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Potato gun, lightning, and sonic magic: Unconventional speed tests for the browser

(Watching web pages load at 2700 frames per second reveals unexpected artifacts. If you're interested in the technical details, read on in the video's description drop-down in YouTube).

Google Now Lets You Text Message from Gmail

Because we can't get enough new Gmail features, Google today rolled out a Gmail Labs feature that lets you send text messages from your Gmail chat window.
I got a hands-on demo of this simple, but useful feature from Gmail Product Manager Keith Coleman a half hour ago, when he had me send a text message to his iPhone from my Gmail account.
I simply entered his 10-digit area code and phone number in the chat window, and it offered me the option to send an SMS. I clicked on it, entered "Keith" as my contact, entered "This feature is cool" (like a geek) and hit Enter. I'm in Connecticut; Coleman is in Mountain View, Calif. He received my message in 3 seconds.
Coleman was a brand-new contact for me, so I had to enter his number to begin the SMS process. Users can SMS their existing Gmail chat contacts by opening a chat window and selecting the option to send an SMS.
Once you enter their phone numbers, it will save the digits in your contact entries. This means that when those contacts go offline, the chat window will give you the option to switch to SMS. Coleman said:
"This basically came from people saying, 'It's frustrating that when my friend goes offline, I can't chat with them,' so we decided to build something to address it."
There's more to the efficiency quotient. Usually, when you send an SMS from your computer to a phone, it shows up on the phone as a short code, or a super long number that changes all of the time.
When you send an SMS from Google chat, you get assigned a unique phone number for every pair of Gmail user and phone contact. That means that every time you SMS a contact, that contact will see the same number. That means the contact can add that to their contact lists on their phone. Coleman explained it thus:
"Let's say a month down the road, I'm at an airport and I know you're in front of your computer and I want to have you look up my flight information. I can just text you at that number, and it will show up right in your Gmail account."
Note, this Gmail Labs feature applies to U.S. phone numbers only. Now word yet on when it will be available internationally.
While Coleman claimed Google has no master plan regarding this incredible swath of Gmail features that have rolled out from Labs or via default in 2008, it's no secret Gmail is becoming a rich communications and collaboration tool.
Even better, most of these features will appeal to consumers and business users alike. This duality should make Gmail an attractive Web mail product for users looking to defect from Microsoft or Yahoo Web mail.

Google Office in Zurich

I had posted about Google Office in New York and Googleplex earlier. And this time are photos from Google office in Zurich. Seeing such offices make you wish you were working for Google. They have everything a person needs in there and even more. They have message chairs, slides, pool tables and other games, private cabins and much more.

Entrance

Reception Waiting Area

Office

Meeting Igloo

Meeting Gondola

Working Area Slide to Lunch Area

Restaurant

Tech Stop

Relax Lounge

Play Room

Fire Pole

Massage Area

The Googlenairs

Google!!!!

Google has been known for a long time as the best place in the world to work. They offer free massages, gourmet meals, and professional haircuts at their beautiful campus in California. That right there puts them above 99.99% of the other companies in the world. At any rate, you already knew all that so lets move on.

Have you ever wondered how much a Google employee makes? Well this data isn't extremely easy to find, if you don't believe me just search Google. However, here is some interesting statistics.
Google Programmer in Phoenix - $174,000/year
Google Programmer in California - $197,000/year
Google Programmer in Chicago - $222,000/year
Google Programmer in New York - $242,000/year
(according to Indeed.com)

...and thats just in salary. What other financial benefits does Google offer it's employees?

• 1) Google will pay $8,000 / year for you to continue your education. They just require you get at least 'B's in your classes.


• 2) If you refer another employee to Google's staff and they stay for 60 days, Google will pay your $2,000


• 3) If you are thinking about adopting a kid, Google will contribute $5,000 towards all the legal and adoption fees.


• 4) Depending how long you have worked at Google you can get up to 25 days (almost a month) paid vacation a year!

Now their is one more thing that is very interesting about Google employees financial lives. According to the New York Times there are estimated to be over 1,000 Google employees with Google stock worth over $5 million dollars. Woah wait! There are over 1,000 people working for Google who are worth OVER $5 MILLION DOLLARS! Even Google's former masseuse (did I mention employees get free massages) is a millionaire. Also, according to the New York Times, every employee that has been at Google for over a year is worth well over $250,000. Competing firms have said that Google alone has raised the average programmers salary by 50% over the last few year and with salaries and benefits like this I really don't doubt it.