Compare this to Alexa's breakdown:

- google.com - 75%
- mail.google.com - 8%
- images.google.com - 8%
- groups.google.com - 2%
- video.google.com - 2%
- news.google.com - 1%
- froogle.google.com - 1%
- Other websites - 3%

Pretty close and shows really that Google has a lot of work to do in its 'verticals'.

"Google Web Toolkit (GWT) is a Java software development framework that makes writing AJAX applications like Google Maps and Gmail easy for developers who don't speak browser quirks as a second language."

Also an interesting rumor is swirling around that Google either partnered with, or licensed technology from, WebOS company Morfik. Am digging to see what if any truth there is to this...

Update, May 18: Bret Taylor, Product Manager of Google Web Toolkit, has dispelled the rumor:

"Morfik seems like great technology, but Google Web Toolkit is in no way associated with Morfik or based on its technology. There have been some rumors circulating on this list that have been causing some confusion, and I wanted to clarify.
Thanks,
Bret Taylor Product Manager, Google Web Toolkit"

Interesting LA Times article about how Google is re-focusing on improving and integrating its current products, rather than pumping out new products willy-nilly. Included in the article is this quote about 'Google Office':

"The initiative's primary goal is to make Google products easier to use, especially by packaging disparate products. For example, said Chief Executive Eric Schmidt, Google plans to combine its spreadsheet, calendar and word-processing programs into one suite of Web-based applications."

p.s. yes I did jump the gun earlier this week with what turned out to be bogus screenshots of Google Office and other Google mock-ups. I quickly pulled the post out of embarrassment!

The I/O stands for "Innovation/Open" (i/o is also a programmer term input/output). Google told us in May 2008 that we're at an "inflection point for web app development" and that Google is all about "driving usage of the Internet". The Web is now the defacto platform for application development, according to Google, and so naturally they want to encourage developers to use both Google and Open Web products.

Please leave your feature suggestions in the comments below and be in to win a Google I/O ticket, worth $400 USD each.

Let's start with Google widgets, which they used to call modules but are now calling gadgets (curiously, a case where Google has copied Microsoft). Google offers two types of gadgets:

1) Desktop plug-ins - for the Google Desktop. Much like Yahoo's Konfabulator widget platform and Apple Dashboard.

2) Personalized Homepage gadgets. Google has gradually increased the number of widgets in their directory, but there are third party sites that offer a great selection too - e.g. here and here.

Google gadgets can also run in Google Pages, their webpage-editing tool.

To develop gadgets for the Google platform, use the Google Gadgets API - which Google claims is "so easy to use that you can develop your first gadget in 5 minutes". They also say it's easy to turn existing web content into a gadget.

The main difference between Google's and Microsoft's gadgets is that Google takes a web-centric approach, whereas Microsoft gadgets will utilize both desktop and web. I'll look more closely at Microsoft's gadgets in my next widgets post.

"We're excited to announce the availability of the Google Base data API, which lets you write applications that dynamically interact with Google Base. You can insert, edit, or delete items programmatically, complementing existing input means like the Google Base front-end or the bulk upload mechanism. You can also query other users' published content and access their items via the API. This enables you to create domain-specific search applications (or mash-ups) combining Google Base content with other services."

Via Michael Fagan

I just published an excellent overview of Web APIs by Alex Iskold and he said that the new Google Base API competes with Amazon S3 - but is more powerful.

Based in part on the language used by Google in confirming the deal, that they have "acquired certain assets and technology of Zingku" I'd guess that the service will likely be absorbed to provide new mobile functionality across a number of other Google Applications.

If a new layer of SMS alerts, polls and sharing features start appearing in Google Docs, Grand Central and elsewhere in the coming months - that will probably be the result of Zingku dissipation across the sprawling Google properties.

One advantage over SharePoint is that Google Sites does not require users to maintain software on PCs. Google Sites builds on the company's already well-established strengths - including cloud-based office tools and impeccable search. With the new API, if users choose to switch from SharePoint to Google Sites, they've now got an easy way to migrate their content.

