Official Canada Blog
News and notes from Google Canada
Kicking off the 2014 Google Science Fair: It’s your turn to change the world
Wednesday, February 12, 2014
Cross-posted from the
Official Google Blog
What if you could turn one of your passions into something that could change the world? That's just what thousands of teens have done since the first Google Science Fair in 2011. These students have tackled some of today’s greatest challenges, like an
anti-flu medicine
, more effective
ways to beat cancer
, an
exoskeletal glove
, a
battery-free flashlight
,
banana bioplastics
and
more efficient ways of farming
.
Now it’s time to do it again: we're calling for students ages 13-18 to
submit
their brilliant ideas for the fourth annual Google Science Fair, in partnership with
Virgin Galactic
,
Scientific American
,
LEGO Education
and
National Geographic
. All you need to participate is curiosity and an Internet connection. Project submissions are due May 12, and the winners will be announced at the finalist event at Google headquarters in Mountain View, Calif., on September 22.
In addition to satisfying your curious mind, your project can also win you some pretty cool prizes. This year’s
grand prize winner
will have the chance to join the Virgin Galactic team at Spaceport America in New Mexico as they prepare for space flight and will be among the first to welcome the astronauts back to Earth, a 10-day trip to the Galapagos Islands aboard the National Geographic Endeavour and a full year’s digital access to Scientific American magazine for their school. Age category winners will have a choice between going behind the scenes at the LEGO factory in Billund, Denmark or an amazing experience at either a Google office or National Geographic.
For the 2014 competition, we’ll also give two new awards to celebrate even more talented young scientists:
The Computer Science Award
will be given to a project that champions innovation and excellence in the field of computer science.
Local Award Winners
- students whose projects have attempted to address an issue relevant to their community - will be honored in select locations globally.
And the
Scientific American Science In Action award
will once again honor a project that addresses a health, resource or environmental challenge. The winner will receive a year’s mentoring from Scientific American and a $50,000 grant toward their project.
Stay updated throughout the competition on
our Google+ page
, get inspired by participating in
virtual field trips
and ask esteemed scientists questions in our
Hangout on Air
series. If you need help jump-starting your project, try out the
Idea Springboard
for inspiration.
What do you love? What are you good at? What problem have you always dreamed of solving? Get started with your project today—it’s your turn to change the world.
Posted by Clare Conway, Google Science Fair Team
Art, made with code: calling all future interactive artists
Wednesday, February 5, 2014
Cross Posted from Google Official Blog
In between creating masterpieces like the Sistine Chapel and “Madonna and Child,” Michelangelo dissected cadavers in the hopes of understanding how the human body worked so he could paint it accurately. He’s not the only one: there has long been a connection between science and art. And it’s true today more than ever, as modern artists use technology for inspiration, inventing ways to give life to code, letting it spill from the screen and onto the canvas. We call this “DevArt,” and this summer, we’re teaming up with the
Barbican
in London and their
Digital Revolution exhibition
to celebrate DevArt in an interactive gallery. And we want you to be a part of it.
As part of this exhibition, we’re looking for the next up-and-coming developer artist. This is your opportunity to express your creativity, and to have your work featured in the Barbican and seen by millions of people around the world. To throw your hat in the ring, build a project on the DevArt site and show us what you would create. From there, we’ll pick one creator whose work will sit alongside
three of the world’s finest interactive artists
who are also creating installations for DevArt: Karsten Schmidt, Zach Lieberman, and the duo Varvara Guljajeva and Mar Canet.
The exhibition will open at the Barbican this summer. Until then, visit
g.co/devart
, where you can submit your own project. If you’re not the creative coding type, visit the site to see some incredible art and follow the artists’ creative process—from concept and early sketches to the finished piece—on their respective Project Pages. You'll get a rare look into artists’ ways of working with modern technologies (including some Google products), and maybe even get inspired to create something yourself.
If you had the chance to make your mark in today’s art world with technology as your canvas, what would you create?
We’d like you to show us
.
