breakfast meeting. This is the event where the exhibitors hear from the new show management (MP Associates) about the details of the next year�s venue, any changes to the show format and rules and can sign-up to exhibit. Microwave Journal is announced as a premier Media Partner for the IMS2009 show (along with Penton Media). After this breakfast meeting, I hustle over to the exhbition hall for the final morning.
Life is good at the Nitronex booth where so much customer activity means a postponement of our scheduled meeting (I am able to get a quick summary of their GaN on Silicon activity, a GaN essentials application note and a press kit on their latest technology). Given the pending release of certain key new products (likely sometime this fall) which target both commercial telecom and military applications, look for a product feature in Microwave Journal's Government electronic issue or our Emerging Technology supplement in the October/November timeframe.
My last scheduled meeting of the morning is with Peregrine Semiconductor, leading developers of RF-CMOS and mixed-signal ICs. The lion's share of our discussion was about some very exciting technology that is just over the horizon and which I won't divulge here, but I encourage our readers to stayed tuned for a feature article on this hush-hush technology in the fall.
Meanwhile Peregrine can share their IMS news addressing their new SPDT switch that delivers ultra-linear, ultra-fast settling times which is quickly being adapted by all RF/microwave test equipment and ATE manufacturers due to its superior performance. Other news includes more products in the MultiSwitch RFIC portfolio with a Dual-SP4T switch that contains 8 symmetric high-power high-linearity RF ports as well as an expansion of the UltraCMOS digital step attenuator line. Peregrine continues to utilize their unique harmonic reduction (HARP) circuit architecture to improve the linearity (intermodulation distortion - 116dBm IMD3) of the device to achieve a performance level that exceeds the specifications set by the 3GPP standards body for GSM/WCDMA designs.
The remainder of my day is spent walking the show floor for brief product demos and conversation with some of the smaller exhibitors. By 3 o�clock its time to start packing up the literature, turn-off the test equipment and computers and start breaking down the booths. Thank you Atlanta for some truly fine, southern hospitality. I will see y'all in Boston!
For me, the morning starts with the exhibitor�s breakfast meeting. This is the event where the exhibitors hear from the new show management (MP Associates) about the details of the next year�s venue, any changes to the show format and rules and can sign-up to exhibit. Microwave Journal is announced as a premier Media Partner for the IMS2009 show (along with Penton Media). After this breakfast meeting, I hustle over to the exhbition hall for the final morning.
Life is good at the Nitronex booth where so much customer activity means a postponement of our scheduled meeting (I am able to get a quick summary of their GaN on Silicon activity, a GaN essentials application note and a press kit on their latest technology). Given the pending release of certain key new products (likely sometime this fall) which target both commercial telecom and military applications, look for a product feature in Microwave Journal's Government electronic issue or our Emerging Technology supplement in the October/November timeframe.
My last scheduled meeting of the morning is with Peregrine Semiconductor, leading developers of RF-CMOS and mixed-signal ICs. The lion's share of our discussion was about some very exciting technology that is just over the horizon and which I won't divulge here, but I encourage our readers to stayed tuned for a feature article on this hush-hush technology in the fall.
Meanwhile Peregrine can share their IMS news addressing their new SPDT switch that delivers ultra-linear, ultra-fast settling times which is quickly being adapted by all RF/microwave test equipment and ATE manufacturers due to its superior performance. Other news includes more products in the MultiSwitch RFIC portfolio with a Dual-SP4T switch that contains 8 symmetric high-power high-linearity RF ports as well as an expansion of the UltraCMOS digital step attenuator line. Peregrine continues to utilize their unique harmonic reduction (HARP) circuit architecture to improve the linearity (intermodulation distortion - 116dBm IMD3) of the device to achieve a performance level that exceeds the specifications set by the 3GPP standards body for GSM/WCDMA designs.
The remainder of my day is spent walking the show floor for brief product demos and conversation with some of the smaller exhibitors. By 3 o�clock its time to start packing up the literature, turn-off the test equipment and computers and start breaking down the booths. Thank you Atlanta for some truly fine, southern hospitality. I will see y'all in Boston!
Talk to us: GOOG-411 now available in Canada
Our mission, to organize the world's information and make it accessible, certainly doesn't stop at the US borders. With that in mind, we've recently expanded our GOOG-411 service to Canada. If you're in Canada, you can now find business listings by dialing 1-800-GOOG-411 (1-800-4664-411) from any phone -- for free.
You can use GOOG-411 to find and connect with businesses you've never called before, such as when you're in an unfamiliar city or when an immediate need arises -- like a plumbing emergency. You can also use GOOG-411 as a "fast dialer" for calls to your dentist, car mechanic, bank, or any other business that you call more than once but isn't in your phone's contact list. For example, instead of memorizing or making a note of the number of your favorite Chinese restaurant, you can call GOOG-411 and connect directly to place your weekly take-out order.
At Google, we work hard to tailor products to specific markets and regions. We believe that accounting for the unique characteristics of each country can make the difference between an OK service and a great one. Although English is spoken in both the US and Canada, there are enough differences between the way it's spoken in the two countries that we engineered GOOG-411 especially for Canadian English. We incorporated some Canadianisms such as "eh," "Traw-na," "Cal-gry," and, of course, "aboot." We also took into account geographical differences. Whereas users in the US are prompted for "city and state," Canadians are asked for your "city and province."
