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Google India Closes Office Due To Swine Flu

Doug Caverly — Wed, 15 Jul 2009 16:04:25 +0000

The H1N1 flu virus has hit Google India, and although things aren’t as bad as they might have been, it’s having some rather significant effects: around 100 people have gone to a hospital for swine flu tests, and a Hyderabad office will remain closed for two full days.

We’ll try to get the rest of the unpleasant news out of the way in one shot. According to the Deccan Chronicle, an antiviral drug that can be used to prevent infection isn’t available in sufficient quantities for everyone who works at the office (a two-day supply exists when a ten-day regimen is what’s called for).

The Times of India reports that seven employees have been quarantined, too.

However, the sort of reassuring fact remains that there’s actually been just one confirmed case of swine flu among Google’s Hyderabad employees so far.

Also, the office closure is a voluntary precautionary measure, not a response ordered by some state health authority, and a sanitization process should help stop any H1N1 spread.

This doesn’t look like the end of Google India, then. Hopefully the development will simply prove to be a small scare followed by a careful (and caring) corporate response.

Google India Launches Sharing Through Noticeboards

Chris Crum — Wed, 11 Mar 2009 15:24:31 +0000

Google India has introduced a Firefox extension in Google Labs called Google Noticeboard, which is designed to help people access and share info over the Internet via public digital noticeboards.

The application is aimed at communities with access to shared computers. They can use the noticeboards to exchange messages related to community announcements, social interactions, etc.

Messages on noticeboards are publicly accessible. They can consist of text, or can be voice-based.

"The Noticeboard may also be used for the community to engage in a dialog with benefactors, public servants, and other service providers who are geographically distant," Google explains. "For example, residents of an apartment complex can use the Noticeboard for posting announcements, or NGOs who own and operate computer centers in several villages can use the Noticeboard to enable village residents to communicate amongst themselves."

Once the Firefox extension is installed, it allows community members on shared computers to exchange information over the Internet without an intermediary, Google says. Each community noticeboard is associated with a specific email address and contact list. More info here (pdf).

Google India Code Jam

Nathan Weinberg — Wed, 26 Apr 2006 19:07:42 +0000

The Google Blog writes about the Google India Code Jam, where 15,000 competed in the software coding contest.

In the end, last year’s winner barely eked out a second straight title, winning by less than .03 points. There was only one woman among the top 50 finalists.

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Nathan Weinberg writes the popular InsideGoogle blog, offering the latest news and insights about Google and search engines.

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