September 2006 archive - Search Industry News

The best stories on Earth

7:24 pm - September 14, 2006 in Official Google Blog

Posted by Rebecca Moore, Google Earth team Everyone knows that Google Earth imagery and 3D terrain are unbelievably cool and fun to explore. But while you're flying around, have you ever wondered what is actually going on "down there" -- on the real earth? That narrative of living on this planet is portrayed in the new Featured Content for Google Earth. Accessible from the "Featured Content"

NEW: Desktop Zestimates

6:09 pm - September 14, 2006 in Konfabulator Widget Gallery - Windows

How much is that home worth?

Enter a U.S. address in Zillow.com?s Widget search box to get the following on a home:
? Zestimate? home valuation
? One-week value change
? Snapshot of home?s market value for past year
? Link to home details page
? Link to home?s graphs and data

You can check your home?s value as often as you like, or enter any other address to get a Zestimate!

Note: The home data we have compiled to generate a Zestimate varies by location.

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AdWords API Concurrency Policy

5:57 pm - September 14, 2006 in AdWords API Blog

We’ve recently received several inquiries about our policy on concurrent connections, so we thought it would be a good time (especially with the holiday season approaching) to provide some more visibility into how we manage concurrent requests.

When we launched the AdWords API in early 2005, one of our goals was to minimize the number of API-specific policies and restrictions. Therefore, we decided not to set a fixed limit on the number of concurrent requests, and instead instituted a dynamic concurrency limit that takes effect only when total network resources fall below a certain threshold. We planned the system to operate in this way so we could provide developers maximum flexibility/scalability while still ensuring that enough network resources are always available to equitably support a broad ecosystem of developers.

To date, this system has worked well. And we’re happy to report that the limit has rarely been triggered. However, we feel it is important to let you know that if you reach this limit, the system will return one of two possible load-related errors. The first is HTTP status code ‘503’ which is accompanied by an HTTP header called "Retry-After" that contains an integer value for the number of seconds the client should wait before retrying the request. The second possible error returned is the AdWords API error code 87 ("This request is attempting to exceed the limit on the maximum number of outstanding requests allowed per developer token)." You can find this second error listed in the AdWords API Developer’s Guide.

If your application can (or already does) issue concurrent requests to the AdWords API, we recommend that you handle these errors in it, so that it gracefully adapts its behavior if the concurrency limit is reached.

We believe that allowing the limit to float provides our developers with maximum flexibility/scalability. However, we may need to implement a more predictable (e.g. fixed) limit should the AdWords API routinely become swamped with unusually large requests.

Finally, as a best practice, we encourage all developers to use list methods whenever possible (e.g. addCreativeList). These methods are the most efficient way to process large data sets.

As always, thank you for your support of the AdWords API.

-- Jon Diorio, Product Marketing

More from AdWords API Team in Google News

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Highlight: Previews from the Documentary Channel

4:54 pm - September 14, 2006 in Official Google Video Blog

Get a glimspe here on Google Video of what the Documentary Channel has to offer - content that is edgy, personal, and unique.

Today's Highlighted Videos

Click here to watch "'New York Stories' Them Month - New York Month"
The Documentary Channel On The Dish Network Channel 197

1 min 6 sec

Click here to watch ""Ryan" Maverick Month Promo"
Ryan, directed by Chris Landreth, is an animated tribute to Canadian animator Ryan Larkin. Thirty years ago, at the National Film Board of Canada, Ryan produced some of the most influential animated films of his time. Today, Ryan lives on welfare and panhandles for spare change in downtown Montreal. How could such an artistic genius follow this path?

50 sec

Click here to watch "Ears Open Eyeballs Click - Promo"
This unique, eye-opening documentary by newcomer filmmaker Canaan Brumley shows us the hardship a band of United States Marine Corps recruits face during one trip through boot camp. This film is the first half of Stanley Kubrick’s Full Metal Jacket brought to reality. Told in a handful of titled chapters, this portrait of soldiers in training isn’t your average documentary; with no interviews or narration, Brumley presents our characters with visual emotion and intensity. Rather than getting to know each of the recruits personally as they fight through boot camp, we travel the road with them and witness the experiences up close and personal.

52 sec

New videos appearing on the Google Video Movers & Shakers list for September 14, 2006:

62 (UK). Click here to watch "Duncan Ferguson Tribute By Ian Mills"
Everton legend Duncan Ferguson tribute video by Ian Mills.

5 min 52 sec

96 (US). Click here to watch "Family Guy - Superman"
Funny twist on Superman II.

17 sec

100 (US). Click here to watch "Hand Grenade vs Washer"
Boom!

26 sec

Think you have an even cooler video? Upload it!