Posted by Steve Vranakis, Executive Creative Director, Google Creative Lab
Google Maps changes its perspective on Vancouver
Monday, February 3, 2014
It’s got beaches out the front door and mountains in its backyard. Yes, Vancouver is beautiful.
And just in case you need further convincing,
Google Maps
has unveiled 45° imagery of Vancouver. This imagery allows you to explore the dramatic profile of Vancouver’s skyline and to virtually fly over iconic landmarks such as
BC Place
and
Lions Gate Bridge
.
Vancouver’s downtown in Google Maps
Lions Gate Bridge
To see the new imagery of Vancouver, simply zoom into an area while in Satellite mode. Where we have 45° imagery available, the imagery will switch from an overhead to 45° angle as you zoom all the way in. You can then pan smoothly across the map to get a richer view of the area.
For the very best virtual tour of Vancouver, make sure to check out the
New Google Maps
. It has all the things you love about Google Earth directly integrated into the map, so you can travel the entire planet without a plug-in. Or a passport.
Enjoy!
Posted by Aaron Brindle, Google Canada
Hey Canada, time for you to vote for your favourite doodle!
Friday, January 31, 2014
From time machines to new sports and ways to clean our environment, the
2014 Doodle 4 Google Canada regional finalists are in
, and beginning today we are asking Canadians to vote for their favourite doodle right across the country.
In October we challenged Canadian students to send us their creative ideas in the form of a doodle on the theme, “
if I could invent anything, I would invent?
” From kindergarten through Grade 12, Canada’s future artists, engineers and innovators submitted thousands doodles to our 2014 Doodle 4 Google Canada competition.
With the help of our tremendous
guest judges
, including Commander Chris Hadfield, Janet Carding of Royal Ontario Museum, actress Karine Vanasse, and Ann Makosinski Google Science Fair Winner 2013, we’ve narrowed down the competition to the top 25 super creative regional finalists. But now its your turn –
your vote
will help us determine the five national finalists, and the overall national winner who’s doodle will be showcased on the Google.ca homepage on February 26.
All of the top 25 doodles will be part of a special exhibit at the Royal Ontario Museum being unveiled on February 25th along with the announcement of the national winners, so start planning your March Break visit to the ROM now!
Finally, a special thank you to the parents and teachers who supported each student with their submissions. It’s been amazing to witness what our young Canadian doodlers could invent with just a piece of paper, some markers... and a whole lot of imagination.
Posted by Wendy Bairos, Google Communications Team
Chrome + LEGO: You can build whatever you like
Tuesday, January 28, 2014
Cross-Posted from Google Official Blog
Think back: you’ve just dumped a bin of
LEGO
R
bricks onto the floor with a satisfying crash, and you have the whole day ahead of you to build whatever you want. There’s something pretty amazing about being able to piece together your ideas with just a collection of colorful bricks.
Well, we think the creative freedom of LEGO bricks shouldn’t be limited to plastic bins—which is the idea behind
Build with Chrome
, a collaboration between Chrome and the LEGO Group that brought these colorful bricks to the web using
WebGL
, a 3D graphics technology. It was
originally built by a team in Australia
as an experiment, and now we’re opening it up to everybody. So now you can publish your
wacky
creations to any plot of land in the world.
We’ve added a few new features to make it easier to build and explore this digital world of LEGO creations. To start, you can now sign in with a
Google+ account
to help find stuff that people in your circles have created. A new categorization system for completed Builds will help you sort and filter for specific types of structures.
To hone your engineering skills and prepare for the upcoming “
The LEGO
R
MOVIE
TM
,” you can explore the Build Academy, a series of short tutorials and challenges featuring characters and structures from the film.
If it feels more natural to use your hands—rather than a mouse—you can build your creations using a touchscreen on your phone or tablet with
Chrome for Android support for WebGL
on devices with high-end graphics capabilities.
As
big fans of LEGO
, we’re excited to see what you come up with to fill this new world. Share your creations on
Google+
and we’ll reshare the most inventive ones.