The service is still experimental but offers all the same features available in the US, such as free call, free connection, SMS info, iPhone "Map-It" integration, and more. For now, the service supports only English queries, but we're working hard to make it disponible en Français dans un proche avenir.
Please give it a try and let us know what you think in the comments section below.
Wednesday - From the show floor
I must admit that I'm a little tired and my voice is definitely hoarse after staying up late to watch the Celtics and Lakers in game 6 of the NBA finals. Somehow it feels worth it though. Wednesday will be another full day of meetings with vendors to hear about the latest and greatest products. The Microwave Journal has three full-time editors working the show floor and talking to exhibitors with some help from our Managing editor, Keith Moore who is talking to a few exhibitors himself. Most of Keith's time is up in the MWJ press room (our own command center) along with staff editor, Jenn DiMarco feeding our news wire. Keeping up with all the news coming from the exhibitors is keeping Keith and Jenn extremely busy. To view their work, make sure you visit http://www.mwjournal.com/2008/IMS/ .
Our first appointment of the day is with our partner in the Besser/MWJ webinar series. Publisher Carl Sheffres and I sat down with Jeff Lange and Rex Frobenius of Besser to discuss the status of the series and start our planning for next year. Our agreed upon goal is to put together a schedule for the entire 2009 calendar year that will be posted on the Microwave Journal and Besser Websites. Doing so will allow potential attendees to sign-up months in advance or sign-up for mulitple web events all at once. We kick around ideas concerning different potential topics, but decide to talk with various exhibitors (and potential sponsors) about themes that seem to be of particular interest to the industry. Have suggestions? Blog us or drop me an e-mail at dvye@mwjournal.com.
By 9:00 I'm on the show floor and meeting with Mark Heibesen of Endwave. These guys are doing some impressive module design with their "Smart T/R" modules. These are integrated transceivers. The smarts comes from an embedded digital micorcontroller that provides automatic adjustments of transceiver parameters. What the Endwave folks have been developing over the past few years is the technology to eliminate cross-talk between the transmit and receive chains, avoiding noise figure degradation in the receiver that could be caused by digital logic, modulation and control signal interference. This isolation also supresses LO leakage that would adversely affect transmitter linearity. Applications include Cellular backhaul, Defense (e.g. phased array radars) and homeland security.
Mark kindly shows me three generations of products so that I can appreciate the engineering involved with reducing the product size while increasing functionality. Mark credits a fine engineering staff, EM simulation and good old cut and try methods to acheive outstanding performance in module design and component integration. Mark is also proud of their MMIC/RFIC design capability as Endwave moves from using off-the-shelf ICs to ones that they design for even better performance. Mark tells me that the performance and functionality have resulted in strong sales to the point where Endwave is on the lookout for more engineering talent. If your interested check out http://www.endwave.com/company_careers.cfm . Tell them the Journal sent you!
Look for a full article on the Endwave technology and online Interview with Mark coming later this year.
Leaving Endwave, I head over to (L3) Narda Microwave for a chat. Narda is showing off their generation NEXT - microwave integrated circuit (MIC) technology. Narda's multifunctional assemblies, housed in hermetically machined packages combine microwave hybrid manufacturing with multilayer PCB incorporating digital devices. Benefits include very dense integration of digital , microwave and analog functionality; incorporation of FPGAs for signal processing and temp compensation. Their products operate from .5 up to 50GHz and include complex frequency sources, digitally controlled attenuators, MILSATCOM block up and block down converters, 43 Gb/s and higher fiber optic drivers, digitally controlled synthesizers and transceivers. Narda was also showing off their line of products serving the RF safety and monitoring market. With over 1000 parts in inventory for fast delivery, Walt from Narda keeps himself busy maintaining a comprehensive parts catalog. for more go to http://www.nardamicrowave.com/east/
Leaving Narda, I head over to Anaren to talk about their products and business. Size is again a leading theme as John Hoeschele of the marketing group tells me about Anaren's matched 0404 balun which is currently being used in Texas Instruments CC2420, CC2430 and CC2500 line of low-power, small footprint low-system cost transceivers. Work continues on further size reductions to the popular Xinger coupler, look for coverage on these developments in the near future. Business is apparently quite good as they too are looking for skilled engineers. Opportunity knocks - in Syracuse NY!
I spend my lunchtime with Mimix management and engineers, talking about their SmartSet line of MMIC C-band and Ku-band chips for SATCOM and point-to-point digital radios. These complete QFN chipsets give design engineers the opportunity to create fully SMT radio boards at very low prices and fast time to market. The Ku-band (10 to 16 GHz) chipset is based upon a common LO feed to the receive and transmit paths. On the receiver side the XR1015-QG integrates an LNA, image reject mixer and LO buffer amp in a 4x4 mm QFN package. This device also includes ESD protection and DC-bypass. On the transmit path an up-converter feeds into a high-gain buffer amp (XB1008-QT) in a miniature 3x3mm GFN package. The buffer amp feeds a driver amp (XP1042-QT) which in turn drives the Mimix flagship product, the XP1043-QH power amp. The driver and PA pair can be bias adjusted for stable power and gain regulation over 30dB of dynamic range. Also includes on-chip temp compensated power detector for output power monitoring and gain power control.