More from Google Video team in Google News

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Jacinda Gets Real

2:32 pm - September 14, 2006 in Yahoo! Buzz Index: Buzz Log

Back before "Project Runway" ruled our lives, we got our reality TV fix from MTV's "The Real World." Most housemates eventually sunk into obscurity, but season 4's

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UNCF Google Scholarship Program

12:55 pm - September 14, 2006 in Official Google Blog

Posted by Emily Nishi, Diversity Program Manager

As part of Google's ongoing commitment to advancing computing and technology, we're pleased to tell you that the United Negro College Fund and Google have partnered to create the UNCF/Google Scholarship Program. We hope this program will encourage students to excel in their studies, inspire them to become role models and leaders, and help remove the financial barriers for African-American students wishing to pursue an engineering degree.

On the strength of candidates' academic background and demonstrated leadership, we'll be awarding $5,000 scholarships. Students must be enrolled in their junior year of undergraduate study at a UNCF Member College or University or at a participating Historically Black College or University (HBCU), and pursuing a Computer Science or Computer Engineering major.

Tell your friends, or apply yourself -- the deadline for applications is Friday, October 6.

Eva Forever

9:25 am - September 14, 2006 in Yahoo! Buzz Index: Buzz Log

How beautiful is the name Eva? Say it like "Eee-va" or say it like "Ay-va." Say it with love, longing, or lust. Eva the actress. Eva the model. Eva the political leader. Whatever her walk of life may be, her name

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Primed for Prime Time

8:00 am - September 14, 2006 in Yahoo! Buzz Index: Buzz Log

New shows take a while to break in, but the Buzz boob tube has been warmed up for returning primetime favorites. "Prison Break" got an early jump on the fall season and commandeered some Buzz attention, but the most anticipated show doesn't begi

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What’s Hot This Fall?

6:00 am - September 14, 2006 in Yahoo! Buzz Index: Buzz Log

Television runs in cycles andÂ we're stuck in the heavy-duty drama rinseÂ with this year's fallÂ premieres. People still want sitcomÂ laughs andÂ liberal doses of reality TV, but serious Buzz is reserved for riveting dramas. With drama

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YUI’s Matt Sweeney and Hands-on YUI Workshops at Yahoo! Developer Day/Hack Day September 29-30 in Sunnyvale

4:38 am - September 14, 2006 in Yahoo! User Interface Blog

YUI Developer (and after-hours DJ) Matt Sweeney will be among the featured speakers at Yahoo!’s first Developer Day/Public Hack Day on September 29, 2006. (Photo: Scott Schiller.)

As you’ve no doubt heard, Yahoo! is hosting its first-ever open Hack Day/Developer Day in two weeks. The focus of the Developer Day proceedings is on software created with (and for) an ecosystem of API-driven, web-accessible applications and services. Featured speakers during the Friday, Sept. 29, Developer Day event include Bradley Horowitz talking about the Yahoo! API ecosystem and Iain Lamb (formerly of Oddpost) talking about the new portfolio of skills required to be a "hacker of the ecosystem."

Also addressing the conference in the featured-speakers track will be YUI developer Matt Sweeney, author of the YUI Dom Collection and YUI Animation Utility. Matt’s 9 a.m. talk, "Web 2.0: Getting It Right the Second Time Around," will focus on the role that frontend archtecture (x/html, css, JavaScript) plays in creating web applications that perform well in the ecosystem, making the sharing and reuse of information practical, scalable, and accessible across different (and unanticipated) contexts.

The Developer Day schedule features multiple concurrent tracks. In addition to the featured-speakers track, YUI authors will be hosting hands-on introductions to the YUI Library throughout the day on Friday. These are "getting-started" sessions in which developers walk participants through basic use cases for various library components. Here’s the tentative schedule for Friday’s workshops:

9 a.m. Event Utility, Adam Moore
10 a.m. CSS Reset, Fonts and Grids, Nate Koechley
11 a.m. Animation Utility, Matt Sweeney
2 p.m. Menu Control, Todd Kloots
3 p.m. Connection Manager, Thomas Sha
4 p.m. Container (Panel & Dialog Controls), Steven Peterson

Several YUI team members will also be on hand Saturday for the open Hack Day, to be capped with presentations and awards emceed by the estimable Mike Arrington of TechCrunch fame. If your hack uses YUI, we’ll be there to help you work through any issues that might come up. The internal Hack Days at Yahoo! have been incredible experiences…this first open session promises to be even more diverse and compelling.

I hope you’ll come join us for this unique opportunity to meet and engage with the terrific developers behind the YUI Library. The Hack Day website (hackday.org) is taking requests for attendance (see the form at the bottom of the Hack Day page); sign up now to get on the list for additional information about the schedule, attendance and workshop participation.

This is a big event for those of us involved with YUI and for Yahoo! generally; developers from throughout the Yahoo! ecosystem (including Cal Henderson from Flickr, engineers from Yahoo! Maps, JSON inventor Douglas Crockford, PHP creator Rasmus Lerdorf, and many more) will be speaking on development in the still-emerging mashup software culture.

Tags: yahoo, hack day, developer day, yui, yahoo user interface library, matt sweeney, cal henderson, douglas crockford, rasmus lerdof, iain lamb

Archive for September, 2006