Post Content
Posted by Adrian Soghoian, Product Marketing Manager and Beginning Builder
YouTube launches new Video Quality Report in Canada
Tuesday, January 21, 2014
So you’re just about to figure out
what the Fox says
when all of a sudden, it pops up on your screen: that dreaded rebuffering circle. We’ve all seen it and we’ve all felt the incredible frustration that comes with it. No one wants to wait around for their favourite video to load or settle for watching a low quality version instead—especially in the Great White North, where Canadians are known for their
love of online video
and benefit from
strong broadband access
in many parts of the country.
That’s why today, for the first time on YouTube and starting right here in Canada, we’re giving you the information to figure out exactly why the service you love performs the way it does. It’s called the
Video Quality Report
and it sheds light on exactly what kind of performance your Internet Service Provider delivers and what other factors play a role.
All ISPs quote their peak speeds in megabits per second, but what does having a high Mbps rate actually mean for your experience? Current online speed tests only measure the speed it takes to transfer data from the ISP servers closest to your doorstep, and these last-mile measurements don’t always accurately reflect how quickly your favourite sites actually load online.
That’s why we decided to use a simple test that provides results everyone can understand:
a truly fast internet connection means you should expect your favourite sites and apps to work smoothly, even when streaming high-definition content.
Our new report allows you to see exactly how your ISP and others in your region stack up against this standard.
If your ISP can consistently deliver HD-quality video (a resolution of at least 720p) without buffering or interruptions, we consider it
HD Verified
.
If you can watch videos in Standard Definition (a resolution of at least 360p), your ISP is delivering
Standard Definition
performance.
If videos load slowly or suffer frequent interruptions, even at resolutions lower than 360p, your ISP is delivering
Lower Definition
performance.
The data in the Report is based on the billions of hours of YouTube videos watched every month. We look at how quickly all of those videos were loaded over the last 30 days, slice up those results by Internet provider and location and determine the speed available during 90 percent of measurements. The ratings we give are focused on all users on an ISP’s networks in a given region, rather than your connection alone. If you’re curious for more details about our methodology, check out the
geeky details
here.
What makes YouTube great is that you can see what you want, when you want. When it doesn’t perform the way you expect, we want you to know why.
Posted by Jason Gaedtke, Engineering Director, and Jay Akkad, Product Manager, YouTube
Introducing YouTube's Canadian Collab Participants
Thursday, January 16, 2014
Attention all YouTube Creators! We’re excited to announce our first round of participants in the YouTube Canadian Collab Callout.
Collaborating with and promoting other creators in the community can be one of the most powerful ways to reach new audiences. Late last year, we ran a
program
to find passionate, motivated Canadian creators who wanted to collaborate and bring their ideas together and create amazing new online video experiences. Thanks to everyone who submitted ideas - we were thrilled to hear from you.
Without further ado, from music videos to game shows, creative sketches and more congratulations to our channel collaborators whose ideas we are looking forward to help bring to life:
Andypandy311
and
Gunnarolla
Marblemediakids
and
Themfridayrants
Cynicallytested
and
Wakeupfast
PlayfightVFX
and
Gakattack
Uruguayolncoherent
and
Borderlineforfoods
NEthingMedia
and
Funtimeinternet
TheSeanWardShow
and
GakAttack
onehundredjobs
,
Weareytube
,
justeyeballit
,
RussellDreck
,
Gettingtocomfy
,
Blasianquita
and
3pactvhd
VeraRaponzel
,
NorthernBelleRogue
and
TheSeanWardShow
Each collaboration team will receive:
Time and equipment usage in
Pie in the Sky's
production facility.
YouTube promotion at video launch
Personalized audience development and production training sessions with
YouTube NextLab
.
If you didn’t have a chance to enter this time around, don’t worry - we’ll be running this program again soon. We’re excited to see what novel new video experiences and genre-pushing productions our talented Canadian Creators can come up with!
