doodles

Google gives dads a necktie for Father's Day

Google has a Father's Day present for all the dads out there, and as you probably guessed before looking--it's a necktie.

Unlike the traditional gift, Google's new doodle today honoring Dad does a little more than just sit in a box. Sure, it's a thoughtful gift that links to information on the holiday's history, greeting card images, and an IMDb profile of a bad Robin Williams' movie of the same name from 1997.

But most importantly, it reminds you to give the old man a call and suggests using Google's e-mail program to do … Read more

Google's new doodle eclipses everything

I am beginning to think that Google should put its doodlers in charge of the whole company.

It seems as if they have an instinct for inspiring real, normal people that has sometimes seemed lacking in some of the titular higher-ups.

So today, as we await the full effects of a lunar eclipse that will provide us with some welcome pause for thought, Google has created a doodle on its home page that shows the progress of the moon as it becomes darkened because the earth is blocking the path of the sun's rays.

Just as with the marvelous Les Paul effort … Read more

Google: Les Paul doodle is here to stay

So did you manage "Stairway to Heaven"? Did you at least strum a little Bieber?

If you thought Google's spectacularly popular doodle to commemorate guitar legend Les Paul was, like so many of its doodles, just a one day affair, you have no faith in the power of democracy.

This thing has proved so popular--despite no doubt causing just the occasional office friction--that Google on Friday gave the doodle 24 hours of overtime.

Even more hearteningly, the company took to its Twitter account to announce that you will be able to strum away at the virtual guitar … Read more

Google's Les Paul doodle rocks the Web

With apologies to Jon Bon Jovi, Google's latest doodle has seen a billion faces and rocked them all.

With the launch yesterday of its doodle honoring musician and electric-guitar innovator Les Paul, Google created the world's largest jam session by giving everyone on the Web a playable and recordable guitar. And by the looks of things, everyone was getting their Jimmy Page on.

As of this writing, Web guitarists have posted nearly 4,000 recordings of their musical efforts to YouTube. That apparently struck a chord with Google, which announced this evening that due to popular demand, it … Read more

Google's Les Paul doodle lets you play and listen

Over the next 24 hours, I wonder how many offices will be filled with the sound of bad guitar playing.

You see, in order to celebrate the 96th birthday (he died in 2009) of the original guitar hero, Les Paul, Google has created a doodle that you can actually strum.

A thing of beauty, it is. And already America's talented have begun to post their Google Doodle Dandies onto YouTube in search of international acclaim. (I have embedded just one specimen.)

All you have to do to create your own little theme and annoy all of those around you … Read more

Dynamic Google doodle draws dancers, complaints

Today's Google doodle honors choreographer Martha Graham's birthday--and with animated dancers revealing it, the doodle also showcases the company's push to build a more dynamic Web.

The only problem: some people find it's slowing their machines. That's hardly the outcome that Google--obsessed over every millisecond of delay in delivering search results--could have wanted.

The dynamic doodle is a rarity for Google, but you can expect more as the company tries to draw attention to what can be done on the Web, not just to the subjects of its doodles. Indeed, Google had a whole session … Read more

The 404 810: Where our tablet could eat your tablet (podcast)

Stupid Andy returns to the show and delivers an impressive cover of Christina Aguilera's "Genie in a Bottle" using just an iPad and the Classic Guitar app! Andy also shows off his new non-Apple tablet, so be sure to check out Wilson throwing a schoolboy fit in the studio in protest. Plus, be sure to listen to hear how you can enter to win a pair of Gunnar indoor eyewear!

The 404 Digest for Episode 810

Google Doodles and Maps pay tribute to the royal wedding. Stupid Andy's new toy runs Windows 7 and has a Core i5 processor, but no kickstand. This November, San Francisco will vote to ban circumcision. Jenny Lawrence leaves us a video voice-mail, and here's the video she's referencing: Analog Pants: Rick Roll by the Red Balls.

We also have two pairs of Gunnar Optiks indoor eyewear to giveaway, but you only have this weekend to enter! Just follow us on Twitter and shoot us a tweet mentioning #Gunnar404 and why you deserve a pair of performance glasses optimized for the digital screen. We'll announce the winners on Monday, so good luck!

Episode 810 Subscribe in iTunes (audio) | Subscribe in iTunes (video) | Subscribe in RSS Audio | Subscribe in RSS Video… Read more

The making of the World's Biggest Pac-Man game (Q&A)

When we think of Pac-Man, we think of a single screen, and a series of new mazes that become available only after players finish the one they're on.

But that's not how Ashley Ringrose and his colleagues at Sydney, Australia-based Soap Creative agency thought of the mega-hit 30-year-old video game. So when they were given a chance to design a promotion for the game that was both innovative and social, the lightbulb that went off over their heads was all about big.

Big, as in the World's Biggest Pac-Man game, in which fans are able to design … Read more

Drawing and doodling for kids

Doodle Buddy is a free, no-frills, ad-supported drawing and doodling app with playful stamps and backgrounds that will appeal to kids.

Doodle Buddy's "finger-painting" interface lets you draw with swipes and taps. A row of tappable icons on the bottom of the screen lets you undo your last action (multiple times), erase your current drawing (you can also shake your device to erase), and choose from several different tools: a drawing tool (brush, chalk, glitter, smudge, or eraser, all with adjustable sizes), a stamp (with dozens of built-in stamps, from animals to smileys to speech balloons, each … Read more