Perhaps nothing like this should be a surprise coming from a company that built the leading webmail product online and still calls it Beta five years later.

Who's worn the virtual cap and gown already? Twenty seven projects are listed as graduates, including the YouTube APIs, Maps APIs and (thank goodness) Contacts API. We've been wondering why more developers aren't using the Contacts API but instead keep asking us for our precious Google passwords. It's been out for a whole year now. Now there can be no excuse! The Contacts API is real, it's solid and Google is committed to supporting it.

Surprises among the 18 projects still deemed too green for prime time? Gears, Finance Data APIs, Social Graph API and the Feedburner APIs.

Google APIs are an incredible resource and today's announcement should further their adoption. We'll be monitoring the Code Labs page for the experimental availability of the inevitable Google Brain Implant API, but until that day comes we feel almost unconditionally excited about the code projects the Google teams are working on.

Free Publicity Ahead of a Full Launch?

As Jared Newman points out in a post on his PCWorld blog, Google will obviously get a lot of free press out of this - and not just from the tech press, but also from mainstream news outlets.  Google Voice already got a lot of press in the last week after Apple rejected Google's own Google Voice app from the iPhone App Store and ousted all third-party apps that made use of Google Voice. We don't want to be too cynical here (after all, this is a great cause), but we can't help but think that this announcement was timed to keep the public's attention on Google Voice.

Chances are that Google is getting closer to a full-blown launch of Google Voice or at least getting ready to allow users to send out invites to their friends.

Google Code Reviews

Google Code Reviews is, as the name implies, aimed at developers. It allows developers to share code for review and propose changes.

Google Moderator

Google Moderator is an application that Google first released for the App Engine just about a month ago. Moderator is basically a forum for group discussions and Q&A sessions, with the ability to vote questions and answers up and down.

Google Short Links

Short Links is a URL shortener like TinyURL or snurl, but works with your own domain name. This allows you to turn complicated and long URLs into short, more memorable ones.

More to Come

According to Google, these are just the first three in a long list of products that will make their debut in Labs for Google Apps. Google also intends to open this platform up to all App Engine developers, but it hasn't provided a timetable for this yet.

My initial reaction was that GData is a way to mix RSS/Atom with their APIs, in order to better integrate their increasing number of web applications. I'm not sure if this points to less of a walled garden, or paradoxically more of one because Google is defining the protocol now.

[Full story on ZDNet...]

Still, for all the beauty of Google's directions, "street view," and "search nearby," the top-down views of our world have always been a bit fuzzy and squint-inducing. Until now. Thanks to Google hitching a ride on GeoEye-1, that's all about to change. And today, we saw the first example of what's to come.

Wired has posted the first photo from GeoEye, and it's amazingly crisp.

Here's a comparison between the new satellite image and the current resolution (GeoEye-1 image, top):

Looking for more resolution than that? You're going to need to get security clearance. The US Federal Government restricts distribution of higher-resolution imagery, even though the image the satellite is capturing has a more detailed resolution (43 cm).

Currently, there is no specific date for when the imagery will be added to Google Maps and Google Earth.

One thing is for sure: When this new high-resolution imagery becomes available, Google Maps sightseeing will get a great deal more interesting.

What Else is Missing?

One other feature we really miss from Chrome is RSS feed autodiscovery. Both Firefox and Internet Explorer have had this feature for quite a while now. As Google Reader is one of the most popular web-based RSS readers,integrating it tighter into the browser would only help Google in the long run.

Also, as Corvida points out, Google could integrate a lot of its other services closer into the browser. Why, for example, doesn't a search for an address bring up Google Maps immediately?

What Do You Miss?

Are there any features you really miss in Google Chrome that stop you from switching? Let us know in the comments.

42% say no, Google should be left alone. 11% of you don't know either way.

There's still time to cast you vote. Not that the F.T.C. is avidly following Read/WriteWeb's poll (well, I guess that could be a reason for the delay). But seriously, what do you think? Is Google/DoubleClick a monopoly that the US government needs to crack down on?