In the13th anniversary of the creator of the most popular Internet search engine, Google Inc., we review some of his best initiatives, from Google Earth to the Person Finder missing persons search engine or the original Doodles with which he has been celebrating events for more than a decade.
Google Earth
It is a computer program similar to a Geographic Information System (GIS) that allows you to view3d images of the planet, combining satellite images, maps and the Google search engine. For archaeologists, his contribution has been crucial, since, among other things, it has allowed the discovery of nearly two thousand new sites around Saudi Arabia. In addition, recently oceanographers from the Lamont-Doherty Terrestrial Observatory of Columbia University (USA) have incorporated adetailed map of the deep oceanthat allows “virtual travelers” who venture to discover spectacular underwater landscapes such as volcanic slopes, rugged peaks, mountain ranges, great plains, deep valleys, vents that expel hydrothermal waters …
Digitization
Google, with the support of the Israel Museum in Jerusalem, has worked for the past year todigitize the Dead Sea scrolls, some 2,000-year-old manuscripts that he has published online for the free consultation of all Internet users. In addition, at the beginning of the year it made possible Internet access tophotographic archives and documents of the Holocaust Museumof Jerusalem.
Google Moon
A service similar to Google Maps that showssatellite images of the moon. Among other details, it allows to contemplate the landing sites of different space missions at high resolution. Includes 360 degree panoramic photos and 3D images of our satellite.
Google Street View
An application with panoramic images of roads, streets, avenues and squares of most cities and towns around the world that, very soon, will also incorporate the Amazon and Rio Negro, which will serve as an inventory of nature and help to avoid destruction. Instead of the popular car, in the Amazon Google will use thestreet view trike, a bike for rough roads.
Earth Engine
Coinciding with the International Conference on Climate Change held last year in Cancun, Google launched Earth Egine, a service that gathers billions of images obtained via satellite during the last 25 years. The objective is to serve scientists in their research on the earth’s surface, among other things to control and combat deforestation.
Google doodles
A creative department is in charge of developing the Google doodles several times a month,drawings designed around the logo of the popular search enginecreated in order to commemorate events, ephemeris or remember characters from popular culture. His first doodle was simple and was inspired byStorming of the Bastille, debuting on July 14, 2000. Among the most successful since then are the tribute to 30 years of the game Pacman, in May 2010, and the recent “Google guitar” created in honor of Les Paul.
Google Project 10^100
Coinciding with its 10th anniversary, Google launched this contest looking for ideas to save the planet with a reward of 10 million dollars. Among the winners were the Khan Academy, which provides high-quality education via the web, the Publi-Resource.Org project and the African Institute for Mathematical Sciences (AIMS).
Google Nexus
Nexus One was Google’s first smartphone to run on Android 2.1.1 2 operating system.The device, manufactured by the Taiwanese HTC Corporation and has been available since January 5, 2010.
Google PowerMeter
It was a free tool that connected to smart meters and other devices to help users control theirelectricity consumption habits to reduce the monthly bill. Unfortunately, the service stopped working permanently a few days ago.
Google Wallet
The new payment system through mobile phones,use your mobile as a walletand at the moment it is available only for the Nexus S terminals of the Sprint operator, in the United States. The application uses Near Field Communication (NFC) technology, which allows short-range connection between devices, to validate operations.
Google Body
It’s about adetailed 3D model of the human bodythat allows you to separate anatomical layers, zoom in on images and scroll to the parts that interest you. You can click to identify an anatomical structure or search for muscles, organs and bones, among other things.
Google Art Project
It allows anyone to see works from 17 art museums, created by 400 renowned artists -Picasso, Van Gogh …- from the computer screen and in high definition. Users can even create and share their own collection of masterpieces.
Person Finder
Both after the Chile earthquake in 2010 and the earthquake and subsequent tsunami in Japan in 2011, Google enabled the Person Finder platform, which allows you to search or deliver information on missing persons in a specific country. Through this platform, users can search for the name of the missing person in the Person Finder database, created by the same users, or leave information about their situation.