Key for designers looking to utilize these devices are the integration of four or more functions into a single MMIC, reducing chip count and simplifying the board design and layout. We will feature an in-depth article on Mimix's technology and chip sets later this year.
After lunch, it is back to the show floor and a meeting with Freescale's Leonard Pelletier and Jeanette Wilson (among others). Freescale had participated earlier in a video interview with MWJ editor Pat Hindle. Pat and I both got a live demo of the Freescale 50V LDMOS technology. In the morning they were demoing the 330 watt long-pulse (300 MHz, 12% duty cycle) L_band application. My demo was the MRF6VP3450H device in an amplifier operating at 90 watt output power at 860 MHz for analog and digital UHF TV broadcast. This device can handle 10:1 VSWR at 50 Vdc, 470MHz, 450 watts peak power (pulse width of 10usec, duty cycle = 2.5%)
From Freescale it was over to the AWR booth for a meeting with VP of Marketing, Sherry Hess and product manager Mike Hiemlich. Mike give an impressive demo of the new UI innovations designed to improve desktop efficiency and reduce mouse clicks for enhanced design entry and engineering productivity. I also saw the ACE and Axiom technology in action, both of which are worth checking out if you haven't already. I must say the AWR folks understand what it is like to be a microwave engineer, in terms of the fast modeling (layout and simulation) of the distributed networks that characterize RF/microwave design.
From AWR, I go see a new competitor to Freescale in the power transistor space - Hvvi Semiconductor. They too are demoing a power device in an L-band pulsed amplifier for identify friend or foe applications. Their technology is based on a novel high voltage vertical FET called the HVVFET which they hope to compete against LDMOS technology with. Excellent heat transfer characteristics, gain, efficiency, power and ruggedness are the capabilities that the HVVi folks are touting. Their 600W amplifier (a balanced amp design using two of their 330 Watt transistors) is impressively small.
Speaking of small - my final scheduled meeting of the day is with Avago and their discrete RF gain blocks are certainly that. About half the size of a lady bug's head, you need a microscope to see the VMMK-2x03 amplifier. Using chip-scale packaging, Avago boosts that this is the world's smallest RF amplifier. This fully matched, single positive DC supply fully-matched SMT design has been optimized for .5 to 12 GHz operation, ideal for radio architectures. the ultra-small 1mmx.5mmx.25mm package is so small, you would think you were looking at a tiny SMT capacitor rather than an amplifier. Besides chip-scale packaging, we talk about their AFEM-9601 dual band (2.4 and 5 GHz) WiFi 802.11 abgn front end module suitable for MIMO applications. This design utilizese enhancement mode pHEMT GaAs ICs on an LTCC substrate and includes dual-band PAs, LNAs, switches, logic and power detectors. We aso get the chance to talk about Avago's highly successful FBAR filter technology (one billion devices shipped to date).
The new ACFM-7103 PCS/Cellular/GPS Quintplexer provides critical miniaturization advantages by replacing two duplexers, one filter and a triplexer in a single compact integrated module with a 4 x 7 mm footprint. This device is ideal for use with the Qualcomm CDMA QSC chipset.
The exhibition floor lights start to flicker, signifying the end of the day for the show and time for the evening IMS reception followed by a great rock n' roll party held by AWR,Mimix,Jazz and Synopsys. The IMS reception is well attended and an excellent opportunity to catch-up with some of the folks I haven�t had the chance to talk to yet while having a drink and light appetizers. Day two comes to an end.
Our first appointment of the day is with our partner in the Besser/MWJ webinar series. Publisher Carl Sheffres and I sat down with Jeff Lange and Rex Frobenius of Besser to discuss the status of the series and start our planning for next year. Our agreed upon goal is to put together a schedule for the entire 2009 calendar year that will be posted on the Microwave Journal and Besser Websites. Doing so will allow potential attendees to sign-up months in advance or sign-up for mulitple web events all at once. We kick around ideas concerning different potential topics, but decide to talk with various exhibitors (and potential sponsors) about themes that seem to be of particular interest to the industry. Have suggestions? Blog us or drop me an e-mail at dvye@mwjournal.com.
By 9:00 I'm on the show floor and meeting with Mark Heibesen of Endwave. These guys are doing some impressive module design with their "Smart T/R" modules. These are integrated transceivers. The smarts comes from an embedded digital micorcontroller that provides automatic adjustments of transceiver parameters. What the Endwave folks have been developing over the past few years is the technology to eliminate cross-talk between the transmit and receive chains, avoiding noise figure degradation in the receiver that could be caused by digital logic, modulation and control signal interference. This isolation also supresses LO leakage that would adversely affect transmitter linearity. Applications include Cellular backhaul, Defense (e.g. phased array radars) and homeland security.
Mark kindly shows me three generations of products so that I can appreciate the engineering involved with reducing the product size while increasing functionality. Mark credits a fine engineering staff, EM simulation and good old cut and try methods to acheive outstanding performance in module design and component integration. Mark is also proud of their MMIC/RFIC design capability as Endwave moves from using off-the-shelf ICs to ones that they design for even better performance. Mark tells me that the performance and functionality have resulted in strong sales to the point where Endwave is on the lookout for more engineering talent. If your interested check out http://www.endwave.com/company_careers.cfm . Tell them the Journal sent you!