Posted by Amy Singer, Head of Canadian Content Partnerships, YouTube
Labels
#AI
2
#AIforsocialgood
1
#Artist
1
#Artistontherise
1
#canada
1
#cbcindigenous
1
#Chrome #GoogleCanada #Google
1
#chromebooks #googleforeducation #googlecanada
1
#Chromecast #ChromecastGames #Christmas #Xmas2015 #AngryBirds #Google #AngryBirdsFriends
1
#COVID-19 response
2
#creators
1
#DFO
1
#digitalskills
2
#EarthDay
1
#EnvironmentalInsights #EIE #ClimateAction
1
#GameOn
1
#GlobalJournalismFund
1
#GNI
1
#Google
3
#Google #GoogleCanada #GooglePlay #PlayPass
1
#Google #Accessibility
1
#Google #ArtsAndCulture #GroupOfSeven #Canada #Arts
1
#Google #GoogleAudio
1
#Google #GoogleCanada #GrowwithGoogle
1
#Google #GoogleCanada #Innovation
6
#Google #GoogleCanada #Arctic #Whistler
1
#Google #GoogleCanada #DecadeinSearch #TorontoRaptors #Toronto #BiancaAndreescu #TragicallyHip #Drake #JustinBieber
1
#Google #GoogleCanada #EIE #EnvironmentalInsightsExplorer #Sustainability
1
#Google #GoogleCanada #EIE #EnvironmentalInsightsExplorer #Sustainability #ClimateAction
1
#Google #GoogleCanada #GNI
2
#Google #GoogleCanada #Google.org #ArcticEiderSociety #Inuit #CanadianArctic
1
#Google #GoogleCanada #GoogleCalendar #Android #iphone
1
#Google #GoogleCanada #GoogleKW #Waterloo #Engineering #Innovation
2
#Google #GoogleCanada #IWD #IWD2020 #InternationalWomensDay #AI
1
#Google #GoogleCanada #IWD #IWD2020 #InternationalWomensDay #Communications
1
#Google #GoogleCanada #Nest #NestHubMax #Duo#GoogleMeet
1
#Google #GoogleCanada #Pixel #Pixel4
1
#Google #GoogleCanada #Pixel #Pixel4a #5G
1
#Google #GoogleCanada #Pixel #Pixel4a #Sustainability
1
#Google #GoogleCanada #PixelBuds #FeatureDrop
1
#Google #GoogleCanada #Stadia
1
#Google #GooglePlay #Family #FamilyLibrary
1
#Google #GooglePlayMusic #Beatles #Music
1
#Google #GooglePlayMusic #GooglePodcasts #GoogleCanada
1
#Google #GoogleTV #Chromecast
2
#Google #Nest #NestAware #Canada #GoogleCanada
1
#Google #Olympics #GoogleOlympics
1
#Google #Olympics #GoogleOlympics #GoogleCanada #Rio #Rio2016
2
#Google #Pixel #Pixel5G
1
#Google #PixelBuds #GoogleCanada
1
#GoogleAI
1
#GoogleCanada
15
#googlecanada # google.org #challenge #GIC #ImpactChallenge #canada
1
#GoogleCanada #Family #Android #YouTube #GooglePlay
1
#GoogleCanada #Google #AI #IWD2020
1
#GoogleCanada #Google #IWD2020 #IWD
1
#GoogleCanada #Google #SmallBusiness #SMBs #ShopHERE
1
#GoogleCanada #GoogleAI #Innovation
1
#GoogleCanada #GooglePlay
1
#googlecanada #pixel3
1
#GoogleCanada #Pixel4 #NestMini #NestWifi #NestHubMax #PixelbookGo #Stadia #PixelBuds #Sustainability
1
#googlecanada #pixelslate
1
#GoogleCanada #Startups #Innovation
4
#GoogleCloud
3
#GoogleExpeditions #SaveThePolarBears #GoogleCanada #PolarBearsInternational
1
#GoogleforEducation
1
#Googleforsmallbusiness
