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Google is continuing to unleash more details about its upcoming Google I/O 2013 Developers Conference, including a special “Google Maps: Into the Future” session, which will describe where the project has been and where it is heading.
The details about the Google Maps announcements at the conference appeared in a May 8 post by Mano Marks of the Maps developer relations team on the Google Geo Developers Blog.
“This year, we plan on bringing the best of Google Maps to every screen, including demos from the dashboard of a Mercedes-Benz to all seven screens of our latest Liquid Galaxy installation,” wrote Marks.
In the Developer Sandbox at the show, where visitors can check out demos from developers who have built applications based on Google technologies and products, the work of the Mercedes-Benz Digital DriveStyle team will show off their latest integration of the GooglePlaces API, using the Google Maps SDK (software development kit) for iOS, wrote Marks. These demos of the technology will take place from behind the wheel of a 2013 Mercedes-Benz SL550 sports car.
Meanwhile, a full schedule of Maps-related sessions has now been unveiled for the conference, including some sessions that will be Webcast live (look for the camera icon on the schedule). Sessions include Design Principles for Maps, Making Location Meaningful with Google Maps APIs, Dive into Underwater Street View and a Fireside Chat with the Google Maps Team. All of the sessions will be available on YouTube after Google I/O.
The Google I/O conference, which will be held May 15 to 17 in San Francisco, will include a wide range of training sessions and code sessions each day where developers can get help with their projects, answers for code questions, and input and additional eyes on the work they are doing using Google code. More than 120 talks, ranging from introductory topics to advanced subjects about Google Maps, Android, Google Chrome, Google+, App Engine, Google Glass and more, will be featured in the technical sessions, according to Google.
Also to be shown and shared with attendees at the conference are Google’s Street View Trekker and SVII cameras, which Street View teams are using to collect the amazing images being gathered for the project from around the world. The Trekker camera is a backpack-mounted camera that is helping to collect images in remote locations, including the Grand Canyon. At the event, attendees will be able to “take the Trekker backpack on a hike through the Grand Canyon” in a simulation, wrote Marks.
Also on display will be other technologies that will allow attendees to use Google APIs “to try flying through Google Earth with a Leap Motion controller,” with the help of a partner vendor, Leap.
More details about the live broadcasts from Google I/O 2013 are also covered in a May 8 post by Mike Winton, director of developer relations, on the Google Developers Blog.
“From the comfort of your own home, office, secret lair or anywhere you have a reliable Internet connection, you can stream Google I/O May 15-16 live,” wrote Winton. “Brought to you by Google Developers Live (GDL), the Google I/O home page will become the GDL at I/O live streaming hub starting May 15 at 9:00 a.m. PT (16:00 UTC [Coordinated Universal Time).”
Google Unveils More Google I/O Conference Details
Online visitors will be able to stream four channels of technical content to their computers, tablets or phones, wrote Winton. “You’ll feel like you’re right there in the keynote and session rooms, listening to product announcements straight from the source. Live streaming will run on developers.google.com/io from 9:00 a.m. PT (16:00 UTC) to 7 p.m. PT (2:00 UTC) on May 15 and 16.” Also included will be exclusive interviews “with the Googlers behind the latest product announcements,” he wrote.
Official conference announcements will be posted live during I/O through the Google I/O homepage, in the I/O mobile app (coming soon) and on +Google Developers, wrote Winton.
Online visitors can even use Google’s live blogging gadget to add the keynote live stream to their own sites or blogs, he wrote.
The rumors about the Google I/O conference have, of course, already begun. The first such rumor is that the present Google Maps on-screen interface will soon get a freshened look that will provide users with easier-to-find information as they search destinations and routes on the popular online map service. Rumors of the new Maps interface were published May 7 by the unofficial Google Operating System blog, which reported that “the update will remove the sidebar and will display everything on top of the full-screen map.”
In addition, “one of the new features lets you restrict local search results to places recommended by top reviews or your Google+ circles,” reported the site. “It’s a more immersive interface that will probably work well on mobile devices. Instead of focusing on navigational elements, buttons and sidebars, the new Google Maps focuses on the map. Google has also updated map colors, icons, text styles.”
Google recently released the first scant details about its upcoming Google I/O 2013 Developers Conference by posting a bare-bones schedule for its annual code and innovation love-in and training ground.
Highlighting the opening session on May 15 will be a long three-hour keynote session that will certainly set the stage for everything else to come at the event.
Also featured will be Women Techmakers sessions, Tech Talks, startup panels and introductions to Google’s latest innovations, according to the schedule.
A series of Code Labs will also be held to let attendees get elbow-deep in code while learning from others who are already doing innovative things with code, according to Google. For those who can’t attend this year’s I/O 2013 event—which was sold out very soon after the approximately 5,500 tickets went on sale for $900 each on March 13—Google will again be broadcasting the sessions live online around the world to organized local viewing parties of developers. This is part of Google’s I/O Extended efforts, which lets developers around the world witness the events remotely. Developers can check the schedule to find an I/O Extended event located near them.
At the 2012 I/O Conference last June, Google rolled out its Glass project, the latest Android Jelly Bean operating system, the Nexus 7 tablet and the Nexus Q Media Hub. The Nexus Q was a surprise announcement that introduced an entirely new small, bowling-ball-shaped media hub for the home controlled by an Android tablet or smartphone. Enhancements to Jelly Bean included improved performance; added search capabilities; voice typing that could be done offline; and an improved notifications interface that lets users respond to calendar reminders, emails and texts without having to open each of those applications.