Look for a full article on the Endwave technology and online Interview with Mark coming later this year.
Leaving Endwave, I head over to (L3) Narda Microwave for a chat. Narda is showing off their generation NEXT - microwave integrated circuit (MIC) technology. Narda's multifunctional assemblies, housed in hermetically machined packages combine microwave hybrid manufacturing with multilayer PCB incorporating digital devices. Benefits include very dense integration of digital , microwave and analog functionality; incorporation of FPGAs for signal processing and temp compensation. Their products operate from .5 up to 50GHz and include complex frequency sources, digitally controlled attenuators, MILSATCOM block up and block down converters, 43 Gb/s and higher fiber optic drivers, digitally controlled synthesizers and transceivers. Narda was also showing off their line of products serving the RF safety and monitoring market. With over 1000 parts in inventory for fast delivery, Walt from Narda keeps himself busy maintaining a comprehensive parts catalog. for more go to http://www.nardamicrowave.com/east/
Leaving Narda, I head over to Anaren to talk about their products and business. Size is again a leading theme as John Hoeschele of the marketing group tells me about Anaren's matched 0404 balun which is currently being used in Texas Instruments CC2420, CC2430 and CC2500 line of low-power, small footprint low-system cost transceivers. Work continues on further size reductions to the popular Xinger coupler, look for coverage on these developments in the near future. Business is apparently quite good as they too are looking for skilled engineers. Opportunity knocks - in Syracuse NY!
I spend my lunchtime with Mimix management and engineers, talking about their SmartSet line of MMIC C-band and Ku-band chips for SATCOM and point-to-point digital radios. These complete QFN chipsets give design engineers the opportunity to create fully SMT radio boards at very low prices and fast time to market. The Ku-band (10 to 16 GHz) chipset is based upon a common LO feed to the receive and transmit paths. On the receiver side the XR1015-QG integrates an LNA, image reject mixer and LO buffer amp in a 4x4 mm QFN package. This device also includes ESD protection and DC-bypass. On the transmit path an up-converter feeds into a high-gain buffer amp (XB1008-QT) in a miniature 3x3mm GFN package. The buffer amp feeds a driver amp (XP1042-QT) which in turn drives the Mimix flagship product, the XP1043-QH power amp. The driver and PA pair can be bias adjusted for stable power and gain regulation over 30dB of dynamic range. Also includes on-chip temp compensated power detector for output power monitoring and gain power control.
Key for designers looking to utilize these devices are the integration of four or more functions into a single MMIC, reducing chip count and simplifying the board design and layout. We will feature an in-depth article on Mimix's technology and chip sets later this year.
After lunch, it is back to the show floor and a meeting with Freescale's Leonard Pelletier and Jeanette Wilson (among others). Freescale had participated earlier in a video interview with MWJ editor Pat Hindle. Pat and I both got a live demo of the Freescale 50V LDMOS technology. In the morning they were demoing the 330 watt long-pulse (300 MHz, 12% duty cycle) L_band application. My demo was the MRF6VP3450H device in an amplifier operating at 90 watt output power at 860 MHz for analog and digital UHF TV broadcast. This device can handle 10:1 VSWR at 50 Vdc, 470MHz, 450 watts peak power (pulse width of 10usec, duty cycle = 2.5%)
From Freescale it was over to the AWR booth for a meeting with VP of Marketing, Sherry Hess and product manager Mike Hiemlich. Mike give an impressive demo of the new UI innovations designed to improve desktop efficiency and reduce mouse clicks for enhanced design entry and engineering productivity. I also saw the ACE and Axiom technology in action, both of which are worth checking out if you haven't already. I must say the AWR folks understand what it is like to be a microwave engineer, in terms of the fast modeling (layout and simulation) of the distributed networks that characterize RF/microwave design.
From AWR, I go see a new competitor to Freescale in the power transistor space - Hvvi Semiconductor. They too are demoing a power device in an L-band pulsed amplifier for identify friend or foe applications. Their technology is based on a novel high voltage vertical FET called the HVVFET which they hope to compete against LDMOS technology with. Excellent heat transfer characteristics, gain, efficiency, power and ruggedness are the capabilities that the HVVi folks are touting. Their 600W amplifier (a balanced amp design using two of their 330 Watt transistors) is impressively small.
Speaking of small - my final scheduled meeting of the day is with Avago and their discrete RF gain blocks are certainly that. About half the size of a lady bug's head, you need a microscope to see the VMMK-2x03 amplifier. Using chip-scale packaging, Avago boosts that this is the world's smallest RF amplifier. This fully matched, single positive DC supply fully-matched SMT design has been optimized for .5 to 12 GHz operation, ideal for radio architectures. the ultra-small 1mmx.5mmx.25mm package is so small, you would think you were looking at a tiny SMT capacitor rather than an amplifier. Besides chip-scale packaging, we talk about their AFEM-9601 dual band (2.4 and 5 GHz) WiFi 802.11 abgn front end module suitable for MIMO applications. This design utilizese enhancement mode pHEMT GaAs ICs on an LTCC substrate and includes dual-band PAs, LNAs, switches, logic and power detectors. We aso get the chance to talk about Avago's highly successful FBAR filter technology (one billion devices shipped to date).