1
#GoogleMaps
3
#googlemaps #indigenous
1
#GoogleMeet
1
#GoogleNest #GoogleAssistant
2
#GoogleNest #Sustainability #GoogleCanada
1
#GoogleNewsInitiative
2
#GoogleNewsInitiative #News
1
#GoogleSearch #Events #MarchBreak
1
#GoogleSearch #GoogleMaps
1
#GoogleStreetView #StreetView
1
#googletranslate
1
#GoogleWaterloo
1
#GrowwithGoogle
3
#GSuite
1
#Indigenous #nationalaboriginalday #indigenousmapping #google #googlemaps #googleearths #canada #canada150
1
#innovation
1
#IWD #InternationalWomensDay
1
#JERF #GNI
1
#JobsOnGoogle #Employment
1
#KW
1
#language
1
#madebygoogle #MadeToHelp #GoogleCanada #Google #Helpfulness #RonaldMcDonaldHouseCharities #RMHC
1
#Mila
1
#MobileMonth
3
#Music
1
#News
4
#News #Search
1
#NewsWise
2
#ParksCanada
1
#ParksDay
1
#photos #food #GoogleCanada
1
#Pixel
2
#PledgeToVote
2
#Pride2020
1
#rainforestconnection
1
#saferinernetday
2
#savethewhales
1
#Search #YearInSearch
1
#SmallBusiness
3
#Stadia
2
#StadiaFreeTrial
1
#StadiaMontréal
1
#StadiaTeam
1
#streetartproject
1
#StreetView
2
#ThinkBrand
3
#toronto
1
#Travel #Search #googlemaps
1
#VectorInstitute
1
#whaletracking
1
#WorldEnvironmentDay #Environment
1
#YearInSearch
2
#YIS2021 #GoogleCanada #SearchOn #ThanksforAsking
1
#YouTube
3
#youtube #creators #canada #montreal #quebec #YouTubeSpace
1
#youtube #creators #nextup #canada
2
#YouTube #GoogleCanada #GoogleAI #Innovation
1
#youtube #Toronto #Google #advertising #ad #pulse #youtubepulse
1
#YouTube #YouTubeCanada
1
#YouTube #YouTubeFanFest #YTFF #Toronto #Google #iisuperwomanii #unicornisland #molsonamp
1
#youtubemusic
2
2018
1
360
1
Ads
15
Adwords
5
Agency
3
Agency Edge
2
AI
1
Allo
1
Analytics
1
Android
5
Android Apps
4
Arctic
6
art
1
Assistant
2
Availability
1
Award Winners
1
Back to School
7
bestbuy
1
bestbuycanada
1
Big Tent
1
Billboard Charts
1
Brand
4
Buffer Festival
2
Buffer Industry Day
2
Canada
3
Canada 150th
1
Canada NGO
1
Canadian
1
Canadian Innovation
2
Canadian Music
2
Canadiana
1
CBC
2
CBC News
1
CBCMusic
1
CBCNews
1
ChanningTatum
1
Chrome
9
Chrome Experiments
4
Chrome OS
3
Chrome Webstore
1
Chromebooks
5
Chromebox
1
Chromecast
6
chromecastultra
1
ChromeOS
1
Civic Engagement
3
Cloud
1
Cloud Computing
2
Codemakers
4
Comedy Week
1
Community Grants
4
Computational Thinking
1
contest
1
COVID-19
1
CS First
1
CSS3
1
D4G Canada
1
Daydream
1
Digital Economy
6
DIY Videos
2
Doodle
1
Doodle 4 Google Canada
2
Duo
1
Easter
1
Election
1
Elections
5
engineering
1
Enhanced Campaigns
1
EnMasse
1
Enterprise
5
eTowns
1
Francais
1
French
1
French Canadian
1
Full Value of Mobile
1
Geek Street
1
GIC
1
Gmail
4
Gmail App
1
Go North
1
GoneGoogle
4
GoNorth
1
google
4
Google Allo
1
Google App Engine
1
Google Apps
5
Google Apps for Business
2
Google AR & VR
1
Google Art Project
4
Google Assistant
1
Google Books
1