The new ACFM-7103 PCS/Cellular/GPS Quintplexer provides critical miniaturization advantages by replacing two duplexers, one filter and a triplexer in a single compact integrated module with a 4 x 7 mm footprint. This device is ideal for use with the Qualcomm CDMA QSC chipset.
The exhibition floor lights start to flicker, signifying the end of the day for the show and time for the evening IMS reception followed by a great rock n' roll party held by AWR,Mimix,Jazz and Synopsys. The IMS reception is well attended and an excellent opportunity to catch-up with some of the folks I haven�t had the chance to talk to yet while having a drink and light appetizers. Day two comes to an end.
Exhibition tidbits
I visited with many companies about their new products and here is a quick sampling from the exhibition floor. Freescale introduced a new 50 V LDMOS product for higher frequency applications (L-band) with 330 W pulsed operation. Triquint was excited about their acquisition of WJ Communications that gives them a broader product portfolio. Anritsu showed off their low cost Microwave Spectrum Analyzer with typical phase noise of -110 dBc/Hz at 1 KHz offset from the 1 GHz carrier. Keithley had a mobile WiMAX solution on display along with their new software. Skyworks was showing off their integrated front end solutions for wireless meter reading which seems to be taking off. Cree has a nice portfolio of GaN devices for both military and commercial applications. GaN seems to be catching on now with a broader range of suppliers like Cree, Nitronix, RFMD, Triquint, RFHIC, CAP wireless, etc. with both Triquint and Cree offering foundry services. One impressive high power device was on display at CAP Wireless. They have a unique mounting configuration that combines the power of 16 GaN devices to get 20 W of power across the broad range of 2 to 20 GHz from a single module (it looks like a very small jet engine). There was a lot more to see and we will have a comprehensive product wrap up on Mon. on the MWJ Online Show Daily page.
Pat
Pat
S60 video contest winner features Google Maps for mobile
The See into S60 blog recently ran a contest on YouTube that encouraged readers to submit videos highlighting how they use their S60 phones. We were pleased to see that the winner of the "Show Your Favorite Application" category was an amusing video featuring Google Maps for mobile. We're excited to hear from passionate S60 users who love Google Maps for mobile, and we look forward to rolling out exciting features on S60 phones soon.
Here's the winning video:
Laser etching
Pat
MTT Attendance
This year's attendance seems pretty good but might end up being down some from previous shows excluding Hawaii. The technical attendance is reported at about 2400 through Wed. and about 9100 for the total attendance.
Pat
Tuesday - from the show floor
The conference has been going since the Sunday workshops, but Tuesday morning signifies the opening of the exhibition. Pat and I kick off the morning conducting video interviews with representatives from our Virtual Trade Booth vendors. Pat and I split up with two film crews to cover the interviews before the heavy show floor traffic makes it difficult to listen to ourselves and the interviewee. This is a first for us and the sight of two Microwave Journal editors scrambling back and forth across the show floor with cameramen seems to draw a bit of attention from others hoping to be interviewed on camera (hopefully next time). I talk with Jeff Burkett of K&L Microwave, Jeff Chavis from Aethercom, Kevin LeDuc of EADS Norther America, Jonathon Oakley of CST of America and Ted Mirraco of AWR. To see the results, make sure you go to the Virtual Trade Booths.
Lunch time is spent with an editors lunch hosted by Agilent Technologies. By chance, I had just met one of the organizers of this event the day before - Barry Alcorn of Agilent. Barry was also a key orgainzer of the microApps, which I hope to get to - time permitting. I did hear the attendance was respectable at the microapps, but would love someone reading this blog who attended some of the microApps sessions to give us their impressions.
Lunch time is spent with an editors lunch hosted by Agilent Technologies. By chance, I had just met one of the organizers of this event the day before - Barry Alcorn of Agilent. Barry was also a key orgainzer of the microApps, which I hope to get to - time permitting. I did hear the attendance was respectable at the microapps, but would love someone reading this blog who attended some of the microApps sessions to give us their impressions.
Maenwhile - MWJ European Editor, Richard Mumford and I are at the editor luncheon and Agilent rolls out their news about nonlinear vector networks analysis with a keynote talk by Greg Peters - VP & GM of the component test division . Several key factors to mention here- look for the NVNA being demoed at the Agilent booth and keep your ears open for more on "X-parameters" a nonlinear extention of S-parameters (to put it in the simplest terms). David Root was on hand to answer some of our technical questions, but the subject is more complex than I can explain in this simple blog.
From Lunch it was time to visit our friends at RFMD. As usual RFMD has lots of development going on and we look forward to future reporting of their product and technology news in areas such as high-level module integration (with their unique shielding packaging), advances in GaN (look for this story in depth in our daily news release and show wrap-up), front-end power management and front end filtering.
From RFMD we met with K&L Microwave for a reunion of sorts with one of our favorite "Expert Advice" columnist - Rafi Herstig. K&L continues to evolve tthe state of microwave filters with amazing innovations. Look for a future article on how the continue to shrink the size of filter, integrate capability and increasingly work with their fellow Dover Companies to offer more functionality for their customers. K&L Microwave and other Dover Companies (Dielectric Labs - DLI and Pole/Zero) are the sponsors for next weeks Besser Associates Filter webinar. Make sure you catsh this free event!
Running a little late, we are off to meet with National Instruments. NI always has an impressive demo and this time is no difference. This time they are showing off a GPS test solution. Driving around Austin, Texas they captured and stored GPS satelite signals which they were then able to modify for various simulation purposes. The impressive aspect of what NI can do is the speed and volume of data acquitition required to pull this off, similar in ways to the RFID demo they had last year. We hope to be able to feature more of their work in the future in MWJ.
At this point, we are running late and will have to postpone our meeting with Nitronex until Thursday. As the exhibition closes for the first day, I am happy to say that the floor was full and apparently very busy. It was wonderful to run into so many friends and some former colleagues. And now it is off to the Microwave Journal customer appreciation party at Gordon Biersch, where we sample some fine brew and food. As the main party breaks up, the remaining attendees are treated to cigars, cognac and a fine NBA finals game (provided you are a Celtics fan). Its a nice end of the day - cheering at the TV, having a laugh with friends and lighting up just as Red Auerbach would have watching an amazing lopsided victory by Boston. Good times - but its late and there's plenty of work for Wednesday.
David
From Lunch it was time to visit our friends at RFMD. As usual RFMD has lots of development going on and we look forward to future reporting of their product and technology news in areas such as high-level module integration (with their unique shielding packaging), advances in GaN (look for this story in depth in our daily news release and show wrap-up), front-end power management and front end filtering.
From RFMD we met with K&L Microwave for a reunion of sorts with one of our favorite "Expert Advice" columnist - Rafi Herstig. K&L continues to evolve tthe state of microwave filters with amazing innovations. Look for a future article on how the continue to shrink the size of filter, integrate capability and increasingly work with their fellow Dover Companies to offer more functionality for their customers. K&L Microwave and other Dover Companies (Dielectric Labs - DLI and Pole/Zero) are the sponsors for next weeks Besser Associates Filter webinar. Make sure you catsh this free event!
Running a little late, we are off to meet with National Instruments. NI always has an impressive demo and this time is no difference. This time they are showing off a GPS test solution. Driving around Austin, Texas they captured and stored GPS satelite signals which they were then able to modify for various simulation purposes. The impressive aspect of what NI can do is the speed and volume of data acquitition required to pull this off, similar in ways to the RFID demo they had last year. We hope to be able to feature more of their work in the future in MWJ.
At this point, we are running late and will have to postpone our meeting with Nitronex until Thursday. As the exhibition closes for the first day, I am happy to say that the floor was full and apparently very busy. It was wonderful to run into so many friends and some former colleagues. And now it is off to the Microwave Journal customer appreciation party at Gordon Biersch, where we sample some fine brew and food. As the main party breaks up, the remaining attendees are treated to cigars, cognac and a fine NBA finals game (provided you are a Celtics fan). Its a nice end of the day - cheering at the TV, having a laugh with friends and lighting up just as Red Auerbach would have watching an amazing lopsided victory by Boston. Good times - but its late and there's plenty of work for Wednesday.
David
wii would like to play :)
Here's a sneak peek that I captured from one of the several "boys nights" we have at our apartment. I came home just in time to see them playing the new Tiger Woods golf game on the wii:
P.S. What's up with Justin busting out the French accent? haha.
P.S. What's up with Justin busting out the French accent? haha.
Wed. reception
The exhibitor reception was packed with people (free food and drinks will do that). I saw a lot of friends and many technical attendees enjoying a few drinks and some light appetizers. Everyone was pretty worn out from a busy Tues and late night watching the basketball finals. I think most people will hit a quick dinner and call it an early night but the hard core ones are ready for some other social events.
Pat
Tues. Night Events
I attended the Women in Microwaves reception and met Rashaunda Henderson of UT Dallas (pictured with Christina Nickolas). She was putting together a list of those that attended and will try to keep in touch with everyone. She has a nice idea of putting together a mentoring program for women engineers so I hope it is successful.
Of course, a big crowd attended the Microwave Journal event at the Gordon Biersch brewery. The beer was excellent and the company was even better. We had the Celtics/Lakers game on every TV in the place and those of us from the Boston area were celebrating the big victory!
Pat
what we've been up to!
So... life has been fun and busy lately! Last week, we all got together to bid farewell to our awesome friends, the Bushes. Jen & Stephen are moving to North Carolina at the end of the week and they'll be living there for the next 5 years! Sad! We love the Bushes, and Jen & I have been great friends since we can remember! Jen, I expect LOTS of blog posts with a TON of amazing Elizabeth Joy pictures :)
Just for fun, the girls wore sundresses and took some pictures at the Shops @ Legacy on Allie's awesome camera. Hopefully I'll post those soon! But here are a couple from dinner at OTB with my little 'ol camera.
On Sunday, we celebrated Father's Day with our wonderful dads! It was a busy day between both families, but we had a great time. After our sunday school class (which we're still LOVING by the way), we went over to the McCrady home for grilled hamburgers and relaxation. It's always nice to spend time with fun family :)
Then, we met up with Dad & Dawn for the Frisco Roughriders game! We were worried it would be wayyyy too hot to enjoy, but our nice seats were in the shade, so it all worked out! Our team didn't win, but we still had fun and enjoyed the great ballpark food... Love you Dad!