Google Calendar
2
Google Camp
1
Google Canada
4
Google Cloud
2
Google Cloud Platform
1
Google Cloud Storage
1
Google Coder
1
Google Cultural Institute
2
Google Currents
1
Google Developer
1
Google Docs
1
Google Doodle
1
Google Education Team
3
Google Engage
1
Google for Education
1
Google for Entrepreneurs
1
Google for non profits
1
Google for Seniors
1
Google Giving
1
Google Hangouts
3
Google Holiday
3
Google Impact Challenge
1
Google Kitchener-Waterloo
3
Google KW
2
Google Maps
30
Google Montreal
4
Google Music
1
Google My Business
1
Google Partner Serach
1
Google Partners
1
Google Play
10
Google Play Gift Cards
1
Google Play Music
4
Google Retail
2
Google Rise Award
1
Google Sites
1
Google Translate
1
Google TV
1
Google Waterloo
2
Google Wifi
1
Google+
2
GoogleCanada
3
googleshop
1
GoogleWifi
1
Grammys
1
Grow with Google
1
Guest Blog
1
Hackathon
1
Hangouts
3
happy birthday Canada
1
Hardware
1
Holiday
2
Home
1
How-to
2
How-to videos
2
Innovation
6
Innovation Week
5
Insights
1
LilySingh
1
LiveCase
1
Livestream
1
Livestreaming
1
machine learning
1
Made by Google
1
madebygoogle
3
Maps
15
Mobile
12
Montreal
1
Multi-Screen
2
Music
2
MyLiveCase
1
O2S
1
Online Impacting Offline
1
Open Data
2
Passover
1
Peter Mansbridge
1
pixel
5
Play TV
1
playmusiccanada
1
Policy
1
Product
1
Product Launch
1
Products
1
ProudToPlay
1
Public Alerts
1
Quebec
1
Research
1
Retail
3
Search
10
Search Trends
23
security
2
Shopping
1
small business
3
SMB
6
Songza
1
STEM
2
STEM Education
5
Street View
1
StreetView
1
Super Bowl
1
technology
1
Templates
1
The National
1
TheHip
1
TheTragicallyHip
1
Think Insights
3
TouTube FanFest
1
Travel
2
Trends
12
Updates
1
Video
1
Video Trends
6
VideoCalling
1
Videos
1
Vimy150
1
Virtual Reality
1
VR
1
Web Audio API
1
WebGL
1
WebRTC
1
WomenatGoogle
7
World Teacher Day
1
YouTube
52
YouTube 360
1
YouTube Creators
14
YouTube Debates
1
YouTube FanFest
2
YouTube Gaming
1
YouTube Kids
1
YouTube Live
1
YouTube Music
7
YouTube Music Awards
2
YouTube NextLab
1
YouTube Partner Program
3
YouTube Rewind
2
YouTube Space
1
YouTube Space Toronto
1
YouTubeCreators
1
YouTubeRewind
1
YPP
2
Zeitgeist
2
Archive
2022
Feb
Jan
2021
Dec
Nov
Oct
Sep
Aug
Jul
Jun
May
Apr
Mar
Feb
Jan
2020
Dec
Nov
Oct
Sep
Aug
Jul
Jun
May
Apr
Mar
Feb
Jan
2019
Dec
Nov
Oct
Sep
Aug
Jul
Jun
May
Apr
Mar
2018
Dec
Nov
Oct
Sep
Aug
Jun
May
Apr
Mar
Feb
2017
Dec
Nov
Oct
Sep
Aug
Jul
Jun
May
Apr
Mar
Feb
Jan
2016
Dec
Nov
Oct
Sep
Aug
Jul
Jun
May
Apr
Mar
Feb
Jan
2015
Dec
Nov
Oct
Sep
Aug
Jul
Jun
May
Apr
Mar
Feb
Jan
2014
Dec
Nov
Oct
Sep
Aug
Jul
Jun
May
Apr
Mar
Feb
Jan
2013
Dec
Nov
Oct
Sep
Aug
Jul
Jun
May
Apr
Mar
Feb
Jan
2012
Dec
Nov
Oct
Sep
Aug
Feed
Follow @googlecanada
Follow
Read this blog in French:
Blogue officiel de Google Canada
Give us feedback in our
Product Forums
.
Follow