Can anyone guess what the "three" is for?? :) (Yeah, we're annoying...but it's a milestone right?)
Aannnndd.... lastly... Some fun and crazy times trying to give our dog a bath. :)
Just for fun... Some late-night pictures. Don't judge--we were loopy. :)
And just because I didn't want my scary face to be the last photo of the post, I'll post one of Scout slumbering away next to our bed... Ya think he's spoiled?
***Update: I heart Ash & K-Rho :) Had so much fun at the movie & lunch!!!
Just for fun, the girls wore sundresses and took some pictures at the Shops @ Legacy on Allie's awesome camera. Hopefully I'll post those soon! But here are a couple from dinner at OTB with my little 'ol camera.
On Sunday, we celebrated Father's Day with our wonderful dads! It was a busy day between both families, but we had a great time. After our sunday school class (which we're still LOVING by the way), we went over to the McCrady home for grilled hamburgers and relaxation. It's always nice to spend time with fun family :)
Then, we met up with Dad & Dawn for the Frisco Roughriders game! We were worried it would be wayyyy too hot to enjoy, but our nice seats were in the shade, so it all worked out! Our team didn't win, but we still had fun and enjoyed the great ballpark food... Love you Dad!
Can anyone guess what the "three" is for?? :) (Yeah, we're annoying...but it's a milestone right?)
Aannnndd.... lastly... Some fun and crazy times trying to give our dog a bath. :)
Just for fun... Some late-night pictures. Don't judge--we were loopy. :)
And just because I didn't want my scary face to be the last photo of the post, I'll post one of Scout slumbering away next to our bed... Ya think he's spoiled?
***Update: I heart Ash & K-Rho :) Had so much fun at the movie & lunch!!!
First day of the MTT exhibition
The first day of the MTT exhibition was a busy one with all of the major players present with booths on the floor. One booth that stood out was Triquint with a mint condition Chevelle SS painted bright orange with the number 35 on the side (representing three five compound semiconductors I believe). The recently announced the aquisition of WJ Communications to broaden their portfolio.
David and I did video interviews with 10 or so companies that will be posted tomorrow linked off of our virtual vendor booths on our Online Show Daily page. We hope they will be informational.
Pat
IMS 2008 First Impressions
The tall buildings in downtown Atlanta still have a lot of shattered glass from the tornado. Many of the Omni Hotel windows are cracked or boarded up (see photo). I did not get the impression from the news about the tornado that there was this much damage. But the weather is nice and hot with a lively crowd of microwave engineers. The convention center is nice and everything is close together for easy access.
We are doing videos interviews in a little while and they will be posted tomorrow linked off our Online Show Daily page where the virtual booths are located.
Pat
Google I/O session videos posted with slides
On May 28th and 29th the Google Developer Team hosted Google I/O, a developer gathering in San Francisco. For anyone who wasn't able to join us in person, you can now now catch videos of more than 70 talks, along with slides from each of the presentations, online. Among these are some great sessions from members of the Google App Engine Engineering team:
- Best Practices - Building a Production Quality Application on Google App Engine
Ken Ashcraft, Software Engineer - Building Scalable Web Applications with Google App Engine
Brett Slatkin, Software Engineer
Engaging User Experiences with Google App Engine
Lindsey Simon, Web Developer, and John Skidgel, Senior Interaction Designer
Rapid Development with Python, Django, and Google App Engine
Guido van Rossum, Software Engineer
Under the Covers of the Google App Engine Datastore
Ryan Barrett, Software Engineer
Working with Google App Engine Models
Rafe Kaplan, Software Engineer
There are also a lot of interesting talks on Android, Gears, AJAX Search API, Gadgets, GData, OpenSocial, and many other Google Developer products. Feel free to discuss in our group!
Mobile search access gets faster; iGoogle gets easier to use
We at Google are obsessed with making your mobile search experience as fast as possible. With that in mind, we've just updated our mobile homepage to allow for a quicker load time, providing you with even faster access to the information you need while on the go.
How do we do this? When you navigate to google.com in your browser, we cache the homepage on your phone. If you bookmark this homepage, then returning to Google using the bookmark is almost instantaneous. Whether you come to Google by browser or through our new search plug-in, starting your search is now quicker and simpler than ever before.
Also launching today is an improved mobile iGoogle interface that provides you with access to your mobile-compatible gadgets anytime, anywhere. We've linked your iGoogle gadgets directly from the new mobile home page and made it easier for you to set up your mobile iGoogle page from the desktop. By going to your iGoogle settings page on a computer, you can choose and rearrange your favorite gadgets for your phone. For example, if weather and news are the most important items to you when on the go, you can drag and drop these gadgets to the top of your page. In addition, you can now read article summaries by clicking on the "More" option on any RSS gadget.
Watch the video below as Steve Cheng and I demo the new search and iGoogle for mobile from opposite sides of the continent. Or just go to iGoogle to sign in and get started. And once your page is set up, remember to bookmark iGoogle on your phone for fast access to all your content. Note that these improvements are available on all non-iPhone devices, as iPhone users have alternative Google search and iGoogle offerings. Happy searching!
goodbye, "happy pounds"
Let me preface.... Being married is awesome. I wouldn't trade it for the world, and I love living with my best friend and sharing everything together. HOWEVER. There is one thing I don't love-- gaining weight. Apparently, it's really common to gain weight after getting married, and there's even a term that some of my friends (and doctors!) have called it... "happy pounds." You know, it's those few (or not so few) pounds you gain after the strict wedding diet is KAPOOT and you're just happy being married and eating pretty much whatever you want. Well, everything was all great and good until my jeans stopped fitting. And I was more inclined to wear pajamas or anything with elastic rather than squeezing into my jeans. And I noticed this weird pooch in my stomach that I couldn't just suck in anymore. Hm... Stepped on the scale. Holy CRAP! I've gained 10 lbs since the wedding! Poor Ryan has had to hear me complain for the last 2 months (at least) about how I look, so I'm finally putting him out of his misery and doing something about it.
Here are my three W's of losing my "happy pounds" and then some!
1. Weight Watchers. (okay, so it's technically 4 W's in total, but this is one category.) I joined the Weight Watchers at Work program last week, and I go once a week for the next 16 weeks... So far, I've only lost 1.3 lbs but that is TOTALLY due to the birthday extravaganza this past weekend :) I'm really hoping this helps me get on track and make me feel better about myself.
2. Water. This doesn't sound very hard, but it is! I pretty much hate water, and I'd rather drink anything else! So, in result, I've been drinking WAY too much caffeine (diet coke in particular) which makes me more hungry! Here's an article about the effects of caffeine on your body. Goodbye, diet coke :(
3. Wii Fit. Ummm... I don't technically have this yet, but it's definitely on my birthday list! I've read a bunch of articles about how people are just shedding pounds by doing this, and I think it would be SO much more fun than just walking on a treadmill. I get so bored when I work out, so maybe this will help!
Anyway, my goal is to lose 20 lbs this summer, and I really think I can do it if I just put my mind to it! I just want to be healthy and not constantly complaining about how things fit! :)
Wish me luck!
Here are my three W's of losing my "happy pounds" and then some!
1. Weight Watchers. (okay, so it's technically 4 W's in total, but this is one category.) I joined the Weight Watchers at Work program last week, and I go once a week for the next 16 weeks... So far, I've only lost 1.3 lbs but that is TOTALLY due to the birthday extravaganza this past weekend :) I'm really hoping this helps me get on track and make me feel better about myself.
2. Water. This doesn't sound very hard, but it is! I pretty much hate water, and I'd rather drink anything else! So, in result, I've been drinking WAY too much caffeine (diet coke in particular) which makes me more hungry! Here's an article about the effects of caffeine on your body. Goodbye, diet coke :(
3. Wii Fit. Ummm... I don't technically have this yet, but it's definitely on my birthday list! I've read a bunch of articles about how people are just shedding pounds by doing this, and I think it would be SO much more fun than just walking on a treadmill. I get so bored when I work out, so maybe this will help!
Anyway, my goal is to lose 20 lbs this summer, and I really think I can do it if I just put my mind to it! I just want to be healthy and not constantly complaining about how things fit! :)
Wish me luck!
ryan's super fun birthday weekend extravaganza!
Well, 26 years ago today at 12:48pm, my husband was born. And thank God for that! :) We have had such a fun weekend of nonstop celebrating since Friday! We are both so blessed to have our friends and family who are sweet enough to celebrate his birthday...Thanks everyone! :)
On Friday night, we met up with Kristin & Kekoa at Buca di Bepo for some awesome Italian food. We had a huge dinner (YUM) and then split a cheesecake! It was so great hanging out with them and having great conversation. We couldn't believe we'd been there for 2-1/2 hours! (We missed you Ash & Ellory). I'm sad I only got this one picture...
On Saturday night, we met up at the McCrady home and celebrated Ryan's birthday with my mom, brother, McCradys, and his aunt Carol, uncle Tom and cousin Jake. We had SUCH a great time! Carol brought over three kittens she's been nursing since they were born, and they were SOOOOO CUTE!!! I was trying to convince Ryan that we needed one ALL night, but no luck. We played with the kittens, ate some amazing steak and cookie cake, and then we all played a rousing game of Farkle. Such a great time!
On Sunday, we went to our new Sunday school class for newlywed couples called Foundations. It's at the Plano campus for the next 6 months, so after that's over we'll go back to PBC North. It was such a great class though! There are only 5 couples in there right now, so it felt really comfortable and intimate which was good. I think it'll be really good for us as we start off our marriage! That afternoon & night, we celebrated with our friends at a really huge house that Justin's living in with a family for the time being. We had so much fun swimming, eating hamburgers and playing the wii!
Click on these smaller pictures to see the full effect... These are some pretty awesome action shots if I do say so myself :)
Click on these smaller pictures to see the full effect... These are some pretty awesome action shots if I do say so myself :)
So today, I took the day off to spend Ryan's actual birthday with him! We were planning on going to Six Flags, but checked the weather and saw that there was a high chance of thunderstorms today... Oh well :) We went and saw Kung Fu Panda and then went to Best Buy (yay for gift cards) to get him a new wii game. It's been such a relaxing day, and I'm so glad I got to spend it with my favorite person!
HAPPY BIRTHDAY to my wonderful husband!! I love you!!
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